Mike White

'The tradition of stand and deliver is older than we might have thought ...' For centuries, the roads of Oxfordshire were the haunt of highwaymen and footpads. From Elizabethan villains to famous names such as Dick Turpin, Captain Hind and Claude Duval, traces of their stories survive in historical documents and even their own testimonies. But who were these elusive rogues of the road? Who held up a duchess from the household of King Charles I? How did a ghost pull off his largest crime? And which band of brothers made robbing the highways their family business? Take a journey from Oxford to Banbury, through the wilds of Wychwood Forest, to Henley-on-Thames, Abingdon and Wantage, into Witney's inns, and even through the doors of Britain's oldest university. Four hundred years after the term highwayman was first coined, meet Oxfordshire's rogues of the road

This page-turning account of starting at the lowest rung on the production ladder among enormously famous & outrageously demanding people will be devoured for its insights, gossip, humour, & storytelling. Married and with a child, the author takes unpaid gigs to get a foot in the door, and eventually ends up working on all seasons of The Sopranos, often named the best TV show ever. The show''s setting and its creator''s insistence on accuracy placed the native New Jersey author in the right place at the right time to become part of television history, and to witness the effects of sudden fame and acclaim on the show''s principal players. Includes many stories about guest stars like Steve Buscemi, Peter Bogdanovich, and Lauren Bacall, as well as the beloved cast, including new tales of James Gandolfini, who Kamine first meets after David Chase casts him as the Dean of Admissions in the classic first season ''College'' episode. Later, after he''s been promoted, Kamine gets the calls from Gandolfini when he''s hungover, or still drunk, and might or might not make it to the shoot that day. One night, Kamine tries to prevent Gandolfini from taking a swim in the ocean after they''ve been drinking all night, telling him it could be dangerous but Jim doesn''t listen. Woven in is a personal story of home life and strife, achievement and frustration, anxiety and accomplishment. The book''s epilogue brings readers up to the moment as the author, after many more years as an anonymous everyman, eventually enjoys outsize professional success as executive producer of the HBO hit series created by Mike White, The White Lotus.