My Publications

INCORRECT ENTERTAINMENT, OR TRASH FROM THE PAST: A History of Political Incorrectness and Bad Taste in 20th Century American Popular Culture. (Bear Manor Media, 2007) “Cultural Historian Anthony Slide, who has been described by the Los Angeles Times as a one-man publishing phenomenon, strikes again with a book guaranteed to contain something offensive for everyone. Chapters on subjects as varied as Camp, Fascism in Hollywood, Hedda Hopper and the Porky’s movies. Plus the latest topical jokes on Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Challenger disaster.” – publicity release. (This volume may be ordered directly from the publisher at bearmanormedia.com or (800) 566-1251.) – Lawrence Toppman, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (October 10, 2004). NEW YORK CITY VAUDEVILLE (Arcadia Publishing, 2006) “NEW YORK CITY VAUDEVILLE provides a unique pictorial record of America’s preeminent entertainment medium in the late 1800s through the early 1930s. New York’s Palace Theatre served as the flagship for vaudeville, on which stage every vaudevillian aspired to perform. NEW YORK CITY VAUDEVILLE features photographs of some of the greatest names from the Palace Theatre, including Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Anna Held, the Marx Brothers, and Eva Tanguay, as well as legendary African American performers such as Bill Robinson, Ethel Waters, and Bert Williams. Through the photographs and the capsule biographies, the reader is transported back to a time when vaudeville was the people’s entertainment, with a new bill of fare each week and an ever-changing number of performers with ever-changing styles of presentation.” – publicity release. (All of the photographs in this book are from the Anthony Slide collection and may be licensed through http://www.producerslibrary.com.) – Lawrence Toppman, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (October 10, 2004).	NOW PLAYING: HAND-PAINTED POSTER ART FROM THE 1910s THROUGH THE 1950s (Academy Imprints/Angel City Press, 2007) “No one could have planned this book overnight. It is the result of many years’ research, travel, and acquisition; most of the original posters now reside at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Anthony Slide has done a superior job of surveying this material and placing it into historical context. NOW PLAYING is a valuable piece of scholarship – and a beautiful book that belongs in every film library.” – Leonard Maltin, Leonard’s Picks (July 2007). “Movie lovers and movie buffs have a real treat awaiting….It’s a museum-quality collection of poster art of historic films and their forever-unequaled stars from the 1910s through the 1950s. These are not photo reproductions but magnificent, hand-painted, one-of-a-kind theater posters by award-worthy artists….This book is written by Anthony Slide, who probably knows more about movies and their makers than anyone. He reveals the story of the posters’ artistry and artists of these chef d’oeuvres.” – Army Archerd, Variety.com (June 18, 2007). “Whether you are a film buff or aficionado of illustrative art NOW PLAYING will prove to be a treasure-trove of nostalgia and delight. Oversize with excellent reproductions, information about the actors and artists and their techniques, this pictorial chronicling of early filmdom is destined for many page-turnings.” – ART TIMES (July/August 2007). “NOW PLAYING is a stunning-looking book….Even the posters that were of questionable artistic value had a story to tell – whether about the artist’s interpretation of the movie he was depicting (sometimes it as clear he had not seen the movie and knew nothing about it) or about what was considered eye-catching in those days, depending on the location of the movie house. Throughout it all, Slide’s text offers a historical-social context for the illustrations.” – Alternative Film Guide (July 5, 2007). See also Q&A with Anthony Slide at this same website (August 10, 2007). “The late Rochester artist Batiste Madalena is the star of NOW PLAYING: HAND-PAINTED POSTER ART FROM THE 1910s THROUGH THE 1950s, a finely crafted new coffee table book about beautiful art designed to sell movies in the Golden Age and before.” – Jack Garner, ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE (July 20, 2007). See also feature article in the LOS ANGELES TIMES (July 8, 2007) and syndicated Associated Press feature story (June 28, 2007), which appeared that day in the INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE and elsewhere.
AMERICAN RACIST: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF THOMAS DIXON (University Press of Kentucky, 2004) “It’s a fascinating, renegade life, and Slide tells us as much of it as we’re likely to know.” – PALM BEACH POST (September 26, 2004). “Slide writes in an easily readable style. Like me, he seems to have warmed to his subject, yet he doesn’t overstress Dixon’s virtues or downplay his shortcomings.” – Lawrence Toppman, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (October 10, 2004). "A veteran author, Slide has written numerous excellent books, and sponsored dozens as the longtime editor for The Scarecrow Press Filmmakers Series....He has an encyclopedic knowledge of film, and, when he doesn't know something, he scorches the earth with his research....Not everyone will share Slide's pity for Dixon, but this book will be welcomed by scholars of race and silent cinema and by anyone interested in the intersection of politics and film." – Patrick McGilligan, CINEASTE (Spring 2005).	LOST GAY NOVELS: A REFERENCE GUIDE TO FIFTY WORKS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Haworth Press, 2003) “This fine reference book represents a commendable accomplishment in recovering from obscurity 50 English-language popular novels from the first half of the twentieth century that have gay characters or themes….his book makes a needed contribution to a niche of neglected literary history.” – G. Douglas Meyers, AMERICAN REFERENCE BOOKS ANNUAL 2004. “Anthony Slide has rescued some fascinating, frequently alarming, and occasionally absurd works of fiction from obscurity. Brave or timid, candid or hypocritical, they reflect the fears, inhibitions, and prejudices of the time. With his comments on the writers and their critics, Slide sheds further light on growing up gay or homophobic in the first half of the twentieth century.” – Gavin Lambert. “As an introduction to a selection of very interesting novels, this work is quite enjoyable.” – LIBRARY JOURNAL (April 15, 2003).
SILENT PLAYERS: A BIOGRAPHICAL AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF 100 SILENT ACTORS AND ACTRESSES (University Press of Kentucky, 2002) “Immensely entertaining, though I wouldn’t trust this writer with my funeral eulogy.” – SIGHT AND SOUND (November 2002). “His frank observations about the personalities of these actors, along with their recollections of silent filmmaking, creates a kind of meta-portrait of celebrity itself….With this book, Slide attempts to create ‘a revisionist, almost revolutionary, text’ about the lives and works of the actors under discussion. Modern themes such as sexual harassment and homosexuality are also explored. Many of the portraits are affecting, near heartbreaking, in the measure of renown and disaster revealed in the stars’ personal lives.” – Ray Zone, AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER (December 2002). See also feature article in the LOS ANGELES TIMES (December 1, 2002).	THE SILENT FEMINISTS: AMERICA’S FIRST WOMEN DIRECTORS (Scarecrow Press, 1996) “The grand master of silent film scholarship builds on his EARLY WOMEN DIRECTORS to construct a worthy and timely memorial to America’s first female directors. A pioneer in excavating documents and films produced during the nascent stages of the American film industry, Slide expertly marshals his historical data to offer a persuasive perspective on the active and dynamic roles that women performed in the evolution of the art of film….A solid little gem.” – CHOICE (January 1997).
ECCENTRICS OF COMEDY (Scarecrow Press, 1999) “This well-researched book is sure to fascinate and entertain, and is highly recommended for any film buff.” – FILMFAX (June/July 1999).	SILENT PORTRAITS: STARS OF THE SILENT SCREEN IN HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS (Vestal Press, 1990) “For fans of silent films, this oversize paperback will be better than a Godiva assortment.” – BOOKLIST (March 15, 1990).
NITRATE WON'T WAIT: A HISTORY OF FILM PRESERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES (McFarland, 1192) “Slide has crammed a wealth of information about films and the history of film preservation into his 228-page book. In many places, the author highlights the 'back-biting' politics and intrigues that have occurred over the years in the film preservation community. He writes in a narrative style that brings alive many of the events referred to in the text.... Overall, this is a well-researched and well-written work that will be a valuable addition to any library's communication, film or TV production collection.” – CHOICE (October 1992). “Slide's new book is essentially a history of film archives in the US, based on the public record, interviews with surviving pioneers of archival work, and his own professional involvement....Slide is careful to delimit his subject and to denounce confusion about it, for example in the colorisation controversy, which has given rise to a National Film Preservation Act in the US which makes no provisions whatsoever for film preservation....informative and entertaining.” – SIGHT AND SOUND (November 1992).	THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VAUDEVILLE (Greenwood Press, 1994) “This encyclopedia offers a delightful glimpse of a bygone era….A valuable and entertaining reference book for those interested in a lost art form.” – CHOICE (October 1994). “Slide, expert chronicler of American popular entertainment, especially of the first half of this century, has created the first encyclopedia of vaudeville….This will be the standard in public and academic library reference collections.” – WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN (September 1994). “Highly recommended,” – LIBRARY JOURNAL (July 1994). “Slide lovingly chronicles and celebrates a wondrous day and age….THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VAUDEVILLE may be his masterpiece.” – PAST TIMES (Spring 1994).
THE INTERNATIONAL FILM INDUSTRY: A HISTORICAL DICTIONARY (Greenwood Press, 1989) “An indispensable volume….It is valuable both for research purposes and as a reference work for any company doing business overseas….All in all, Slide sets a standard for film research that other writers can study and emulate.” – DAILY VARIETY (May 15, 1989). “Browsing Anthony Slide’s new THE INTERNATIONAL FILM INDUSTRY: A HISTORICAL DICTIONARY is as unstoppable as munching a single potato chip. But unlike the chips, this book may be good for you….Essential….Indispensable.” – DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA NEWSLETTER (June 1989). Slide has a prodigious and incredibly miscellaneous knowledge of the film world, and this fascinating grab-bag volume richly sets a lot of it forth….Having Slide’s book around is like having a wise if somewhat eccentric uncle who has spent his life in the film business. You never know when you might badly need to find out something weird that he just happens to know.” – FILM QUARTERLY (Summer 1989). “This is a helpful reference, which should be in every library as a starting place for research.” – COMMUNICATION BOOKNOTES (November/December 1989).	THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY: A HISTORICAL DICTIONARY (Greenwood Press, 1986) “The history of the American film industry is superbly captured in this dictionary.” – AMERICAN LIBRARIES (May 1987). “Densely packed with carefully researched information….of great service to students….a convenient reference…a delight to browse.” – FILM QUARTERLY (Summer 1987). “An excellent item for a research shelf.” – Robert Osborne, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (September 9, 1986). “As handy as it is an invaluable reference work.” – DAILY VARIETY (July 25, 1986).
LOIS WEBER: THE DIRECTOR WHO LOST HER WAY IN HISTORY (Greenwood Press, 1996) “Slide is a researcher who sniffs out obscure sources like a truffle hound, and the book contains a detailed filmography, a thorough bibliography, and the sort of spade-work research that is difficult to accomplish for silent film stars, but for which Slide is justly well-known….Although Weber’s story is ultimately a sad one, Slide makes her accomplishments live again, and he gives her the significance she deserves.” – Jeanine Basinger, HISTORICAL JOURNAL OF FILM, RADIO & TELEVISION (August 1997). “Well-written, important volume.” -- AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER (August 1997). “A very professional study….Most useful to the researchers in film and in the history of ideas.” – CHOICE (February 1997).	GREAT RADIO PERSONALITIES IN HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS (Dover, 1982) “A lively checklist….Slide has thrown a new light on old favorites. It’s a useful memorial.” – VARIETY (October 13, 1982). “Chronicles that era nostalgically and informatively.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES (August 8, 1982). “What a pleasant surprise to find a copy of GREAT RADIO PERSONALITIES nestling amongst today’s bills in the mail! And what an outstanding job you’ve done, both in selection and accompanying text – this is truly a definitive and discerning contribution to radiology, and a delight for all who remember the days when the air brought more than smog.” – Robert Bloch. “Wave after wave of nostalgia breaks over you as you turn the pages of Anthony Slide’s GREAT RADIO PERSONALITIES. It is a gallery of the most luminous stars of the shortest Golden Age in history, most of them caught in the bloom of youth and achievement. Many, alas, are now gone, so their portraits become even more treasurable. The pictures, together with clear and concise biographical data, make the book not only a rich memento, but a valuable reference source in the bargain.” – Norman Corwin.
INTERNATIONAL FILM, RADIO & TELEVISION JOURNALS (Greenwood Press, 1985) “Here’s an anomaly: a reference books that’s a good read….should be welcomed by anyone interested in the field and will be a blessing to researchers who usually have to wade through dry (and dusty) tomes to garner their information. Slide has done a tremendous job.” – DAILY VARIETY (October 4, 1985). “A first-rate compendium of information.” – FILM QUARTERLY (Fall 1986). “Knowledgeably edited…a unique guide.” – BACK STAGE (August 30, 1985).