Recommended reading - A Beautiful Mind (1998):

A Beautiful Mind

By Sylvia Nasar.

First published 1998.

Published by Simon & Schuster.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1451628420

ISBN-13: 978-1451628425

Description:

Also an Academy Award–winning film starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly – directed by Ron Howard.

The powerful, dramatic biography of math genius John Nash, who overcame serious mental illness and schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize.

“How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”

Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius who was a legend by age thirty when he slipped into madness, and who—thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics community—emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution. The inspiration for an Academy Award–winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power of love.

Recommended reading - The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (1998):

The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

By Susan Orlean.

Filmed as Adaptation (2002), directed by Spike Jonze.

First published 1998.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 044900371X

ISBN-13: 978-0449003718

Description:

A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower – the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii – a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean – and the reader – will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.

In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay.

Praise for The Orchid Thief:

“Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.” – The New York Times Book Review.

“Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.” – The Washington Post Book World.

“Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.” – Boston Sunday Globe.

“A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.” – The Wall Street Journal.

On this day in movie history - Very Bad Things (1998):

Very Bad Things

directed and written by Peter Berg,

was released in the United States on November 25, 1998.
Music by Stewart Copeland.

Cast:

Jon Favreau, Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater, Rob Brownstein, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Joey Zimmerman, Tyler Cole Malinger, Kobe Tai, Carla Scott, Russell B. McKenzie, Pancho Demmings, Blake Gibbons, Angelo Di Mascio Jr., Lawrence Pressman, Steve Fitchpatrick, Brian Grandison, John Cappon, Linda Klein, Byrne Piven, Bob Bancroft, Trey Davis, Marilyn McIntyre, Wrangler (the dog), Trooper (the dog), Peter Berg, Brian Sampson.

On this day in music history - Second Sight, by Jami Sieber (1998):

The album Second Sight,

by Jami Sieber,

was released on November 24, 1998.

On this day in movie history - Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman (1998):

Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman

documentary directed and written by John Boorman,

was released in the United States on November 17, 1998.

Music by Richie Buckley.

Cast:

John Boorman, Lee Marvin, Robert Filkosky, William Hurt, Jim Jarmusch, Pamela Marvin, Harry Wilmer, Jess King, Robert James Raymond.

On this day in music history - Live in Italy, by Cecilia Bartoli (1998):

The album Live in Italy,

by Cecilia Bartoli,

was released on October 20, 1998.

On this day in music history - Blues on the Bayou, by B.B. King (1998):

The album Blues on the Bayou,

by B.B. King,

was released on October 20, 1998.

On this day in movie history - Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998):

Phantasm IV: Oblivion

aka Phantasm: Oblivion,

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on October 13, 1998.
Music by Christopher L. Stone.

Cast:

A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, Angus Scrimm, Christopher L. Stone, Chloe Kay, Sylvia Flammer, David Gasster, Sasha Kassel, Aidan Kassel, Eric Avary, Andy John, George A. Craig, Steven C. Kassel, Robert Gates, Todd Mecklem, Jason Jacobs, Michael Perkins, Colin Jessup, Stanley Potter, Roger Avary, Bret Schweinfurth, Robert Tomaszewski.

Recommended reading - More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts (1998):

More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts

By James Naremore.

First published 1998.
Published by University of California Press.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0520254023
ISBN-13: 978-0520254022

Description:

"Film noir" evokes memories of stylish, cynical, black-and-white movies from the 1940s and '50s―melodramas about private eyes, femmes fatales, criminal gangs, and lovers on the run. James Naremore's prize-winning book discusses these pictures, but also shows that the central term is more complex and paradoxical than we realize. It treats noir as a term in criticism, as an expression of artistic modernism, as a symptom of Hollywood censorship and politics, as a market strategy, as an evolving style, and as an idea that circulates through all the media. This new and expanded edition of More Than Night contains an additional chapter on film noir in the twenty-first century.

On this day in music history - The album I Want Magic!: American Opera Arias, by Renée Fleming and James Levine (1998):

The album I Want Magic!: American Opera Arias,

by Renée Fleming and James Levine,

was released on September 15, 1998.

On this day in music history - La Belle Époque: The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn, by Susan Graham (1998):

The album La Belle Époque: The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn,

by Susan Graham,

was released on September 15, 1998.

On this day in music history - Where Blue Begins, by Deborah Coleman (1998):

The album Where Blue Begins,

by Deborah Coleman,

was released on September 15, 1998.

On this day in movie history - Phoenix (1998):

Phoenix

directed by Danny Cannon,

written by Eddie Richey,

was released in the United States on September 4, 1998.
Music by Graeme Revell.

Cast:

Ray Liotta, Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven, Royce D. Applegate, Xander Berkeley, Tamara Clatterbuck, Vanessa Munday, Al Sapienza, Yvette Cruise, John Henry Whitaker, Glenn Morshower, Brittany Murphy, George Murdock, Kathryn Joosten, Giancarlo Esposito, Ernest M. Garcia, David Dunard, Earl Carroll, Anjelica Huston, Sandra Taylor, George Aguilar, Frank Clem, Tom Noonan, Kari Wuhrer, Maria Stanton, Murphy Dunne, Sibel Ergener, Giovanni Ribisi, Dig Wayne, Simi Mehta, Annie Fitzgerald, Peter Spellos, Gordon Jennison Noice, Carmen Filpi, Margaret Chavez, L. Christian Mixon.

On this day in movie history - Saving Private Ryan (1998):

Saving Private Ryan

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Robert Rodat,

was released in the United States on July 24, 1998.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Harrison Young, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Harve Presnell, Bryan Cranston, David Wohl, Nathan Fillion, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Hurst, Max Martini, Leland Orser, Joerg Stadler, Dylan Bruno, Demetri Goritsas, Rolf Saxon, Corey Johnson, John Sharian, Glenn Wrage, Stéphane Cornicard, Dale Dye, Amanda Boxer, Kathleen Byron, Andrew Scott, Erich Redman.

Recommended reading - The Big Book of Noir (1998):

The Big Book of Noir

Published 1998.

Edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server, Martin H. Greenberg.

ISBN-10: 0786705744

ISBN-13: 978-0786705740

Description:

THE BIG BOOK OF NOIR

Noir is big. It was born in the hard-boiled detective story of Depression-era America. It flourished in the black-and-white B movies of the forties and fifties. And it’s been ingeniously reinvented in the film and fiction of the nineties.

Etched on our cultural memory by writers like Raymond Chandler, directors like Alfred Hitchcock, screen stars like Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Graham, noir is big.

Noir is big, so The Big Book of Noir jam-packs its pages with articles, interviews, excerpts, opinion, and gossip that chronicle its history and explore noir in all its forms: movies, detective stories, television and radio shows, comic books, and graphic novels.

The Big Book of Noir pays homage to the big names in noir – John Huston, Fritz Lang, Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Donald E. Westlake – as well as less familiar figures like Phil Karlson, Peter Rabe, Charles Williams, Harry Whittington, and Gil Brewer. It also includes two rare pieces: Stephen King writing about Jim Thompson in one and in the other Dulcy Brainard writing about Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, and Wendi Lee.

The evidence is in. The Big Book of Noir amasses fascinating and informative exhibits that amply illustrate one of America’s most significant cultural contributions.

Because noir is big.

On this day in movie history - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998):

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,

directed by Terry Gilliam,

written by Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni, Alex Cox and Tod Davies,

based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson,

was released in the United States on May 22, 1998.
Music by Ray Cooper.

Cast:
Johnny Depp, Benicio del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey, Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Katherine Helmond, Michael Jeter, Craig Bierko, Lyle Lovett, Flea, Larry Cedar, Tim Thomerson, Richard Riehle, Richard Portnow, Steve Schirripa, Larry Brandenburg, Jennifer Elise Cox, Kim Flowers, Tane McClure, Christopher Meloni, Harry Dean Stanton, Troy Evans, Debbie Reynolds, Jenette Goldstein, Verne Troyer, Gregory Itzin, Laraine Newman, Penn Jillette, Hunter S. Thompson.

On this day in music history - Land of Forever, by 2002 (1998):

The album Land of Forever,

by 2002,

was released on May 19, 1998.

On this day in movie history - Deep Impact (1998):

Deep Impact,

directed by Mimi Leder,

written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin,

was released in the United States on May 8, 1998.
Music by James Horner.

Cast:
Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Maximilian Schell, James Cromwell, Ron Eldard, Jon Favreau, Laura Innes, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Leelee Sobieski, Blair Underwood, Dougray Scott, Gary Werntz, Bruce Weitz, Betsy Brantley, O'Neal Compton, Rya Kihlstedt, Aleksandr Baluev, Caitlin Fein, Amanda Fein, Joe Urla, Una Damon, Mark Moses, Derek de Lint, Charles Dumas, Suzy Nakamura, Alimi Ballard, Charles Martin Smith, Katie Hagan, Denise Crosby, Frank Whiteman, Jason Dohring, Jasmine Harrison, Rahi Azizi, Hannah Leder, Tucker Smallwood, Merrin Dungey, Kimberly Huie, William Fair, Francis X. McCarthy, Ellen Bry, Lisa Ann Grant, Leslie Dilley, Concetta Tomei, Mike O'Malley, Kurtwood Smith, Gerry Griffin, Charlie Hartsock, Jennifer Jostyn, Don Handfield, Jason Frasca, Cynthia Ettinger, Benjamin Stralka, Stephanie Patton, Michael Winters, John Ducey, Christopher Darga, Joshua Colwell, Cornelius Lewis, Kevin LaRosa.