Casablanca; The Maltese Falcon; High Sierra; The Big Sleep; The African Queen; Key Largo: Even the names of Humphrey Bogart's films evoke the power of his portrayals. Yet, as veteran film biographer Stefan Kanfer demonstrates in Tough Without A Gun, Bogart hardly seemed a likely candidate for Tinseltown glory. Indeed, his grim, scarred visage; his peculiar lisp and guarded body language kept him from stage and film stardom for two decades. (He owed his big break to a drinking partner.) This authoritative biography enables us to re-immerse ourselves in the strange mystique of a Hollywood icon. Now in trade paperback and NOOK Book. (P.S. Kanfer's cinema credentials are immaculate. He has authored biographies of Marlon Brando, Lucille Ball, and Groucho Marx.)— Edward Ash-Milby