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Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope, and Happiness at America's Most Famous Steps by Michael Vitez, Tom Gralish

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Two extraordinarily talented journalists, Michael Vitez and Tom Gralish, have captured this uniquely American phenomenon with whimsy, poignancy, and utter charm.-John Grogan, author of Marley & Me Rocky Stories captures the sprawling complexity of life. It's a delight.-Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down A book that is an absolute joy and an absolute blast and quintessentially American in its hopes and dreams and sweetness.-Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights and A Prayer for the City Pulitzer Prize-winners Michael Vitez and Tom Gralish of the Philadelphia Inquirer spent a year visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art to capture the stories of Rocky runners, who come from all over the world to run up America's most famous steps-just as Sylvester Stallone did in Rocky. People make the pilgrimage to mark a new beginning, to seek inspiration, to celebrate an accomplishment, to find the perfect backdrop for romance, or simply because they love the movie. As one runner says, It gives you the feeling that anything is possible. The authors have uncovered an enduring cultural phenomenon, one that centers on Philadelphia, and yet, as Michael Vitez writes in his introduction, is a true American, and even international, rite of passage. The book includes fifty-two profiles and one hundred color photographs, together with a foreword by Sylvester Stallone, and interviews with Rocky's Academy Award-winning director John G. Avildsen, composer Bill Conti, and cameraman Garrett Brown. In his foreword, Sylvester Stallone sums up his thoughts on the phenomenon: You can't borrow Superman's cape. You can't use the Jedi laser sword. But the steps are there. The steps are accessible. And standing up there, you kind of have a piece of the Rocky pie. [C]harming photo essay of people who retraced Rocky's steps and felt their own exhilaration doing it.-San Francisco Chronicle The extent to which the Rocky myth-that of the perennial loser who proves he's 'not just another bum from the neighborhood'-has resonated is documented in this winning book.-Sports Illustrated I've only skimmed it, and already I'm in love with the book Rocky Stories. (It had me at the title.)...It may sound like a movie tie-in, but it's not. It's just a fascinating testament to how the words 'Rocky' and 'underdog' are still interchangeable 30 years after the film's release.-Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch column The Rocky steps have become a special place for tourists and Philadelphians alike. Virtually everyone who lives here or comes here wants to say that they ran up the Rocky steps and saw the incredible view down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. When I was Mayor, the city planned 24 hours of millennium celebrations, one each hour. Of course we had to kick it off at the Rocky steps and we did so with 2,000 people all dressed like Rocky running up the steps at the same time. It was awesome.-Former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell Michael Vitez has been a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1985. For his series on end-of-life issues, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism. Tom Gralish has been at the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1983, working as both an editor and photographer. For his photo essay on the homeless, he won both the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. Editorial Reviews Praise for Rocky Stories Two extraordinarily talented journalists, Michael Vitez and Tom Gralish, have captured this uniquely American phenomenon with whimsy, poignancy, and utter charm.-John Grogan, author of Marley & Me Rocky Stories captures the sprawling complexity of life. It's a delight.-Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down A book that is an absolute joy and an absolute blast and quintessentially American in its hopes and dreams and sweetness.-Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights and A Prayer for the City [C]harming photo essay of people who retraced Rocky's steps and felt their own exhilaration doing it.-San Francisco Chronicle The extent to which the Rocky myth-that of the perennial loser who proves he's 'not just another bum from the neighborhood'-has resonated is documented in this winning book.-Sports Illustrated I've only skimmed it, and already I'm in love with the book Rocky Stories. (It had me at the title.)...It may sound like a movie tie-in, but it's not. It's just a fascinating testament to how the words 'Rocky' and 'underdog' are still interchangeable 30 years after the film's release.-Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch column The Rocky steps have become a special place for tourists and Philadelphians alike. Virtually everyone who lives here or comes here wants to say that they ran up the Rocky steps and saw the incredible view down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. When I was Mayor, the city planned 24 hours of millennium celebrations, one each hour. Of course we had to kick it off at the Rocky steps and we did so with 2,000 people all dressed like Rocky running up the steps at the same time. It was awesome.-Former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell - From the Publisher
Publication Details

Title: Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope, and Happiness at America's Most Famous Steps

Author(s):

  • Michael Vitez
  • Tom Gralish

Illustrator:

Binding: Paperback

Published by: Paul Dry Books, Incorporated: , 2006

Edition:

ISBN: 9781589880290 | 1589880293

144 pages. 8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)

  • ENG- English
Book Condition: Very Good
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What does the Book Condition Very Good mean? Good? Fair?
See our descriptions of book descriptions here: book's conditions.
What does ffep stand for?
Front-facing endpaper - the first page of a book inside the cover. This page is typically blank. Often people will write their name on this page at the top, or a gift message - which is why you will see ‘owner’s name on ffep’ in some of our book descriptions.
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Dust Jacket - the outer paper wrapping on a hardback book. If we mention a book is ’No dj’ this means it should have a dust jacket but it is missing.
What is foxing?
Foxing is an age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old books. The causes of foxing are not well understood, but high humidity may contribute to to foxing. 
Foxing - Wikipedia
What is tanning?
Age tanning, or browning, occurs over time on the pages of books. This process can show up on just the edges of pages, when this occurs it is sometimes referred to as "edge tanning." This kind of deterioration is commonly seen in books printed before the advent of acid-free paper in the 1980s.
r/BookCollecting - Is this mold or normal aging for a well used book?
 
Where do you get your books from?
We buy books from the public and also take donations. We travel regularly around the Wellington/Manawatu region, and will go further afield to collect larger quantities in our big van. We also like to go to book fairs and other charity events and buy books that catch our eye.
Are your photos of the actual books being sold?
It depends - we have sometimes used stock images for very common books but are in the process of photographing our entire inventory. This will take awhile to finish! If we have 10 copies of the Da Vinci code all in Very Good condition, we will just photograph one and use that to represent all 10 in stock. However if the next copy of worn and only in Fair condition, we will photograph that separately and create a new listing for it.
What is the most expensive book you have sold?
To date it was a first edition first printing copy of JRR Tolkien’s The Two Towers. It was in very poor condition but still was worth over NZ$1000.
What is your favourite book to sell?
I love seeing anything written by Stephen King - they just do not stay in our inventory for very long before someone spots it and buys it. And Alison Holst’s book on muffins will not stay in inventory very long either - too cheap at $7 maybe?
Why do you also sell mailing supplies?
We had a lot of trouble sourcing the right sort of bubble mailer to send our books out in, and eventually found a supplier of high quality mailers in China to import them from. We figured other sellers of small items in New Zealand might like to also use them.
Are you open to the public?
Unfortunately our books are all stored in a large warehouse in boxes so they are not easily browsable. The SKU number for a book tells us where to find it in the warehouse, but there is absolutely no order to where things are stored! We do allow pickups so if you find what you like online you can order it and drop in to pick up p, saving on shipping.

 

New Zealand Delivery

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  • Monday - Friday: 9am-5pm
  • 35 Nathan Terrace, Shannon NZ

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Rates

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Please allow up to 5 working days for your order to arrive within New Zealand before contacting us about a late delivery. We use NZ Post and the tracking details will be emailed to you as soon as they become available. There may be some courier delays that are out of our control. 

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We currently ship to Australia and a range of international locations including: Belgium, Canada, China, Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong SAR, Thailand,  Philippines, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden & Singapore. If your country is not listed, we may not be able to ship to you, or may only offer a quoting shipping option, please contact us if you are unsure.

International orders normally arrive within 2-4 weeks of shipping. Please note that these orders need to pass through the customs office in your country before it will be released for final delivery, which can occasionally cause additional delays. Once an order leaves our warehouse, carrier shipping delays may occur due to factors outside our control. We, unfortunately, can’t control how quickly an order arrives once it has left our warehouse. Contacting the carrier is the best way to get more insight into your package’s location and estimated delivery date.

  • Global Standard 1 Book Rate: $37 + $10 for every extra book up to 20kg
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Contact Details

  • Trade Name: Book Express Ltd
  • Phone Number: (+64) 22 852 6879
  • Email: sales@bookexpress.co.nz
  • Address: 35 Nathan Terrace, Shannon, 4821, New Zealand.
  • GST Number: 103320957 - We are registered for GST in New Zealand
  • NZBN: 9429031911290

       

      We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.

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