Read by John Lescault

Explorer, war hero, filmmaker, and cinema pioneer, Merian C. Cooper, the adventurer who created King Kong, was truly larger than life. Spellbound since boyhood by tales of life-threatening adventure and exotic locales, Cooper plunged into harrowing expeditions to places not yet civilized by modern man. One of the first bomber pilots during World War I, he would return to military service during World War II, flying missions into the heart of enemy territory. In addition to producing King Kong, he teamed Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers, arranged Katharine Hepburn's screen test, collaborated with John Ford on his greatest Westerns, and changed the face of film forever with Cinerama. Here is a stunning tribute to a two-fisted visionary who packed a multitude of lifetimes into eighty remarkable years and whose greatest desire was always to live dangerously. Introduction Chapter One - The Man Who Cheated Death Chapter Two - Tales of Exploration and Adventure Chapter Three - The Road to War Chapter Four - The Test of Steel and Blood Chapter Five - The Ceaușescu Squadron Chapter Six - Prisoner of War Chapter Seven - Mysterious Islands Chapter Eight - The Golden Prince Chapter Nine - The Last Landfall Chapter Ten - Journey to the Land of Grass and Life Chapter Eleven - The Jungle Story Chapter Twelve - Mr. Cooked and the Chang Chapter Thirteen - Wandering Souls Chapter Fourteen - Flying High Chapter Fifteen - Sigh for the Wilderness Chapter Sixteen - Creation Chapter Seventeen - The Dangerous Game Chapter Eighteen - The Homunculus Chapter Nineteen - Kong, Kong, Kong Chapter Twenty - The Executive Chapter Twenty-One - The Producer Chapter Twenty-Two - The Pioneer Chapter Twenty-Three - War Eagles Chapter Twenty-Four - Strike Force Chapter Twenty-Five - The Flying Tiger Chapter Twenty-Six - The Way of a Fighter Chapter Twenty-Seven - Cold Warrior Chapter Twenty-Eight - Argosy Chapter Twenty-Nine - This is Cinerama Chapter Thirty - The Return of King Kong Chapter Thirty-One - Journey to the Undiscovered Country Chapter Thirty-Two - Distant, Difficult, and Dangerous Chapter Thirty-Three - Mythic Vision "Merian C. Cooper's life reads like an adventure novel, as Mark Vaz proves perfectly with Living Dangerously." "Living Dangerously is a wonderful addition to the literature of movies and popular culture but, on a personal level, it allowed me to understand the man who made the movie that had such a powerful effect upon me…Now finally…the legend comes out of the shadows." "Mark Cotta Vaz's account of Cooper's adventures as soldier, prisoner of war, explorer, documentarian, mogul, and director is breathtaking. We all know the ape was big. But the man behind the ape? Even bigger." "Mark Cotta Vaz has drawn on an impressive amount of research…Cooper was lucky enough to live in an age when dreamers could inflict their fantasies upon the world, and smart enough to make indelible use of that privilege." "[A] boisterous, chest-thumping biography…Vaz captures the mythic magic of Cooper's cinematic creations…The charismatic Cooper, 'a man living his own movie,' is no longer an obscure, remote figure, thanks to Vaz's exhaustive research and skillful writing." "[Cooper's] life rivaled that of any cinematic hero…readers will enjoy the ride. Recommended for all cinema collections." "[A] readable, frequently gripping biography. An altogether appealing addition for film-history collections."

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