Hype & Glory: William Goldman's Account of Judging Miss America and the Cannes Film Festival in the Same Year

Quick quiz: Who is the only person to ever be a judge at the Miss America pageant and a judge at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year? If you said David Hasselhoff, I'm sorry but you're wrong. No, the answer is none other than the author of The Princess Bride, William Goldman. Not being one to pass up a golden opportunity that falls into your lap, William Goldman took advantage and produced a memorable book that gives a rare glimpse into the machinations, politics and backstabbing that takes place during two of the most famous judgments on the human façade in history.

The book William Goldman produced is titled, appropriately and punnily enough, Hype & Glory The book is another example of the magnificent deadpan wit that makes Goldman one of the most entertaining writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. Like most of the Goldman's best stuff, there are points in Hype & Glory at which the reader cannot help but laugh out loud. Goldman has an uncanny ability to observe what is taking place around him and then transform those observations into humorous anecdotes. Even more amazing is how he can turn episodes that illuminate the darker side of celebrity into such lighthearted romps.