-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
The Story of Scarface
by Glenn Kenny
The behind-the-scenes story of the iconic film, featuring new interviews with the cast and crew.
An unflinching confrontation of humanity's dark side, Brian De Palma's crime drama film Scarface gave rise to a cultural revolution upon its release in 1983. Its impact was unprecedented, making globe-spanning waves as a defining portrait of the gritty Miami street life. From Al Pacino's masterful characterization of Tony Montana to the iconic "Say hello to my little friend," Scarface maintains its reputation as an unwavering game changer in cult classic cinema.
With brand-new interviews and untold stories of the film's production, longtime film critic Glenn Kenny takes us on an unparalleled journey through the making of American depictions of crime. The World Is Yours highlights the influential characters and themes within Scarface, reflecting on how its storied legacy played such a major role in American culture.
"This meticulous examination of Scarface is a wildly enjoyable ride… Kenny patiently outlines every moviemaking piece and shows how it fits in the bloody, brilliant Scarface puzzle." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Comprehensive, energetically written… Scarface fans should be sure to read this absolutely necessary book, and so should readers who enjoy a good book about moviemaking, even if they haven't seen this particular film." —Booklist
"Kenny provides a discerning inquiry into Scarface's legacy, crediting the film's fatalism and extravagance with making it a touchstone in hip-hop music and offering a neutral survey of criticism that the movie glorifies violence. Readers will be spellbound." —Publishers Weekly
"Glenn Kenny is not merely a tremendously skilled writer, he is, more importantly, an interesting one… The wild, weird world of film and filmmaking is where and what he lives and breathes." —Todd Hanson, The Onion, Aqua Teen Hunger Force
This information about The World Is Yours was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Glenn Kenny is a long time film critic based in New York. He has written for publications such as Film Comment, the Village Voice, and Rolling Stone and contributes film reviews to the New York Times and RogerEbert.com. He teaches film at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He is the author of Robert De Niro: Anatomy of an Actor and has appeared in films such as Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience and Ricky D'Angelo's The Sky Is Clear and Blue Today.
If you liked The World Is Yours, try these:
by Jennine Capó. Crucet
Published 2025
Scarface meets Moby Dick in this groundbreaking, darkly comic novel about a young man's attempt to capitalize on his mother's murky legacy—a story steeped in Miami's marvelous and sinister magic.
by Charles Burns
Published 2024
The beloved and award-winning author of Black Hole's haunting and visually arresting story of an artist's obsessions, and the value and cost of pushing the boundaries of creativity.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
by Hank Green
Published 2019
A sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she's part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined.
We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
