Kevin Kelly's True Films 2.0

As a contributor to The Whole Earth Catalog in the early seventies, and as founding editor of WIRED Magazine, Kevin Kelly has been a collector of the cool and the esoteric. We continue to glean precious nuggets from his current on-line catalog, Cool Tools.

True Films 2.0 is the second version of Kevin's reviews of the best documentaries and "factuals" available. This time he reviews 150 of the best true films and list two dozen others which he deems only "good."

For each film Kevin presents 4 or 5 screen shots, and captions, snagged from the film to give you some idea of their texture.

Kevin designed the book in color, but you can buy a black and white softcover version from Lulu.com, where it is the cheapest, or for a bit more from Amazon, where it is the easiest to order. Or you can buy a luxurious 156-page full color softcover version from Lulu. Or you can buy a dirt cheap color version as a PDF download, and get it instantly. In a few weeks you'll be able to get versions for e-book readers and PDAs.

  • PDF Download [ $2 via PayPal | $1.88 via Lulu ]
  • Black and white softcover book: $10 [ via Lulu ]
  • Color softcover book: $30 [ via Lulu ]
Visit the official True Films website to see all of Kevin Kelly's reviews at www.truefilms.com.

From Kevin Kelly:

Now here is the thing. In each mode, I make exactly the same profit: $1.50 per book. In an experiment in new publishing I have priced each version $1.50 above my costs. So the different prices merely reflect the different costs of that venue. This means I don't care which edition you choose! Whether you buy the $2 PDF version, or the $30 color Lulu print version, or order from Amazon, I make exactly the same $1.50 per book. As I add other options for purchase the same process will apply: my total markup will be $1.50 above my costs.
Do I need to mention there is the free website version? Not as handy as a book, but updated with my latest additional reviews. However, I'm partial to the book version. It is a great browse, very concentrated and accessible and as it says on the cover "Perfect for Netflix."

-- KK

peterdurand

Peter Durand is an artist, educator & visual facilitator based in Houston, Texas.

He is the founder of Alphachimp LLC, a visual facilitation company that helps clients understand and communicate complex systems visually. He is a leader in graphic facilitation and a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.