The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films was written by Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn and my revised edition was published in 2007. I am a big fan of these illustrated coffee table film books (as my creaking bookshelves will testify) and although this one doesn't quite sit at the top table of ones I have it's pretty good and a nice purchase for anyone interested in Hammer films. While the book is probably not completely comprehensive (it tends to focus more on the colour Gothic era of Hammer more than some of the b/w thrillers they were responsible for) it does do a good job in conveying the broad sweep of the Hammer story. Inbetween a couple of pages of  Read the complete review

For anyone of a certain age who can remember the British films of the 60's and 70's one British film studio above all others will stand out... Hammer. It could be argued that in this period of turbulence for the British film industry threatened as it was by the onslaught of American imports Hammer Studios almost single handedly kept the British Film industry alive and brought a distinct type of British film to an international audience. The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes gives us a fascinating account of how the Hammer studios began in the pre-war era and how they grew to become the leading Horror film ...  Read the complete review