

Created by Matt Zoller Seitz
Directed by Judith Carter
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
Haruki Murakami
Photo by Valentina Ivanova on Unsplash
This 2-book set pairs up two richly detailed companions to the classic British TV series The Prisoner, linked by a single filmmaker: Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid & Nancy, Walker). Cox wrote the introduction to The Prisoner Handbook and eventually went on to write a whole other book about The Prisoner, subtitled I Am (Not) a Number. Additional information is below.
Books are used but in good to excellent condition, wrapped back-to-back in snugly taped protective sleeves.
About The Prisoner Handbook: Ever since it debuted in the United Kingdom in 1967, The Prisoner has puzzled and intrigued millions of viewers. Only 17 episodes were originally made, and each is riddled with unanswered questions and unsolved puzzles. The series captured the imagination as few programs have done before or since, and became a true television phenomenon. The Prisoner's unique appeal and history are examined in a fully updated edition with a previously unpublished information. Featuring interviews with Patrick McGoohan, Kenneth Griffith, Alexis Kanner, and Anton Rogers, this essential resource by The Guardian contributor Steven Paul Davies reveals new information about the series, the characters portrayed, the cast themselves, and what it was really like during production. The introduction is by Alex Cox, the director of Repo Man and Sid & Nancy, an obsessive fan, and the subject of Davies' book Alex Cox: Film Anarchist.
About I Am (Not) a Number: Decoding the Prisoner: From the back cover: "This book by Alex Cox delves into the cult TV series, offering a unique interpretation of its complex themes and characters. Forget simple labels like "surreal" or "Kafkaesque"; Cox argues that The Prisoner provides concrete answers to its enduring questions.Explore the series episode by episode, following the original production order to uncover hidden meanings and connections. Discover the truth behind Number 6, The Village, and the enigmatic Number 1. This book is for fans of The Prisoner, those fascinated by Cold War intrigue, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this groundbreaking television masterpiece."
Publication information:
The Prisoner Handbook:
I Am (Not) a Number:
MZS.Press is the online arts bookstore founded by author, critic, and filmmaker Matt Zoller Seitz and Directed by Judith Carter. It offers new, used, signed, collectible, and rare books on film, TV, music, photography, and the visual arts. The store was launched in 2019 on a different platform and has expanded to incorporate arts books published by MZSPress's private imprint: titles currently include Seitz's The Deadwood Bible: A Lie Agreed Upon and Dreams of Deadwood, about the HBO Western, and Walter Chaw's A Walter Hill Film.
Our deepest wish is to promote, encourage, and distribute work by small presses, academic presses, and individuals. Extraordinary work tends to get swallowed up on giant platforms like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The titles featured here are personally selected by a group of curators and advisors, including Seitz and an array of critics, artists, journalists, educators, publishers, and arts mavens who are known for their ability to suss out what Seitz's jazz musician dad liked to call "the good sh*t."
In Honor of the greatest auteur of our time, Judith is using one of her favorite quotes by him.
"Every day, once a day, give yourself a present"
David Lynch (January 20, 1946-January 15, 2025)
Matt Zoller Seitz
Critic, Author, Filmmaker, MZS Press Creator
Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large and film critic of RogerEbert.com; Features Writer for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, Contributing Writer for D Magazine and Texas Highways as well as finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism. His writing on film and TV has appeared in Sight and Sound, The New York Times, Salon.com, The New Republic and Rolling Stone. Seitz is the founder and original editor of the influential film blog The House Next Door, now a part of Slant Magazine.
Seitz has written, narrated, edited or produced over a hundred hours’ worth of video essays about cinema history and style for The Museum of the Moving Image, Salon.com and Vulture, among other outlets such as Texas Highways and AARP. His five-part 2009 video essay Wes Anderson: The Substance of Style was spun off into the hardcover book The Wes Anderson Collection. This book and its follow-up, The Wes Anderson Collection: Grand Budapest Hotel were New York Times bestsellers.
Other Seitz books include the New York Times bestsellers The Sopranos Sessions and Mad Men Carousel; TV (The Book), The Deadwood Bible: A Lie Agreed Upon, The Wes Anderson Collection: The French Dispatch and the new The Wes Anderson Collection: Asteroid City. He is also an interviewer, moderator, and film programmer who has curated and hosted film and TV presentations for the Museum of the Moving Image, IFC Center, San Francisco's Roxie Cinema, and other venues. In October 2024 he brought the legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone back to Dallas for a historic return to the city and the Texas Theatre, considered the biggest film event of Dallas in 2024 by Dallas Observer!
Judith Carter was in the Upscale and Luxury Hospitality Industry for most of her life. In 2004 she had a beautiful baby boy with Special Needs and put the pause on her career until 2017 to dedicate herself to him and then others, assisting and volunteering as a legal advocate ensuring the best medical care, evaluations and educations for Special Needs children and their families.
Matt and Judith were family friends for over 20 years. She was there with her family in support when his wife Jen passed away suddenly in 2006. Then just 6 weeks later while Matt was in Dallas; he and his Father, Dave, and Step-Mother, Genie, were there as support, when Judith was alone and her son received the first of many diagnoses that changed the trajectory of their lives. So it made sense in the turbulent year of 2020, Matt asked Judith to take over running the online store that has become MZS.press. The rest as they say is, "Their"-story.