Independent Ed What I Learned from My Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and the Twelve Best Days of My Life

"Every young, hungry, creative person should view this as a textbook.... It's a how-to." Matt Lauer, Today 

Independent Ed is Burns' inspirational speech to filmmakers wondering how to begin, or how to keep going. Newsday
 
Mr. Burns charm stems largely from his ability to play the nice, real guy the sort of guy who, despite landing roles in Hollywood films like Saving Private Ryan, gets excited when Al Pacino says hi to him in a restaurant. The Wall Street Journal, Weekend Journal
 
Independent Ed doubles as a handbook for aspiring filmmakers who need to stay afloat in an ever-mutating business. Metro New York
 
[Ed Burns] prides himself on his ability to pitch, making it  feel like I was telling a story while sitting at the bar with a beer in my hand. Fortunately, that s also the easy tone of his memoir, which focuses on his hardscrabble moviemaking career after his initial brush with success 20 years ago. Entertainment Weekly
 
His book is an attempt to dispel some of the myth surrounding filmmaking, and to explain it's like any other craft. A unique voice, thick skin, and a deep love of the work are required and while he makes clear they don't by themselves ensure success, he's used them to find his own fulfillment and to help keep the self-doubt that confronts any artist at bay. The Week
 
Chronicling the struggles and the long hours as well as the heady moments when months of planning and writing come to fruition, Independent Ed is a must-read for movie fans, film students, and everyone who loves a gripping tale about what it takes to forge your own path in work and life. Red Carpet Crash