Read In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir

In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir

Charles Higham

4.9/5 (10942 ratings)

Description:An important segment of our film list the last several years has focused on biographies and memoirs of filmmakers. Although we are planning to redevelop a more scholarly segment (most likely focused on French and European film, tied to the success of Neupert's study of French new wave cinema) these memoirs have links to some of our other core lists, including, obviously, our strong autobiography list. Higham's memoir would, in fact, have strong links to three of our lists--film, memoir, and the Living Out series--and in that sense it qualifies as a book we could market well, and in tandem with other titles. But that alone wouldn't justify publishing the book. As Patrick McGilligan (our film series editor) notes in his support statement for the book, Higham is an important film writer who worked as a correspondent for the New York Times and then as a best-selling, pioneering film biographer. That life devoted to reporting on Hollywood affords Higham a unique perch, and perspective, and while some of the stories he shares in this memoir make for simply good anecdotes (on everyone from Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant to Mae West and Lucille Ball) others illuminate Hollywood history, and the evolution of filmmaking (for every Dietrich anecdote there is a telling insight into Pauline Kael, Muriel Spark and a range of directors, including Josef von Sternberg, Alfed Hitchock, Walt Disney). Oddly David Thomson, the only one of the three reviewers who does not rate the book as offering a solid or major contribution to the field, calls the book a generous page-turner and a valuable portrait of changing times. Todd McCarthy, who rates the book as a major contribution, sees it as something much more--a film historian's view of Hollywood that significantly deepens our understanding of cinema. McCarthy also underscores the memoir's other important feature. As the story of a gay man slowly coming into his own, Myself Among Others offers a telling odyssey of gay life in Hollywood, beginning with a time when being closeted was a necessity. The result is an important addition to our list of gay memoirs. Several reviewers commented on the book's lengthy pre-Hollywood chapters, which Higham has promised to edit down, and on the need to delete stories which seem motivated by a desire to settle personal scores (again Higham has agreed to delete those anecdotes and we have discussed those in detail). Those deletions, already in progress and near completion, will make an already strong book stronger. While it's hard to predict the market, a book by a noted film biographer and historian, that tells so much of the backstory of Hollywood, reveals the gay underground life and subculture in Hollywood, and offers a compelling coming of age story, should appeal to a range of readers, not least of them, as McCarthy notes, smart, sophisticated readers.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir. To get started finding In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 318

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press

Release: 2009

ISBN: 029923343X

Description: An important segment of our film list the last several years has focused on biographies and memoirs of filmmakers. Although we are planning to redevelop a more scholarly segment (most likely focused on French and European film, tied to the success of Neupert's study of French new wave cinema) these memoirs have links to some of our other core lists, including, obviously, our strong autobiography list. Higham's memoir would, in fact, have strong links to three of our lists--film, memoir, and the Living Out series--and in that sense it qualifies as a book we could market well, and in tandem with other titles. But that alone wouldn't justify publishing the book. As Patrick McGilligan (our film series editor) notes in his support statement for the book, Higham is an important film writer who worked as a correspondent for the New York Times and then as a best-selling, pioneering film biographer. That life devoted to reporting on Hollywood affords Higham a unique perch, and perspective, and while some of the stories he shares in this memoir make for simply good anecdotes (on everyone from Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant to Mae West and Lucille Ball) others illuminate Hollywood history, and the evolution of filmmaking (for every Dietrich anecdote there is a telling insight into Pauline Kael, Muriel Spark and a range of directors, including Josef von Sternberg, Alfed Hitchock, Walt Disney). Oddly David Thomson, the only one of the three reviewers who does not rate the book as offering a solid or major contribution to the field, calls the book a generous page-turner and a valuable portrait of changing times. Todd McCarthy, who rates the book as a major contribution, sees it as something much more--a film historian's view of Hollywood that significantly deepens our understanding of cinema. McCarthy also underscores the memoir's other important feature. As the story of a gay man slowly coming into his own, Myself Among Others offers a telling odyssey of gay life in Hollywood, beginning with a time when being closeted was a necessity. The result is an important addition to our list of gay memoirs. Several reviewers commented on the book's lengthy pre-Hollywood chapters, which Higham has promised to edit down, and on the need to delete stories which seem motivated by a desire to settle personal scores (again Higham has agreed to delete those anecdotes and we have discussed those in detail). Those deletions, already in progress and near completion, will make an already strong book stronger. While it's hard to predict the market, a book by a noted film biographer and historian, that tells so much of the backstory of Hollywood, reveals the gay underground life and subculture in Hollywood, and offers a compelling coming of age story, should appeal to a range of readers, not least of them, as McCarthy notes, smart, sophisticated readers.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir. To get started finding In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir

In and Out of Hollywood: A Biographer's Memoir

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