Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean

by Donald Spoto

Book Overview

This authoritative biography of film icon James Dean offers a clear-eyed look at the actor who crossed America's cinematic landscape with the brilliance and brevity of a meteor. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060176563
• ISBN13: 9780060176563
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A closer look at the lonely rebel

Supports info on why James Dean did the things he did. And what his emotions were like, and why he was bisexual. I don't want to spoil it though. I'll just say that of the four bio's I read on James Dean (the others being "Boulivard of Broken Dreams," "The Death of James Dean," & "James Dean: a biography by Val Holly") this is the best one so far.

Jimmy Dean as a human-man!

This is the best book out there on the life of James Byron Dean. It is not only concerned with the things that he did, but whom he affected personally, and the psychological reasoning behind the actions of this tortured genious. This book leaves no loose-ends untied in it's deconstruction of an icon, so that we can better understand Jimmy the man. This wonderfull book makes you feel as though you know James Dean for who he really was, and not for "whatever people wanted him to be". James B. Dean was complicated, tortured, conflicted and was a bottomless well for everyone's love. This James Dean is both more heroic and tragic than the Studios made him out to be, he is a confused, self-conscious boy. This is the real James Dean. Other attempts at recollecting his life are either glorified, or romanticized. Read this book, if you are a real fan of James Dean the person, not James Dean the legend.

Rebel : The Life and Legend of James Dean

Of the 18 books I have read on James Dean, this is one of my favorite. Spoto is interested in exploring the psychological reasons for Dean's behavior, both positive and negative. He constantly makes reference to the abandonment issues of Dean's childhood as the answer for his every move as an adult.

A GREAT READ

Don't let others dismay you from getting this book. In my opinion, it's a very good read that's full of wonderful information on James Dean. From his days at school (includes report card grades) to his last day (a very descriptive outline of his last day). The book is very well-written and it's even better that Spoto prefers to call Dean "Jimmy" as many friends did. I recommend this book whole-heartedly and you'll be missing something if you don't read it.