Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon

By Greg Laurie and Marshall Terrill

Book Overview

An intimate look at movie star Steve McQueen's reckless life of fast cars, women, and drugs all the way up to his dramatic life-change and terminal cancer diagnosis.

Join Greg Laurie as he takes a cross-country drive in his 1968 Highland Green Ford Mustang 390 GT through the canyons of Malibu, the alleys of Hollywood, the wide and open roads of the Midwest, and the streets of New York as he traces the woolly geography of actor Steve McQueen's life, relationships, career, and spiritual journey. This iconic muscle car was the vehicle McQueen drove in his most raucous and enduring film, Bullitt.

In the 1960s, McQueen was, according to box office receipts, the biggest movie star of his generation and one of the coolest men to ever walk the planet. Greg Laurie was a teen at the time and an ardent fan of "The King of Cool," first mesmerized by McQueen in 1963's The Great Escape. Like millions of cinema fans, Greg developed a lifelong fascination with the actor. Now he has a chance to tell McQueen's story.

McQueen was a complex, contradictory man who lived the same way he drove his motorcycles and cars: fearlessly, ruthlessly, and at top speed. After a lifetime of fast cars, women, and drugs, McQueen took a surprising detour.

In this book, Laurie thoughtfully interviews Steve McQueen's friends, co-stars, associates, widow, and pastor to tell of the dramatic life-change for the actor in the spring of 1979--six months before McQueen was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

What were the critical steps that led McQueen to make such a life-altering decision? Perhaps more importantly, why is that part of his story so rarely told? This book answers these questions.

Greg Laurie will follow the seeds of Christianity that were sown throughout McQueen's improbable life where a Light finally shone into the darkness of his troubled life. These seeds miraculously germinated, allowing McQueen to see that redemption through Jesus Christ is a lasting truth more glittering and real than any magic of the entertainment industry.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310356156
• ISBN13: 9780310356158
• Release Date: May 2019
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Nice story

Before reading this book, I knew hardly anything about Steve. Greg made the story of Steve's life enjoyable to read as he zigzagged around the US, tracking the life of the big time movie star with many different interviews with friends, family, and acquaintances of Steve. I also liked how Greg weaved in his story with Steve, since they both had parallels in their lives. Fortunately both turned their lives to Christ.

Must Read

A great read for Steve McQueen fans. Pastor Laurie's research and in depth interviews with Steve's wife and friends and his path to salvation is carved out marvelously in this book.