Alec Guinness: A Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I first met Alec Guinness in the spring of 1989..." (more)
Key Phrases: positively last appearance, mimetic desire, complicated person, Alec Guinness, Old Vic, New York (more...)

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Product Description

The late Sir Alec Guinness, one of the great British actors of the 20th Century along with his fellow knights Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, was known for his ability to slip, chameleon-like, into his roles. His most mmemorable included DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, Obi-Wan Kenobi in STAR WARS, George Smiley in the television adaptation of John Le Carre's SMILEY'S PEOPLE and his Oscar-winning performance in BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. Known, but not known, for despite being a familiar face throughout the world from his acting and memoirs, Guiness remained an enigmatic, complex man, careful throughout his life to show little of his true self. Until now. For the first time, Garry O'Connor is able to reveal the full story, including how Guinness was shaped by his illegitimacy, his strained relationship with is mother, and his search for certainties through the Roman Catholic Church. Backed by impeccable research, including interviews with Guinness himself, and containing startling new information about his childhood, his secret relationships and the fears that haunted him, the book is a portrait of the true, complicated man behind the idelible performances.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 530 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books (October 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557835748
• ISBN-13: 978-1557835741
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,584,481 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Poor, August 1, 2004

By	aurora04 (California) - See all my reviews

This book is long on (basically negative) innuendo and the author's unsubstantiated (and uninteresting) opinions; short on substance or meaningful insights. It rambles. The reader is also treated to plenty of low grade psychobabble. It's a posthumous hatchet-job with lots of typos. No wonder Sir Alec wouldn't have anything to do with the author when approached for an interview.