Customer Reviews

In All Sincerity, Peter Cushing

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If you are a Peter Cushing fan, then you MUST buy this book. It will give you a detailed history of Peter's life and take you on a journey you won't forget. Knowing Peter as I did, I know he would be proud that "In All Sincerity" was written about him.

A wonderful book, a wonderful title and a wonderful writer! Christpher Gullo has left us ALL Peter's legacy to be enjoyed for years to come, and for ALL new Peter Cushing fans.

Peter Cushing was my hero.

First things first: It's a pity that the author may lose a few sales seeing that Amazon - probably *the* major online venue for books - has listed this book under an incorrect title. The correct title is IN ALL SINCERITY... PETER CUSHING, not "In all sincerely" which doesn't even make any sense grammatically.

This is the first time I observed such a faux pas from Amazon and I hope this can be rectified as the book deserves to be easily found via a regular title search.

The title refers to the way Cushing always signed his letters or autographs. It's become such a trademark for him that if you ever come across a signed item from him that does not carry this sentence, it more than likely is not authentic.

Cushing was one of the most popular actors of the Horror Screen. Both admired by public and fellow colleagues as the "gentle man" of horrors, he was one of the last of a breed of courteous and ever polite people who seem to belong to a long forgotten era. There doesn't appear to be *anyone* who has even the slightest disparaging thing to say about him.

There are already a number of excellent books on Cushing on the market, but the angle of this one is that the author had approached as many of Cushing's fellow-actors and directors that he could get in contact with.

As such the book is told from the perspective of celebrities who knew him and freely shared their insights into this man's personality. His love for his wife Helen is well documented and runs like a thread through the whole book.

When I initially heard about the project I expected a thin booklet with a couple of quotations by the people interviewed. I couldn't believe it when I noticed that the final product covers more than 400 pages and as such is one of the most in depth books about the actor on the market. It is very well researched and the only thing annoying is the lack of an index, something that would have come in handy to find all the relevant quotations again. The actual interview passages are also a little bit too much in the simple form of "What was it like working with....?", but these are only minor niggles and shouldn't deter anyone from reading this book.

At the beginning of every chapter you will also find illustrations from comic artist Neil ("Black Forest"/"Wicked West") Vokes.

As the editor of "In All Sincerity. . . Peter Cushing," I am somewhat biased, but as a reader of fine biography, Christopher Gullo has done an amazing job with this book. His research is meticulous, as is his ability to tell a great story through the use of facts and data. His insight is deep yet constrained and reveals many ephemeral details that Cushing himself often glossed over or ignored due to his modesty and lack of self-aggrandizement. As his first book effort, Gullo has done himself and Peter Cushing a great service. Compared to other works on this subject, "In All Sincerity" epitomizes the nature of a true devotee and leaves the proverbial door wide open for more research and exploration on a fabulous actor and a true "Gentle Man" of the human race.

If you are a fan [like many of us] or just have a passing interest in one of the truly great actors of the past 60 years, then this book is a must. Although there have been plenty of recent books devoted to the life and times of Peter Cushing, this volume stands out due to the meticulous research by the author along with it's easy flowing style. A joy to read and a future source book for fans of the great man I'm sure - packed from cover to cover with fascinating details of the great man and his career. Well done Chris - step out!! 5 Stars!