Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Peter Fonda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

In a rip-roaring ride through the '60s and up to the present day, Peter Fonda, son of Henry, brother of Jane, father of Bridget, boldly recalls his turbulent life, sharing with readers for the first time the true stories behind the legends, famous and infamous, surrounding himself and his family. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The release of Fonda's autobiography is good timing. Currently riding the crest of his award-winning performance in Ulee's Gold, the author reminds us that he has run the gamut from fame to notoriety and back again. Lionized as the rebel loved by a generation in Easy Rider, Fonda morphed into the antiestablishment figure Hollywood loved to hate, an anachronism immersed in hippie hedonism. He milks the "little boy in his father's shadow" motif but candidly explores his relationship with the irascible Henry, sweetly reflects on his childhood years, recalls (doomed) encounters with authority figures, and thoughtfully considers domestic bliss. His account of the years spent jet-setting, careering about Europe in fancy cars, and sailing on the Tatoosh with cast and crew for various film projects is most riveting. A central theme: did Fonda behave the way he did because of or despite his ancestry? Recommended for general collections.?Jayne Plymale, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Peter Fonda offers film fans three Hollywood stories in one notably readable volume, what with father Henry and sister Jane figuring prominently in his life story. Highlights include the inevitable coverage of Easy Rider ("Dennis Hopper is still insisting that he alone wrote the screenplay" and is suing Fonda for "millions and millions of dollars"); tales of growing up in Hollywood; and the fateful year of 1965 when Fonda's best friend shot himself, his father married for the fifth time, Jane married sleazy French filmmaker Roger Vadim, and he met and took acid with the Beatles. He also found time to write Easy Rider, hobnob with Mick Jagger and assorted luminary lounge lizards, and take in a Salvador Dali "happening" (what we now call "performance art"). Having now passed his fiftieth birthday, Fonda has come to terms with his seemingly distant father. He writes that something happened to Henry "that made him very quiet, very shy, and he let those qualities define his personality." Father and son, and Jane before she retired to her full-time role as Mrs. Ted Turner, all appeared in memorable films (for Peter's sake, who could forget classic trash like The Wild Angels and that hyperventilating cautionary tale, The Trip?). That kind of fame adds allure to an informative, enjoyable inside perspective on an acting family whose accumulated accomplishments rival those of the Barrymores. Mike Tribby

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 498 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Books; 1st edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786861118
• ISBN-13: 978-0786861118
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,616,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE MANY SIDED PETER, March 10, 2000

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir (Paperback)

I liked the writing, and more important, liked Peter. I read the Customer reviews and agree there could be less yachting, but as one reviewer said,"it's his book." Peter is a charmer, and his obvious love and sensitivity toward women is well-written and described. Nowadays, he would be called a "hyper-active" child, no doubt suffering from ADD. A gradually disappearing mother and a cold, stern father were devastating to such a sensitive child. As a reader, I tried to be empathetic with Peter always resorting to tears. (In my family, you die before you cry!)

Remember all the times you have been humiliated and later you think "what I shoulda said--" The Germans call this "the wit of the stairway" meaning your swift retorts when it is long over. I think Peter recalled many incidents the way he'd have LIKED them to turn out, but the truth might be a little different. But hey, it's his book. I don't doubt for a minute, he is very impulsive, feisty, loud and belligerent when the mood, the drugs, the drink, whatever are upon him. I remember I heard Peter had taken to roaring past his sister's home on his motorcycle after she married Tom Hayden, screaming what a worthless hanger on Hayden was; who couldn't afford breakfast unless Jane bought it for him, etc., etc. I don't know whether this is true or not, but after reading the book, I certainly believe Peter is capable of such behavior.

I was surprised he never mentioned his father's last film "On Golden Pond" which his sister Jane worked so hard to put together and Henry won an Academy Award. I don't know if Jane exercised a heavy editorial hand on his writing, or Peter didn't want her overshadowing him. I doubt the last because with all Peter's problems, low self-esteem does not seem a part of him. And it shouldn't be. He is a brilliant man and writer. It is definitely wrong to say he was gypped in family brains dept. He was not as visible as sis and dad, but he is strictly A-list.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What he doesn't say tells the best story, December 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book and found it to be a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous Fonda family. I agree that Peter contradicts himself often in this book by telling us the things he resents about his relationship with his father, then turning around and doing the same things to his own family. This is precisely _what_ makes this book interesting. Abused becomes abuser. Therapists will tell you that happens all the time. Here we get to see it spelled out in gory detail. Fascinating reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it anyway!!, September 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir (Hardcover)

Self-serving? You bet. Self-centered? Uh huh. But also very fun! To all the others: You get over it! This was just one fun read. He was a bad husband/father/son/etc.!!! And I guess I just find it funny that he could be so--naive?--about it. He says in the book, often, that he is like an 8 year old child, and you know what? That is right on target. He responds to life like an 8 year old, and I guess I just find that very amusing. Spoiled child? Yes! Hedonistic? Yes! But I also enjoyed every minute of reading about the stuff he experienced (who wouldn't who has come of age in the sixties?) Full of gossip, often very sad, but also full of good humor and a revelry for LIFE that I find contagious.