Endless Highway [Hardcover]

David Carradine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1995

This is a softcover release.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

David is the Carradine brother who played Woody Guthrie in the movies, not to be confused with another one, Keith, who played Will Rogers on Broadway. Their father was character actor John Carradine, and David Carradine says they were once considered princes of Hollywood. His autobiography is breezy and anecdotal and so good-natured?even when blaming everyone else for all its author's failures?that only toward the end does it come through as the dreary catalogue of human disaster it actually is. Carradine tried to kill himself when he was five. Later, his drunken mother, confusing him with his long-departed father, tried to seduce him. Schooling consisted of one expulsion after another. The high point of his acting career came in the early 1970s with Kung Fu, a popular TV series. As recorded here, the rest of his adult life is remembered in terms of LSD, pot, peyote, cocaine, alcohol, unsuccessful films, cars, horses, wives and wandering children. And always there are blithely belabored excuses for everything. The book ends with a long journal of the first seven months of 1995, with Carradine attending A.A. meetings and shooting a new Kung Fu series on the cheap in Canada. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Admirers of the popular Kung Fu television series may be disappointed that Carradine, who starred as the introspective, ascetic Kwai Chang Caine, reveals himself in this autobiography as a fairly stereotypical, thrice-married Hollywood actor fond of fast cars, women, drugs, and tequila. While a narrative along these lines has some entertainment potential, Carradine's unexciting prose is rather trite and at times simply crass, making the reader wish he had collaborated with a professional writer to edit the overlong text and more eloquently express his innermost feelings. Most interesting is Carradine's recollections of his famous father, John Carradine, whose friend John Barrymore made a lasting impression on David and influenced his acting style. His poignant description of his father's death in Milan is one of the few moments when genuinely sensitive emotion seems to come across. Considerably more engrossing is David's book Spirit of Shaolin (LJ 12/91), in which he discusses the making of Kung Fu and his involvement with Eastern philosophy and martial arts. Recommended only for comprehensive film/television collections.?Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 647 pages
• Publisher: Journey Editions; 1st edition (November 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885203209
• ISBN-13: 978-1885203205
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars honest ,brilliant , and funny, June 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Endless Highway (Hardcover)

this book is one of the rare books I have read more than once, and everytime I read it, there is always something new to learn about him. it's worth getting even if you have to go throught your pulbic libary to get it!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent autobio of an interesting and unconventional actor, November 25, 1997

By 

Kerwin L. Schaefer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endless Highway (Hardcover)

Colorful and intriguing tale of David's life and career, told in his own inimitable style. Especially recommended for readers who remember him from the original KUNG FU series, or enjoy today's updated version of the series. Despite his reputation as one of Hollywood's "bad boys", particularly in his younger days, David has mellowed in recent years. He pulls no punches and is almost brutally honest in many places, but he applies this same straightforward honesty to his own failures and shortcomings, so it's not just another "look how everyone has screwed me over" story.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Endless Highways, April 24, 2004

By 

Professional Psychic "www.ilovemypsychic.com" (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endless Highway (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating and intelligent read. I couldn't put it down so read more than half the first day. Last quarter of the book dragged a bit for me and yet was still interesting. It might not have dragged had I not read it all so fast.

This should definitely be read on tape by the author. It's that entertaining and the author is so obviously talented. It does remind me a bit of the way I feel when I read books about the Fitzgeralds. By the end I'm somewhat alcohol soaked, as I experience the author's fast-paced and raucus existence.

I learned of the book when I heard Quentin Tarantino highly praising it on TV. He not only loved the book but while he was reading it he realized he'd found the actor to play Bill in his movie, "Kill Bill."