Customer Reviews

Endless Highway

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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."

Well I took my time with this one after plowing through David's most recent book (The Kill Bill Diary). It was worth the trip, but it is a long and winding one, and one could argue on the negative side that it is a little repetitive. At 647 pages, it's probably 200 too long, and while you would never expect an autobiography to be objective, the editor probably should have been. While over-long the only section that could have been completely dispensed with is the last 50 pages which is sort of a journal about the writing of the book and his attempts to get sober and repair his sometimes strained relationship with his daughter. It's somewhat confusing, lacking in style, and certainly takes you out of the story you've been following (the entire tone seems off) and the real ending of the book occurs at Part 4 where he sums up his "journey" quite well.

One word of note to anyone looking for interesting stories of Kung Fu. Look somewhere else. This book is about his "life" which, of course the TV show occupied only a small part. If you are fascinated by children of movie stars this book is very interesting as David does not get his first TV job until Chapter 42 / Page 268! Kung Fu doesn't really get mentioned until page 344 in a chapter entitled "Grasshopper."

What's amazing to me is the level of detail in the stories of his life. Some of the mundane stuff (first girlfriends and petty squabbles and drunken episodes) are rendered with an amazing amount of detail. I wondered if he had always kept a journal? Did people help his memory with stories about the incidents? This isn't explained, but the details make for a fascinating portrait that I don't think is normally found in a memoir (perhaps an in-depth bio, but not a memoir, which can often be self-serving). He doesn't seem to be glossing over much. He looks like a fool, or a selfish genius quite often. I came away thinking that it might not have been easy to be his friend, but it would have never been boring.

There are fascinating things here about famous names: his father and brothers, of course, Barbara Hershey, Ingmar Bergman, Martin Scorsese, the Barrymore's and many others. His wives (and loves) are all fascinating people and rarely are they portrayed one dimensionally (like many of us would portray are ex's). His hopes and dreams, successes and failures, his obsessions and his family, his poverty as well as his success are all here in one long, fascinating journey.

I don't think this book will please everyone and it's unwieldy size probably has kept it from being reprinted, but perhaps he can give us another book (this one ends prior to 1995) for certainly his journey is not over (even it is currently spent making cheesy commercials for Yellow Book - hey, a guy's gotta make a living!)

More than anything by the end of the story, I felt like I had spent time with a fascinating friend, a talented and flawed genius.

It took me a week to read,and enjoyed every minute of it.I like it when he said he's a writer now.I am a unknown writer so I understand.His nickname Pokey as a child was great.His writing was real,you went away from the book with the feeling you know him.Better than the people you really know because they don't write their life story.

I thought that ENDLESS HIGHWAY was an interesting book. It showed a lot of what Carradine went through, and his triumphs. It has amusing moments and memories in it, along with powerful ones. It gives you a new dimension to add to that of which you see on television.

Very well written and extremely detailed autobiography by Carradine. How he remembered all of those details about relationships, marriages, movie and TV shootings is incredible! And all wrapped up chronologically with photos from childhood through his Kung Fu TV days up to the 1995 publishing date - amazing! What floored me most is how honest he is about himself - and his kind of "fast cars, women and drinking" Hollywood lifestyle - a total contrast to the Kwai Chang Caine character and martial arts aficionado he is most famous for. That shows what a talented actor David Carradine truly is and that he is a human being as well as an icon. I found his writing and the book to be honest and entertaining.

Great biography and cringe inducing in wonderful ways because Carradine had no issues with making himself out to be who he actually was; no crap, nor artifice just a very sexually attractive, adventurous and talented man who came from a chaotic actors family. Why anyone would read this an expect some kind of moral, biblical redemption is beyond me, this man personifies Hollywood in the 70's while being completely unique and kind of a loner. He was multi-talented, physically awesome and very, very handsome plus he knew it and had fun with it! Children of stars rarely make it to the ripe old age of 72. Had his life not been cut tragically short, its is clear from this read that he'd have been going well into his 90's. Rest in peace David.

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating life, lived in full, June 4, 2009
By Lisa A. Adolf (Everett, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

As I write this I have just learned that David Carradine has died.

Endless Highway is his autobiography, extremely well written and frank recounting of a life lived in show business, from the Beat Generation to end of the 20th Century.

Unflinchingly he tells of the valleys and peaks of his life and career. Second oldest son (half brother Bruce was older) of John Carradine, a man who seemily loved to sire children, but was a bit short on the "raising" them end. Older brother Bruce and David were consigned to an orphanage at one point, when one of the elder Carradine's several marriages ended in divorce. David--a child himself--was often left to virtually raise his brothers and half brothers.

He started out as a dancer, and it was on that talent that he was cast as Kaichang Caine in the legendary "Kung Fu" series. His experience in what would be his iconic role, is recounted in this book and is fascinating of itself. But this autobiography is worth reading for the fullness of his life--the tragedy as well as triumph, and as a sobering glimpse into what being the child of a Hollywood legend was really like.

He was multi-talented, a fixture in film, TV and stage for several decades. Rest in peace, David. The world isn't going to be the same without you in it.

Considering that there are over 600 pages in this book, I can't recall everything about it. However, I do think it was very good and revealed a lot about David Carradine, from his upbringing, his schooling, and his constant moving across the country as a child, to his acting jobs and relationships as an adult. The only real complaint I had was that he didn't seem to discuss the TV show "Kung Fu" very much. It's mentioned a few times, but he didn't reveal a lot of the backstage stories or talk much about his costars. Other that that, I enjoyed this book very much