A French Kiss with Death: Steve McQueen and the Making of Le Mans [Paperback]

Michael Keyser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2008

Bentley Publishers announces the publication and availability of ex-racer and acclaimed motor sports photographer and author Michael Keyser's "A French Kiss with Death: Steve McQueen and the Making of LeMans: The Man, The Race, The Cars, The Movie." This exciting new hardcover book from Bentley is part celebrity biography, part motor sports and part movie making.

This spine-tingling title and the "King of Cool's" intense headshot telegraph the excitement to be found under the book cover. Keyser's observant and engaging storytelling weaves together screen legend Steve McQueen's rugged, individualistic life, his love affairs with motorcycles, cars, racing, partying and women, along with a story of exceptional filmmaking, including the breakthrough, Oscar-winning cinematographic techniques used to capture the visceral essence of racing's most famous event for the silver screen.

Throughout 464 highly charged pages, "A French Kiss with Death" dazzles the reader with the "King of Cool's" roller-coaster life of adventure and accomplishment. The book contains more than 725 photographs and illustrations, most seen for the first time and many shot during the actual "24 Hours of Le Mans." Providing an unforgettable ride, "A French Kiss with Death" pulls readers rapidly into the exotic, heady, cutthroat world of international sports car racing. Keyser's longtime friend and ex-racer Jonathan Williams also contributed to the book.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... a solid history of real le Mans racing as well as glimpses of earlier Hollywood versions of the sport -- Road & Track - April 2000

...must-read titles. -- AutoWeek, November 20-26, 2000 Annual Holiday Gift Guide

A bookshelf must. -- Motor Trend, November 2000

All race-movie buffs, McQueen fans or early '70s sports prototype fans will want a copy...my favorite book of 2000. -- Sports Car Market, July 2000

Authors Michael Keyser and Jonathan Williams cover Le Mans' history, McQueen (warts and all) and the moviemaking process. -- Playboy, March 2001

The strength of this book lies in its penetrating analysis of McQueen... -- Vintage Racecar, November 2000

Well written, painstakingly researched and beautifully edited, it tells the full story...a classic in the making. --911 & PORSCHE WORLD, December 2000 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Bentley Publishers (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0837615526
• ISBN-13: 978-0837615523
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Le Mans freaks and Steve McQueen fans!, May 23, 2000

By 

"carrera4" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A French Kiss with Death (Hardcover)

This book is first of all an absolute must read for all Steve McQueen fans because it's the most detailed ever story about the one film Steve always wanted to do for himself and which was finally completed against all odds. But it is also a must read for everybody who has seen the movie 'Le Mans' and became fascinated by the subject. Both authors are very qualified to write about the race as they have participated as drivers and Jonathan Williams even drove the camera car for the movie at race speed during the real event! The pictures printed in the book are priceless and come mainly from private collections of people who were involved in making the film and have therefore never been published before. But everybody who didn't like the movie 'Le Mans' or who didn't understand Steve McQueens obsession about cars, motorbikes, speedevents and sportcar racing in particular will most likely also dislike this book! But if you, like me, can hardly stop reading it and cannot put it down before finishing with the last page will probably want to see the next '24 hours of Le Mans' live and travel to all the places in this area of rural France described in the text of the book, preferably driving a black Porsche 911 like Steve did. This book is definitely one of the top five in my collection of 160+ motorsport books. See you at Le Mans in June!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great insider's look at Steve McQueen & making of Le Mans, November 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A French Kiss with Death (Hardcover)

I found it very entertaining. Steve McQueen, though justly famous for his accomplishments, seems a bit of a creep as a person. He was an orphan and grew up very insecure - never really feeling he had succeeded.

As far as the car details go, there are lots of tremendous photos. You feel like you are right there on the famous course and in the pits with the cars and drivers.

The book is well made with excellent quality paper, printing and binding. It will make a wonderful THUNK on your coffee table.

If you liked the movie you will have to have this book. If you can't comprehend why the movie seems to have no plot, read the book and you will understand. The producers couldn't find the plot either!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars despite flaws, I'm happy I bought it, October 11, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A French Kiss with Death (Hardcover)

I'm giving this book five stars, not because it's perfect or couldn't have been much better, but because I'm very happy I bought it. One of the auto magazines had a review that said "a horrid title for a great book" (as close as I can remember). I agree with both. The title is childish and unfortunate, and probably will turn off people who would have bought the book otherwise. That's a shame. The book could have been even better if it didn't use up a lot pages on the history of the LeMans race, and about the various teams competing in the race the year the movie was made. The authors seem to have thought they needed to "set the stage" for people not familiar with the event. But I think the people who will want to buy this book are already familiar with the event as well as the movie. Some of those pages could have been spent on even more detail about the making of the movie -- that's how the book could have been better. But I really enjoyed reading the book as it is, so what might have been is academic.

If you're the kind of person who's watched the movie multiple times, you will like this book. On the other hand, if you're the kind of person who thought the movie was lousy, you don't want to buy this book. You know who you are. If you liked the movie, but were put off by this books title, my advice is to ignore the title and buy the book anyway. (About 300 pages into the book I finally found out that the title wasn't just plucked out of some marketing idiot's nether regions. A fellow writing a proposal to do a documentary about the making of the movie used that bit of purple prose as his punchline in an attempt to make it sound sensational. But it's still an unfortunate title.)