Customer Reviews

James Dean: The Untold Story of a Passion for Speed

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The untold story,a passion for speed has revealed for the very first time striking images of a legend that never fades away. In specific details the philippe defechereux has reconstructed his ephemeral journey on earth and finally the tragic accident that took his life at a very prime age. Thru that JD was perceived at a new angle. Not a reckless driver who exposed his own life to danger but an unfortunate victim caught in a twist of fate. He even flagged a warning to careless driver a few weeks before his death. The talented artwork of illustrator JeanGraton has enhanced the image of an idol who has captured the world's heart and deep regret lingers. This book is perfect for a tribute to a beloved idol whose legend stays immortal

I liked this book much more than Defechereux's coffee table Dean book, From Passion for Speed to Immortality. However, I think I'd need to be more of an expert on Dean's racing exploits to better critique such a book. What I do know about that aspect makes this little book pretty accurate, as far as I can tell, and informative. All of the artwork, the various cars, racing sequences, other people in the story etc are exceptionally well rendered with one exception: most of the drawings of Jimmy himself come off looking like Jean Claude Van Dame, not James Dean. The story of the final day and the accident is very vivid and clear as to what happened and why. The excellent drawings, at least for me, provided better insight and understanding of how events/individuals moved and transpired. Several actual photos of Dean, seperate from the comic book-style story, were new to me, like the rare shot of Jimmy attending a Japanese kendo match with Bill Bast and a lady friend, the night before his death. The author's reverance for Dean photographer Sanford Roth, and fellow Dean enthusiast and Japanese business man, Sieta Ohnishi is obvious and appreciated.I only wish someone else could've rendered James Dean's face in the animated story section...., then it'd be a great little book. However, as it is, it's definitely worth having in one's Dean collection.
Paul Waters