Customer Reviews

Remembering Bruce: The Enduring Legend of the Martial Arts Superstar

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

 

 

After catching the author on the Patrick Phillips talk show speaking about Bruce Lee, I went out and bought the book. I was very impressed with the impact that Bruce Lee has had on the everyday people Bishop has written about. I had no idea that Bruce Lee has made such a profound contribution to culture and civilization and the book has made me look at Bruce Lee in an entirely different light.

This book is a really great examination of what it is about Bruce Lee that so inspires millions of people. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Too many books on Bruce Lee tend to be heavy on useless facts and light on substance. "Remembering Bruce" doesn't get bogged down by a lot of silly trivia and minutia, but instead focuses on the positive impact his philosophy and legacy have had on people.

This book really boils it down to the nuts and bolts of what made Bruce Lee such an amazing man. It looks at each aspect of his personality and shows the reader what made him so unique. Also, the book talks about the recent events in the Bruce Lee world, such as the organizations that have been formed to preserve his memory. It also lets the reader know where he can find the best info on Bruce Lee.

I don't normally do these kind of reviews, but I was moved to add my opinion when I saw the review posted by Oliver Sodemann of Germany. Did we read the same book? I thought this was a fantastic book, one of the best I have seen on Bruce Lee in the 30 years I have been collecting. Sodemann's comments sound more like a personal grudge against the author rather than a serious, constructive criticism of the book's faults or merits. While I admit the film credits section could have been more thorough, it was just a couple of pages at the end of what was otherwise a very well-written and inspirational book. Never before have I seen someone get so upset about something in the appendix of a book. I think it is ironic that the other review dated the same day praises the book for not leaning too much toward useless trivia and focusing on the important aspects of Lee's legacy. I'd put this book up there among the best of the bunch on Bruce Lee.

This book gets to the heart of the matter about what it is about Bruce Lee that made him so unique. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to be inspired. It shows the human side of Bruce Lee.

Although most of the book will be rather great for all Bruce Lee fans the credit section is not at all well-researched.After all those years here are no exact credits given for Bruce's movies (although they have been published so often)! CHINESE CONNECTION is here given to be originally entitled FISTS OF FURY (instead of FIST OF FURY)! This printing error(?) (the ending S in FISTS) is very crucial since long for not confusing it with the American release title for BIG BOSS!Furthermore GOODBYE, BRUCE LEE - HIS LAST GAME OF DEATH is not an alternative title for GAME OF DEATH. It is a totally different low budgeted rip-off with Bruce Li (aka Ho Tsung-Tao).There also is no further information on GAME OF DEATH II which is quite well known as a movie by director Ng See-yuen and it's alternative title THE NEW GAME OF DEATH is again a totally different rip-off. Especially Bruce Lee newcomers could be mislead here to look out for the messenger in ENTER THE DRAGON? Never heard (or seen) of that!And something rather the way ENTER THE DRAGON's fight scenes were shot for the reason of not showing continous takes without a cut. I can't see that there is such a photographing style in early seventies kung fu or swordplay movies which audiences are used to. Panoramic shots were only short intercuts in most of the movies and the only kung fu movie director I know avoiding close-ups is Shaw-Brothers' Chu Yuan in the late seventies!And Ying-Chieh is Han Ying-Chieh and not Ying-Chieh Han!Surnames in Chinese may come first and that's all about it. No reason to adapt them to American Inosanto turned down all the offers by movie producers to take a part in a movie (p. 73). He appeared in COUNTER ATTACK (aka CHINESE STUNTMAN) in around 1980 which was starred and directed by Bruce Lee imitator Ho Tsung-Tao (Nevertheless it is one of the better movies!)So I can't recommend this book for the rather superficial way the credits have been researched here.Greetings, Oliver Sodemann