Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone [Paperback]

Joel Engel (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Contemporary Books (August 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809240750
• ISBN-13: 978-0809240753
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Self-satisfied drivel, April 21, 2002

By 

"gulafisk" (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone (Paperback)

Unfortunately, Joel Engel's biography of Rod Serling is so poorly written that it detracts from the story of Serling's life. It appears that the author was so satisfied with his own reasearch, so enamoured of his discoveries about Mr. Serling, that a grammar check on the manuscript was forgotten. It is painful to read a book so haphazard in its language, especially since it is a book about a man who was so eloquent and prolific in his own lifetime. The author spends many pages on unnecessary tangents, such as the strategic importance of the Philippines, for example. While this may have been an attempt to set the scene for Serling's entrance into our larger history, such details makes one wonder if Mr. Engel really didn't have sufficient material on his subject. Sadly, I cannot recommend this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Eyeopener, April 6, 2000

By 

Kelley Hunt (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone (Paperback)

I was really looking forward to reading Rod Serling's bio although I admit I was expecting him to be a paragon of virtue, living up to the morality and principles he espoused on "The Twilight Zone." As it turns out, Serling, like most of us I suppose, was a flawed human being. This book seemed to be pretty thorough, discussing Serling's family, friends, associates, military service, career, etc. The good parts of his personality were discussed along with the not-so-good parts. This book would be a good choice for anyone wanting to know about the intimate details of Serling's life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse into the true "Twilight Zone", February 25, 2006

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone (Paperback)

Joel Engel's biography of Rod Serling takes a warts and all approach to a writer's writer; of all the hundreds of episodes written for the "Twilight Zone" Serling wrote most of them. Always supercritical of his own work (listen to one of Serling's own commentary tracks drawn from lectures on the "Twilight Zone" boxed sets if you're in doubt)Serling had constant doubts as to his value as a writer. Nevertheless he continued to push boundaries with "The Twilight Zone" creating and writing one of the most influential icons in entertainment.

Featuring interviews with Serling, family and friends "The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone" portrays Serling as insecure about his own worth as a writer despite all of the Emmys and other awards he won. Unlike Gene Roddenberry (another Engel biography subject), Serling shared the wealth when it came to the Zone but also managed to lose control of his own work when he created "Night Gallery" wanting initially only to be the "host" of the show and not have to put in the grinding hours that nearly killed him on "Zone". Ultimately Serling became dissatisfied with "Night Gallery" not realizing that he was giving creative control over to a dubious series of producers who didn't agree with his vision.

Serling's work as a screenwriter is also looked at as well. While many of his screenplays lacked the power of his work for the "Zone" it's for a simple reason--Serling was at his best as a short story writer which is what the "Zone" was essentially as an anthology series. Serling did some admirable work on a number of screenplays including the marvelous "Seven Days in May", "Planet of the Apes" (which was rewritten by Oscar winning writer Michael Wilson who scripted "Bridge on the River Kwai")and other scripts he continually was searching for the next book challenge.

Serling despite his flaws was a consumate professional and writer who would likely eviscerate his own work before doing so with somebody else's.