Russell Crowe: The Unauthorized Biography [Paperback]

James L Dickerson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

The Australian-bred Crowe has attracted controversy with his high-profile love affairs and his all-around eccentricity. This biography traces his career from rock ‘n’ roller to Hollywood star.

Product Details

• Paperback: 197 pages
• Publisher: Schirmer Trade Books (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082567283X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825672835
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native of Mississippi, James L. Dickerson is the author of twenty-six books, and over 2,000 magazine and newspaper articles; he has worked as a magazine editor and publisher, newspaper editor, reporter, columnist, book critic, and social worker.
Dickerson's book, The Mojo Triangle, was the winner of a 2006 IPPY award (Independent Publisher Book Awards) in the non-fiction category. Two other books, Goin' Back to Memphis and That's Alright, Elvis, were finalists for the Gleason Award. Reprint rights to Dickerson's books have been sold to publishers in Australia and China, where two of his books have been translated into Chinese.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Full of inaccuracies and speculations, February 15, 2005

By 

bookworm "bookworm" (near Frankfurt, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russell Crowe: The Unauthorized Biography (Paperback)

Apart from some basic facts I already knew and rough descriptions of Russell Crowe's movies, that book contains only tons of inaccuracies and speculations, especially about how Russell Crowe was feeling and what he was thinking at certain times and situations in his life, even what Danielle was feeling in certain situations.
How does that guy know? He has obviously never spoken to Russ or Dani (he would have mentioned it if he had) and even though some things sound like they MIGHT be true, I don't buy most of what that guy wrote.

I don't remember all the details, of course - and I refuse to read that book again - but some of the things I remember as clearly wrong or totally speculative are:

- The author says Russ played the leading role in Brides of Christ. But he appears in that entire mini-series for only a few minutes.

- The author says Russell's opponent in The Crossing was a Robert Hanimone. But it was Robert Mammone.

- The author says Russell has always been insecure about his sexual orientation ("proof" of this, the author says, is that Russ didn't have a girlfriend before Dani, that he played a sexually ambiguous character in the Rocky Horror Show, and that he prefers playing movie characters who are insecure about their sexual orientation). This is complete nonsense.

- The author says Russell liked playing Nash so much, because he is also on the verge of being schizophrenic. "Proof" is that his parents have said he was always " a little crazy" as a child and that his sudden fits of rage can be explained by him being at least a little schizophrenic. This, too, is entirely speculative.

- The author says Russell has always hated his Maori heritage and still does. "Proof" of that, the author says, is that he was discriminated against in New Zealand because of his mixed blood, and that up to date, even though he speaks up against racism, he does not have any black friends and has never gotten involved in any activities to help minorities (or something like that, I don't recall the exact wording). How does the author know? Does he know all of Mr. Crowe's friends and all projects he is involved in?

Anyway, IMO the entire book contains mainly inaccuracies and speculations. There are other books out there who are much more accurate about Russell Crowe, his movies and his life.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay but not the best, February 27, 2004

By 

Mary Ann Aquilino (Churchville, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Russell Crowe: The Unauthorized Biography (Paperback)

While much of the information in this book is interesting, it's hard to know what to believe and what not to. When the author gets a simple, well-published, and easily verifiable, fact wrong - such as that Mel Gibson was born in Australia - Gibson wasn't; he was born in Rye, NY and moved to Australia as a child - you have to wonder how thorough his research about Crowe actually was. Also, the author's psychological 'insights' say more about the author than they do about Crowe. The book would have been much better without them, as they seem to point to a bias on the author's part rather than as true indicators of Crowe's thoughts, feelings, or reasoning. Watching Crowe's dedication and loyalty to not only his art, but also to his family and friends, tells one much more about the man than any unauthorized bio does, and does it better and with more truth. Get this book if you're a fan, but watch Crowe's movies and interviews, and listen to his music, if you really want the true story about the real Russell Crowe..

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware of the phsychology..., March 15, 2004

By 

barbara hood (salt lake city, utah United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russell Crowe: The Unauthorized Biography (Paperback)

How can the author spit out phsychological assessments on a person he has not personally interviewed? According to his analysis, any young teenage boy who is shy with girls and prefers the company of his "buddies" or ("mates") suffers from some type of sexual ambiguity??!! This seems to describe just about all the teenage boys I know...Better not tell my 14 year old son...Apart from this, the books is an easy read, nothing really new, just take it with a huge grain of salt...