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Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography Hardcover – January 15, 2008

by Andrew Morton (Author)

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Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography by Morton, Andrew

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

St. Martin's Press
Publication date

January 15, 2008
Dimensions

6.79 x 1.23 x 9.11 inches
ISBN-10

0312359861
ISBN-13

978-0312359867
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ANDREW MORTON is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking 1992 biography revealed the secret world of Princess Diana, prompting Tina Brown to declare in The Diana Chronicles, “The journalist Morton most reminds me of is Bob Woodward.” Diana: Her True Story became a #1 New York Times bestseller, as did Monica’s Story, Morton’s portrait of the young woman behind the blue dress in the Clinton White House. The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year by the British Book Awards and Scoop of the Year by the London Press Club, he lives in London and has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe in his research for this biography.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

“I get it. He has that deliciously indescribable magic that cannot be analyzed or replicated. He is in every sense a movie star.”
---Steven Spielberg
“He was pushing limits all the time…. I never thought of him ever becoming an actor. He was more of an Al Capone character, a maverick, the kind of kid who wouldn’t back down.”
---A childhood neighbor
“Don’t let that smile and those teeth fool you. He could have a really nasty streak.”
---A high-school girlfriend
“His acting was so good it was almost bizarre. You’d look into his eyes and he’d really be there, he’d really be in love with you. You could see his heart and soul. And then the director would shout ‘Cut,’ Tom would leave the set, and you’d have to go into therapy for six months.”
---Renée Zellweger
“I’ll bet all the money I’ve ever made, plus his, that he doesn’t have a mistress, that he doesn’t have a gay lover, that he doesn’t have a gay life.”
---Nicole Kidman
“You can’t drive past an accident, because as a Scientologist you are the only one who can help.”
---Tom Cruise

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; First Edition (January 15, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312359861
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312359867
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.79 x 1.23 x 9.11 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #904,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,804 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies

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3.9 958 ratings

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ANDREW MORTON is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking 1992 biography revealed the secret world of Princess Diana, prompting Tina Brown to declare in The Diana Chronicles, "The journalist Morton most reminds me of is Bob Woodward." Diana: Her True Story became a #1 New York Times bestseller, as did Monica's Story, Morton's portrait of the young woman behind the blue dress in the Clinton White House.

The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year by the British Book Awards and Scoop of the Year by the London Press Club, he lives in London and has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe in his research for this biography.

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Laurie Kelley

Tom Cruise: An Interesting Biography

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2022

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“Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography” by Andrew Morton paints a portrait of Hollywood’s hardest working actor, from how his childhood shaped his ambitions, to his connections with Scientology. During Covid I watched all six Mission: Impossibles, and could not help but admire his dedication and stunts. On that basis alone I give Tom a huge thumbs up as an actor. He is limited in roles; I was never really a fan. But as someone only a few years older than he, I am amazed at what he puts his body through. You can’t do that without the most extreme, serious dedication. He’s found his niche, as a real-life action hero. It’s a total pleasure to watch him in these action movies.

But there is no denying also that he is different than almost anyone in Hollywood. I don’t think it’s his dedication to the religion of Scientology, but more like Scientology fits his personality and lifestyle: private and controlling. The book delves deeply into this relationship, as Scientology seems to dominate his personal life. I could care less about his relationship to Scientology and don’t understand the obsession by the public with whether he is gay; who cares? As someone who is fabulously wealthy, with a net worth estimated at half a billion, he is scrutinized and lives under a microscope by the public. I don’t blame him for protecting his privacy. He doesn’t live like a regular person, for very good reasons.

What I liked about this book was learning about what drives this man: his childhood; overcoming a difficult relationship with his father; his burning ambition to succeed; his discipline and dedication. It’s very hard to judge him for his marriages, relationship with Suri, etc. None of us can imagine what it must be like to live his life. Except for the bizarre couch-jumping episode, and taking a swipe at Brooke Shields (the lousy Matt Lauer helped turn that interview into a catastrophe), Cruise seems to be doing well, is in control, remains private and puts out fantastic movies. Creating good movies and characters is what he does, and he is superior at it. As for the rest, leave him in peace.

One person found this helpful

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Cassandra

Handsome is...?

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2012

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Having just read two books by former - now "escaped" - Scientologists, giving reasons for leaving the "church",I thought it would be interesting to learn something about one of their highest profile members, Tom Cruise. Morton gives a disturbing portrait of a talented man whose entire life on or off screen appears to be an act. Cruise is of course, rich, handsome, charming and talented, and consequently a real asset as the public face of Scientology. However, he is also a control freak ("Cruise control" springs to mind as appropriate!), which means from what I have gathered, that he fits in very well with the "faith" he espouses. But the kind of determination to be the one who always calls the shots argues someone very fearful of BEING controlled by others. This is mildly ironic, given how stringently Scientology controls its own adherents. But because he is so useful to their cause, both in terms of generous financial donations and providing an "acceptable" public image, Tom Cruise is not subject to the kind of restrictions that apply to other members. He comes and goes as he pleases, and David Miscavage, who is the head of the "church", treats him a close friend, since he is one of their most generous financial supporters, as well as being an effective public advocate of the "faith".

On a personal level, it seems Cruise hates to be alone - and this means he is almost always surrounded either by "minders" from the "church", or when engaged in filming, by members of cast and crew. His mother and sister and her family live with him on a permanent basis in his home. His former wives seem gradually to have become aware of the fact that they were very rarely alone together as a couple. His courtship of each of his wives has been outwardly very intense, with many daily phone calls, outings, and a positive deluge of floral tributes. At first, as most women would, the then current Mrs Cruise revelled in so much personal attention. Eventually, however, each woman began to question just how personal it really was...more like an act ("this is what you do when you're in love")...at which point, the tributes and the flattery became an irritation, rather than a joy. This impression was confirmed as each marriage ended, when Cruise wasted little time before taking up with another woman, treating her to the same extravagant attention he had until very recently lavished on his previous partner. Once over, Cruise seems to move easily on, treating past relationships rather as he would the script of a film which is now complete - they are just forgotten. One wonders therefore just how much emotional investment he has in any of them.

Cruise also seems to make a habit of "re-inventing" his past. He has claimed on a number of occasions that he suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia when at school, though Morton's interviews with former teachers do not confirm that view. But from Cruise himself, the story varies, and he has been known to deny his own claim that he suffered from dyslexia. His life appears to be lived rather like a film script, with Cruise re-writing it as he goes along, to suit a particular audience or occasion. The rumours about his possible homosexuality appear to be just that - rumours. They probably arose from the fact that he and Nicole Kidman adopted two children, rather than producing their own, but this was sadly a result of Kidman's gynaecological problems, and nothing to do with Cruise at all.

He is so close to David Miscavage that the two of them could be described as two sides of the same coin. In fact, several people, including other members of the Scientology clan, have sometimes commented that when Cruise is speaking on behalf of Scientology, the likeness is such that "he could almost BE David Miscavage". Well, he's a good actor, and good actors do take on the mannerisms and characteristics of the person whom they are portraying - or who is most strongly influencing them.

I would recommend Morton's account of Cruise's childhood and his development into the high profile and successful actor he has become, because I think it gives some indications as to why he has embraced a belief system that is not only determined to control, but also convinced that those who think and believe differently are so wrong that their only choice is either to adopt Scientology or risk the alternative, which ultimately seems to be elimination. Scientology and extreme dictatorships of either the right or the left seem to have a great deal in common.
I think the question left in the mind after reading Morton's book is: "Who is the REAL Tom Cruise?" and suspect that the answer may be that Cruise himself doesn't really know.

11 people found this helpful

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Big Andy

Cute Katie Captured by Cruise's Crazy Cult

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

Morton has written a decent but not great biography here.

Let's start with the positives. This book is comprehensive: Morton takes us right back to Tom Cruise's childhood, where after being born in New York State he spends his early years moving around North America as his engineer father finds and then loses a number of jobs. Eventually, Tom's mother, fed up with her unreliable and frequently drunk husband, finally decides to leave him while the family are resident in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. Along with his three sisters, Tom and his mother escape across the border back to the family's home city, Louisville, Kentucky. Eventually Tom ends up in New Jersey, where his life and career finally begin to take off.

All the landmarks in Cruise's career are well covered. Risky Business, Top Gun, Rain Man and the Mission Impossible movies are all given the coverage they deserve. And what comes shinning through every time is the fantastic amount of hard work and dedication which Cruise applies to every project he is involved in. In Hollywood he is known as the most professional of all actors; that reputation is well deserved.

But the book is most interesting when it delves into his adult private life. His three marriages to Mimi Rogers, Nichol Kidman and Katie Holmes all have elements which are strange and controversial; Cruise's devotion to Scientology having a profound effect on all of them. And it's Scientology which is a major theme in this book: Tom Cruise and Scientology are almost inseparable, according to Morton, which is why the author spends large chunks of the book relating disturbing stories about the church and its members. The more you read about Scientology the more you wonder why an intelligent, successful man like Tom Cruise would get himself involved with this controversial faith. The Church's leader, David Miscavige, appears to have a powerful influence on the movie superstar.

Cruise's dedication to his religion has clearly damaged his acting career. In mainly Christian America, Scientology is seen as a strange and dangerous cult. When Cruise appeared on US TV to condemn the Christian actress Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants after recently giving birth (using psychiatric drugs is a sin, according to Tom's faith), America angrily turned on him. The actor appears to be hopelessly unaware of just how insane he looks when promoting Scientology's utterly illogical philosophies.

Cruise comes across as both creepy and a bit crazy. The way in which he woos his girlfriends and future wives, bombing them with roses, gifts and love notes, then attempts to cut them off from their families and friends, is chilling; it's almost like he's trying to capture rather than romance them. After being rejected by Penelope Cruz and then Sophia Vergara, innocent Katie Holmes is snared and eventually becomes his third wife. Before she knows it she's surrounded by Tom's Scientology buddies and servants. The book ends in 2007, but it's no surprise to learn that the couple divorced in 2012. Tom's stifling world is surely too much for any normal woman.

But is Tom Cruise gay? Morton leaves if for you to decide. The actor's weird, unstable relationships with women does leave you wondering. One issue which Morton fails to clear up is the reason for Cruise's sudden break-up with his second wife, Nichol Kidman. At the time there were rumours that the Australian actress was pregnant with another man's child. Morton hints that Kidman was close to her driver but doesn't take it any further. All Cruise would say at the time was, "Nichol knows why."

Morton is an average writer: his style is bland, and there are a few punctuation and grammatical mistakes in the book. He also makes a major factual error when he tells us that Matt Damon starred in the Nichol Kidman movie To Die For - it was actually Matt DILLON.

But this book is a decent effort; if you didn't know anything about Cruise then this biography would tell you just about everything relevant that the world knows about this oddball actor. There just wasn't too much new.

20 people found this helpful

Julee

Very good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

They do say "there's nowt stranger than folk"....and this certainly goes for one of the most famous men not just in Hollywood, but probably the world.
It has I must say got me gripped into reading more about this "religion".
I can almost understand if people were born into "it", as they don't know any better, but to follow the writings of a sci-fi writer as a whole way of life, is beyond my comprehension.
Gripping read well written.
The writing was that good, I bought the book about Princess Diana.... and I don't "do" the Royal Family at all.

One person found this helpful

Bookworm

The crazy world of Tom Cruise! Read it to believe it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book is another eye opener from Andrew Morton. A very detailed insight into the life of Tom Cruise with plenty of information about Scientology and the firm grip it has on his life. From his early childhood, to superstardom and his many relationships to his (obsessive) friendship with David Miscaviage, no wonder he tried to ban it's publication. This is a book that will keep you reading until the end, which incidently finishes with his marriage to Katie Holmes.

2 people found this helpful

Dottie

Eye opener read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

I've always been a fan of Tom Cruise so looked forward to reading this book. Certainly an eye opener. Gives an insight into Scientology which is also interesting, very good read.

Amazon Customer

Interesting book - full of things I didn't know and confirmed many things that I did

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed whilst being ever so slightly disappointed that Tom Cruise with all his charisma and talent should get sucked into this provocative 'religion/cult' Having read a few books on the subject, this book confirms all the crazy nonsense surrounding Scientology. Tom Cruise comes across as a hard working dedicated man but with all the usual flaws of the very gifted,Sad but
very good read ..

One person found this helpful

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