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The extraordinary life of an ordinary man : a memoir / Paul Newman ; based on interviews and oral histories conducted by Stewart Stern ; compiled and edited by David Rosenthal ; foreward by Melissa Newman ; afterword by Clea Newman Soderlund.

Newman, Paul, 1925-2008 (author.). Stern, Stewart, (interviewer.). Rosenthal, David, 1953- (compiler,, editor.). Newman, Melissa, 1961- (author of foreword.). Soderlund, Clea Newman, (author of afterword.).

Summary:
"The raw, candid, unvarnished memoir of an American icon Several years before he died in 2008, Paul Newman commissioned his best friend to interview actors and directors he worked with, his friends, his children, his first wife, his psychiatrist, and Joanne Woodward, to create an oral history of his life. After hearing and reading what others said about him, Newman then dictated his own version of his life. Now, this long-lost memoir-90% Newman's own narrative, interspersed with wonderful stories and recollections by his family, friends, and such luminaries as Elia Kazan, Tom Cruise, George Roy Hill, Martin Ritt-will be published. This book will surprise and even shock people, it reveals unknown sides of Paul Newman: funny and tragic, charming and insightful, personal and professional. Newman's traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed: his terrible relationship with his mother (he says she always considered him purely a decoration, not an actual child), his complicated relationship with his father (who once insisted eight-year-old Paul walk home several miles with a broken leg). He talks with extraordinary honesty, insight and humor, about his insecurities as a teenager, his lack of success with women, his feelings of failure. Tales of his army years feel like a movie in itself. His college years, his early yearnings to be an actor, learning his craft, his acting rivals at the beginning of his career (Brando and Dean), his films (good and bad) - he spares no one, including himself. He discusses the complicated relationship he had with his first wife, his son Scott's death, and his guilt about that death. Perhaps the most moving material in the book comes when he discusses Joanne Woodward-their love for each other, his dependence on her, even their sexually charged life together"-- Provided by publisher

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780593534502
  • ISBN: 0593534506
  • Physical Description: xiv, 297 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2022.

Content descriptions

General Note:
Includes index.
Subject: Newman, Paul, 1925-2008.
Newman, Paul, 1925-2008 > Interviews.
Newman, Paul, 1925-2008 > Friends and associates.
Motion picture actors and actresses > United States > Biography.
Genre: Interviews.
Biographies.

Available copies

  • 59 of 64 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 64 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Abington Community Library 92 NEWMAN (Text) 50687011802744 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Albright Memorial Library 92 NEWMAN (Text) 50686016238599 Adult Nonfiction Checked Out 05/28/2024
Albright Memorial Library 92 NEWMAN (Text) 50686016240140 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library B NEW (Text) 37268003150281 AHMFL Biography Available -
Altoona Area Public Library 791.43 NEW (Text) 33240004726884 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Annie Halenbake Ross Library B New (Text)
Memorial: In Memoriam of Charles M. Flaig
00156556 ADULT Non-Fiction Available -
Ashland Public Library B92 NEW (Text) 3039900036630% Biography Available -
Bangor Public Library B 92 NEW (Text) 75011000384476 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Boyertown Community Library NEW (Text) 33249024849469 Biography Available -
Cambria County Library 791.4302 N554e (Text) 85131001851022 CACM Non-Fiction Checked Out 04/10/2024

Summary: "The raw, candid, unvarnished memoir of an American icon Several years before he died in 2008, Paul Newman commissioned his best friend to interview actors and directors he worked with, his friends, his children, his first wife, his psychiatrist, and Joanne Woodward, to create an oral history of his life. After hearing and reading what others said about him, Newman then dictated his own version of his life. Now, this long-lost memoir-90% Newman's own narrative, interspersed with wonderful stories and recollections by his family, friends, and such luminaries as Elia Kazan, Tom Cruise, George Roy Hill, Martin Ritt-will be published. This book will surprise and even shock people, it reveals unknown sides of Paul Newman: funny and tragic, charming and insightful, personal and professional. Newman's traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed: his terrible relationship with his mother (he says she always considered him purely a decoration, not an actual child), his complicated relationship with his father (who once insisted eight-year-old Paul walk home several miles with a broken leg). He talks with extraordinary honesty, insight and humor, about his insecurities as a teenager, his lack of success with women, his feelings of failure. Tales of his army years feel like a movie in itself. His college years, his early yearnings to be an actor, learning his craft, his acting rivals at the beginning of his career (Brando and Dean), his films (good and bad) - he spares no one, including himself. He discusses the complicated relationship he had with his first wife, his son Scott's death, and his guilt about that death. Perhaps the most moving material in the book comes when he discusses Joanne Woodward-their love for each other, his dependence on her, even their sexually charged life together"--

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