Sheer heaven for movie buffs.
Superb bio of the high living, larger-than-life film producer, spellbindingly detailed by Harper’s Bazaar European editor Fraser-Cavassoni.
The author, who in 1982 worked as an assistant on Sam Spiegel’s production of Betrayal (written by her stepfather, Harold Pinter), was so intrigued by his flamboyant personality and reticence about his past that she made it her business to track down his origins. Born in western Galicia (now southeastern Poland) in 1901, Spiegel preferred to gloss over his humble Jewish roots; when asked his birthplace, he’d usually name Vienna. (In fact, he had attended the University of Vienna.) He emigrated to Palestine, married, and seven years later abandoned wife and daughter to sail for San Francisco. He returned to Berlin and Vienna to cut his producing teeth on several films and in 1939 came back to the US, hitting his stride a few years later as producer of Tales of Manhattan in 1942 and Orson Welles’s The Stranger in 1946. At one point, Spiegel had so many creditors that he changed his name to S.P. Eagle. Still, though, often penniless, he gave fantastic parties—his New Year’s Eve bashes were legendary—attended by all the big stars and directors. He produced many of the classic films of the 1950s and ’60s: The African Queen, On the Waterfront, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, etc. He also infuriated three wives with his penchant for young girls, top fashion models, young actresses, and high-class prostitutes; he was known to interrupt business meetings to arrange his sex life. Meanwhile, his relentless methods and empty promises as a producer prompted Hollywood to invent the words “Spiegelese” and “to Spiegel.” A sublime cast of characters—John Huston, David Lean, Marlon Brando, Peter O’Toole, Faye Dunaway, Bogey and Bacall, Warren Beatty, Mike Nichols, Elia Kazan—adds to the fun. It even seems right that Spiegel died on New Year’s Eve in 1985.
Sheer heaven for movie buffs.Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-684-83619-X
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
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"When others at Harvard spoke of their experiences at Hagia Sophia and the Prado, I reminisced about the wondrous ants I examined in Geneva and Paris,'' remarks the eminent Harvard entomologist in his stylish autobiography. Now 66, Wilson (Biophilia, 1984, etc.) recounts the life of a born observer and synthesizer. As a boy he roamed the woods and creeks of Florida and Alabama collecting bugs; he went on to become the world's leading authority on ants and insect societies. He also pioneered the study of chemical communication among insects and, of course, effected the marriage of population biology and evolutionary biology that led to the still controversial field of sociobiology. Wilson deals fairly with the debate, as well as with the earlier "molecular wars" that pitted Wilson and his fellow naturalists against Jim Watson and the new breed of molecular biologists. He provides telling sketches of the principals, confesses to some naïveté on his own part, but generally adopts a more-in-sorrow-than-anger stance. These chapters, along with his descriptions of mentors and collaborators over the years, are valuable contributions to the sociology of the rapidly changing science of biology. Wilson still thinks the time will come for a theory of human behavior based on the co-evolution of genes and culture. He also argues for his "biophilia" hypothesis—the idea that human beings have an inborn affinity for other forms of life. Not surprisingly, he has become an ardent spokesman for biodiversity, deploring the daily loss of species and natural terrain. Next time around, he says, he'll opt for being a microbial ecologist: "Ten billion bacteria live in a gram of ordinary soil...they represent thousands of species, almost none of which are known to science." To which the reader can only respond: Go to it, and tell us all about in another grand book. (Natural Science Book Club dual main selection; first printing of 40,000)
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NonePub Date: Oct. 17, 1994
ISBN: 1-55963-288-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Island Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
IN THE NEWS
Bickley, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, offers an exasperated overview of the controversial Rodman's life, concentrating on the power forward's recent career and off-court hijinks. It's a brisk narrative, enlivened by quotes (many of them tackily highlighted in large type) from Rodman's colleagues and ertswhile friends. The problem is that those fascinated by Rodman's perpetual jousting with Chicago Bulls management, the cross- dressing, the very public affair with Madonna, and the on-court antics (head-butting an official, kicking a photographer) are likely to remain unswayed by Bickley's contention that Rodman, far from being out of control, has been deftly manipulating the media and fans, while those likely to agree with him would find this expose unnecessary.
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 1997
ISBN: 0-312-17119-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
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