James Dean: From Passion for Speed to Immortality [Hardcover]

This book on James Dean, or an aspect of Dean, was largely a disappointment based on the seriously uninformed text. Almost immediately I knew it was going to be a lame ride what with the inaccuracies and misinformation in the photo captions. I'm almost tempted to say it is a front cover,a back cover and a lot of wasted paper inbetween, but that would be unfair regarding the beautiful illustrations. Mr. Defechereux seems to have his heart in the right place, but his field of expertise is closer to the history of autoracing, particularly the California racing scene of the 1950's,than it is to the life of James Dean.I counted no less than twenty mistakes, most of them in the photo captions. There are basic facts about Dean's life which obviously slipped by the author; like his gaff about Dean's father, Winton, attending Mildred's funeral, which it is well known he did not.Also, the long standing traditionalists myth, that Winton's finances were in ruin due to the staggering costs of his wife's medical bills, is repeated here. Winton Dean was a dental technician employed by the Federal Government, the benefits of which would've included full medical coverage for himself and his family.In other words, his job paid Mildred's hospital and medical expenses; Winton was not as financially destitute as he would have the family believe.As for the books primary focus, Jimmy's racing exploits, the author doesn't even come close to the expertise and thoroughness of another new Dean book with the same focus, that being Lee Raskin's excellent James Dean:At Speed. Another old romantic myth on Dean's final days is the apocryphal assumption of him wearing the legendary red jacket in his personal life and even to his death. Actor and Dean friend, Frank Mazzola, debunks that old tale in Raskin's superior book, but it lives again in this frustrating effort by Defechereux. An example of the botched photo captions is Dean's bit player/stuntman friend, Bill Hickman, misidentified as another Dean pal, Lew Bracker. This in a very well known Sanford Roth photo of Jimmy, Wuetherich, and Hickman readying the Spyder at the dealer's garage on the final morning. Later on, after the fatal collision, another famous Roth photgraph, showing the wrecked Porsche on the side of the road, with the severely injured Wuetherich on the ground being approched by the ambulance men,a young man in jeans and dark t-shirt looks on. For years previous writers have depicted him as being Donald Turnupseed himself, and here, Defechereux continues the falsehood. The figure is actually crash witness Don Dooley, who had been following behind Turnupseed and witnessed the horrific collision. A little more research and attention to detail, not to mention occasionally questioning long held beliefs, could have produced a better product for the author. I'm not a racing enthusiast, nor an expert on the westcoast racing scene of the '50's, but i have to trust Raskin on those matters rather than Phillipe. I approached this 'Passion' book with excitement and anticipation. Friends had implied that it was not to be missed and would be the last word on all things pertaining to James Dean's racing career and machines. They must have decided that before seeing/reading Lee Raskin's book. Defechereux's earlier paperback, James Dean: The Untold Story of a Passion For Speed, is better than this because Phillipe sticks to what he knows best: the story of Dean's racing. He should have stopped with that comic book version. With this new one, he reveals that he simply isn't far enough along in his studies regarding all else Dean. Paul Waters

This book always makes me kind of sick. It has great pictures and a lavish presentation, but the text is a Swiss cheese of major and minor errors that should have been easily corrected in the years since he first declaimed them in his cartoon book years ago. We've seen all the pictures before. Lee Raskin's book James Dean at Speed has the pictures and nice research and writing.

Dalton Watson specialize in publications on European, vintage & racing cars. This title is priced considerably lower than the rest of their output. I think it difficult to achieve perfection when your subject has been colored by myth & rumours for the past 50 years. I admire the way Defechereux adroitly weaves together James Dean & his films, 1950s motor racing & the sociological impact of the two. The creative use of visuals is outstanding & I think this is where Defechereux's background in advertising shines through, as does his shared passion for racing which is the essence of this book. Defechereux's book is a gem for those who like books with an emphasis on visuals (James Dean photographs are always evocative & often don't require words) & books in the same vein as TASCHEN'S superb art, art history, film & advertising books.

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