- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Barricade Books (30 Jan 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 156980298X
- ISBN-13: 978-1569802984
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 618,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have always loved old movie stars, particularly those with an air of tragedy about them and no one comes higher on this list than James Dean. Therefore, I have read rather a lot of books either about him directly or books that he occurs in, in one way or another, about old Hollywood. So when I became aware of a new book about this iconic actor I was interested but healthily skeptical, in the same way I would be about another tome detailing the life of, say, Marilyn Monroe. I mean, what else can be said about these people that hasn't been said before over the years since their deaths?
Well, this book is written by not only someone who knew JD socially, but his former flatmate, no less, from back in the day before he became famous through to his meteoric rise to fame and his sudden death (about a 5 year period). William Bast was JD's room mate and sometime lover and here he writes, for the first time detailing their relationship in ALL it's dimensions (but not writing for the first time about his friend Dean - a version of this book was written just after Dean's death but without details of their physical relationship as he felt it would be unacceptable and unaccepted to reveal this in the early 1960's so soon after his friends death).
Thus, Bast tells us about the day to day existences of him and his friend, James Dean and details an on/off love affair that they cautiously embarked on( for it was illegal to be gay or even have homosexual encounters in 1950s America) in a sensitive and unsalacious manner. There was eveidently real love between the two men, and the book really touched me for it's sadness, not simply because Dean died far too early but also because they could not reveal their true feelings for each other for so long. Knowing that Dean's life would be tragically short one can't help but feel for what might have been between them had he lived longer and become the feted movie god that he became after death.
A touching and sensitively written book which also addresses some long held myths about Dean and his friends and family. Loved it.
Well, this book is written by not only someone who knew JD socially, but his former flatmate, no less, from back in the day before he became famous through to his meteoric rise to fame and his sudden death (about a 5 year period). William Bast was JD's room mate and sometime lover and here he writes, for the first time detailing their relationship in ALL it's dimensions (but not writing for the first time about his friend Dean - a version of this book was written just after Dean's death but without details of their physical relationship as he felt it would be unacceptable and unaccepted to reveal this in the early 1960's so soon after his friends death).
Thus, Bast tells us about the day to day existences of him and his friend, James Dean and details an on/off love affair that they cautiously embarked on( for it was illegal to be gay or even have homosexual encounters in 1950s America) in a sensitive and unsalacious manner. There was eveidently real love between the two men, and the book really touched me for it's sadness, not simply because Dean died far too early but also because they could not reveal their true feelings for each other for so long. Knowing that Dean's life would be tragically short one can't help but feel for what might have been between them had he lived longer and become the feted movie god that he became after death.
A touching and sensitively written book which also addresses some long held myths about Dean and his friends and family. Loved it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
29 reviews
57 of 67 people found the following review helpful
The Real James Dean
27 May 2006
Format:Hardcover
I just finished reading Surviving James Dean by William Bast. Bast was Dean's best friend during the last five years of his life. The book is excellent. I have read other Dean biographies, but Bast's book completes the portrait of the man in a way that could only be done by a close friend.
Dean is fairly and lovingly portrayed, but the book is not a hagiography. Bast acknowledges Dean's character flaws (we all have them!) without dwelling on them. Instead of the rebel, the introvert, the selfish fellow who has been written about in many lesser biographies, Bast introduces the reader to a young man filled with compassion, generosity, and love of life. This is the James Dean who crawls into Bast's bed and holds him after Bast says good-bye to a lover headed to the battlegrounds of Korea. This is the man who holds his aunt's arthritic hand and strokes it soothingly as he talks with her. This is the movie star on the cusp of success who stops his car on the side of a desert highway to hold and comfort a bird as it dies.
Bast argues that Dean was at the very least bisexual and more likely homosexual. He acknowledges that the two of them had a sexual relationship and that Dean had sexual relations with several other men. That information, combined with Bast's conviction that Dean's relationship with Pier was blown way out of proportion, will undoubtedly upset some fans who are homophobic or starry-eyed romantics. Surviving James Dean, however, is not a sexual biography and Dean's sexuality is not the central focus of the book.
Many rumors or myths about James Dean are debunked. For example, Bast writes that Dean was not deeply involved in the occult. He also reports that Dean was unfairly accused of copping a "Brando act" when in reality it was coincidental that the two of them had so many interests in common.
Bast spends considerable time discussing his own life during the 1950s and his story is nearly as compelling as Dean's. It is amazing what two Midwestern boys from modest means accomplished via their own talent and determination. Bast's book gave me a whole new respect for James Dean and also increased my sadness regarding his early death. James Dean was a very special man indeed and would have left his mark on the world in multiple ways had his life not been so tragically short.
Dean is fairly and lovingly portrayed, but the book is not a hagiography. Bast acknowledges Dean's character flaws (we all have them!) without dwelling on them. Instead of the rebel, the introvert, the selfish fellow who has been written about in many lesser biographies, Bast introduces the reader to a young man filled with compassion, generosity, and love of life. This is the James Dean who crawls into Bast's bed and holds him after Bast says good-bye to a lover headed to the battlegrounds of Korea. This is the man who holds his aunt's arthritic hand and strokes it soothingly as he talks with her. This is the movie star on the cusp of success who stops his car on the side of a desert highway to hold and comfort a bird as it dies.
Bast argues that Dean was at the very least bisexual and more likely homosexual. He acknowledges that the two of them had a sexual relationship and that Dean had sexual relations with several other men. That information, combined with Bast's conviction that Dean's relationship with Pier was blown way out of proportion, will undoubtedly upset some fans who are homophobic or starry-eyed romantics. Surviving James Dean, however, is not a sexual biography and Dean's sexuality is not the central focus of the book.
Many rumors or myths about James Dean are debunked. For example, Bast writes that Dean was not deeply involved in the occult. He also reports that Dean was unfairly accused of copping a "Brando act" when in reality it was coincidental that the two of them had so many interests in common.
Bast spends considerable time discussing his own life during the 1950s and his story is nearly as compelling as Dean's. It is amazing what two Midwestern boys from modest means accomplished via their own talent and determination. Bast's book gave me a whole new respect for James Dean and also increased my sadness regarding his early death. James Dean was a very special man indeed and would have left his mark on the world in multiple ways had his life not been so tragically short.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Bast's second take on Dean
28 Mar 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was the 20th that I have read on James Dean. I loved the fact that I still learned some things about him that I never learned in previously read books. Bast gives a fresh perspective. He had been Dean's roommate and now he looks back and analyzes his friend's behaviour in a way that only time and distance allows. The story is tender, informative and very satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
More than I expected.
7 Mar 2011
James Dean might be America's least understood icon. His career was cut short and the success he saw alive was even more so; nonetheless he continues to influence pop culture to this day. I read this book because I was interested in the man behind the myth. The author, William Bast, delivers respectful insight to the life and early career of his friend. Recommended for anyone interested in a study of the actor, or for a wonderful read. William Bast brings you back to the days of James Dean's college days and early struggles in theater and television; the burgeoning of the young stars success, and the haunting circumstances surrounding his untimely death.
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