Paul Newman: A Life

Disappointed

I was very disappointed with this book. Not enough of Newman. The book could have been 250 pages shorter if the author would have stuck with Newman and his life rather than giving trivial details about persons associated with screen production of whom we do not care. The cadence was choppy and the story line jumped from year to year in no apparent fashion. You had difficulty knowing exactly where he was going. Not good for a bio. If you can put up with he first 400 pages, the last two Chapters were worth reading, if you can forgive the author for citing the date of death but not mentioning the year.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good book about a complex and interesting man.

I thought this book was a very balanced look at the life of Paul Newman. He was in many ways one of a kind, but the book pointed out not only the wonderful side of Paul, but the complex side as well. The only criticism I have of the book is toward the end it seemed to drag. But other than that I really enjoyed reading about the life of someone I very much respect.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Paul Newman Inspires the Best in All of Us

I actually began reading Shawn Levy's book several weeks ago. For a time, I was not quite sure I could get through all the screen credit information. What I really wanted was to know who Paul Newman the person was like. Throughout this book, Levy provides glimpses of the kind of human being one of America's greatest actors was. It is clear from the book that Newman always put his all in acting. It came across to me that he was a perfectionist about his work. Levy's story of Newman takes you from his beginnings in Cleveland to his passing in Westport. What seemed to be consistent through it all was that Paul Newman was always Paul Newman. His love for his wife Joanne Woodward makes all of us long for the kind of relationship they celebrated. His acts of charity in donating the profits from his company Newman's Own to his Hole in the Wall Camps and other charities makes us all want to do our part as well. Levy's highly sympathetic read is at once enjoyable and inspiring.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful book on wonderful Paul Newman

I want to admit, right from the start, I lack objectivity where Paul Newman is concerned. I not only always enjoyed his movies, I admired his sense of humanity, his desire to 'share the wealth' with others, especially thru his work with terminally ill children and various charities. He left behind such a legacy of class and giving.
This book does cover his life from cradle to grave and touches on some of the most prickly areas, like his affair with Joanne Woodward, who would become his second and final wife. The man wasn't perfect, especially during that period of infidelity...but, he sure as hell made up for any wrongs committed in the second part of his life. This book chronicles it all...extensive research, well-written, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just wish the title had been "Paul Newman & A Life Well-Lived"

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A fascinating look at an American movie star

Paul Newman is one of our true movie stars, back when that phrase really meant something. His death last year reminded us what a unique individual he was- an actor, movie star, race car driver, husband, father, grandfather, businessman, humanitarian.

Shawn Levy has written a new biography, titled PAUL NEWMAN- A LIFE. And it was quite a life he lived. I vividly remember my mother taking me to see "The Sting", starring Newman and Robert Redford. It was one of the first grown-up movies I saw, and I felt very sophisticated. Redford was gorgeous, but it was Newman who charmed me. There seemed something mischievous behind those blue eyes and that knowing smile.

Levy does a great job chronicling Newman's early years, and he footnotes and endnotes extensively, not something you normally see in a biography of a movie star. He quotes from reviews of Newman's plays and movies, and that helps put Newman's work in context of the times.

The author delves into Newman's youth and his college days at Kenyon College, where Newman realized he had the desire to act. Newman was a bit of a rascal who loved to party and was not opposed to imbibing in beer, something that he continued to do throughout his life. Levy states that as an adult Newman would often drink a case of beer a day. (Budweiser sent Newman ten cases of beer a week as payment for advertising for them, and they didn't go to waste.)

Levy spoke with several people who went to school with Newman, and their memories of a young Newman are insightful. Newman loved to rehearse, to dig deeply into his character and their motivations, and as this practice grew with his career, it was not always appreciated by his costars or directors.

He married young and had two children with his first wife, but their marriage didn't last. Levy points out the irony of a man who was well known for having one of the most successful, long-lived marriages in Hollywood, actually falling in love with his second wife, actress Joanne Woodward, while he was still married to wife number one.

I did not know that Newman also had an affair (while married to Joanne) with a reporter he met while filming "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". It lasted for over a year, and nearly ruined his second marriage, but after the affair ended, he and Joanne worked it out. Again, they were an example for people that no marriage is perfect, but it takes work, love, patience and forgiveness to make it last.

Newman had such a long career, Levy does his best to get it all in this book without making it 1000 pages, which it easily could have been. The one thing that gets short shrift is Newman's role as a father. It is touched on, but it would have been interesting to know more about how he parented from his children. They seem like people who like their privacy, and after the death of Newman's son Scott from a drug overdose, and the publicity surrounding it, I imagine they were leery of the press.

Newman is quoted as saying that "What I would really like to put on my tombstone is that I was part of my time". Levy makes the correct statement that he was, and that is one thing that shines through in this fascinating biography. Newman really was a man made in his time, an embodiment of a true American individual.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Solid

Not as in depth as you want, but not far off. It gives a thorough description of his work, and how it affected his life. His struggle to deal with the burden of being Paul Newman is a subject of great interest, and is discussed with great detail. A wonderful portrait. I couldn't imagine a more in depth biography of this man.

Interesting Life

I enjoyed this book about a man who truly embodies what a modern Renaissance man is. If you a fan of movies and/or Paul Newman the actor, then you will really enjoy this book. The author did a really good job researching the parts that Newman worked in and what the "story" was behind some of his role selections and rejections. I would have given it a higher rating if Levy provided more of the business/philanthropic side of Newman (there is some material on these subjects but not enough in my opinion). Overall, he provides a very balanced view of his life and it is clear that Levy was a big Newman fan. Levy is able to penetrate his very protective guard a little to provide the reader some insights into his very interesting and fulfilling life.

"Heal The World" "Will You Be There"

"Heal The World"

There's A Place In
Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need
To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That
Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For
Joyful Giving
If We Try
We Shall See
In This Bliss
We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And
Start Living

Then It Feels That Always
Love's Enough For
Us Growing
So Make A Better World
Make A Better World...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough

Will You Be There lyrics

Hold Me
Like The River Jordan
And I Will Then Say To Thee
You Are My Friend

Carry Me
Like You Are My Brother
Love Me Like A Mother
Would You Be There?

Weary
Tell Me Will You Hold Me
When Wrong, Will You Skold Me
When Lost Will You Find Me?

But They Told Me
A Man Should Be Faithful
And Walk When Not Able
And Fight Till The End
But I'm Only Human

Everyone's Taking Control Of Me
Seems That The World's
Got A Role For Me
I'm So Confused
Will You Show To Me
You'll Be There For Me
And Care Enough To Bear Me

(Hold Me) show me
(Lay Your Head Lowly)
told me
(Softly Then Boldly)
yeah
(Carry Me There)
I'm Only Human

(Lead Me)
hold me
(Love Me And Feed Me)
ye yeah
(Kiss Me And Free Me)
yeah
(I Will Feel Blessed)
I'm Only Human

(Carry)
Carry
(Carry Me Boldly)
Carry me
(Lift Me Up Slowly)
yeah
(Carry Me There)
I'm Only Human

(Save Me)
need me
(Heal Me And Bathe Me)
lift me up, lift me up
(Softly You Say To Me)
(I Will Be There)
I Will Be There

(Lift Me)
i'm gonna care
(Lift Me Up Slowly)
(Carry Me Boldly)
yeah
(Show Me You Care)
Show Me You Care

(Hold Me)
whoooo
(Lay Your Head Lowly)
i git lonly some times
(Softly Then Boldly)
i git lonly
(Carry Me There)
yeah yeah carry me there
yeah yeah yeah

[Spoken]
In Our Darkest Hour
In My Deepest Despair
Will You Still Care?
Will You Be There?
In My Trials
And My Tripulations
Through Our Doubts
And Frustrations
In My Violence
In My Turbulence
Through My Fear
And My Confessions
In My Anguish And My Pain
Through My Joy And My Sorrow
In The Promise Of Another Tomorrow
I'll Never Let You Part
For You're Alwa

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Paul Newman: A Life is great reading.

This is a very well done biography of a fascinating man who just happened to be a great American movie star. His ancestry and history growing up in Ohio reveals alot about his character. He clearly had his faults and appeared to a bit of a loner, but he sure had a wonderful life from start to finish. It was fun to read the back stories on his movies...but by the time you get to the end you appreciate all of the other things he did with his rather charmed life. I did not want to put the book down and would highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed his movies.

Paul Newman has been my favorite actor since I was a teenager.

I really enjoyed this book, as it gave me more personal information on the actor. I developed my liking of Paul Newman strickly through his movies. This book enlightened me on Paul Newman the person. I knew he was divorced but I was disappointed to learn (he admits)of his infidelity to both his wives. I still like him and will now purchase the other book "Paul Newman the man behind the blue eyes". His commitment to helping the less fortunate will be his legacy. His family will continue these efforts. I recommend this book to both men and women.

Great in depth research. Very detailed data of life and personality of an American icon.

See above

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Read

I love this book. Of course, I would love anything about one of the greatest, and best looking actors ever. This is really well written and very easy to read. Loved it.

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