An Improvised Life: A Memoir

In a manner that is direct, down-to-earth, accessible, and articulate, Academy Award-winner (Little Miss Sunshine, Argo, The Kominsky Method) Alan Arkin reveals insights not only about himself (and his audience and students), but also truths for the rest of us about work, relationships, and sense of self.

Alan Arkin knew he was going to be an actor from the age of five: "Every film I saw, every play, every piece of music fed an unquenchable need to turn myself into something other than what...