Pieces of Time: The Life of James Stewart

Rating:
Summary: James Stewart is one of the great actors of his era.
Review: In my opinion James Stewart is one of the greatest actors of his era. I love to watch all of his films, Westerns, Family films, Mystery, etc. I read Fishgalls book with great anticipation for I wanted to know all there is to know about James Stewart. After finishing the book I disappointed my expectations were not met. The first part of the book "Part One: Jim" is my favorite section. Fishgall goes into detail about James family live. The book has a family tree dating back to 1742. However the family tree ends with James. I would have been nice for it to include his wife and children. I did enjoy reading about his parents and his life in Indiana Pa. As I read more of the book I realize the book was more of a filmography that it is a personal biography. The Author goes into painful detail about each movie Jim was in, explaining who wrote it, directed it, produced it, stared or costarred in it and what the critics said of the movie. The book was sparse on it treatment of James personal life. What he did when he was not in a movie. His friends, and family. His joys and pains his reactions to the death of his friend Henry Fonda, his wife and his son. In the last chapter "It's Over" it is very apparent that the author did not know what to write about when Jim was not in a move. He reduced over a decade of Jim's life into six pages. There was nothing about his funeral, who attended, where it was held or where he and his wife were buried. I think Stewart sums up the book himself when he said "I'm not a journalist and I don't like the idea of hiring a 'ghost' or having a live story written by someone other than the person who lived it." I wish James Stewart had written that book.