Rating: 
Summary: Car Nut? Racing Nut? Movie Nut? Then you must have this book
Review: "For a car guy and a movie buff, "A French Kiss With Death" is nirvahna! Super detail. Lots of photos and factoids. A must have for every true automotive fan."
Rating:
Summary: Car Nut? Racing Nut? Movie Nut? Then you must have this book
Review: "For a car guy and a movie buff, "A French Kiss With Death" is nirvahna! Super detail. Lots of photos and factoids. A must have for every true automotive fan."
Rating: 
Summary: Great insider's look at Steve McQueen & making of Le Mans
Review: I found it very entertaining. Steve McQueen, though justly famous for his accomplishments, seems a bit of a creep as a person. He was an orphan and grew up very insecure - never really feeling he had succeeded.As far as the car details go, there are lots of tremendous photos. You feel like you are right there on the famous course and in the pits with the cars and drivers. The book is well made with excellent quality paper, printing and binding. It will make a wonderful THUNK on your coffee table. If you liked the movie you will have to have this book. If you can't comprehend why the movie seems to have no plot, read the book and you will understand. The producers couldn't find the plot either!
Rating:
Summary: despite flaws, I'm happy I bought it
Review: I'm giving this book five stars, not because it's perfect or couldn't have been much better, but because I'm very happy I bought it. One of the auto magazines had a review that said "a horrid title for a great book" (as close as I can remember). I agree with both. The title is childish and unfortunate, and probably will turn off people who would have bought the book otherwise. That's a shame. The book could have been even better if it didn't use up a lot pages on the history of the LeMans race, and about the various teams competing in the race the year the movie was made. The authors seem to have thought they needed to "set the stage" for people not familiar with the event. But I think the people who will want to buy this book are already familiar with the event as well as the movie. Some of those pages could have been spent on even more detail about the making of the movie -- that's how the book could have been better. But I really enjoyed reading the book as it is, so what might have been is academic. If you're the kind of person who's watched the movie multiple times, you will like this book. On the other hand, if you're the kind of person who thought the movie was lousy, you don't want to buy this book. You know who you are. If you liked the movie, but were put off by this books title, my advice is to ignore the title and buy the book anyway. (About 300 pages into the book I finally found out that the title wasn't just plucked out of some marketing idiot's nether regions. A fellow writing a proposal to do a documentary about the making of the movie used that bit of purple prose as his punchline in an attempt to make it sound sensational. But it's still an unfortunate title.)
Rating:
Summary: despite flaws, I'm happy I bought it
Review: I'm giving this book five stars, not because it's perfect or couldn't have been much better, but because I'm very happy I bought it. One of the auto magazines had a review that said "a horrid title for a great book" (as close as I can remember). I agree with both. The title is childish and unfortunate, and probably will turn off people who would have bought the book otherwise. That's a shame. The book could have been even better if it didn't use up a lot pages on the history of the LeMans race, and about the various teams competing in the race the year the movie was made. The authors seem to have thought they needed to "set the stage" for people not familiar with the event. But I think the people who will want to buy this book are already familiar with the event as well as the movie. Some of those pages could have been spent on even more detail about the making of the movie -- that's how the book could have been better. But I really enjoyed reading the book as it is, so what might have been is academic. If you're the kind of person who's watched the movie multiple times, you will like this book. On the other hand, if you're the kind of person who thought the movie was lousy, you don't want to buy this book. You know who you are. If you liked the movie, but were put off by this books title, my advice is to ignore the title and buy the book anyway. (About 300 pages into the book I finally found out that the title wasn't just plucked out of some marketing idiot's nether regions. A fellow writing a proposal to do a documentary about the making of the movie used that bit of purple prose as his punchline in an attempt to make it sound sensational. But it's still an unfortunate title.)
Rating:
Summary: Glad I bought it
Review: I'm not a huge Steve McQueen fan but love his LeMans film. I've watched it loads of times and every time I'm more hooked. I've just finished reading the book and looking forward to watching the film again as I know the experience will be even better. The information about the filming and McQueen himself shows the passion and desire for realism with which it was made. It took me a while to get round to getting the book but as a huge fan of the film I'm really glad I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Glad I bought it
Review: I'm not a huge Steve McQueen fan but love his LeMans film. I've watched it loads of times and every time I'm more hooked. I've just finished reading the book and looking forward to watching the film again as I know the experience will be even better. The information about the filming and McQueen himself shows the passion and desire for realism with which it was made. It took me a while to get round to getting the book but as a huge fan of the film I'm really glad I bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Insight, Bad Read
Review: Le Mans is one of those guilty pleasure movies that I really love, despite the ridicule that I get from my wife for watching it. I had heard some of the stories about the making of the movie, including the difficulties that Steve McQueen had with Cinema Center Films. All of this is chronicled, along with plenty of stuff that I wasn't aware of. Reading the stories behind the book, it seems almost that the film was made as much despite of McQueen as because of him. By all accounts, his behavior was so bad at times as to be laughable. As for the book itself, I was very disappointed by the writing and the editing. The organization roughly follows the chronology of development and filming. Past this, however, the organization becomes very loose. There are several miscellaneous stories from insignificant characters, which just don't seem important enough to chronicle. It would have been nice to hear from the other actors who appered in the movie, but there isn't much written about their experience, much less from current interviews. Also, the background material on the race itself is so light, it would have been better to leave it out altogether. So, if you love the movie and can't get enough background material on how it was filmed and stories around its filming, you will likely enjoy the book. If you have a general interest in the genre, expect to enjoy the pictures. If you're looking for deep insight, you will likely be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Good Insight, Bad Read
Review: Le Mans is one of those guilty pleasure movies that I really love, despite the ridicule that I get from my wife for watching it. I had heard some of the stories about the making of the movie, including the difficulties that Steve McQueen had with Cinema Center Films. All of this is chronicled, along with plenty of stuff that I wasn't aware of. Reading the stories behind the book, it seems almost that the film was made as much despite of McQueen as because of him. By all accounts, his behavior was so bad at times as to be laughable. As for the book itself, I was very disappointed by the writing and the editing. The organization roughly follows the chronology of development and filming. Past this, however, the organization becomes very loose. There are several miscellaneous stories from insignificant characters, which just don't seem important enough to chronicle. It would have been nice to hear from the other actors who appered in the movie, but there isn't much written about their experience, much less from current interviews. Also, the background material on the race itself is so light, it would have been better to leave it out altogether. So, if you love the movie and can't get enough background material on how it was filmed and stories around its filming, you will likely enjoy the book. If you have a general interest in the genre, expect to enjoy the pictures. If you're looking for deep insight, you will likely be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A French Kiss With Death
Review: Michael Keyser's A French Kiss With Death has succeeded in capturing every bit of Steve McQueen's enduring love affair with motorsports. Keyser and Jonathan Williams have assembled a wonderful collection of over 700 photographs that blend nicely with the text to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to making the Le Mans film...with many behind the scenes photos which have never, heretofore, been published. Devotees of the movie, Le Mans; the race itself, and of actor/racer Steve McQueen will appreciate all the energy that went into this publication. A French Kiss...is much more than just another coffee table book...this one is special... and it goes into my motorsports archives along with Keyser's first book, The Speed Merchants, and next to Jesse Alexander's At Speed, and Karl Ludvigsen's Excellence Was Expected! Heroes are hard to find. Steve McQueen was certainly one of mine...and perhaps one of yours too. A French Kiss With Death will bring back all those great memories!
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