Scan barcode
thelaurajay's review
4.0
After reading this book, I will admire fondly Ebert's critical reasoning, perseverance, and the fondness for other people. This is a poignant, well-written book filled with bewitchingly beautiful chapters that made me laugh and tear up, and other chapters that reminded me that this is a man from another time - - a man's man values on display. It's hard for me to be critical, however, because it's a book I believe my father would have loved and cherished. Though I don't know him, Ebert remains me of my father in his habits and the way he too was confined to his lonesome in some ways at the end of his life. Also, my father loved "At The Movies" and "Siskel and Ebert," so I did too. This book with clearly worth the read for me--to take a moment at dinner to have a conversation with Roger Ebert.
maa_pix's review
4.0
It should go without saying that you only read someone's biography if you are really interested in that person. So if you are a fan of Ebert's work, if you always turned to him first for a review of a newly released movie (or even an old movie) or if you regularly visited his web site to catch up on his blog, as I did, then this book is likely for you. Be forewarned that you won't get a lot of "movie" stuff. There is some, to be sure, but this is a story of his life, and there was a lot more to his life than movies. He spends many chapters at the front on his childhood memories, his experiences as a reporter in high school and college, his time overseas, his love of the city of London, his entrance into professional reporting at the Chicago Sun-Times and the characters he met there, his alcoholism. This takes up more than the first half of the book, with little discussion of the movies along the way.
So don't shy away from the book if you think it's just about the movies. These are his reflections on his entire life. Much of this was assembled from his blog posts, so there is some repetition. But he's a good writer. He won the Pulitzer, after all.
He name-drops a lot, but then, he was in the entertainment business, and he was a naturally sociable person, so that comes with the territory. I get the true sense that, despite his world travels and all of the famous, high-profile people he spent time with, he was never false to the midwestern boy inside. When he lost his jaw, and was dreaming of food he would never eat again, it wasn't a Michelin-starred restaurant in France that he dreamed of, it was root beer, Steak 'n Shake, and cheap candy. And he missed talking with people over dinner more than he missed the dinner itself.
So don't shy away from the book if you think it's just about the movies. These are his reflections on his entire life. Much of this was assembled from his blog posts, so there is some repetition. But he's a good writer. He won the Pulitzer, after all.
He name-drops a lot, but then, he was in the entertainment business, and he was a naturally sociable person, so that comes with the territory. I get the true sense that, despite his world travels and all of the famous, high-profile people he spent time with, he was never false to the midwestern boy inside. When he lost his jaw, and was dreaming of food he would never eat again, it wasn't a Michelin-starred restaurant in France that he dreamed of, it was root beer, Steak 'n Shake, and cheap candy. And he missed talking with people over dinner more than he missed the dinner itself.
duparker's review
5.0
This book is a great example of the difference between a memoir and a biography. It reads so perfectly, like you are passing the afternoon with Ebert in a pub and just catching up. The stories are fun, important and interesting. He conveys them with a warmth and interest in sharing that is not something I expect in an autobiography. It is similar in tone to Rob Lowe's memoir, in that you truly don't think there is a point, other than to share stories and express a love of life.
I am not a huge movie fan, but became an Ebert fan after reading an article in Esquire in 2010. That article inspired me to follow Ebert on twitter (@ebertchicago). The book is an extension of that article and his twitter feeds. He has a true command of language and a skill with conversation. It took four hours to read this book, and it was a joy to do so.
I am not a huge movie fan, but became an Ebert fan after reading an article in Esquire in 2010. That article inspired me to follow Ebert on twitter (@ebertchicago). The book is an extension of that article and his twitter feeds. He has a true command of language and a skill with conversation. It took four hours to read this book, and it was a joy to do so.
krobart's review
2.0
My overall impression of Ebert from this book was that he went through a lot of his life being pleased with himself for his own intelligence (and must have been extremely annoying to some of his teachers in school and professors in college) and the luck he has had in his career, but that–as he himself admits–he has finally learned later in life about what is most important. I enjoyed the book but also found it frustrating at the same time.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/life-itself/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/life-itself/
souponthebarby's review
4.0
I have been reading Ebert's blog and tweets since he lost his voice years ago. It's been some of the best reading I've had the pleasure of having. I expected no less from his book, and received exactly what I expected when I opened the cover and dug in. This is Ebert doing one of the things that he does best, the autobiographic experience. This isn't told through the lens of a film review, while there is more than a few references to film within the pages themselves. This is Ebert at his most honest, and it's one of those books that I couldn't put down until I finished.
Through his writing, we get not only the experience of some of the events that shaped who he became today (which is not as strong as I'd think) but we get the people who shaped him and his history. They seem to be much more important to him than the events, so he spends more time with them. I feel this is absolutely what was needed, and you can feel what these people meant to him as the years rolled on. The end of the book is his view on death, which I think is an interesting look into his mind that we don't get very often.
All of these things are what I love from the book, but if you still need to be convinced that this is worth reading, I dare you to make it through the introduction to the book and not already feel a connection to this man.
This is a brilliant book, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone with a love of the movies, or a love for writing, or a love for life and the players we share life with.
Through his writing, we get not only the experience of some of the events that shaped who he became today (which is not as strong as I'd think) but we get the people who shaped him and his history. They seem to be much more important to him than the events, so he spends more time with them. I feel this is absolutely what was needed, and you can feel what these people meant to him as the years rolled on. The end of the book is his view on death, which I think is an interesting look into his mind that we don't get very often.
All of these things are what I love from the book, but if you still need to be convinced that this is worth reading, I dare you to make it through the introduction to the book and not already feel a connection to this man.
This is a brilliant book, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone with a love of the movies, or a love for writing, or a love for life and the players we share life with.
littletaiko's review
3.0
Interesting if slightly uneven memoir by Rober Ebert. It's not a straight biography really, more of a collection of little short chapters about various aspects of his life. If you're looking for a book with deep insight into movies you should look elsewhere. If you are wanting to know more about the all too human face behind half of Siskel & Ebert then this is the book for you.
meghan111's review
4.0
A Midwestern childhood and career in newspapers, told in plain, declarative language. Since losing the ability to speak, Ebert says he has recovered detailed lost memories of his past. This paragraph cut through me:
"I wonder what my father really thought about his life. He married a beautiful woman and I believe they loved each other. Whatever had happened in West Palm Beach stayed in West Palm Beach. He married in his late thirties, held a good-paying job, owned his own home on a corner lot. He debated politics with my Republican uncle Everett Stumm, was militantly pro-union, had me worried when Eisenhower defeated Stevenson the second time. He never said so, but I got the notion that the Republicans were not good people. He read all the time. In another generation, he would surely have gone to university and read books with his feet up on the desk, and he wanted me to do that for him. Sometimes I resented him, as when blinded by summer sweat while pulling bagworms from evergreens while he repeated, 'If the job's worth doing, it's worth doing well.' He wouldn't let me have my dog Blackie in the house. He thought rugs were more important than dogs. Did I know how much I loved him? I do now."
The other parts of this memoir include the best of a lifetime of witty remarks and funny anecdotes, and chapters on meaningful relationships with famous actors and directors.
"I wonder what my father really thought about his life. He married a beautiful woman and I believe they loved each other. Whatever had happened in West Palm Beach stayed in West Palm Beach. He married in his late thirties, held a good-paying job, owned his own home on a corner lot. He debated politics with my Republican uncle Everett Stumm, was militantly pro-union, had me worried when Eisenhower defeated Stevenson the second time. He never said so, but I got the notion that the Republicans were not good people. He read all the time. In another generation, he would surely have gone to university and read books with his feet up on the desk, and he wanted me to do that for him. Sometimes I resented him, as when blinded by summer sweat while pulling bagworms from evergreens while he repeated, 'If the job's worth doing, it's worth doing well.' He wouldn't let me have my dog Blackie in the house. He thought rugs were more important than dogs. Did I know how much I loved him? I do now."
The other parts of this memoir include the best of a lifetime of witty remarks and funny anecdotes, and chapters on meaningful relationships with famous actors and directors.
scheu's review
4.0
Terrifically entertaining although I was somehow expecting MORE film talk. I imagine that I have a reason to read his film-related books as well now. I especially enjoyed the chapters about Boulder (where I matriculated) and Russ Meyer (self-explanatory). I hope that Roger sticks with us for a while.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
For the most part, an interesting look at the film critic and TV personality's life. The beginning was very slow since his boyhood was pretty uneventful but after he started work at the Sun-Times my interest perked up. Listened to the audio version which was read by Edward Herrmann who is always a pro.