Review: Too Short at 46 Pages, but The Life of Clark Gable is a Must-Read. Great Story About an American Legend.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 13, 2014
At just 46 pages, this booklet covers more of the diversity of Clark Gable's acting career than one would expect.Of course, at just 46 pages, a great deal of Gable is only superficially discussed. But, if one were to watch a one-hour documentary about the greatest actor of his era, there'd be even less discussion.As with most Charles Rivers Editors offerings, this book has more typographical errors than it should, but not enough to unduly affect the publication.Although I am no authority on Gable, I was surprised to learn of his tragic childhood. Losing his mother, and losing the stepmother he so admired, had to be traumatizing, as the writer supposes. Looking at his youthful photos, it was not easy to imagine he would reach his status as a woman's heart throb AND a man's man.One trivial point missed by the author, that I feel should have been included was Gable's appearance in a movie while wearing no t-shirt which caused such a collapse in t-shirt sales. Although there is great controversy as to whether or not there was a 75% drop-off in underwear shirt sales, the understood 'fact' of such is a testament to Gable's popularity.While I would have much loved another 50 pages of this quick-moving biography. I loved it well enough to recommend American Legends: The Life of Clark Gable as a must-read for historians, journalists and anybody interested in Hollywood icons.