Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir
The release of Fonda's autobiography is good timing. Currently riding the crest of his award-winning performance in Ulee's Gold, the author reminds us that he has run the gamut from fame to notoriety and back again. Lionized as the rebel loved by a generation in Easy Rider, Fonda morphed into the antiestablishment figure Hollywood loved to hate, an anachronism immersed in hippie hedonism. He milks the "little boy in his father's shadow" motif but candidly explores his relationship with the irascible Henry, sweetly reflects on his childhood years, recalls (doomed) encounters with authority figures, and thoughtfully considers domestic bliss. His account of the years spent jet-setting, careering about Europe in fancy cars, and sailing on the Tatoosh with cast and crew for various film projects is most riveting. A central theme: did Fonda behave the way he did because of or despite his ancestry? Recommended for general collections.?Jayne Plymale, Univ. of Georgia Libs., AthensCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.