The Unabridged James Dean: His Life & Legacy from A-Z
The James Dean cult ventures into the outer limits of the ridiculous with this encyclopedia dedicated to the assumption that, like Marilyn and Elvis, the long-dead teen-angst movie rebel is an endlessly fascinating icon, no matter how trivial the minutiae (an entry under "Neck" says simply that Dean had a 15 neck) or irrelevant the connection (the stage manager who worked on Dean's first Broadway hit gets an entry). On the other hand, there is no denying that the book is thoroughly researched--the more than 1500 entries range from "Joseph Abeles" (the photographer who first shot Dean in New York City in the early 1950s) to "Maurice Zolotow" (journalist and harsh critic of Dean). The many quotes by and about Dean are scrupulously cited, while all his work is thoroughly analyzed. If cost is no object, this is a fair reference book for browsers--and, after all, you never know when you'll be asked for a list of the 43 songs composed about Dean, or his actual height versus the studio press release's height listing.- Kevin Sweeney, ChicagoCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.