Product Description

Sir Alec Guinness was one the greatest actors of the twentieth century. With a talent recognised by discerning critics from his very first appearance on the stage he gained a world-wide reputation playing roles on the screen such Fagin in OLIVER TWIST and THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT. His performance as Colonel Nicholson in BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI won him an Oscar and in his later years he captivated a new generation of admirers as George Smiley in TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY and Ben Kenobi in STAR WARS. Guinness was a man who vigorously guarded his privacy and, despite publishing an autobiography, BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE, and two volumes of his diaries, he remained an enigma to the general public and a mystery even to his family and closest friends. After his death in August, 2000, his widow Merula asked the author Piers Paul Read, who had been a friend of her husband, to write his biography. Given full co-operation by the Guinness family and free access to Sir Alec's papers, including his private and unpublished diaries, Read has written a penetrating and perceptive account of an intriguing and complex man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #320651 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Review
The authorised life of a truly great actor by a highly accomplished novelist, historian and journalist, who happened also to be a friend of the actor and his family. This is a perfect meeting between author and subject matter, Read's prose being comfortably equal to the abundance of material he had to work with, including many private letters as well as various published sources, notably two volumes of diaries. The result is a highly readable account of a private individual who loomed large in public consciousness across the generations, the actor who won an Oscar as Colonel Nicholson in Bridge on the River Kwai being better known to many either as George Smiley or as Ben Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy.

About the Author
Piers Paul Read is the author of thirteen acclaimed novels, most recently ALICE IN EXILE, and four works of non-fiction, among them a history of the crusading order, THE TEMPLARS and the international bestseller ALIVE! Past novels have won the Hawthornden Prize and the Geoffrey Faber, Somerset Maugham and James Tail Black Awards. His occasional journalism includes a profile of Sir Alec Guinness written for THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE in 1985.

Customer Reviews

So much more than a biography
I have read the two volumes of diaries and this biography is like a third edition, wonderful. You can hear Guinness speaking off the pages in his unique voice. The author obviously knew him well and has used letters and diary entries to gain a unique insight into Guinness, and explain the man behind many characters he played. It is sometimes quite painful reading as Guinness obviously faced many demons, especially brought about by his sexuality, which is very gently addressed. His family life, marriage and relationship with his son are all covered - and of course his amazing career (including of course STAR WARS). The end of the book (which is over 600 pages) is very moving, and perfectly written. It is SO much more than a regular biography and I would highly recommend it.

600 pages and well worth it.
Whether you are a fan of Sir Alec, or simply a curious reader, you will shut the book after the last page with warm feelings welling in your heart. Guaranteed. Mr. Piers Paul Read has made excellent work of a biography of a difficult subject. As he explains in the preface, Alec Guinness was very particular about who should attempt his biography and it is easy to tell why he singled out Mr. Read.
The book is never tedious and none of the chapters is a drag. Sometimes Piers Paul Read might have included more dates for a guide since he doesn't quite write chronologically. He probably also made somewhat more of an issue about Guinness's (suspected) sexual challenges than he needed to.
Nevertheless, I have not come across a more thoroughly researched and charmingly constructed biography than this. Most expecially, Read treats Sir Alec's spirituality with the seriousness and respect it deserves. It shows just how much depth Alec Guinness brought to his life and profession, and how he self-effacingly handled it all. There are very few actors (and men) to match his quality, and very few biographies that can better this one.

Too long
Having just finished reading this I can't say I totally agree with the other reviewers.

If ever there was a case of a book being "over researched" then I feel this is it. It goes into great depths to tell us about Guinness's religious beliefs. Yes, that was a huge part of his life and it is important that we are told but do we really need to know what Saints he was reading about and what books he used? The religious theme was bashed again and again. How he felt about others and who he tried to convert and so on. This was done again and again.

Likewise we are told in almost list form the restaurants he used. Again a list of his friends as they died just before him. Really necessary?

There also is another sub plot of trying to prove that he was homosexual. It certainly appears that he had feelings like that. But again, how many times do we need to be told?

Another reviewer comments about his Star Wars contribution. This was disappointingly small in content. He considered it just another film but most people would be looking for a bit of detail on this subject and it just isn't there. In fact anecdotes from his films are very few, but very welcome when they arrive.

Again I am at odds with a reviewer regarding the last chapters. I really didn't feel that is was a moving ending. The opposite in fact, quite as a matter of fact.

Take away what I am moaning about (The book could be reduced by a quarter, if not a third) and you have a good book that does get deep into Guiness's character. At the end I decided that I wouldn't have liked him and felt disappointed that someone I truly admired could be so difficult and unpleasant to his friends and family and that is down to the honesty of this book.