Product Description

For many people, Clive James will always be a TV presenter first and foremost, and a writer second -- this despite the fact that his adventures with the written word took place before, during and after his time on the small screen. Nevertheless, for those who remember clips of Japanese endurance gameshows and Egyptian soap operas, Clive reinventing the news or interviewing Hefner and Hepburn, Polanski and Pavarotti, Clive's 'Postcards' from Kenya, Shanghai and Dallas, or Clive James Racing Driver, Clive's rightful place does seem to be right there -- on the box, in our homes, and almost one of the family.

However you think of him, though, and whatever you remember him for, The Blaze of Obscurity is perhaps Clive's most brilliant book yet. Part Clive James on TV and part Clive James on TV, it tells the inside story of his years in television, shows Clive on top form both then and now, and proves -- once and for all -- that Clive has a way with words . . . whatever the medium.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1107 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
'Thoughtful about the mechanics and indeed the purpose of television . . . good on the potential dangers of chat-show guests . . . James cannot find it within himself to write a dull paragraph . . . an entertaining read . . . I enjoyed it.'
-- Roland White, Sunday Times

'James, who turned 70 last month, is as hilarious and self-deprecating as ever' --Sunday Telegraph

'He's in cracking form in this new book and there's no doubt that he's a master of words whatever the medium' --Good Book Guide

'Full of amusing, insightful anecdotes... Clive James is a natural storyteller, one whose talent is as effective on the page as it is on screen'
--Leeds Guide

About the Author

Clive James is the author of more than twenty books, including four previous volumes of autobiography (Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England, May Week was in June and North Face of Soho), collections of literary and television criticism, essays, travel writing, verse and novels. In 1992 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2003 he was awarded the Philip Hodgins memorial medal for literature.

Customer Reviews

Looking back in anger
Clive James continues his memoirs with the section that most of the public,(myself included), remember him best for, his work on TV. He talks of the pioneering methods used on 'Clive James' on TV such as the, not always entirely successful, satellite link ups and a weekly look at other cultures on their own TV stations, such as the entirely unhinged Japanese game show 'Endurance' which often seemed to Western audiences more like legalized torture than fun. He talks candidly here of many interviews both those that worked and the often far more interesting disasters.
There is no doubt James is not trying to bite the feeding hand here but it has to be said his inability to view all his recollections with anything other than a very jaundiced eye becomes pretty wearing before too long. However this has to be pointed out as being a minor grumble as the sheer weight of fascinating memories and the huge array of stars, many of whom have since passed away, and equally fascinating stories really do hold you transfixed as he openly shares his thoughts.
His impact on the way television was presented and the way a shows presenter should behave challenged the rather stuffy ideals of his day and opened up the world, not simply to be laughed at, but to be embraced and admired.
It's to his credit he doesn't spend any time blowing his own trumpet here and, despite the sharp humour, he does seem to appreciate the contribution of all the people he met.
I suppose this was always going to suffer in comparison with the previous 4 volumes which were erudite and insightful with a wealth of knowledge on display. After all television more often than not dumbs everything down and so memoirs of a television career are going to reflect that dumbing down to some extent.
Nevertheless even the weakest of his autobiographies is funnier, sharper & far more interesting than the vast majority of truly dull memoirs which flood the bookshelves every month. Unlike those Mr.James has something to say and has been blessed with a keen wit and searching eye that makes his memories come alive.
So all in all this is perhaps a little waspish but he remains a very genial host well worth listening to.

The Return of the Metropolitan Critic
In 1982 Clive James migrated to television full time. Before that he had led a charmed, if precarious, life in Grub Street, eventually landing a job as the Observer's TV critic. This, the fifth volume of his Unreliable Memoirs, is the story of what happened next.

In the first volume in the series, James warned us we were getting a novel disguised as an autobiography. But by the time you get to the fourth volume, North Face of Soho, fact seems to have elbowed fiction aside. That's no bad thing, for fiction just wouldn't have kept the pace - and it's something critics forever peddling the 'that-bighead-Clive James' line would do well to consider.

TV, in James's account, seems just like theatre on a larger scale: i.e. its natural state is impending disaster somehow turning out just fine. The smallest things take days of painstaking preparation. Linking shots, satellite interviews and Billy Connolly's suits are to this volume what Kogarah's spiders and snakes were to the first one. As before, stories that might be cruel on the first read are saved by generosity. Read his account of interviewing Tammy Faye Bakker, wife of the 'gate-mouthed television evangelist' Jim Bakker, to see what what I'm talking about. For readers who knew James as a TV personality first, the pleasure of these anecdotes - and the ones about Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Kate Winslett, Peter O'Toole and Princess Diana - can only be greater.

But that's not to say his sympathy is without limits. If there's one good thing to say for Hugh Hefner, it's that he pushes James's satire towards the heights of his 'Edward Pygge' parodies and classic essay, 'Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Masses'. A warning, though: if your wife is like mine, don't read the section about Jason Donovan (in chapter 22) out loud - unless, of course, you have a comfortable sofa to sleep on.

If this volume isn't as assured as Unreliable Memoirs, or as wise as North Face of Soho, it's still a rewarding read, more so for describing what happened where we could all see it. It will be a sad day indeed when the sixth and final volume of this series is published.

A welcome addition to the series
Mr. James guides us through his wonderful T.V. years and for one who stayed in for at least two of his New Year specials I'm glad his personal finances were such that he had to stick with his main bread winner for so long. His thirst for knowledge and insight into the human condition mirrors his own personal journey of self discovery.
I think this and his other writings reveal the split in his own personality or at least his indecision in his desire to entertain [and reach] a lot of people a little or impress a very few people a lot. I detect a little selfish guilt [undeserved] that his T.V. work and his observance of the practicalities of live in sucessfully maintaining a family have somehow hampered his artistic output.
A sharp critic does not always have the ability to produce original work themselves but Mr. James demonstrates both attributes in spades. As with Niven he writes generously and tries to see the best in people. This in places is where he fails to convince. For a man who can understand why a marriage lasts, has the mature intellect to appreciate his own mores and takes care to define the differences between fundamentalism and extremism and then lets Mel Gibson off the hook, loses himself a star. Mr Gibson appears to be both a fundamentalist Catholic and extreme in his views. No descripion of how good a film maker he is or what kind of father he had excuses his reported opinion on Jews. In a similar vein I think he is also a little generous with Roman Polanski and yes life in general would be better served if he did time for his crimes.
All in all an entertaining and informative read well worth the money.