What a piece of trash. It should be titled "Jimmy Stewart : A Character Assassination," as the author demonstrates on almost every page how much he hated Stewart by putting him and his actions down. I should have known the author either deviated from the facts, or made them up as he went along, when I read in the introduction that Jimmy Stewart "...saw action as a fighter pilot." Stewart never flew fighters, as he was a bomber pilot. It's not like this was a secret.
Plus, the author apparently has a sexual problem, as he makes remarks about sex on almost ever page in the book. I am not over exaggerating this. He tries to make it look like Stewart's problem, but it is actually the author's. Was there any need to discuss whether Stewart practiced masturbation as a young boy? Give me a break! While discussing Stewart's role as the principle character in the movie "Winchester '73," the author further reveals his sexual problems by describing the rifle as ..." an astonishing bold phallic symbol. It's long barrel, fiery ejaculations of bullets..." (page 249) But I won't insult your intelligence by discussing this subject any further.
The author gets so many historical facts wrong, this led me to continue reading to find how many I could discover he made. For instance:
He has Stewart traveling to Europe in 1939 "...despite the fact war had been officially declared throughout Europe." Stewart spends a month in Europe, but the author has him leaving there on the day Germany invaded Poland on September 1st. War between Germany, Britain and France was declared two days later. So when Stewart sailed to Europe and spent time there, war was not yet declared. (pages 130-1)
Stewart was on active duty before the U.S. declared war on December 8, 1941, but the author has him reporting to active duty in August 1942. (page 182)
My father served in the Army Air Corps during the war and flew as a radio operator/gunner on a B-24 in the Pacific. I've actually been on a B-24 when one the few remaining planes visited my town early in this century. The author has Stewart taking his squadron of 350 soldiers and pilots on "a B-24" to Brazil and England. If you can fit even 20 men on that plane, it would be very crowded. (page 183)
The author has Stewart leading an attack on two cities in Germany, and apparently, as long as they were over Germany, they stayed around for a night bombing too. Makes you wonder how much fuel those planes carried. Maybe they refueled at a German air base? (page 185)
The author states Stewart lost "some of his hearing" due to all the bombs he dropped. Well, when you're at 15,000 feet or higher and the bombs don't explode until they hit the ground, I doubt this is how he lost some of his hearing. (page 196)
The author continually lets us know that Stewart never discussed his war time experiences. Yet the author often tells us about those war time experiences and often quotes Stewart stating them. Just more text in the book the author makes up.
The author continually tells us how private a person Stewart was. Yet he often makes up material to fulfill his own vision of who Stewart was. Just before Stewart leaves the U.S. his father tells him in a letter that he loves him. According to the author Stewart then "...cried himself into a deep sleep." Huh? Where did he get that? I remember when I was in the Marines and received orders to go to Viet Nam. After my pre-deployment leave was up and just before leaving my home to go to the airport on my way to the Pacific, my father hugged me. This is the first time I can ever remember sharing this with anyone. In many places in this book, it is obvious the author is making up stuff to fill pages in the book. (page 183)
After the war, Stewart stayed in the Air Force Reserves. In the 1950s, Eisenhower decided to promote Stewart from colonel to brigadier general. Due to some congressional opposition, this didn't happen the first time around. But the author describes the promotion as a "medal." These are two very, very different things. (page 304)
The author also makes numerous mistakes about Stewart's film career. I was really astounded about this. At one point in the book I selected the Amazon button on the book's page to see the reviews of the book there. There were numerous, very negative comments from other readers more familiar with the movies then I. And several of them listed movie mistakes the author made.
One I discovered in the book was from "It's a Wonderful Life." The author describes Stewart's character at his high school dance where "...everyone falls into a hidden swimming pool." Well, the author obviously never saw that movie as that never happened. Only Stewart and Donna Reed fell into the pool.(page 207)
In the movie "Carbine Williams," the inventor of the M-1 Garand---played by Stewart---the author gives the "M-1 Carbine" credit for saving "...millions of Allies' lives." Well, the M-1 Garand became the standard rifle of the U.S. soldier in World War II, but not for our Allies. And the "M-1 Carbine" is a very different model of this weapon which was made in far fewer numbers. (page 261)
In the movie "The Cheyenne Social Club," the author states Stewart and his cowboy pal---played by his best friend Henry Fonda---think they inherited a ranch in Cheyenne, which turns out to be a brothel. Well, here is another Stewart movie the author obviously never saw. Only Stewart's character inherited the brothel. And Stewart's character thinks he has inherited a boarding house, until he arrives on the scene. (page 369)
I didn't know one of Stewart's stepsons was also an officer in the Marines, as I was. The author has Ronald Stewart serving with "the 73rd Reconnaissance Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division." Based on my USMC experience I can tell you this is wrong. The 73rd Reconnaissance Battalion never existed, As Ronald Stewart's unit was part of the 3rd Marine Division, it would have been the 3rd Recon Battalion. Ronald Stewart's Wikipedia page confirms this. (page 366)
So.... If the author made so many mistakes I and others (see the book's Amazon page) found, what mistakes didn't we find? Even if you get this book for free, it's not worth the waste of your time reading it.
The reason for this long review is Jimmy Stewart is one of my heroes. Not only for his service in World War II---he enlisted, wasn't drafted, as a private before our country went to war---but because I also loved many of the movies he made. Reading this trash about him was very upsetting.
Plus, the author apparently has a sexual problem, as he makes remarks about sex on almost ever page in the book. I am not over exaggerating this. He tries to make it look like Stewart's problem, but it is actually the author's. Was there any need to discuss whether Stewart practiced masturbation as a young boy? Give me a break! While discussing Stewart's role as the principle character in the movie "Winchester '73," the author further reveals his sexual problems by describing the rifle as ..." an astonishing bold phallic symbol. It's long barrel, fiery ejaculations of bullets..." (page 249) But I won't insult your intelligence by discussing this subject any further.
The author gets so many historical facts wrong, this led me to continue reading to find how many I could discover he made. For instance:
He has Stewart traveling to Europe in 1939 "...despite the fact war had been officially declared throughout Europe." Stewart spends a month in Europe, but the author has him leaving there on the day Germany invaded Poland on September 1st. War between Germany, Britain and France was declared two days later. So when Stewart sailed to Europe and spent time there, war was not yet declared. (pages 130-1)
Stewart was on active duty before the U.S. declared war on December 8, 1941, but the author has him reporting to active duty in August 1942. (page 182)
My father served in the Army Air Corps during the war and flew as a radio operator/gunner on a B-24 in the Pacific. I've actually been on a B-24 when one the few remaining planes visited my town early in this century. The author has Stewart taking his squadron of 350 soldiers and pilots on "a B-24" to Brazil and England. If you can fit even 20 men on that plane, it would be very crowded. (page 183)
The author has Stewart leading an attack on two cities in Germany, and apparently, as long as they were over Germany, they stayed around for a night bombing too. Makes you wonder how much fuel those planes carried. Maybe they refueled at a German air base? (page 185)
The author states Stewart lost "some of his hearing" due to all the bombs he dropped. Well, when you're at 15,000 feet or higher and the bombs don't explode until they hit the ground, I doubt this is how he lost some of his hearing. (page 196)
The author continually lets us know that Stewart never discussed his war time experiences. Yet the author often tells us about those war time experiences and often quotes Stewart stating them. Just more text in the book the author makes up.
The author continually tells us how private a person Stewart was. Yet he often makes up material to fulfill his own vision of who Stewart was. Just before Stewart leaves the U.S. his father tells him in a letter that he loves him. According to the author Stewart then "...cried himself into a deep sleep." Huh? Where did he get that? I remember when I was in the Marines and received orders to go to Viet Nam. After my pre-deployment leave was up and just before leaving my home to go to the airport on my way to the Pacific, my father hugged me. This is the first time I can ever remember sharing this with anyone. In many places in this book, it is obvious the author is making up stuff to fill pages in the book. (page 183)
After the war, Stewart stayed in the Air Force Reserves. In the 1950s, Eisenhower decided to promote Stewart from colonel to brigadier general. Due to some congressional opposition, this didn't happen the first time around. But the author describes the promotion as a "medal." These are two very, very different things. (page 304)
The author also makes numerous mistakes about Stewart's film career. I was really astounded about this. At one point in the book I selected the Amazon button on the book's page to see the reviews of the book there. There were numerous, very negative comments from other readers more familiar with the movies then I. And several of them listed movie mistakes the author made.
One I discovered in the book was from "It's a Wonderful Life." The author describes Stewart's character at his high school dance where "...everyone falls into a hidden swimming pool." Well, the author obviously never saw that movie as that never happened. Only Stewart and Donna Reed fell into the pool.(page 207)
In the movie "Carbine Williams," the inventor of the M-1 Garand---played by Stewart---the author gives the "M-1 Carbine" credit for saving "...millions of Allies' lives." Well, the M-1 Garand became the standard rifle of the U.S. soldier in World War II, but not for our Allies. And the "M-1 Carbine" is a very different model of this weapon which was made in far fewer numbers. (page 261)
In the movie "The Cheyenne Social Club," the author states Stewart and his cowboy pal---played by his best friend Henry Fonda---think they inherited a ranch in Cheyenne, which turns out to be a brothel. Well, here is another Stewart movie the author obviously never saw. Only Stewart's character inherited the brothel. And Stewart's character thinks he has inherited a boarding house, until he arrives on the scene. (page 369)
I didn't know one of Stewart's stepsons was also an officer in the Marines, as I was. The author has Ronald Stewart serving with "the 73rd Reconnaissance Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division." Based on my USMC experience I can tell you this is wrong. The 73rd Reconnaissance Battalion never existed, As Ronald Stewart's unit was part of the 3rd Marine Division, it would have been the 3rd Recon Battalion. Ronald Stewart's Wikipedia page confirms this. (page 366)
So.... If the author made so many mistakes I and others (see the book's Amazon page) found, what mistakes didn't we find? Even if you get this book for free, it's not worth the waste of your time reading it.
The reason for this long review is Jimmy Stewart is one of my heroes. Not only for his service in World War II---he enlisted, wasn't drafted, as a private before our country went to war---but because I also loved many of the movies he made. Reading this trash about him was very upsetting.
I am posting this book today, 6/23/08, and it is actually a large print book with 731 pages. The cover is the same as shown here. But the ISBN was different. Good book! Interesting to read!I love Jimmy Stewart. Enjoy!
