Elia Kazan

April 1, 1988
Flashes of sudden insight or eloquence keep the reader turning the pages of Kazan's garrulous 864-page autobiography. The famous director, now 78, apparently wanted it all: comfortable domesticity (provided by three wives) and a bachelor's sexual freedom. An ambitious Anatolian of Greek ancestry craving acceptance in America, a bourgeois adventurer, a truth-teller and wearer of masksthese paradoxes in his own character are the driving force of his life and career. Kazan, an ex-Communist, makes no apologies for his agonizing decision to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy era. Focusing on Death of a Salesman, America, America and many other plays and films he directed, his expansive memoir includes cutting portraits of Lillian Hellman and Arthur Miller, as well as glimpses of Odets, Cagney, Bankhead, Monroe, Brando, Goldwyn, dozens more. Kazan is candid about his own flaws and generous in his assessment of others. Photos not seen by PW. 35,000 first printing.

April 15, 1988
Noted director Kazan has written a candid account of his amazing life. After years of struggle to be an actor, Kazan found his theatrical forte in directing. In the 1940s he was the toast of both Broadway and Hollywood, with such productions as A Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman, and films such as East of Eden. The 1950s brought problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee, with which he cooperated (in a controversial decision) after much soul-searching. Kazan is frank about his constant extramarital affairs. Most fascinating are the characterizations of friends such as Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, etc. Overlong, perhaps, but always interesting, this is an important addition to collections. Marcia L. Perry, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass.

Copyright 1988 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.