The Garner Files

October 31, 2011
Though Garner fans are agingâinevitable, since the star himself is 84-years-oldâthere are plenty who'll snap up this enjoyable memoir. Having gained a loyal following through TV series such as Maverick and The Rockford Files, and films including The Great Escape and The Notebook, Garner has remained in the public eye for more than six decades. Wherever you fall on the Garner spectrum, there's plenty to love in this book. Garner (or more likely Winokur) has a knack for telling a story and finding the perfect quote to tie it all together. Summing up his difficult childhood, which included an alcoholic father and an abusive stepmother, Garner says he lived through "The Depression. In Oklahoma. In the dust. After that, studio executives don't bother you at all." He fell into acting because "a woman pulled out of a parking space in front of a producer's office" and he pulled in. In describing meeting his wife, Garner says he "fell in love for the first and last time on August 1, 1956." Even if this charming book has some choppy and random moments, it still resembles a conversation with an old friend who loves to tell colorful stories.