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The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir | Paul Newman
6 posts | 10 read | 6 to read
The raw, candid, unvarnished memoir of an American icon. The greatest movie star of the past 75 years covers everything: his traumatic childhood, his career, his drinking, his thoughts on Marlon Brando, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, John Huston, his greatest roles, acting, his intimate life with Joanne Woodward, his innermost fears and passions and joys. With thoughts/comments throughout from Joanne Woodward, George Roy Hill, Tom Cruise, Elia Kazan and many others. In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stuart was to compile an oral history, to have Newmans family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actors life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. That same stipulation applied to Newman himself. The project lasted five years. The result is an extraordinary memoir, culled from thousands of pages of transcripts. The book is insightful, revealing, surprising. Newmans voice is powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, always meeting that high standard of searing honesty. The additional voicesfrom childhood friends and Navy buddies, from family members and film and theater collaborators such as Tom Cruise, George Roy Hill, Martin Ritt, and John Hustonthat run throughout add richness and color and context to the story Newman is telling. Newmans often traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed. He talks about his teenage insecurities, his early failures with women, his rise to stardom, his early rivals (Marlon Brando and James Dean), his first marriage, his drinking, his philanthropy, the death of his son Scott, his strong desire for his daughters to know and understand the truth about their father. Perhaps the most moving material in the book centers around his relationship with Joanne Woodwardtheir love for each other, his dependence on her, the way she shaped him intellectually, emotionally and sexually. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is revelatory and introspective, personal and analytical, loving and tender in some places, always complex and profound.
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booklover3258
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Pickpick

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/becUqh42hao

Enjoy!

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DieAReader
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#SummerEndReadathon #Wardens2023 #BookSpinBingo

As a fan of ‘Cool Hand Luke‘🎥, I just couldn‘t resist this one. I very much enjoyed this❤️‍🔥, even if I found it a bit disjointed a little at times.

TheSpineView Fantastic! Making great progress! 1y
DieAReader @TheSpineView 🤓❤️‍🔥🤗 1y
dabbe LOVE 'Cool Hand Luke' and all things Paul Newman! That 🥚 scene, though! 😮🤩🤣 1y
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DieAReader @dabbe ❤️‍🔥🥳😏 1y
CoverToCoverGirl You‘re two books ahead of me already!👏👏😁 1y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1y
Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏🥰 1y
DieAReader @Andrew65 ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 1y
39 likes10 comments
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DieAReader
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#SummerEndReadathon #Wardens2023 #BookSpinBingo

Some🎧📖 #audiobook to go with supper making tonight. Toasted 🍅 (from hubby‘s garden), 🥓&🧀 🥪s! 🤤❤️‍🔥🤓

CoverToCoverGirl Yum! Had fresh veggies from our garden too for supper. 🥔 🥕 and green beans 😁 1y
TheSpineView Love to audio cook! 1y
DieAReader @TheSpineView 😏😉❤️‍🔥 1y
37 likes4 comments
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actualdisneyprincess
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What an honest, unvarnished, open autobiography. This was a delight to read, and now I want to go back and watch his filmography. (And the PHOTOS. Undeniably one of the most handsome men in history.) #theextraordinarylifeofanordinaryman #paulnewman #memoir #celebrity #philanthropist

JanuarieTimewalker13 Oooh, I‘m def stacking this. Funny, growing up I always favored Robert Redford, but past a certain age, I was like, wait a second, Paul Newman was a hot tamale!! Beautiful man! 2y
actualdisneyprincess @JanuarieTimewalker13 Redford is also perfection, so it‘s all good! But really, what an excellent book! Definite recommendation! 💖 2y
JanuarieTimewalker13 Cool, thank you!! I like memoirs!! 2y
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CarolynM I got this for Christmas but haven‘t started it yet. Soon, I hope🙂 Have you seen Ethan Hawke‘s documentary series about Newman and Joanne Woodward? It‘s excellent. (edited) 2y
actualdisneyprincess @CarolynM it‘s on my list! I also love Ethan Hawke, so CONVERGENCE OF SO MANY GOOD THINGS. 😍 2y
books_and_travel Just started reading this. Sounds amazing and, I anticipate, humbly written (or at least informed by the original materials he documented). 1y
actualdisneyprincess @Runner80 it‘s beautifully done! very humble, very self-aware. 💖 1y
24 likes7 comments
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Sharpeipup
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28 likes1 stack add
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Olivia306
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This is one hell of a autobiography that feels honest and deprecating, no glitter thrown around to hide the darkness beyond. I also appreciated the different points of view on the same issue/ story/ event inserted here and there. There‘s an honesty and rawness of the account - it‘s gripping and engaging. At times, it reads like a novel. The only thing that I‘d add is that sometimes it feels a bit curated. But I highly recommend it. 📚

13 likes2 stack adds