Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean - Softcover

‘There's only one true form of greatness for a man. If he can bridge the gap between life and death... if he can live on after he's died... then maybe he was a great man. Whatever the truth, you've got to live fast’
JAMES DEAN

America's most enduring symbol of rebellious youth, James Dean has held the fascination of the public since his tragic death at the age of twenty four almost forty years ago. In the first complete, fully documented biography of this enigmatic hero, Donald Spoto offers a startlingly revelatory look at the short, greatly misunderstood life of an icon who remains frozen in time.

With the co-operation of dozens of family members, friends, lovers, directors and co-stars, Spoto vividly describes Dean's electrifying rise to stardom from his humble roots and mid-western childhood; he delves deeply into the tragic death of Dean's mother when he was nine and his tumultuous relationship with his father, the devastating effects of which would be played out for the rest of his life.

Donald Spoto, author of international best-selling biographies of Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, Describes James Dean's on-and -off screen exploits while filming the classics ' East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause 'and' Giant'. His authoritative new biography offers an illuminating perspective on the boy/man who remains the eternal teenage rebel.

‘Compellingly takes us through the facts of Dean's brief life’
SUNDAY TIMES

‘Scrupulously fair and unsensationalized’
NEW YORK TIMES