The Death of James Dean

I first read this book almost 15 years ago and lost the original paperback whilst at college.But I can still recall the creepy passages of Beath's descripton of Dean's death and Beath's veiled admission of his own descent into madness and obsession-the young man that Beath describes throughout the book IS the author himself because if you read his bibliography at the front,he lists NOTES ON DYING which is the thesis the character writes in the book.Bits that stick out are the Japanese business-man buying the hulk of the tow-truck that carried away the crumpled porshe after the crash and the author stealing a high-way cornice and storing it in his room,only to find it infested with hornets and flies.Quite superb.

Beath makes the death of James Dean a very personal experience for the reader. This is not a book one reads and forgets - the reader has participated in the author's passionate search for the substance behind the tragedy and the reader is changed. I'm ready for more from this author.

The most amazing aspect of Beath's book is the original and innovative research. Basically, Beath was the first Hollywood biographer to dig into public records--traffic reports, lawsuit testimony--and uncover facts about Dean's death that had been previously overlooked. If Pulitzer Prizes were not the preserve of Manhattan writers and their pals, Warren Newton Beath of Bakersfield, California would have won one for this book.

This book pulled me into a haunting but intriguing place, that exists and will always exist in the rolling hills of a California highway, to a place that has barely changed in 40-odd years, and a rabid passion for a face and human who has made a HUGE impact. Great book!