Errol Flynn: The Life and Career

Rating:
Summary: Another book on Flynn with a price!!
Review: After finaly getting hold of this new book on Flynn at great cost! I dived into it with relish for something rather extra ordinary.As the pages got turned my relish turned a little sour after reading much the same that had been written about Flynn before.
I pressed on waiting for the juicy bits that would constitute the huge price tag or so I hoped only for the book to move along in a pridctable way with much of the wonders excitment of Flynn's life that I had read before, several times, since becoming interested in the Baron a few short years ago and having devoured all other works of fact, fiction, hearsay and lies.

Talking of lies! I was surprised at the author naming two yahoo groupies in the acknowlegments for a special mention. That is no place to find facts.More likely finding false hoods, gossip envy and ego, with profit the bottom line from memrobilia being a good motive.

As I moved through the middle of the book it became clear that this was a perssonal summing up of Flynn's life with to much sentimental fan adoration in the background,near all based on the inforamtion in Flynn's own tomb, his classic candid autobiography
and the other bio's out there.

The book is put together in a professional and pleasant style and the writing is pleasant and neet with everything in it's place.A fidgety stickler of an "accountant" or a "miss Jean Brody" type teacher would find this book to their liking as everything has been edited nicly all the t's and i's have been crossed, and so it must be awarded top marks for the best in class wether enjoyable or not.

But no, for anybody who loves to read about Flynn and wants to, if they are going to read Flynn, they want something raw, funny,exciting,adventurous which they are excpecting.But, dont look in this book if thats what you want or are ecpecting.You will find it sterile boring and long winded and you will wonder what you have spent so much cash for.If your rich and this is your first Flynn book great this will satify all your needs.Then read "My wicked Wicked Ways" directly to re-awaken.

I may be being a little harsh on the author here? Maybe, but the author has brought this on himself as he must be partly to blame as the book promises so much and with a massive price tag of $65.00! Yes thats right!

Whom ever came up with that figure is doing an injustice to the buyer and the reader if they are not both.If the publisher is to blame then it is not doing the author justice.
Because to part with that much money for a book that does not deliver anything more, than that which is already out there then it is like being sold something from a dodgy car dealer telling you that you get what you pay for, and the thing breaks down soon as you use it.

I would very much like to know how many of these books have been sold at this price and find out how many are satisfied with it?

The other aspect is if the author and publisher made a profit from this book?If so they have indeed suceeded were other authors who just wanted the story to be told have failed.

I get the feeling the author has written this book for himself rather than the reader.Though the price excludes many readers hence I get that impression.

For example over the last few years I have bought every book by Flynn and written about Flynn that I know of 31 or 32 of them and the price for all with only three being bought new and one with Flynn's original signiture,"all cost less" than this one book! Now if you ask me? This book is the rip off of the century or lets be polite and say the least best value written about Flynn ever!

I am sure except for the fanatic many of these books will be in the flee markets and ebay for a few dollars soon enough, once they have swollowed their pride at the cash they have wasted.

If this book had been priced as Jeffrey Meyers book I would have said a well written solid book about Errol Flynn with a good appendix.

Rating:
Summary: Wrriten for the approval of another, a school project?
Review: Errol Flynn has been brought to our attention in recent years in a town where he once lived and acted at our local rep company for over a year in Northampton.

I read the Charles Higham Book and thought it was all made up by a tabloid writer. I read the David Bret Book same rubbish!

I hear a passioned though not articulate interview on our local radio by a young man from merseyside or Lancashire to take another look at Flynn and that he was not all he was accused of, and that when his book, or the one he was collaborating on with some professor from Americca, came out, they would dispell all the lies?The local newspaper interview by the same man came out and intriged me somewhat. So when this book came out I thought I would enlighten myself.

Well what a disapointent! Though I dont now if there is a connection between radio and newspaper interviewe and this author.

This book does not dispell any of the accusations it sort of crosses over them while going through the general accusations such as the statutory rape trial, yet looks at Flynns life with rose colourd glasses the information bar a few new bites that can be aquired here and there for the keen fan if nessasary, and it is written in a style that would please a school teacher, not the reader, it is a bland humourless and boring book, and it was hard to read suprisigly as Flynn was never boring or humourless.As has been pointed out, the photos are a disappointment only being embedded in the papar.So the great cost of £47:95 $65:00 is astonishing!Does a hardback now cost £35:00 or $50:00 more than a softback without genuine pictures?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the other reviews have been given by those acknowledged in this book "The Life and career" then the probity of this book is brought into question and is unethical.Authors praising fellow authors for "quid pro quo" is out of order, though more common by tenured lecturers.

If I could give the book two sets of ratings I would give it 4 marks for the attention to detail appendix and grammer. However that does not make a book worth reading the content is a 2 so i will give the book a 3 to be fair.Having said that I dont think I should as the book is a very well put together re-hash nothing more.

I dont recommend it.I agree with the books recomended by another reviewer. Flynn's three books and the two biographys By Tony Thomas and Earl Conrad.Would be a better insight to this enigma.

Rating:
Summary: A Welcomed Biography
Review: For both long-time fans and those new to the subject, readers will find Thomas McNulty's "Errol Flynn: The Life and Career" a truly wonderful experience.

The author has accomplished an impressive and astounding effort in piecing together a fascinating portrait of Mr Flynn as an adventurer, actor and writer. Mr McNulty's prose style is carefully constructed, poetic at times, captivating and objective. He covers the major points of Mr Flynn's life, and brings focus upon aspects of Flynn that had yet to be thoroughly researched and recorded for publication.

Knowledgable enthusiasts of Flynn will appreciate the passages on Flynn's early Hollywood years, particularly the filming of "The Adventures of Robin Hood". As Flynn's life story progresses, McNulty brings forth much detailed information on various movie productions in which Flynn was cast, and places these in context with developments in Flynn's personal activities. Exactly what a biography should do, indeed.

However, to date, no such biography on Flynn has so carefully weaved his Hollywood personna with his private life. The reader will appreciate this process of chronology, and gain a fuller understanding of Flynn's rise and subsequent fall as one of Warner Brothers leading stars.

McNulty carefully covers Flynn's trip to war-time Spain; the infamous rape trial; Flynn's FBI dossier; and, curiously one of the more enjoyable portions of the book, Flynn's efforts in authoring his story of "Charlie Bow-Tie".

These episodes, along with McNulty's scrutiny of Flynn's final decade, in which television became a source of both income and exposure for the declining star, bring forth a new viewing of Flynn as a man who lived his life to the fullest, both under the public spotlight as well as away from it.

As a fan of Flynn for many years, I greatly appreciate Mr McNulty's work. His meticulous research (well-documented with copious endnotes for each chapter) and first-hand sources are cited for reference. As an added bonus, the reader will much enjoy an appendix of "Remembrances", which contains impressions of Flynn by such notables as Kirk Douglas, Gene Autry, Tony Curtis and Veronica Lake.

The book has been carefully produced as a casebound publication, measuring approximately 7-1/4 x 10-1/4. With a laminated cover, pasted endleaves, a Smyth-sewn binding and head- and foot-bands, the quality of craftsmanship speaks for itself. The layout and typography are exquisite, coupled with acid-free, softwhite paper, it provides easy readership for the viewer. The photographs, many of which are obviously from vintage prints, are legibly scanned at a fine resolution and are thoughtfully interspersed within the text.

If one were to have an opportunity to introduce Errol Flynn to a newcomer, I would highly recommend this book, accompanied by Flynn's autobiography "My Wicked, Wicked Ways", "The Films of Errol Flynn" by Tony Thomas, and "Errol Flynn: A Memoir" by Earl Conrad.

This is a very fine publication. Mr McNulty should be most proud of the results that will be enjoyed by many, enlightening to most and greatly appreciated by true fans of Errol Flynn.

Rating:
Summary: A very very good book!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It's very long but kept my interest and the writing was good, very fine in fact. Errol Flynn has been the subject of many books but this one is the best. It is well researched and well written. Mr. McNulty has all of his facts in order and for the first time Flynn is prsented as a man of substance. The photos are just GREAT as noted by others. The binding is quality, and although its expensive, that is to be expected. A book like this is a collectors item! Congratulations to Mr. McNulty for a five star book!

Rating:
Summary: this is a very good book!!!
Review: Many writers have written about Errol Flynn, some good and some bad. He is popular and every couple years a new book comes out. This one is really good. It is rare to read a book dedicated to good writing like this one is. And the book tells the whole truth about Errol Flynn, my favorite actor.

Nobody can say Errol Flynn is your typical actor. He was a genuine and original thinker. Thank goodness this book reaches into history and tells us the true story as it really happened!

The book has all of the famous stories about Errol Flynn and a few stories I never heard before. The author studies the man and his great films and turns it into a history lesson. I got this book for Christmas and was told only the price sucks. I'm glad I got it. this is a good book that all Errol Flynn fans should read!!!

Rating:
Summary: Long winded boring and expensive!
Review: Sadly this book is long winded and does not cover anything almost, on what I would have liked to learn about Flynn, that has not been written about in earlier books.
If you want to know Flynn read his autobigraphy "My Wicked Wicked Ways" and his two novels "Beam Ends" and
"Showdown".Then read Earl Conrads bio and Tony Thomas' bio available at the library or on ebay.

The book is not worth "65 dollers" to any reader other than a fanatic who just has to have the latest.

The pictures are not even glossy and for "65 dollers"!This book should be returned back to Amazon asap.

Rating:
Summary: A good solid book on Flynn
Review: Thomas Mcnulty has written a good solid book on Flynn.The first in many a year. It has a few faults like any book of this nature.It is well written and a page turner it is, after the first couple of chapters which are a little slow to warm to.After that the the pages start to fly away and you get drawn into the depth of Errol Flynn and his exciting fun and surprisingly often sad adventures.

I could agree with the other reviwers with the price being a little on the steep side,which is a shame for the younger or those new to Flynn, who may be put off by the price as they loose out here.Yes the pictures are the one item I am disapointed about as a few others are!However I think the book is well worth reading even if it has to be at a later date, when the price comes down, and if it does I think the book will sell even more due to it style and presenation which is a more complete bio of Flynn that has never been available before now.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME BOOK
Review: With this book, Errol Flynn: The Life and Career, the author Thomas McNulty has done a fantastic job! I could not wait to get to the next page. This book has a lot of poetic writing. Very eloquently written. Mr. McNulty has the finesse that you wish all books would have. The details are so there. If you're an Errol Flynn fan or just interested in the man as an actor you will surely want to have this book. One of the nice things in this book is that the pictures are not in a cluster in the middle. It's nice to see pictures as your reading along giving you a visual aspect. There are several pictures that were used that give it a special surprise.

The extra details of the rape trial and his television series were good to see as it has not been seen in other books. As Errol Flynn was an adventurer, what an adventure this man must have had in writing this book. I would so highly recommend this book. Anyone can see this author truly is a fan and a great writer to boot.

He kept everything in perspective. He was very fair in including a lot of aspects of Errol Flynn's life, which I'm sure was very hard to do. So if you enjoy reading and you enjoy Errol Flynn then these two go hand in hand. What an awesome job this author Mr. McNulty did. My hats off to you!! You get all 5 stars from this reader!! Thank you Sir!!