Pieces of Time: The Life of James Stewart

by Gary Fishgall

Looks at the life of movie actor Jimmy Stewart, highlighting his film career, his service in the army, and his love life

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Media Tie In

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Mary Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched, comprehensive look at Stewart's career, predominantly, but also his personal life. Fishgall gathered details from all of Stewart's movies, often with anecdotes from the subject himself, and his costars, directors, etc. - he was incredibly thorough, almost to a fault. I eagerly devoured the stories from the movies I love (Capra, Hitchcock, etc.), but admit to reaching the point where I skimmed over the details of his later westerns. Fishgall's descriptions of the shoots gave me a much greater appreciation for the craft of acting (as well as all of the other things that go into making a good movie), Stewart's work ethic, and his talent, which one can see getting increasingly better throughout his career.

Fishgall seemed to hit all the highlights of Stewart's personal life, but didn't delve as deep there as this fan would have liked. Still, there are numerous quotes from his children, details of his friendships (particularly with Henry Fonda), as well as lots of information about his aviation hobby, military service, and subsequent time spent in the Reserve. I do wish we'd gotten to know Gloria a bit better in these pages.

Thankfully, this was not a salacious biography, though it didn't shy away from some aspects of his personality that might be more in line with Stewart's harder characters, as well as a couple of specific incidents that I was very disappointed to read about. The man was human, which is always tough for a fan to accept. But overall, Jimmy Stewart seemed to be a good, decent, hard-working, humble man. We just don't make them like that too much anymore, which is a terrible shame.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have about 79 Jimmy Stewart movies that I feel compelled to go watch. :-)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the first biography of Jimmy Stewart that I found on the town's library shelves, this one respected his wholesome upbringing, instead of seeing his Christian roots in the shopworn way of being repressive. Fishgall grasped that his healthy childhood and religious instruction helped him, like early America, be secure, stable, generous, committed, hard-working, and sacrificial, when needed. I was especially glad to learn more about his earnest pursuit of an active role in World War II, his large responsibilities during that enormous conflict, and his commitment to playing a role even after. It was just good to learn more about a man who relished decent roles, had a strong marriage, and who had the courage to lament the despair and immorality which overtook Hollywood in his later years. He wasn't perfect, and he was influenced by his environment, as his biographer made clear, but he was sound. That means a lot.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A caveat about my rating: while I enjoyed the in-depth biography, I found the sections where the author listed a particular film, its director, the director's previous film(s), the co-stars and their previous roles, a bit tedious. Perhaps if you are a student of film, these details make a great deal of difference and help you to "read between the lines" a bit, but if you can't name more than two directors from the 30s, you may find yourself slogging through these paragraphs.

[Cat Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Gary Fishgall captured the charming James Stewart in “Pieces of Time” in a well researched book. It reflected a person strong in his faith, loyal to friends and an honest stand up guy.

The book was heavy on details of the many films Stewart acted in, but it was a great part of his life. The information provided here would interest any film buff.

Stewart dated every beautiful actress of the times but he was not a “player.” All remarked wonderful memories (with the exception of Marlene Dietrich-read to find why) of a romantically inclined gentleman.

Enjoyed this biography, and I will view Stewart’s films differently, not in a negative way, but just with a better understanding of the actor, and most likely, more info about the film itself.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book when my wife and I visited the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, PA in early November 2022. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of Jimmy Stewart's life, from his birth in 1908 to his death in 1997. Having seen many of his movies, I particularly enjoyed reading the chapters that discussed how these movies were made and what Stewart felt about them. I think the author gave a very balanced depiction of Jimmy Stewart. It was generally sympathetic, but when Stewart made mistakes Fishgall pointed them out. Even though the book was almost 400 pages long, I was sorry when it ended.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and exhaustive account of the life of a great actor. Jimmy Stewart essentially played himself in so many movies but at the same time he had range and reach. A conservative World War 2 military man aside from being a celebrity, Jimmy Stewart could effortlessly pass between those worlds. By the time he had reached the age of 40 he was ready to marry and he stayed married to the same woman until she passed away in the mid-90's. Stewart never remarried but followed Gloria in death three years later.
Jimmy Stewart was one of the originals and a classic actor.

[Debbie Sainsbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a crashing together of unknown bits and the reality that I and my children both shared the earth at the same time as this talented man. The book delves into personal aspects and lesser known facts about Stewarts military and movie career. It’s a pleasure to read

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

#158 of 160 books pledged to read during 2019

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, more than other biographies i'v read recently. Fishgall keeps the wholesome all American boy next door image of Stewart while also showing some gray. One thing that I absolutely loved about this book is you get a sense of his personality and what he was like as a person throughout the entire book,which not many biographers have done. There are some details that I would have liked to be expanded,like his relationship with his wife and what made her different than his other girlfriends as well as other friendships and relationships. while he goes into detail with some things others that I would have liked to know more about (like him hosting the Academy Awards) might not even get a sentence. The end was too rushed to me it felt like he wanted to end the book so he did. Overall, it was a good book that I enjoyed throughout, especially since I didn't know much about Stewart before reading this book and now wish I had a friend like him.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-.Kind of dry, but some of the references to other stars and movies I'd seen or heard of were interesting. Part of the issue was that Jimmy Stewart was a quiet, private guy. It does make you want to go back and do a retrospective study of a few of his westerns, "Vertigo "and "Rope" by Alfred Hitchcock , "Harvey" to name a few. I did learn things I never new about Jimmy Stewart, but it was a very sanitized book.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The right book at the right time for me. I enjoyed the slow, easy way the author treated the task of putting Stewart's life down in black and white. Fishgall obviously has a high regard for JS and it showed through consistently. As a good biography often does, the reader is left with the lingering regret that he had not personally met the real thing.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written biography about one of America's beloved actors. This book was not a tell all book, but it did not pull any punches. It discussed the good and the bad in Jimmy Stewart's life in such a way that he seemed even more human then the perception I had when I started the book. A wonderful read if you like James Stewart and/or the goings on of the Hollywood industry during the 30's - 60's.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good to read a biography of an actor whom I've always respected and found good reasons why I had done so. Many people don't realize that he was one of the few actors in his day that sought out combat in WWII, was heroic in effecting his aims, and continued as a high-ranking officer in the air force as a consequence.

[Laura Snyder]

Lost interest and didn't finish.

[Heddy Panik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive biography. Includes list of all the productions James Stewart was in - movies, plays and television.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

read SOMETIME in 2010