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Gable: With Lombard, with Harlow, with Monroe, His Life, Loves, and Leading Ladies
Perfect spine. Bright clean cover has light shelf and edge wear. Text is perfect, but toning. Same day shipping first class.
152 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 7, 1975
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July 12, 2022
Although I love Clark Gable, this book was meh. The only reason I say that is because it doesn’t seem to have in depth research and it could’ve been a lot longer. This may have passed as a biography back when it was written, but I highly doubt it would pass by today’s fact checking and other standards.
With that being said, it was still an interesting read. Gable didn’t seem like too horrible of a guy. His wives never had anything bad to say about him and neither did his coworkers. One thing I did find tragic about his story was how early he lost his mother and how history would repeat itself when he passed before his son was born. I wish the book would’ve tried to delve a bit more into the sensitive side of Gable. I know he wasn’t one that showed that side a lot, but it definitely existed.
One thing the book did comment on was his masculine image and how Gable portrayed the everyday rugged man and was the embodiment of how a man was supposed to behave. I’m glad it points this out (albeit in superficial ways), but it’s also important to note that even this hyped up masculinity was somewhat crafted. I found this interesting as a gay man who has felt the pressures of society to be more masculine and manly. I feel that Gable sometimes got trapped in this as well, but because he was a straight man, he just kept burying his emotions. It’s interesting how much he let women rule his life as well. He may have been slapping women in front of the camera, but he was the one getting whipped behind the scenes (and that is not in any way sexual because he apparently wasn’t the best lover).
Another reason I rated this book lower than I normally do is because it focused on a lot of superficial aspects of Gable’s life and briefly glanced over important events in his life (like Carol’s death!). I think it could’ve done deeper, but instead came a off a bit like a tabloid written by a super fan. It’s a quick read for someone who wants some info on Gable, but doesn’t nearly begin to scratch the rugged surface of this amazing film icon.
With that being said, it was still an interesting read. Gable didn’t seem like too horrible of a guy. His wives never had anything bad to say about him and neither did his coworkers. One thing I did find tragic about his story was how early he lost his mother and how history would repeat itself when he passed before his son was born. I wish the book would’ve tried to delve a bit more into the sensitive side of Gable. I know he wasn’t one that showed that side a lot, but it definitely existed.
One thing the book did comment on was his masculine image and how Gable portrayed the everyday rugged man and was the embodiment of how a man was supposed to behave. I’m glad it points this out (albeit in superficial ways), but it’s also important to note that even this hyped up masculinity was somewhat crafted. I found this interesting as a gay man who has felt the pressures of society to be more masculine and manly. I feel that Gable sometimes got trapped in this as well, but because he was a straight man, he just kept burying his emotions. It’s interesting how much he let women rule his life as well. He may have been slapping women in front of the camera, but he was the one getting whipped behind the scenes (and that is not in any way sexual because he apparently wasn’t the best lover).
Another reason I rated this book lower than I normally do is because it focused on a lot of superficial aspects of Gable’s life and briefly glanced over important events in his life (like Carol’s death!). I think it could’ve done deeper, but instead came a off a bit like a tabloid written by a super fan. It’s a quick read for someone who wants some info on Gable, but doesn’t nearly begin to scratch the rugged surface of this amazing film icon.
Displaying 1 of 1 review