Bogart: In Search Of My Father (1996) - Plot & Excerpts
I really enjoy books about real people. Celebrities, famous people I really enjoy reading about their lives and what makes them tick. I went through a stage many years ago where all I wanted to do was watch old movies. I watched, Key Largo, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Sabrina, and a bunch of John Wayne westerns. I was mesmerized by these movies. They are so different from the movies of today. Of all the oldies I saw, I became especially fond of Humphrey Bogart. His style was so unique. I was instantly a fan. I found this book in an antique shop several years ago and finally got around to reading it. I think Stephen Bogart did a fantastic job with this. Each chapter began with the continuation of the memory of a trip made to his old family home in Los Angeles with his mom in 1993. He reveals a piece of this memory each chapter. Stephen who has spent almost his whole life trying to forget his father, realizes he needs to remember. He finally wants to remember. So he talks to all of the people who knew his dad to help him learn more about the man he only was able to spend 8 -years of his life with. Humphrey Bogart was a genuine guy. He loved to sail and drink with his friends. He was a no nonsense type who told it like it was. He didn’t like phony actors. Stephen interviewed several people who knew Humphrey including his mom, Lauren Bocall. They helped Stephen piece together some of the missing pieces of the life of a man he didn’t really know. Now, after reading this, I want to go back and watch The African Queen and some of the other Bogart movies I have yet to see. It was great to learn about a legend.
I had to stop reading this book. If you're interested in Bogart, there has to be better sources for information about his private life than this book, which is essentially a place to learn about his son and how he came to terms with his father's fame and his father's death when Stephen was just eight. Stephen comes off poorly in the book, as does Bogart, who apparently was a jack-ass who was too busy being "unconventional" to notice how boring he was. I'll keep my image of the man based on his work untarnished by this garbage.
What do You think about Bogart: In Search Of My Father (1996)?
This was a very quick read - although I'm in the middle of too many other books at the moment, I picked it up in the library, took a peek, was instantly hooked... brought it home and read right through to the end. It didn't tell me much about Bogart that I didn't already know, but it was interesting to read his son's thoughts and memories and see how he feels his own life has reflected aspects of his father's life and personality at times. It's also written in an enjoyably dry style - I liked Stephen Bogart's descriptions of his typical conversations with anyone he has never met before, and how he is always asked the same questions about his father.
—Judy
