In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stuart was to compile an oral history, to have Newman’s family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actor’s life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. That same stipulation applied to Newman himself. The project lasted five years.
The result is an extraordinary memoir, culled from thousands of pages of transcripts. The book is insightful, revealing, surprising. Newman’s voice is powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, always meeting that high standard of searing honesty. The additional voices–from childhood friends and Navy buddies, from family members and film and theater collaborators such as Tom Cruise, George Roy Hill, Martin Ritt, and John Huston–that run throughout add richness and color and context to the story Newman is telling.
Newman’s often traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed. He talks about his teenage insecurities, his early failures with women, his rise to stardom, his early rivals (Marlon Brando and James Dean), his first marriage, his drinking, his philanthropy, the death of his son Scott, his strong desire for his daughters to know and understand the truth about their father. Perhaps the most moving material in the book centers around his relationship with Joanne Woodward–their love for each other, his dependence on her, the way she shaped him intellectually, emotionally and sexually.
-Goodreads
Book Information
- Title: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
- Series: Standalone
- Author: Paul Newman, Melissa Newman, Clea Newman Soderlund
- Page Count: 297
- Genre: Memoir, Biography, Non-fiction
- Rating: 4.0/5.0
- Date Read: October 18th, 2024
Opening Thoughts
I try to mix in some non-fiction reads each year whether that comes in the form of history (military more often than not) or biographies. Looking back at 2024 so far I realized I haven’t had many of these reads so I went looking through my library and noticed I had The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man by Paul Newman handy. Now I’m not overly familiar with Paul Newman. I know of a few of his acting roles late in his career and see his name on many products commercially these days. That’s about the extent of things.
Pacing
The pacing of this was slightly confusing to me at first. Keeping in mind I typically read fictional stories in the fantasy and science fiction genre I was caught off guard by the point of view changing so much. I did a brief search on the difference between biography and memoirs and think this was my hang up. I’m not sure I’ve read a collection of memoirs before. The book does read in a linear format as far as timeline goes but it’s like having a collection of quotes or stories from not only Paul Newman but those who have touched his life or vice versa. Once I realized this, I was able to focus and settle into what was being shared.
I should also add that I experienced this book with the audio version through Audible. This has multiple narrators which all did an excellent job. Narrators listed on Audible for this title are as follows: Jeff Daniels, Melissa Newman, Clea Newman Soderlund, Ari Fliakos, January LaVoy, John Rubinstein and Emily Wachtel.
World Building
My next category is typically world building for my more traditional fiction reads and since this takes place in the real world I have to alter my point a bit. I will say that I learned quite a bit about the various places around the world that this man’s life has taken him. Some how I either forgot or never realized that Paul Newman was original from my neck of the woods in Northeast Ohio. That was a nice little surprise early on as we learned about his childhood.
Character Development
Then we have the character development. I think whenever we get a chance to learn about famous individuals whether they are influencers or looked at as heroes or role models we often find out these people aren’t shining examples of how one should live their lives. If this is your first look at a book in this format, just be prepared that this individual certain had his struggles with things along the way. With that being said, it was still great to understand just how hard he worked and how determined he was. The fact he was a problem solver putting these tools to use being the entrepreneur he became, makes sense why his name is on so many products these days.
Roundup & Recommendation
In the end I’m certainly glad I picked this one up. It was a nice break from my latest reads and gave me a good look into the life of a fairly well known human being and was a good reminder for me of yet another person who lived an extraordinary life beginning in Ohio.
Scoring
World Building 4/5
Pacing 3.75/5
Character Development 4.25/5
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