Jack Nicholson Books

This is a very interesting look at Jack's life from childhood on - including his friendships and how these friendships affected his life. I enjoyed this thoroughly, so much, that I am reading it a second time!

I would recommend Patrick McGiligan's biography because it has the research and detail one would expect of a biography. This book, (I assume written by an Englishman since it was published in England and uses words like "chum",etc) is a composite of what has already been published on Jack Nicholson. Its even balanced and focuses on seminal events in Nicholoson's life and his movies..What is very annoying about this book is the excessive description of the cultural context that surrounded Jack's 60's days...Way too much setting, frankly because there is not any new content here...If you don't know much about Jack, this is not a bad introductory piece....Oh, yes the other thing about this book is way too much (previously published) information on Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski, Marlon Brando, and Robert Evans...the writer goes into great details on the problems in their lives...not central to subject of this biography...

This was nothing near being a biography. It was just a book full of episodes in Jack N's life that were taken from various magazine/newspaper/media articles - things everyone already knew about him - nothing new or personal things about him - usually what a biography exposes. I found it very ho-hum.

This review refers to "Jack: The Great Seducer" by Edward Douglas....

As a big fan of Jack Nicholson, I was quite disapointed with this book. It is subtitled 'The Life and Many Loves of Jack Nicholson'. In that respect it did give quite a bit of information of his many loves and a good synopsis of his life before and after he became the great star that he is. If you are a fan and have never read anything else about him, you can probably add a star to my rating. However, although there are a few new interviews with various friends and girlfriends of the mega star, and the info is very up to date(going all the way through "Something's Gotta Give"), most of what you will read has been printed elsewhere. As a matter of fact, of the 436 pages, about 50 are devoted to the bibliographies and notes of quoted sources. I gave up by chapter 2 going back and forth to see where the quote came from. Each page has at least half a dozen noted quotes(sometimes there are that many in a paragraph). I also found at times, the book was nothing more than an X rated "Enquirer" as it couldn't have been more up close and personal when it comes to Jack's love life(and other big names as well). I was quite insulted by this part, as I feel most fans of this very talented actor, who has brought us so many hours of wonderful entertainment through the years, would be as well. It wasn't shocking, just sleazy.

What the book did have the warrants my 2 stars, is a good look at his life and loves, chronologically through his films. From the beginning of his career, each film is touched on, and the ones that really define Jack ("Easy Rider", "Five Easy Pieces", "Chinatown", etc) are quite detailed as to how he got the part, why he chose the roles, and what was happening in his life at the time.

Edward Douglas (a pseudonym, and I can't blame him for that) sheds some new insight into the what makes Jack tick, but for the most part I didn't think the as the front flap suggests, the revelations were "startling". I mean, what is so startling about a rich man wanting to take home left overs from his favorite restaurant. Maybe he LIKED the food and wanted a midnight snack.

Fans will not miss much by passing this one by....Laurie

There's not much to say about this book other than it's a compliation of everything the author read with a few recent interviews sprinkled in.

Like a previous reviewer, I lost interest (starting with Chapter 2) when I saw that it was one quote after another. When I looked at the Bibliography to see the sources and saw Mike Walker's gossip column in The National Enquirer as a source, as well as other tabloids, I figured the book wasn't worth the time considering how "accurate" those tabloids are (The Enquirer *can* get it right more often than other tabloids, sure, but a book needs more solid sources than tabloids!).

I have always had the greatest respect for Nicholson's acting ability. Numerous times in the past, I've read about how he is the consummate professional: He gets on a set and knows his lines (*and* yours!), does what he has to do and leaves. (*That's* the mark of a professional!!!)

The title says it all: The focus is more on Nicholson's personal life rather than his professional life. I find him fascinating (and, yes, unbelievably sexy at his age!) and believe his accomplishments are just as, if not, more interesting (and important) than his personal liasons.

This doesn't do Jack justice and the fact the author hides behind a pseudonym really sucks.

For instance we learn that Nicholson was taught acting by veteran film and tv actor Jeff Corey. It gives a little vague when it describes exactly what kind of actor Nicholson is. Corey mostly taught Nicholson method acting but for some films like The Shining Nicholson was more old fashioned theatrically in his approach. We learn many more things about JN like that that Nicholson gave up being an actor for a while (I often wondered why Nicholson wrote Head for the Monkees)then he was brought back. I'm more interested in the book when it's
on Jn's acting career than personal life though they do intertwine a lot. If you want my opinion this book leaves me with the opinion that Nicholson is a little too clickish in who he works for. Director Bob Raffleson or Diane Keaton or with John and Angelica Huston (before JH died that is) and so on. But come to think of it most actors who are famous are somewhat clickish(John Wayne was with John Ford a lot in movies to give another example).

as a casual movie goer who is no specialist on Jack's romantic and professional history, I found this to be a very comprehensive, continuously enlightening tour through all that he's accomplished in his amazing private and public life... although I couldn't help but be familiar with his reputation as the consumate rogue, I had no idea of the staggering quantity (and quality) of his conquests and of the 8 kids he's fathered and what's become of so many figures in his life... a very enjoyable read...

Jack Nicholson and Bobby McFerrin are good narrators but strange.... Perhaps we should have read the book before listening to the CD. This one kind of gave me the creeps and my 4 year old daughter thought there was too much music. Not great for bedtime. This might be better suit to older children.