A "Hello" as well as a request for book information

[Joshua]

First of all, Hello from me to all of you fantastic Welles fans out there--I have learned more about Orson and his films since I have found this site than I did the entire year before--so thank you. I am 26 year old recent Welles fan of only 3 years and I am as always eager to learn more--especially during the summer when I am on break from college and have the time to read for my own pleasure. So my question to you is this: what book is there out there about Orson that you learned the most from? I have recently finished the Barbara Leaming biography and found it very interesting. I am especially interested in "This is Orson Welles," any opinions on that? Thanks alot for your help!

[RayKelly]

THIS IS ORSON WELLES is a must-have, especially for the detailed chronology of Welles' career by Jonathan Rosenbaum. It is a reference I always return to.
I would urge you to seek out WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ORSON WELLES by Joseph McBride, along with his previous books on Welles.

[Joshua]

Thanks for the recommendations Ray--I'll check those out for sure. Any opinions of the Simon Callow series of books?

[Jeff Wilson]

Welcome to the board, Joshua. If you do a search for Callow, you'll probably find lots of discussion of his books, as we've gone over them more than once. Opinions are mixed, is the simplest way to put it. Callow generally falls on the "Welles was a failure" side of the debate regarding his career.

[Joshua]

Thanks Jeff. Callow is still interesting to me, even if he is largely critical of Orson, simply because Leaming basically had an excuse for nearly every thing that ever went wrong in Orson's career--an excuse that almost never included an error by him. It should be interesting to read a perhaps alternative view. But I think I'm going to start with getting "What ever happened to Orson Welles" from the local library, and then buying "This is Orson Welles," because I'm always interested in his own words--and the aforementioned chronology that will come in handy I'm sure.

[Store Hadji]

I gave up on Callow's Hello Americans book. There were so many factual inaccuracies in it that I could no longer trust anything Callow was saying. The book is a complete disaster. It not only discredits itself entirely, but all of Road to Xanadu as well.

Find the books by Joe McBride, James Naremore and Frank Brady and you'll be better served. Charles Higham presents a lot of good research, but he also writes attack biographies, those strange things written by someone who hates their subject for an audience of people who hate the subject. How many people read a book about something they hate? I can't see how such biographies could have any market or why publishers would publish them. Some people revel in hatred, I guess.

[Glenn Anders]

Add my greetings to the others, Joshua. They have given you good advice.

In addition to This Is Orson Welles [the revised edition], you might want to look out CD's of the tapes on which the book was based. The CD box set offers you not just Orson Welles' own words, but the flavor of his friendship with Peter Bogdanovich. In addition, much of the material on the CD's is different than that found in the book.

I agree, a truly valuable part of the book, This Is Orson Welles, is Rosenbaum's chronology of Welles' life and career, the most complete and concise extant. There is also another appendix which contains the cutting continuity for the material excised from the theatrical release of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. It is a heartbreaking section because it suggests that in the film, before it was butchered, Welles had created a motion picture as great as CITIZEN KANE, if very different in style and content. I like to think of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSON which might have been as "the feminine mirror image of . . . KANE."

Of the different titles Hadji has added to your reading list, I strongly recommend James Naremore's The Magic World of Orson Welles. His insights are still far ahead of those found in most critical studies of Welles' films and other artistic endeavors.

As for Callow, I thought that The Road to Xanadu was dreadful simply because, in dealing with Welles' first 26 years, the author so denigrated the man's life and work up to that point, it is difficult to imagine how anyone would have paid much attention to him at all. Hello Americans, on the other hand, though this second volume may have some of the failings Hadji attributes to it, suggests Callow's grudging but growing admiration for Welles over the next five years, despite what he had earlier posited were crippling defects of character. [In our cynical time, Welles' combination of moral idealism, sense of romanticism and ballast of personal self-indulgence must count for Callow like three strikes on his subject before he had even reached the plate.] It will be interesting to see if Callow's next volume charts Orson Welles' continued progress toward a kind of tragic heroism.

Good reading, listening and viewing to you, Joshua.

Glenn Anders

[Roger Ryan]

Welcome Joshua!

Since the others haven't mentioned it yet (for good reason), I'll ask you to refrain from opening the cover to David Thomson's "Rosebud", another mean-spirited tome filled with bizarre and pointless speculation.

"This Is Orson Welles" is a great read; even when Welles is doing his own fabrication, it's good (and insightful) fun since it's coming from the man himself.

[tonyw]

Welcome, Joshua. There is little I can add to previous posting except to mention that you put enough time aside to explore the interesting threads and discussions on this group which often rewrites and corrects Welles history. Thanks to Jeff, this is one of the most advanced scholarly forums on the internet which you will enjoy.

[Joshua]

Thank you all again, and please--keep the recommendations coming from those who may have more to add. I have gotten my hands on "what ever happened to..." and will move on down the list, reading as many as I can over the summer. My other goal this summer, is to get my hands on and view the mutilated Magnificent Ambersons, which I have not yet watched, simply because I could not bring myself to having in vague detail known the story behind it. Thanks again, there really is no better place on the net for Welles' fans than right here.

[colwood]

Welcome. Here are two threads that might be of help, though they are a couple of years old and don't touch on books that have come out in the last three or so years. On the other hand, you might be able to find some of these that interest you for bargain prices on ebay or half.com.

http://wellesnet.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=3118
http://wellesnet.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=158

...simply because Leaming basically had an excuse for nearly every thing that ever went wrong in Orson's career--an excuse that almost never included an error by him...

I'm far from an expert on Welles books. But I always thought that the Leaming book had its pro-Welles view because it was the only bio Welles ever authorized.

[Joshua]

Welcome. Here are two threads that might be of help, though they are a couple of years old and don't touch on books that have come out in the last three or so years. On the other hand, you might be able to find some of these that interest you for bargain prices on ebay or half.com.

http://wellesnet.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=3118
http://wellesnet.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=158

...simply because Leaming basically had an excuse for nearly every thing that ever went wrong in Orson's career--an excuse that almost never included an error by him...

I'm far from an expert on Welles books. But I always thought that the Leaming book had its pro-Welles view because it was the only bio Welles ever authorized.

Thank you for the direction, I will check those threads out.

I agree with what you say about the Leaming book, she is obviously very biased, perhaps with good reason. You get the feeling that she, more than anything, wanted him to approve of the book.

[Christopher]

Welcome to Wellesnet, Joshua.

I second the recommendations others have made in this thread. I just wanted to add that Frank Brady's biography, Citizen Welles, is out of print, unfortunately, since I consider it one of the most even-handed of the books about Welles. However, you might find a copy in your public library.

[Joshua]

In addition to This Is Orson Welles [the revised edition], you might want to look out CD's of the tapes on which the book was based. The CD box set offers you not just Orson Welles' own words, but the flavor of his friendship with Peter Bogdanovich. In addition, much of the material on the CD's is different than that found in the book.

Does someone have a link to this item (the cd)? I can't seem to find it--only on cassette.

Welcome to Wellesnet, Joshua.

I second the recommendations others have made in this thread. I just wanted to add that Frank Brady's biography, Citizen Welles, is out of print, unfortunately, since I consider it one of the most even-handed of the books about Welles. However, you might find a copy in your public library.

Thanks Christopher. I may pick that one up next.

[Store Hadji]

I bought the cassette edition. Major thrill the day I found that at Borders. Bogdanovich's field recordings are pretty rough in the audio quality department, and a little extra tape hiss should be no barrier to a purchase.