Home Page      

Autobiography / Biography   Travel / Places   Cooking / Food   Fashion / Health / Beauty   Other / General / Self-Help   Crafts / Home Improvement   Humor   Blog

Let's Face It - 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning
by Kirk Douglas
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN 0-470-08469-4
Published March 2007 - Hardcover - 238 pages - $22.95

Not being of an age where Mr. Douglas was my movie idol, I nevertheless am very well aware of who he is.  I do know he's a huge movie star with a kazillion film credits to his name.  I know that he has a very famous son and daughter-in-law, that his youngest son, Eric, died from a drug overdose, that he's been married for over 50 years, and that he's over 90 years old.  Oh, I also know his real name is Issur Danielovitch.  Mmmm, guess I'm older than I think.  Mr. Douglas' book is a delightful look at a life, so envied in many ways, filled with family, friends, work, and memories.  He starts off by realizing he's at an advanced age and what he was like as a young man just out of the Navy.  His extremely active life in the movies perhaps wasn't the best decision - his injuries are numerous.  When one reaches a certain age, it's natural to look back at great things you did, things you're sorry you did, to remember (in his case) one's many friends, giving and helping others, and to rest on your laurels as it were.  Not so for Mr. Douglas - he's still going strong and involved as ever.  He survived World War II and also a helicopter-and-small-airplane crash, anti-Semitism, a stroke, double knee operations, and a whole lot more.  I loved his stories of old Hollywood friends and what they got up to.  I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Douglas' comment on the debt America owes to Africa when he says, "Instead of trying to spread democracy with a gun, let it be by example.  Think of how it would benefit the world if we took the trillions of dollars we spend on military strength and instead used the money to help other people."  I forgot that he was in one of my favorite movies, The Man From Snowy River and also in Tough Guys.
Conclusion - An extremely interesting account of one man's amazing life and outlook on life itself.