EBERT - Life Itself

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Copyright 2011 by Roger Ebert

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

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ISBN 978-0-446-58498-2

Tales from childhood, interviews with films stars and directors, funny and touching stories about colleagues, and evocative essays about trips unspool before the reader in a series of loosely organized, often beautifully written essays crafted by a witty, clear-eyed yet romantic raconteur.

Washington Post

Candid, funny, and kaleidoscopic The book sparkles with his new, improvisatory, written version of dinner-party conversation Its globe-trotting, indefatigable author comes across as the life of a lifelong party This is the best thing Mr. Ebert has ever written.

Janet Maslin, New York Times

A great readthoughtful, entertaining, and emotional Ebert comes across as smart, bighearted, and eccentric [He] writes with unflinching candor about difficult subjects.

Entertainment Weekly

[A] candid examination of an extraordinary life Reminiscences both witty and passionate from one of our most important cultural voices.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Candid and charming.

Chicago Tribune

Its hard not to be swept up in his enthusiasms Ebert is exceptionally good company. Like Christopher Hitchens and Kirk Douglas, he works prodigiously and narrates his Job-like woes with a surprisingly chipper voice and a captivating, moveable feast it is.

Maureen Dowd, New York Times Book Review

[A] poignant memoir [with] considerable emotional heft Ebert illuminates and assesses his life with the same insight and clarity that marks his acclaimed movie reviews.

Booklist (starred review)

The treasure of the book is Eberts portraiturewhether of family, friends, colleagues, or celebrities in particular, his sketches of Robert Mitchum, Lee Marvin, and John Wayne pulsate with life.

The New Yorker

The book is breezy, self-aware, and generous, a packed life story from a man who can now communicate only through his writing Ebert writes with an uncommon ear.

Dallas Morning News

A household name for decades, the film critic applies his vivid writing style to subjects ranging from the frivolous to the profound.

Arizona Republic

Occasionally a reviewer comes along who manages to transcend those limitations and produce work that lasts. Such a man is the valiant Roger Ebert a heroic figure of American letters It is both a tribute to the persistence of memory and to the insightful work of a man who has become more aware of what matters in life.

San Francisco Chronicle

A gentle look back, LIFE ITSELF is as moving as it is amusing, fresh evidence that Roger Ebert is a writer who happens to love movies, not a movie lover who happens to write.

Associated Press

The chapter How I Believe in God is one of the more self-aware, humble, and eloquent accounts of personal belief that Ive ever read Ebert is unfailingly honest.

San Antonio Express News

A keen, confessional memoir We read it in a single sitting.

Observer (U.K.)

A sense of joyful desperation springs from each page of Roger Eberts wondrously detailed memoir.

St. Petersburg Times

An episodic, impressionistic, and skillfully written exploration of his life What shines throughout the book is Eberts humility, his down-to-earth and powerful sense of decency.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Eberts accessible style has always been both smart and light, filled with strong descriptions and personal interjections.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ebert has a warm and generous humanity, a precise way with words, and has lived (and is still living) a bountiful life.

Arkansas Democratic Gazette

The book is chatty, upbeat, and structurally loosewhich is to say that it sounds exactly like Roger Ebert one of the many admirable features of his book is its sunniness Reading this book I was struck by how deeply hes inscribed with our national character. The decency and good humor and happy acceptance of other cultures Above all, the eagerness to engage with life.

NPR.org

Spellbinding a book of beautiful moments This story is inspirational, and his memoirs, LIFE ITSELF, are a pleasure to read.

Boston Review

An Illini Century

A Kiss Is Still a Kiss

The Perfect London Walk (with Daniel Curley)

Roger Eberts Movie Home Companion

Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook

Future of the Movies (with Gene Siskel)

Behind the Phantoms Mask

Eberts Little Movie Glossary

Eberts Bigger Little Movie Glossary

Roger Eberts Book of Film

Questions for the Movie Answer Man

I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie

The Great Movies

The Great Movies II

Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert

Your Movie Sucks

Roger Eberts Movie Yearbook

Roger Eberts Four-Star Reviews 19672007

Scorsese by Ebert

The Great Movies III

The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker

For Chaz

and

For my parents

I WAS BORN inside the movie of my life. The visuals were before me, the audio surrounded me, the plot unfolded inevitably but not necessarily. I dont remember how I got into the movie, but it continues to entertain me. At first the frames flicker without connection, as they do in Bergmans Persona after the film breaks and begins again. I am flat on my stomach on the front sidewalk, my eyes an inch from a procession of ants. What these are I do not know. It is the only sidewalk in my life, in front of the only house. I have seen grasshoppers and ladybugs. My uncle Bob extends the business end of a fly swatter toward me, and I grasp it and try to walk toward him. Voices encourage me. Hal Holmes has a red tricycle and I cry because I want it for my own. My parents curiously set tubes afire and blow smoke from their mouths. I dont want to eat, and my aunt Martha puts me on her lap and says shell pinch me if I dont open my mouth. Gary Wikoff is sitting next to me in the kitchen. He asks me how old I am today, and I hold up three fingers. At Tots Play School, I try to ride on the back of Mrs. Meadrows dog, and it bites me on the cheek. I am taken to Mercy Hospital to be stitched up. Everyone there is shouting because the Panama Limited went off the rails north of town. People crowd around. Aunt Martha brings in Doctor Collins, her boss, who is a dentist. He tells my mother, Annabel, its the same thing to put a few stitches on the outside of a cheek as on the inside. I start crying. Why is the thought of stitches