Showman the Life of David O Selznick

Showman the Life of David O Selznick by David Thomson. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780349105239.

David O. Selnick, the legendary producer of "Gone With the Wind", is portrayed in this full-scale biography by the first writer to be given complete access to Selnicks voluminous and revealing correspondence. No other Hollywood giant ever had so much to say; no other was reckless enough to leave so much on record. The most charming, talented, insanely workaholic, insecure, amorous and self-destructive of all the geniuses of American moviemaking, Selnicks story is the history of the picture business; his private life was the stuff that films are made of. Played out with increasing melodrama, the Selznick dynasty is celebrated here in detail, from immigrant beginnings to the pinnacle of success with the making of such greats as "King Kong", "Anna Karenina" and "The Third Man", only to suffer in the depths of anti-climax with alcoholism, mental illness and suicide.