The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (Applause Books)

Well written and well researched. It is leaning too too much in the British vein. As a treatise on the subject it is illuminating

Roger Lewis' controversial book The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is at best a massive essay on the negative aspects of the famed comedy star. While his achievements are questionable and even seem to dim in the paleness of time, the book itself isn't even interested in what those are. The book is primarily arranged to address Sellers' behavior (or alleged behavior, in some cases) to suit the needs of the writer. While not as vile as Goldman's Lennon book, its focus is revealed quite early in the introductory chapter, which rambles on and on, backward and forward through time, to tell us that, basically, Peter Sellers was a jerk. Though he does attempt to start each subsequent chapter in chronological order, he doesn't stick to it. Instead he uses the event as a springboard to once again ramble through the rubbish of Sellers career and life to prove to us that he was really nobody. Sellers himself admits this, but Lewis makes it graphic. Ugly. Whether its true or not is not for me to decide.Ultimately, the problem I have with the book is the same one I had with the movie. Its not a proper biography, but rather a character essay of a man with no character at all.It is interesting to note that Sellers, who I have always found only mildly amusing, did actually go on to achieve what he did considering his antics.This book is one I'd recommend only to someone with real tolerance to the subject and the style.

Originally, I had intended to read this like any other book. Instead, I have been going to the Index and flipping through this well-documentd tome about one of the great comedic minds of all time. This book is a terrific reference book, giving background to many performances by Peter Sellers. Any fan would realize that this is one volume that is a "must" for their libraries!

This is a very depressing account of Peter Sellers' life. A great actor, entertainer who gave so much enjoyment with his inimitable comedy described as a difficult person in his off screen life. I found it sad.

... unless you like biographies that bob and weave, twist and tie, go in and out in über- convolutions devoid of linearity. The author must had bribed the editors or had something on them; he must had learned the alphabet starting with ' M' and followed it with 'C' and ended with ' F'.

excellent

This biography is one of the most exhaustively researched and well written books about an actor that I have ever read. I've been a fan of Sellers for 30 years and have read every book I could find about the man, including the "authorised" (by Sellers' last wife, not Sellers himself) biography and 'P.S. I Love You' by Sellers son Michael, which was the best book about Peter Sellers I had read..until this one.A lot of people have taken issue with the fact that Lewis writes of Sellers as an "evil" man, but Lewis has interviewed many people who were close enough to Sellers to back up many of the authors claims about the actors erratic and sometimes downright mean and vindictive behaviour towards others. Lewis recognises and celebrates the actors extraordinary talents, but his primary goal is to peel back the layers of his public persona and show us the man as he was seen by those who were close to him. The Peter Sellers revealed in this book is a man who was obviously mentally ill, a man who clearly suffered from manic depression and crippling anxiety. Lewis writes of a man who physically and emotionally lashed at those in his personal and professional lives rather than reaching out for help and support.If you want to read a feelgood biography of Sellers, this is not the book for you. This is more like a cross between a biography and 'Heart Of Darkness' as we accompany the writer through a journey where he uses every method at his disposal to locate the "real" Peter Sellers. It's a sometimes harrowing journey that is subjective by its nature, and it's not a trip to take if you want a typical showbiz biography. It's also worth noting that the original UK edition is even more hard hitting as it contains some material that has been excised from this US version (an interview with one of the Boulting brothers has been removed from this edition, for example).This book is being adapted as a HBO movie starring Geoffrey Rush as Sellers. It is currently filming and should be released late 2003/early 2004.

Like Fosse's ALL THAT JAZZ, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS takes its subject and portrays him as living, breathing monster.Writing in a florid, stream of consciousness that evokes a long-winded Edwardian poet hopped on coke performing in a Llandudno musical hall, Lewis unleashes a barrage of verbal fireworks as he portrays one of filmdom's true acting geniuses as a cold, calculating, souless creature hell-bent on destroying all around him.While wading through this difficult (frequently redundant) and morbidly obssesive biography, it becomes obvious that Lewis is (was?) an ardent Sellers fan who has had his illusions shattered.Lewis takes great pains to praise Sellers' cinematic triumphs as well as expose him as a bloodthirsty monster who craved attention and power.A hard and difficult read. But fascinating all the same. Ultimately worth taking the time.

Buyer Beware: This is a heavy abridgement of the original hardcover. It's lopped off at least 200 pages. This is not just a HC to SC thing, I have the HC and compared chapters, huge chunks of it have been excised. As to the original book I have to disagree with many of the reviewers. It's an intriguing take on Seller's life, but you won't find that out with this crappy SC edition. Even the font is lousy compared to the original. Nowhere is it stated that this is an abridged edition.

Should have taken more notice of all the previous negative reviews and saved myself hours and hours of trying to appreciate a very poorly written biography.

remarkable study, encompasses much than subjects life, which accounts for its big bulk, a bit of social history ,really.

Every five years or so I re-read Roger Lewis' masterpiece of a biography, not just for his idiosyncratic and perspicacious take on the life and work of Peter Sellers, but for the possibilities of how biographies can be approached as artworks in themselves. Yes, Lewis has been criticized for his tone - twisting any generous gesture by Sellers into something suspicious or motivated by evil intent, painting an ugly, hysterical, distorted portrait &c. - but what is overlooked is the fact that Lewis himself is playing a role; that of an equally hysterical obsessive. Like the Gryphon's description of the Mock Turtle's continual weeping, "It's all his fancy, that". If you wish, you can tune it out, like a tinnitus-sufferer learns to mix out the constant fuzz and screech that assails his or her shell-likes. What can't be ignored is Lewis' absolute brilliance when it comes to the real heart of the book - to whit, his critiques of Sellers' performances. Here, Lewis is unsurpassable, tying together all the threads - biographical, cultural, sociological, psychological. After reading such passages you are compelled to track down and watch those films and, in doing so, you see them with a freshness and clarity.The other aspect about 'The Life & Death Of Peter Sellers' is that, after reading it, almost any other biography will seem pedestrian, workmanlike, a labour, a dull unrewarding slog from predictable A to inevitable B.