Steps in Time: An Autobiography
by Fred Astaire
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Book Summary Information
Author: Fred AstaireEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-05
ISBN: 0061567566
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: It Books
Book Reviews of Steps in Time: An Autobiography
Book Review: If You Like Fred Astaire
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed reading this book immensely. I've been a huge fan of Fred Astaire since my childhood years. His movies were on TV lots back then in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He even had his own TV show for a time. In later years, as my daughter grew up, I shared Astaire's movies with her and she became a big fan as well. It cemented our relationship for many years as I collected videos of all his movies and she checked them off a comprehensive list I had created for her. As a matter of fact, she just gave me this book for my 62nd birthday. I had no idea that Fred had written an autobiography.
So, what is great about this book? It is written by Fred himself, without a ghost writer. As you are reading it, you can easily envision Fred talking about himself. I've seen interviews of him on TV, and the book vividly emulates how he spoke in those interviews. His warm personality, humility, desire to stay out of the limelight, and tendency to say the best he can about everyone he encounters shines through the book. If you are looking for a book where celebrities are slammed, this isn't it; not even close. I did read the other reviews and noted that some complained that he gave no insight into his feelings about others and skimmed over unpleasant details. I felt more like the book mirrored his philosophy of life; sure, sometimes things don't go as you would have liked them to, but there is much to be thankful for and much to appreciate. I view his autobiography as a celebration of his experiences and the good things he has lived to enjoy.
He deals head on with Phyllis' death, Adele's children lost in childhood, his close relationship with his mother, sister, wife, and many others in his life. Let's look at how he closes the book for a glimpse of how he writes and of the man:
"When you come to the evolution of the dance, its history and philosophy, I know as much about that as I do a about how a television tube produces a picture -- which is absolutely nothing. I don't know how it all started and I don't want to know. I have no desire to prove anything by it. I have never used it as an outlet or as a means of expressing myself.
I just dance."
If you are much younger than me or have had no awareness of Fred Astaire, this book would most likely be a total bore for you. I can fully understand that reality. The book is more precisely targeted for people of my generation and older. But if you like his movies and appreciate his many talents, then I heartily recommend the book to you without hesitation. It is frustrating that it was written in 1959 and, by necessity, has nothing of the last 28 years of his life. But, it does contain a forward written by Ginger Rogers in 1980. Finally, as a special bonus for me, he dedicates the book to his cousin and to Omaha, Nebraska, my home for 28 of my 62 years and his home for the first four and a half years of his life.
Summary of Steps in Time: An Autobiography
One of the foremost entertainers of the twentieth century?singer, actor, choreographer, and, of course, the most dazzling "hoofer" in the history of motion pictures?Fred Astaire was the epitome of charm, grace, and suave sophistication, with a style all his own and a complete disregard for the laws of gravity. Steps in Time is Astaire's story in his own words, a memoir as beguiling, exuberant, and enthralling as the great artist himself, the man ballet legends George Balanchine and Rudolf Nureyev cited as, hands down, the century's greatest dancer.
From his debut in vaudeville at age six through his remarkable career as the star of many of the most popular Hollywood musicals ever captured on celluloid, Steps in Time celebrates the golden age of entertainment and its royalty, as seen through the eyes of the era's affable and adored prince. Illustrated with more than forty rare photographs from the author's personal collection, here is Astaire in all his debonair glory?his life, his times, his movies, and, above all, his magical screen appearances and enduring friendship with the most beloved of all his dancing partners, Ginger Rogers.
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