My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Note: I received this book from a GoodReads GiveAway.
I am doing a 'Pass It On' with a Book Give Away on my blog's FaceBook Page! All you need to do is 'Like' my Facebook post comment HERE! I will be numbering your comments & then using the True Random Number Generator to choose the book giveaway winner. If this book interests you, head on over now to enter! (United States entries ONLY please!)
Max Lerner had always been caught up in the lives of the rich and famous. It began with his childhood idol, Johnny Mars. The book takes a look back at Max's relationship with his one true love, Samantha, and the devastation he faces when she and Johnny Mars marry.
Max is a writer for KNOW magazine, which is a great fit for him since he is infatuated with fame. He interviews celebrities, travels to exotic locations and tries to get over Samantha
(with little success.)
Benjamin Svetkey, the author of 'Leading Man', was a writer and editor for Entertainment Weekly magazine for two decades and definitely draws upon his experiences for material in this book.
Although I found the ins and outs of movie set life, celebrity interviews, pop culture and traveling interesting, after awhile it seemed to be a bit monotonous. I really liked the meet-ups that popped up between Max Lerner and the actor Alistair MacLean. Alistair's character seemed to be the smartest in the book. I would've liked more dialogue between them.
All in all, this is a quick read and the story line has you wanting to find out what happens in the end.
Thanks to GoodReads & Vintage/Anchor books for this giveaway!
These are quotes from the book that I enjoyed the most:
"Fame is like money-----you're just borrowing it. Someday you're going to die, and somebody else is going to get it." -Alistair MacLean
"I had seen the inside of the factory where celebrities were manufactured, watched them roll off the assembly lines and get packaged for the public. The mystery wasn't totally gone, but fame was definitely losing its luster. I was starting to realize that the sparkle and glitter that had so mesmerized me--that so mesmerized the whole world--turned out to be mostly marketing." -Max Lerner
"People want to be famous because it gives them the illusion that their life is important. That it actually matters that they're alive. That even after they die, some part of them will live after them. Fame is really a state of grace, only with money and power and beautiful lovers." -Alistair MacLean
"One minute I was living with her, the next she was married to Johnny Mars." -Max Lerner
"All I wanted was to make Sammy love me again, whether that was what Sammy wanted or not. I never thought about her feelings. I was selfish and self-centered." -Max Lerner
"You didn't steal here. I lost her.You were just lucky enough to find her." -Max Lerner
"I had spent my entire adult life with my face pressed up against the windows of other people's lives. I'd interviewed the famous, traveled to the most glamorous locales on Earth, but I'd never been more than an emotional tourist." -Max Lerner
"As far as I can tell, people look wherever the camera is pointed. It doesn't matter who it's pointed at. You're famous because it happens to be pointed at you a lot of the time. If it were pointed art me, I'd be famous too." -Max Lerner
About the Author
