{"product_id":"extraordinary-life-of-an-ordinary-man-529348-1","title":"Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man","description":"In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stuart was to compile an oral history, to have Newman's family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actor's life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. That same stipulation applied to Newman himself. The project lasted five years. The result is an extraordinary memoir, culled from thousands of pages of transcripts. The book is insightful, revealing, surprising. Newman's voice is powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, always meeting that high standard of searing honesty. The additional voices--from childhood friends and Navy buddies, from family members and film and theater collaborators such as Tom Cruise, George Roy Hill, Martin Ritt, and John Huston--that run throughout  add richness and color and context to the story Newman is telling. Newman's     often traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed. He talks about his teenage   insecurities, his early failures with women, his rise to stardom, his early     rivals (Marlon Brando and James Dean), his first marriage, his drinking, his    philanthropy, the death of his son Scott, his strong desire for his daughters toknow and understand the truth about their father. Perhaps the most moving       material in the book centers around his relationship with Joanne Woodward--theirlove for each other, his dependence on her, the way she shaped him              intellectually, emotionally and sexually. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is revelatory and introspective, personal and analytical, loving and complex and profound.","brand":"Wellesley College Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44712102625395,"sku":"027860176","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0700\/3596\/4019\/files\/9780593467718.jpg?v=1775771886","url":"https:\/\/wellesley.bkstr.com\/products\/extraordinary-life-of-an-ordinary-man-529348-1","provider":"Wellesley College Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}