About book Orson Welles, Vol. 2: Hello Americans (2006)
Volume Two of Simon Callow's planned 3-part biography of Orson Welles is just as meticulously researched and engagingly written as the first volume. Unlike previous Welles biographers, Callow neither elevates his subject to a godlike status nor denigrates him as a talentless egomaniacal bully. Callow acknowledges Welles' genius when it is deserved; he also unflinchinly analyzes Welles' self-destructive nature. Welles was clearly his own worst enemy. This book covers only a seven-year period in Orson's life, but it was a period of unceasing activity on multiple fronts. Welles directed a handful of pictures, did dozens of radio broadcasts, wrote a newspaper column, directed for the stage, was a committed political activist, and still found time to eat, drink, and carouse to excess. Orson Welles is a dynamic and fascinating character, and Simon Callow does an admirable job of sketching in the details of Welles' life. Let it be known that Simon Callow is not "an actor who writes", he is every bit as brilliant a writer as he is an actor. It's almost criminal that one person should have this much talent. I eagerly await volume three.
This covers Welles' post-Kane middle years, and covers the studios' trashing of Magnificent Ambersons and Lady of Shanghai, and his marriage to Rita Hayworth, among other events. Among these high points (and these two films are examined in minute and fascinating detail), we are also given a massive amount of information about Welles' life and many still-born projects, much of which could have been edited down to leave a more readable book, I would aver. The first volume had a clear dramatic end-point in the making and success of Citizen Kane, but this middle part of the bio feels a bit formless, with no real structure or 'theme' as such. The publishers should probably have made it a two-volume biography, as this book pales in comparison with the excellent first volume. Nevertheless, I will be reading volume three with great interest.
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I read the first installment of this series when it came out about ten years ago, and eagerly awaited the next chapter. I thought it would cover the rest of Welles' life, but silly me, it's only the middle of his life. Although I am a great Welles fan, I feel that this book does get bogged down in some of the everyday details of Orson's life, although this did give me great insight to the details of Welles' work in the Civil Rights movement. I had not realized before that he was so involved and was marked as a "commie" by so many in the country. However, now I have to wait for ten more years to read about the end of his life!!!
—Vicky
This book looks at Orson Welles' life and career in the Forties, from the making of "The Magnificent Ambersons" to Welles' departure for Europe to make "The Third Man." During this time, Welles had seen his career crash in Hollywood, on radio and on Broadway. Callow digs into the reasons for these setbacks and shows far more sympathy for Welles' than he did in his first volume, "The Road to Xanadu." The result is one of the best books on Welles' and his multi-faceted career. It is a gripping and suspenseful read. My only regret is that it will never be an Orson Welles movie.
—Mike
