Stefan Kanfer's books include Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball; Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy, and Mishugas of the Yiddish Theater in America; and Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando. He was a writer and editor at Time for more than twenty years and was its first bylined film critic, a post he held between 1967 and 1972. He is also the primary interviewer in the Academy Award-nominated documentary The Line King and editor of an anthology of Groucho Marx's comedy, The Essential Groucho. He is a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library and recipient of numerous writing awards. He lives in New York and on Cape Cod.
"Stefan Kanfer's excellent new book, Tough Without A Gun: The Life
And Extraordinary Afterlife Of Humphrey Bogart, isn't exactly a
biography. Though Kanfer limns the crucial milestones of Bogie's 57
years, what emerges from his book is more enlightening than an
exhaustive timeline: He presents a sense of the interplay between
the actor, his iconic roles, and the ever-shifting ideal of
American masculinity. . . Kanfer has crafted a moving,
psychologically intimate portrait of an icon that leaves some of
the mystique intact."
-Meredith Blake, The Onion, AV Club
"There may be no better analysis of Bogart's mysterious and
enduring appeal."
-Allen Barra, The Daily Beast "Compelling . . . An entertaining,
definitive portrait."
-Publishers Weekly "In this possibly definitive Bogart biography,
Kanfer convincingly presents the reasons for the actor's continuing
relevance . . . eminently readable."
-Roy Liebman, Library Journal (starred) " . . . [A] revealing
account of Bogart's life and legacy . . . what separates Kanfer's
book from other Bogart bios . . . is the emphasis on the actor's
"afterlife," the way that somehow his persona--"integrity,
stoicism, sexual charisma accompanied by a cool indifference to
women"--has never gone out of style. Bogart divided the world into
"professionals and bums," and Kanfer makes a convincing case that,
with so many bums surrounding us today, the real pros never grow
stale."
-Bill Ott, Booklist "Stefan Kanfer's Bogart biography . . . is
called "Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife
of Humphrey Bogart." It's the afterlife that matters, and the best
part of Mr. Kanfer's account is his analysis of Bogart's role as
what cultural historians call a "modal personality" of his
time--and what a long time it has been."
-Henry Allen, The Wall Street Journal "Kanfer rounds up the varying
ways in which Bogart lives on after his death, from inspiring
French New Wave directors and Woody Allen to the cult that has
grown up around 'Casablanca.'"
-Chris Foran, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
" Kanfer has sounded [Bogart] out beautifully with this swift,
smart, scrupulous book. It brims with insights no less piercing for
the modesty with which they are framed."
-Tom Shone, Slate ". . . a deft . . . sketch . . . Kanfer's at his
best when he's digging into the substance of Bogart's projects"
-Alyssa Rosnberg, TheAtlantic.com "Kanfer . . . brings his
knowledge of Hollywood and its ways to this entertaining book . . .
[it] should appeal to older Bogart enthusiasts and younger movie
fans discovering him for the first time. It's a readable and
entertaining biography that reflects the author's delight in his
subject and the world in which Bogart thrived."
-Jerry Harkavy, The Associated Press "Kanfer . . . clearly knows
every frame of Bogart's many films, [and] writes in a lively
Hollywood demotic that doesn't disguise his reverence for the great
actor - or the great man."
-Jane Shilling, Daily Mail (UK) ". . . insightful . . . analysis of
the way that Bogart worked "
-Roger K. Miller, Chicago Sun-Times
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