A book that shows more than just a friendship but a true relationship between two men and their families. Their children were wives and it lasted throughout their careers, the war is a real good look at what was probably strange for Hollywood. A very good book.

As a BIG fan of Henry Fonda was I eager to read this book. I liked the idea of the book that it's a book about Hank and Jim, two very different men who became friends when they were young actors and stayed friends throughout their lives.

It was fascinating reading about how they started out in the theater, their lives before they become famous, dating women, marriages (Jim one time while Hank 5), WW2 and how they were decorated for their services, the high and low of their careers. And, of course, the twilight of their lives, when they started to lose good friends who passed away, and when they both got older and finally when Hank passed away and Jim had to go one without his best friend.

It's a fabulous book, and I loved how the friendship between the men lasted all through their lives, despite the difference for instance when it came to politics. Their shared loved for model airplanes was charming to read about. I also found the chapter about WW2 absolutely fascinating to read. So many Hollywood stars that fought during the war and it was interesting to learn that they both were more than figureheads that they actually did fight. And, that they didn't talk much about it later in life. Jim's children, for instance, had no idea what their father had done in the war, more than that he had been a soldier.

Then we have their personal life. Hanks marriages all failed until the very last one (Shirlee, who he was married to until his death) while Jim found the right woman, Gloria, who he was married to until her death. Hank's first marriage ended when his wife committed suicide and after that came a string of marriages that didn't work out at all while Jim was in his 40s when he finally found the right woman to marry. It's interesting btw how Margaret Sullavan came to play a big part in both their lives, Hank marrying her, then divorcing since they could not live together, while Jim had a crush on her that lasted several years.

I love old hollywood. There was a mystic and a hint of mystery about the stars of the 30's and 40's. Their private lives were kept private when they were alive, and it's only many years later that we get to take a glimpse behind the curtain.
I never knew that Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart were good friends long before they both made a name for themselves in the movies.
They both had similar personalities in private but the movies they made were very different from one another.
I was always a Jimmy Stewart fan, but never much cared for Fonda. He came off as cold and unpleasant, which turns out to be what he was really like. I was more surprised to find out that Stewart was a quiet and introspective person, who preferred solitude.

I am not sure why this book was written or published. There's no new information, and worse still, for a book about movie stars, there are no pictures.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.
This is a amazing story of two of our greatest actors. Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. Through their stellar careers, through politics they differ on and through Hollywood lives ( and many wives) they managed to stay friends until Henry Fonda passed away This is a fascinating account of their friendship and provides the reader with outstanding information on each of their movie careers. For this fan this was a delightful read and very in depth . I appreciate the research and time taken to amass the extensive interviews and old Hollywood history. For those of us that grew up with these actors this is a great read.

Great book about 2 star actors, James Stewart and Henry Fonda. Very refreshing read on the friendship that these 2 men were able to maintain in their acting career. The book is told from both of their perspective and is just an enjoyable read. A wonderful tribute to true friendship. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

A lovely dual biography of two very different actors who were life-long best friends. The book is well-paced and does a great job of giving us complete lives without losing its focus.

Although there is discussion of their movies more emphasis is put on their styles of acting and the decisions they made along the way.

It's a very enjoyable book.

An ageing Jimmy Stewart slowly walked up the hill every day to see his dying friend Henry Fonda. They didn't talk much, but they understood each other. Theirs was an unusual friendship between opposites. Stewart voted Republican while Fonda was a Democrat; Fonda wasn't religious and Stewart was; and Stewart had one long, happy and stable marriage while Fonda had five marriages. However, apart from some arguments along the way, their friendship lasted fifty years.

The friendship started when they met as young struggling actors, and it became deeper when they shared a house in NY and they were so poor that they practically lived on rice! They even fell in love with the same woman, the beautiful Maggie Sullivan, and both probably held a candle for her throughout their long lives. Fonda married her but the relationship was volatile and she soon left him for another man.

This book tells the moving tale of how these two great actors' friendship lasted during their young acting days, their stellar Hollywood careers, and marriages and children. I especially liked the anecdotes from the children and Fonda's last wife. Anyone who is a fan will love this book, although I found the writing a bit 'slangy' at times, and I can almost guarantee that you will cry at the end.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Loved this book. Never knew Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart were such great friends. Huge biography nerd

If anyone knows classic films at all, then these two actors' names will be right up there with John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant. While their films, for the most part, of all these actors were very different, their onscreen presence was palpable. There was no mistaking that you were in the presence of a great actor when you sat down to watch.

I have always known that Fonda and Stewart were best friends - anyone who claims to be a classic film buff would know this. And, I must say, I knew quite a bit about their professional lives, and their personal, as far as marriages. I also knew that they both served in World War II, Fonda in the Navy and Stewart in the Army Air Corps. However, Mr. Eyman has gone far deeper into their pasts.

He begins right where they do - from birth; and tells us of their very different upbringing in life. He goes on from there to their early life on the stage, and their eventual move to Hollywood. But their lives take very different turns. Hank was married five times - he was wound too tightly most times to make a marriage stick; his emotions stayed beneath the surface and were rarely exposed; Jimmy was married once, when he was 41 - Gloria was the love of his life and the marriage was a happy one.

Their careers took different turns, also: Hank preferred stage to screen; Jimmy stayed in Hollywood and made many memorable films (and a few he probably wished he hadn't). But the films Hank made were, for the most part, memorable also, and I am sure everyone has that particular film of both of them that stays with you and you will watch over and over. I love Hank's films The Mad Miss Manton, Mister Roberts, and The Rounders (not a spectacular film, but very funny). For Jimmy's films, I love The Shop Around the Corner, Rear Window, and The Rare Breed.

It is obvious that Mr. Eyman has done extensive research on his subjects. The book is neither cloying nor filled with Hollywood gossip; it gives us an honest and well-written biography about two remarkable men, the like of which will never be seen again.

While I've read other biographies of Fonda and Stewart, I believe that Mr. Eyman's is the best by far. While I am sure there are those who like only one or the other, I consider myself a true classic fan, and while I may not like an actor personally, I can watch their body of work and appreciate it for what it is.

While this book points out that Hank wasn't the best father in the world, he also changed as he got older, and his loyalty to his friends was always unwavering. Perhaps because they never expected anything from him, knowing he didn't offer up as much of himself. Jimmy, on the other hand, seems more open and giving to both family and friends.

They were there for each other through triumphs and tragedies; through good times and bad; and never allowed their personal politics or personal demons stand in the way of their enduring friendship. One can only hope for a friendship in their life as strong as the one between these two.

I am grateful for this book, for giving us the insight into two remarkable men who became extraordinary actors and had an exceptional friendship. Highly recommended.

Fans of Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart will want to read this biography, written by the author that recently wrote a biography of John Wayne. I was invited to read and review by Net Galley and Simon and Schuster, and so I read it free in exchange for this honest review. It’s for sale now.

The book is well crafted, and multiple aspects contribute to its success. The first is the unglamorous but essential research. Eyman used extensive interviews with both actors’ families as well as directors and other actors that had worked with them. The second is the thoughtful analysis. Eyman’s insights are intelligent and fairly measured, never becoming prurient, gossipy, or mawkish. The third is his friendly, congenial narrative, peppered with telling anecdotes that keep the pages turning. It’s well organized and doesn’t rely on photographs to tell the story.

These actors belonged to my parents’ generation, and so for a long time I was not much interested in them. More recently, though, I’ve found it’s interesting to see their craft, their lives, and their work as creatures of the time in which their careers blossomed, and as part of American entertainment history.

The truth is that I never cared much for Henry Fonda. The only one of his movies I saw in the theater was On Golden Pond, and the harsh way he spoke to his daughter on the screen—who was also his daughter in real life, Jane—was so brutal that I never wanted to see anything more that he’d done, apart from the occasional old movie I ran across on television. Learning later that he was more or less the same father to her in real life didn’t help much. Eyman is unsparing as he describes this aspect of the Fonda family, but he also points to the mellower man he became later in life, and to the tremendous loyalty he showed his friends, Stewart foremost among them.

I was more interested in Jimmy Stewart, who left a more timeless body of work. Harvey is a film I loved enough to search out and watch in turn with each of my children. Of course, at Christmas time I am inclined to pull out It’s a Wonderful Life, although none of my kids would watch it with me more than once. There was such heart in his roles.

Because I like Stewart’s work, I had already read one biography fairly recently. Robert Matzen’s Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe dealt well with his war years as well as the early years of his life, and so I didn’t enjoy the first half of Eyman’s book—which covered the same ground again—as I did the second half, which I found both comforting in places as well as mesmerizing. The second part also has more quotes by his children, who weren’t around for much of the stars’ earlier lives. And I came away with renewed respect for Jane Fonda, who had a harder road than I had previously understood.

Now I have half a dozen movie titles I want to watch, or watch again; that’s a sure sign of a strong biography. And it makes me think warmly of my own longstanding friends, some of whom I’ve known and loved almost as long as the 50 years that Hank and Jim were friends.

Recommended to fans of Fonda and Stewart, and to those that love good biographies; this would also make a nice Christmas gift for older relatives.

New York Times bestselling author Scott Eyman tells the story of the remarkable friendship of two Hollywood legends who, though different in many ways, maintained a close friendship that endured all of life’s twists and turns.

Henry Fonda and James Stewart were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood for forty years. They became friends and then roommates as stage actors in New York, and when they began making films in Hollywood, they roomed together again. Between them they made such memorable films as The Grapes of Wrath, Mister Roberts, Twelve Angry Men, and On Golden Pond; and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window.

They got along famously, with a shared interest in elaborate practical jokes and model airplanes, among other things. Fonda was a liberal Democrat, Stewart a conservative Republican, but after one memorable blow-up over politics, they agreed never to discuss that subject again. Fonda was a ladies’ man who was married five times; Stewart remained married to the same woman for forty-five years. Both men volunteered during World War II and were decorated for their service. When Stewart returned home, still unmarried, he once again moved in with Fonda, his wife, and his two children, Jane and Peter, who knew him as Uncle Jimmy.

For Hank and Jim, biographer and film historian Scott Eyman spoke with Fonda’s widow and children as well as three of Stewart’s children, plus actors and directors who had worked with the men—in addition to doing extensive archival research to get the full details of their time together. This is not another Hollywood story, but a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary friendship that lasted through war, marriages, children, careers, and everything else.




Review:




What a descriptive and all encompassing novel of these two fine actors.




I have loved both of these actors for years. I am not a big biography reader, but I was drawn to this because of Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. The Author did a great job telling how these two grew-up, grew together and lasted as friends for so long. It really was interesting to get such an in depth look into their lives. I cannot imagine how much research and interviewing he had to do to come up with all these private details of both of their lives. Excellently well done!




As a lover of old Hollywood, movies and these two fine actors it was wonderful to read this book. I would highly recommend it.




5Stars

*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

They don't make movie stars like they used to and Scott Eyman has given us a real gift with this book full of insights into two remarkable men. It's fascinating to learn about their youthful friendship that continued all their lives. It's interesting to read about their professional and personal backgrounds - - two men who were not just great actors, but also great people.

Rich with detail, this biography reveals so much that was not previously known to the average fan of these two remarkable actors. Very well written and insightful, I highly recommend it.

Behind the scenes of 'old Hollywood' with some favourite actors

Intriguing stuff, once it gets going. Henry Fonda and James Stewart, two actors I admire greatly, in some of my all-time favourite Hollywood films. I never knew their relationship off the screen, and I was keen to learn about their lives, their craft, their friendship.

Told from both their perspectives, we learn about each in turn - how they grew up and into the acting 'scene', how they met, the initial struggles breaking into films, and then the successes they both achieved, their family lives, their war-time experiences, their later lives and ageing.

Many of their friends and colleagues, I had never heard of, and many of their films I have not seen, I wanted more detail on my favourites of course, but it really was fascinating learning of their different approaches to a role, how each achieved success in a different way and their oh-so-different personalities and beliefs.

My eyes widened in a few places with some 'revelations' that the author brings up. I wasn't very interested in their World War Two lives, but their later status as revered actors and descriptions of their acting world did hold my attention. The look at two old men still friends and still able to communicate friendship with few words, but more vegetable products - it was quite tender and moving.

Definitely one for lovers of the silver screen, I've since put two of Fonda's films on my 'to watch' list.

The writing is fairly standard for a biography, it entertains (some naughty words here and there, with the intention of amusing the reader - it did), it informs, the pace is a little slow at times (the war years for me), but fills out the detail you're after. A very full portrait indeed, and one not afraid to show their darker side, their flaws. An honest portrait of two film icons.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

This is a well-written, well-researched biography of male friendship. It is easy reading, just as I think Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda would have wanted it. From early stories on or near Broadway through plays, movies, families, and loves, these two men quietly supported each other. The story of the bomber model airplane seems to characterize their support of each other. I'm happy knowing they had each other.

A well-researched account of the decades-long friendship between Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. As a movie buff, this book tied together things I' had noticed, as well as bringing forth new-to-me relationships and associations of these two great actors.

Thoroughly researched! A comprehensive history of the lives and lifelong friendships of James Stewart and Henry Fonda.

I received a free Kindle copy of Hank and Jim by Scott Eyman courtesy of Net Galley and Simon and Schuster, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have been a fan of both Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart movies.  I have not read any biographies on either of them. It is the first book by  Scott Eyman that I have read.

This is an interesting and engaging book. The author's writing style makes it read more like a novel than a dull biography. Eyman does an excellent job of weaving back and forth between Fonda and Stewart outlining how two very opposite individuals forge a life long friendship. They differed in political leanings, family life and acting style/methods They both served in World War II in different theaters with different approaches. Yet, they were there for each other when it counted.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in learning more about Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart along with deep friendship that they shared.

Eynman chronicles the lifelong friendship of Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, products of the post WWI generation of American young men, shaped by the Depression and WWII, as well as the studio system and its spectacular breakdown. Using access to quite intimate archives of letters and interviews, Eynman explores how two people of such different temperament and political leanings remained so close for so long, and as a result, also offers a view of American history and culture from the 1920s to the 1980s. Also, was there *anyone* not obsessed with Margaret Sullavan in the 1930s?