What a great audiobook. I loved the narrator-he brought Peter Beard to life through this biography.

I didnt know anything about him, his life or his art.

I am glad that I finally got the opportunity to read this one.

Thanks to he publisher for an ARC. Only a fan of Peter Beard might appreciate this well researched and detailed look at his life and art. The casual reader would stop reading after the first few pages. Beard was a spoiled, rich kid who had little artistic talent, experienced everything in excess and ran ruff-shod over wives, friends, lovers. I was a fan of Beard before reading this book and came away very disappointed.

This audiobook perked my interest because I am a photographer, and I wanted to know more about Beard as an artist. This book is authored by a journalist and a personal friend over 30 years.
Preface and epilogue read by the author, and otherwise the book was narrated by Chris Ciulla, who does a good job.

The audiobook is a little under 12 hours and starts with Beard's 2020 disappearance and death in his 80s. Then it takes back to his origins, growing up in well-to-do WASP family in New England, was given his first camera at age 11. He parties often and befriends celebrities of time, including Rolling Stones, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Lee Radziwill, and marrying Cheryl Tiegs, among others. His "movie-star" good looks is mentioned a many times in this book. He also was a friend of Karen Blixen, the author of Out of Africa, owned a property in Africa and lived there for extended period of time and wrote a book, "the End of the Game," which I now plan to check out. So in a way, I feel that the book was successful in bringing further interest in the topic and wanting to know more about Beard. It is also researched well and interesting.

I feel that one might have a lot more enjoyment in other format (ebook or printed copy) if it comes with his photography and illustrations, because he was a photographer and visual reference might be helpful. As to the content itself, I felt it was a bit too long, especially with extensive name dropping which became repetitive and downright gossipy after awhile. His seemingly carefree lifestyle is also a let-down as a biography for me as well. In a way, there is a charm to his "devil-may-care" personality. However, it becomes one-dimensional and tiresome without some sort of personal achievement to balance out. In his case, that probably was his photography, which we couldn't view in audiobook. Also, there is copious amount of drug consumption and infidelity, so if one is not in support of that freewheeling lifestyle, that might be a detriment for feeling connected to the subject.

Overall, the book was just okay for me personally because I wanted to know his art-making process rather than his lifestyle. It made me want to research his photography though, so I am thankful for exposing me to his background.

An advance copy of this audiobook was provided courtesy of St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley. Thank you! My opinion stated here is my own.

I had always heard stories about Peter Beard and knew of his photography but did not know his personal history. This was an exhaustive account of the man and the photographer. It is not surprising that his widow and only child were not part of this account. I felt it was raw and truthful which is probably the most accurate version of his story. I enjoyed the backstory about his life in Kenya and knew very little about his marriages, especially the short-lived but tumultuous relationship with Cheryl Tiegs. I remember hearing that he died in Montauk and that he had been missing - a fitting and dramatic end to a man that lived a complex life. I highly recommend this title if you are a fan of Peter Beard and his work.