I thought that this was intriguing and I loved learning about Brando. I have the same birthday as him and an obsession with the godfather so I wanted to read this to learn more about the man behind the roles. I have never seen the wild ones, but now I plan to. It sounds like it played a pivotal role in pop culture as we know it.

I was alone in a motel in a very remote and rural part of Texas last December when "The Wild One" came on the TV. I'd heard and read it was a classic film, so I watched it instead of going to seep. While I was watching, I nodded off a few times and cringed the rest of the time. I didn't realize there was so much more going on, and that I should've been studying Brando the entire time. Thanks to Burt Kearns's "Marlon Brando," I'm ready and excited to give "The Wild One" another try. Not just that, I realize how much Brando influenced our culture and isn't the joke wearing a muumuu or kissing Larry King.

This book has Brando's timeline from his youth to his work on the stage; his love/hate relationship with Hollywood and the media; his commitment to social justice; his family and personal life and his life near and at the end. Throughout this timeline, Kearns makes the case for Brando's impact on culture, starting with those who tried to imitate Brando early on, his contemporary Baby Brandos and the generations which followed. It wasn't just actors who were channeling Brando. His character from "The Wild One" influenced music too, including punk and pop music. He credits Brando with giving credibility to superhero movies and with giving celebrities the idea to use their platform (awards speeches) to talk about social and political issues. The rest of us aren't musicians, actors or trendsetters, but Brando's frankness about being in therapy and needing is something many of us can relate to.

I feel like I read enough about Brando and am now ready to watch most of his films.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me access to an advance copy. #MarlonBrando #NetGalley

This was a bit of a slog for me, I'll admit.

What I had expected was a comprehensive, detailed, deep digging biography of Brando. What I instead got was a shallow, but strangely narrow, story of Brando's life that seemed to almost intentionally gloss over his most notable moments and performances. What was packaged as a book really felt more like 5-6 longform articles strung together with brief interludes about Brando's personal life.

What bothered me the most about the book was the sense of off priorities. Reading this, you would almost get the sense that The Godfather was just a little job took Marlon Brando took at the low point of his career, and that the Wild One was his most memorable work. We spend about 4 pages discussing his son's murder charge and imprisonment, and his daughter's suicide, but entire chapters were dedicated to leathermen and Andy Warhol, and equal time was spent discussing Johnny Depp.

Now, I *liked* some of these things, but the proportions... made them a little frustrating.

I think the author tried to do too much here. It doesn't really ring true as a biography - aside from Brando's sexuality, very little is said about his personal life and upbringing - but the book is too unfocused to really have a particular bend to it. It's about activism, sexuality, rebellion, method acting--all things that should be features of a Brando biography, and yet here, all seemed to be fighting for center stage. It did not feel cohesive.

Also, the book struggled a lot in its timeline. Lots of jumping around. This was a lesser issue, but certain sign posts - The Last Tango, James Dean's death - come and go and come again and makes it hard to feel grounded in the course of the narrative.

Ultimately, two stars. I learned a bit, but still don't truly feel like I got to know Brando.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher. (less) [edit]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. Oh my gosh! SO much information and things i did not know! Also a few things I'm sure no one else knew!! (wink wink). I was a little disappointed that his on/off relationship with Rita Moreno was not mentioned. But the story was a good one and I was left feeling like I had a new outlook on Mr. Brando

We all think we know Marlon Brando. But do we? This well-researched book is less about the great actor's legendary career-resurrecting turn in The Godfather or some of his later career difficulties (The Island of Doctor Moreau is not even mentioned) as it is about the enormous cultural impact of Brando's triumphant 1953 performance as biker, Johnny Strabler in The Wild One.
"Johnny - what are you rebelling against?". "What've you got?" drawls Brando in the film. It remains one of his most famous screen moments alongside "Stteellla!" "I could have been a contender" and the notorious 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' bit in Last Tango in Paris. The book explores Brando's influence on everyone from James Dean, Lee Marvin, Paul Newman to modern courtroom favourite, Johnny Depp. Do you like Brando? If so, then this book is an offer you can't refuse.

Marlon Brando - Hollywood Rebel by Burt Kearns is an incredibly well-written, well-presented, intimate insight into the iconic Marlon Brando.

Brando was iconic, but yet so very underrated and under-reported due to his private nature, which gave strength and charisma to his acting roles, most notably Marc Antony in Julius Caesar (1953), Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and Paul in Last Tango in Paris (1972).

Brando was the antihero who the stars looked to for inspiration, Elvis, Jack Nicholson and Robert DeNiro to name a few. He was a revolutionary and there was so much more to him than just being an actor. Brando was also an early ally, supporter and advocate of many of the most important sociocultural movements and changes of the 20th and 21st centuries. This has been beautifuly chronicled by Burt Kearns in this brilliant biography.

A great read

Thank you to Netgalley, Globe Pequot, Applause and the author Burt Kearns for this fascinating ARC. My Review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I used to like Marlon Brando before this book. After reading this book, I don't! Could not get done with this book fast enough. I think the author is obsessed with the Wild One movie. It's like all he talked about! It's not even that good a movie!

Beyond excited to review and acquire. But if a delay to to family emergency but please watch this space