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A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler
"A Talent for Trouble" tells the spellbinding tale of William Wyler's rise from obscurity to master filmmaker as Hollywood's quintessential director. It chronicles his stormy love affairs with some of the top stars of filmdom's Golden Age, captures his beguiling personal charm, his physical and moral courage, and probes his private tragedies and political bravery. Wyler was Laurence Olivier's mentor, the love of Bette Davis's life, John Huston's best friend, Audrey Hepburns's discoverer and Barbra Streisand's father figure. His pictures were touchstones for an entire generation, among them "Jezebel," "Dodsworth," "Wuthering Heights," "The Letter," "The Little Foxes," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Roman Holiday," "The Heiress," "Ben-Hur," and "Funny Girl." This biography has come in for much praise:
“An excellent biography.” — Gore Vidal
“Places Wyler once and for all where he belongs as a major figure in the American cinematic canon.” — Martin Scorsese
“The best book I’ve read about a director.” — Gregory Peck
“Jan Herman's biography of William Wyler is a classic of the genre, paying equal attention to Wyler’s life and his films, and uncovering the rich interweave between the two. Herman invariably rewards readers with his depth of insight, balance of treatment, and first-class colloquial and elegant prose — this book is a friend.” — Ann Douglas (author "Terrible Honesty," "The Feminization of American Culture," and Parr Professor Emerita of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University)
“Richly satisfying . . . ” — Publishers Weekly
“[A] thorough loving study [imarked by] reliable judgments and comprehensiveness . . . Mr. Herman's exhaustive research has paid off in a volume that will reward not only scholars but fans as well.” — Diane Jacobs (The New York Times Book Review)
“A model Hollywood biography: Cogent, to the point, candid, briskly written and never dull.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Highly recommended.” — Library Journal
“The one-stop shop for Wyler.” — Gary Giddins (author "Visions of Jazz," "Bing Crosby," and Executive Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography)
“Captures the man and his work in all their variety and complexity.” — Roger Ebert
“Finally gives Wyler the book he deserves.” — Kenneth Turan (film critic for the Los Angeles Times, director of the LA Times Book Prizes)
“A fascinating look at the inner workings of an age . . . The tale of an American artist in the vortex of great political and social changes. This is an enduring biography.” — Andrei Codrescu (NPR commentator)
“I read 'A Talent for Trouble' almost without pause. That gives you some idea of how fascinating I found it. ” — Kevin Brownlow (author "David Lean," "The Parade's Gone By")
“An extraordinary closeup. Riveting.” — David Brown (producer "The Sting," "Driving Miss Daisy")
“Compelling . . . Herman has done his homework.” — Steven Bach, Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Its sheer drive keeps one stuck to the pages. Conviction comes through strongly in clear writing and honest weighing of Wyler’s works. He’s no saint-maker.
“An excellent biography.” — Gore Vidal
“Places Wyler once and for all where he belongs as a major figure in the American cinematic canon.” — Martin Scorsese
“The best book I’ve read about a director.” — Gregory Peck
“Jan Herman's biography of William Wyler is a classic of the genre, paying equal attention to Wyler’s life and his films, and uncovering the rich interweave between the two. Herman invariably rewards readers with his depth of insight, balance of treatment, and first-class colloquial and elegant prose — this book is a friend.” — Ann Douglas (author "Terrible Honesty," "The Feminization of American Culture," and Parr Professor Emerita of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University)
“Richly satisfying . . . ” — Publishers Weekly
“[A] thorough loving study [imarked by] reliable judgments and comprehensiveness . . . Mr. Herman's exhaustive research has paid off in a volume that will reward not only scholars but fans as well.” — Diane Jacobs (The New York Times Book Review)
“A model Hollywood biography: Cogent, to the point, candid, briskly written and never dull.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Highly recommended.” — Library Journal
“The one-stop shop for Wyler.” — Gary Giddins (author "Visions of Jazz," "Bing Crosby," and Executive Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography)
“Captures the man and his work in all their variety and complexity.” — Roger Ebert
“Finally gives Wyler the book he deserves.” — Kenneth Turan (film critic for the Los Angeles Times, director of the LA Times Book Prizes)
“A fascinating look at the inner workings of an age . . . The tale of an American artist in the vortex of great political and social changes. This is an enduring biography.” — Andrei Codrescu (NPR commentator)
“I read 'A Talent for Trouble' almost without pause. That gives you some idea of how fascinating I found it. ” — Kevin Brownlow (author "David Lean," "The Parade's Gone By")
“An extraordinary closeup. Riveting.” — David Brown (producer "The Sting," "Driving Miss Daisy")
“Compelling . . . Herman has done his homework.” — Steven Bach, Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Its sheer drive keeps one stuck to the pages. Conviction comes through strongly in clear writing and honest weighing of Wyler’s works. He’s no saint-maker.
544 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 24, 2017
Delight from start to finish. Wyler's probably my favorite director, if I had to choose only one. Herman did great research, distills it in to good writing, and didn't fall into the trap of describing plots of his movies, rather than putting the movies into the context of Wyler's life. Excellent.
August 20, 2012
A terrific biography of the man behind such great films as "Dodsworth," "Mrs. Miniver," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Friendly Persuasion" and "Ben-Hur." In this meticulously researched book, Herman provides insights into the stories behind all these movies, as well as a look at the times, from the advent of the Production Code in the 1920s, to race relations in the 1960s. Wellman covered all genres, and he did it well.
February 5, 2013
I see one of the reviewers has confused Wyler with William Wellman, another Golden Age director. Wyler was one of the Hollywood greats: Wuthering Heights (39), Jezebel, Best Years Of Our Lives, Jezebel, Funny Girl. He carried on a torrid affair with Bette Davis & fought with Streisand in the days where she would listen to no one.
April 18, 2013
Don't usually read about directors but Wyler is one of the greats and with such films as Roman Holiday, Ben Hur, Friendly Persuasion, Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives and Jezebel, he is one interesting guy. The chapter on the chariot race in Ben Hur alone merits reading this book.
May 22, 2025
An absolute page-turner about one of the all-time greats. Anyone interested in Golden Age Hollywood will get a kick out of this never-less-than-fascinating biography. Herman is a zippy writer, and Wyler comes across as genuine, principled and affable -for the most part. My only concern is that whenever Herman allows Wyler's dark side to appear, usually with regard to female actors who aren't cutting the mustard for him, the author feels duty bound to come to Wyler's defence and dismiss the claims. I don't believe Wyler was a 100% great guy, but I also think he was probably a saint compared to Hitchcock, Kubrick, or any of the studio heads that ruled mid-20th century Hollywood. What is for sure is that Wyler made a shitload of completely brilliant movies, and this book carries you through their making in glorious detail. If the hallmark of a great movie biography is that it makes you want to immediately watch, or rewatch, all the films it covers, then this is a great movie biography. Highly recommended.
May 7, 2024
Great biography about director William Wyler who was just a name that scrolled across the screen of some of my favorite movies before I read this book. A great man, I learned a lot about him and his directing of movies and the stars and other movie people he worked with.
This was very well written, it had a good blend of the personal and professional aspects of Mr Wyler’s life.
This was very well written, it had a good blend of the personal and professional aspects of Mr Wyler’s life.
March 18, 2025
For me, 2nd time reading, this book was perfection. Well-researched and well-written.
William Wyler directed such films as Best Years of Our Lives, Roman Holiday, Jezebel, Counselor at Law, Wuthering Heights, Funny Girl, Dodsworth, The Letter, The Little Foxes, The Westerner, and The Big Country.
This book is rather long, but enjoyable. The length was necessary, as he had a long & varied career. Just enough background detail to enable me to understand who he was, his family, where he came from and why he was such a talented director who couldn't exactly articulate what he wanted, but knew it when he saw it. And when he made a sub-standard picture, Jan Herman wasted little space discussing it.
The AA have often been likened to, with good reason, a popularity contest. But it's what we've got, and more often than not, they are awarded to quality films & performances. "Between 1926 and 1970, Wyler directed 44 narrative feature films, 22 of which earned a collective total of 127 Oscar nominations and 39 wins." (GoldDerby.com) Those 39 wins on his pictures were far and away more than by any other director at the time this book was published in 1996 - I'm not sure if that has changed in 30 years.
William Wyler directed such films as Best Years of Our Lives, Roman Holiday, Jezebel, Counselor at Law, Wuthering Heights, Funny Girl, Dodsworth, The Letter, The Little Foxes, The Westerner, and The Big Country.
This book is rather long, but enjoyable. The length was necessary, as he had a long & varied career. Just enough background detail to enable me to understand who he was, his family, where he came from and why he was such a talented director who couldn't exactly articulate what he wanted, but knew it when he saw it. And when he made a sub-standard picture, Jan Herman wasted little space discussing it.
The AA have often been likened to, with good reason, a popularity contest. But it's what we've got, and more often than not, they are awarded to quality films & performances. "Between 1926 and 1970, Wyler directed 44 narrative feature films, 22 of which earned a collective total of 127 Oscar nominations and 39 wins." (GoldDerby.com) Those 39 wins on his pictures were far and away more than by any other director at the time this book was published in 1996 - I'm not sure if that has changed in 30 years.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews