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Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography
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Product Description
1999: Andrew Morton revealed the young woman behind the blue dress--Monica’s Story was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
January 15, 2008: Andrew Morton uncovers the true story of the biggest celebrity of our age.
Everyone knows Tom Cruise---or at least what he wants us to know. We know that he overcame a difficult childhood to star in astonishing array of blockbusters: Top Gun, Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, Interview with the Vampire, Jerry Maguire, three Mission: Impossible movies, War of the Worlds, and more. We know he has taken artistic chances, too, and as a result has earned three Academy Award nominations and three Golden Globes, along with the respect of acting legends like Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman.
After that, the picture becomes a little less clear. We know that Tom is a Scientologist, but not necessarily what that means in his life. We know that, despite persistent rumors about his sexuality, he has been married to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes. But it was not until the spring of 2005, when he jumped on Oprah’s couch to proclaim his love for Katie and denounced Brooke Shields for turning to the “Nazi science” of psychiatry, that we began to realize how much we didn’t know about the charming, hardworking star.
For two years, award-winning biographer Andrew Morton has been tirelessly seeking out everyone from former teachers and girlfriends to Scientology insiders to friends who have watched a once-bullied, “nothing special” outsider transform himself into an icon Forbes has called the most powerful celebrity in the world Here, with never-seen photos and never-heard revelations, is a riveting, sometimes shocking portrait of the real Tom Cruise---his work, his love life, his marriages, his religion---from a master at uncovering the true story behind the public face of celebrity.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #3226 in Books
- Published on: 2008-01-15
- Released on: 2008-01-15
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 352 pages
Editorial Reviews
From AudioFile
Andrew MortonÕs controversial biography of movie star and Scientology practitioner Tom Cruise is disappointing in that it offers little in the way of profound discoveries about the actorÕs mysterious life. However, narrator John Hinch is remarkable in his delivery, capturing CruiseÕs essence and charisma and keeping his audience engaged and entertained throughout. When Morton discusses CruiseÕs antics on ÒOprah,Ó Hinch captures the moment perfectly without impersonating Cruise in the least. HinchÕs tone, accent, and timbre remain subtle, yet he is eminently believable as the larger-than-life actor. Overall, Hinch effectively delivers the story of CruiseÕs life, which Morton depicts without editorializing or speculation. L.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
About the Author
ANDREW MORTON is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking 1992 biography revealed the secret world of Princess Diana, prompting Tina Brown to declare in The Diana Chronicles, “The journalist Morton most reminds me of is Bob Woodward.” Diana: Her True Story became a #1 New York Times bestseller, as did Monica’s Story, Morton’s portrait of the young woman behind the blue dress in the Clinton White House. The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year by the British Book Awards and Scoop of the Year by the London Press Club, he lives in London and has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe in his research for this biography.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
“I get it. He has that deliciously indescribable magic that cannot be analyzed or replicated. He is in every sense a movie star.”
---Steven Spielberg
“He was pushing limits all the time…. I never thought of him ever becoming an actor. He was more of an Al Capone character, a maverick, the kind of kid who wouldn’t back down.”
---A childhood neighbor
“Don’t let that smile and those teeth fool you. He could have a really nasty streak.”
---A high-school girlfriend
“His acting was so good it was almost bizarre. You’d look into his eyes and he’d really be there, he’d really be in love with you. You could see his heart and soul. And then the director would shout ‘Cut,’ Tom would leave the set, and you’d have to go into therapy for six months.”
---Renée Zellweger
“I’ll bet all the money I’ve ever made, plus his, that he doesn’t have a mistress, that he doesn’t have a gay lover, that he doesn’t have a gay life.”
---Nicole Kidman
“You can’t drive past an accident, because as a Scientologist you are the only one who can help.”
---Tom Cruise
Customer Reviews
This book is shocking!
I bought this book because I like Tom Cruise movies (although I don't think much of the guy personally). Andrew Morton is an awesome author - I have read his works before and once again he is EXTREMELY thorough in relaying facts for an unauthorized bio. If you don't know much about Scientology, you will after reading this book and it's shocking! Tom, on the other hand comes across as self-centered (which I always believed he was), self-absorbed and someone who uses people to his advantage until he is "done" with them. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in how the mind works (or doesn't) and how you can take a person of average intelligence and brainwash them to believe the absurd!
A Fair And I Think Accurate Biography
Although Andrew Morton obviously concerns himself with those juicy details a paying customer would most want to hear, this isn't (for all of Morton's sloppy writing style) tabloid reporting. What lies within this unauthorized biography is the story of the public, the private, and even the secret Tom Cruise, an apparently heterosexual cultural icon whose fanatical devotion to Scientology is finally brought out in its fullest dimensions.
Cruise, as revealed by Morton, is a risk-taker, a determined perfectionist, a spiritual person, a dogged foe to those who wrong him, and a much maligned thrice-wed alpha-male. While under the focused microscope of this biography Cruise never seems villainous, he can come off as ruthless, marginally paranoid, and allied with exploitive forces. He is also shown to be an actor who gives his best effort for any role he undertakes. Above all the charming Cruise is a modern legend whose lavish lifestyle is of the sort most of us can only gape at in awe as he jets around the world, weds his latest beautiful wife in a fairy tale Italian castle, and nets CEO-level paychecks for glamorous roles that will make him live on eternally in movie history.
For all the rumors that have of late swirled around this perpetual A-lister, the discernable facts as told by this book are ultimately far more mundane than the whispering campaigns would have us believe. Cruise, though not devoid of quirks and personal idiosyncrasies, is essentially a sane person with extraordinary talents, charisma, good looks, and uncanny business instincts. His known relationships, of which there are many, have all been with women, and uncommonly beautiful women at that. Cruise supports his extended family, takes stands (at times offensively) on things that are important to him, and over a quarter-century has racked up a cinematic resume that few in industry history could surpass.
Between its covers there are also, for good or ill, gossipy tales of Nicole Kidman's tragic miscarriages, Scientology's supposed feudalistic practices, Stanley Kubrick's abusive on-set tyranny, Cruise's lawsuits, Katie Holmes' pre-nup, Anne Rice's tirades, Mimi Kennedy's possible pseudo-gay jokes about her ex, the badmouthing of Brooke Shields, that trip to Oprah's couch, and the rumored "silent birth" of baby Suri.
Andrew Morton might wind up introducing you to an elusive public figure but in the end you may be left wondering if somehow the rumors weren't more enchanting and your former ignorance better left undispelled.
Five stars for interesting reporting.
Three for writing style.
Entertaining and a symbol of freedom with every word
This book is entertaining and perhaps the most interesting book I have read in years. It clearly has years of research behind it and has so many facts listed at once that it could be overwhelming. I never knew that Scientology could be so dangerous and it answers a lot of questions related to the roll that Tom has played.
