Trumbo

When I was in high school, during the Vietnam War, I read a book that changed forever the way I thought about war. The author was Dalton Trumbo, a name I had never heard of before that time. I’ve heard a lot about him in the decades since.

Trumbo was arguably the best and certainly the best know screen writer in the history of Hollywood. His screen credits include Kitty Foyle, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Brave One, Roman Holiday, Exodus, Papillion, and Spartacus. What he is best known for, though, is that he single-handedly, if some sources are to be believed, broke the blacklist that, for over a decade, dictated who could work in Hollywood.

Most of the books I am asked to review have not yet been published but Trumbo, and the show more accompanying audiobook narrated by Luke Daniels, was actually written in 1976 by Bruce Cook, with Trumbo’s knowledge and full cooperation and is now being rereleased to coincide with the release of the Trumbo biopic starring Bryan Cranston.

It is a comprehensive biography that describes in depth Trumbo’s childhood in Grand Junction, Colorado, and his evolution from baker to writer during the height of the Great Depression. It covered his rise to A-list screenwriter, his appearance before the House Un-American Affairs Committee, his trial and conviction for contempt of Congress, a misdemeanor for which he spent one year in federal prison.

“I remember visiting Dalton after his first night in the DC jail. He told me that in the middle of the night the police brought in a guy. He was charged with some heinous offense, assault with a deadly weapon or something. Then this gang member asked him what he was in for, and Dalton told him. This tough guy shrank back. ‘Holy Jesus,’ he said. ‘Contempt of Congress?’ He was impressed, overwhelmed.”

Following his release from prison Trumbo, the other members of The Hollywood Ten, and anyone else who aided them or was suspected of communist sympathies were officially blacklisted, unable to work in the film industry. Those who did work did so under the table and received no recognition for their efforts. When ‘The Brave One’ won an Oscar for the best screenplay it was awarded to Robert Rich, a man who did not exist. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo.

In time, the blacklist was breached, not by Trumbo alone but by many people who recognized that there were few things more Un-American than to deprive someone of the right to earn a living based solely on his politics.

Cook portrays Trumbo as a larger than life character with a personality as big and bold as Earnest Hemingway. While the book does portray him in a positive light, it still provides enough information that the reader has little trouble forming their own opinion of the man, his life and the industry that he worked in.

“There is more to be said for the man than that. For even in a time like our own, one practically inured to the power of myth, a life like Trumbo’s takes on something of a fabulous quality. His has been a fabulous life, a tale told, an old-fashioned story that illustrates the virtues of hard work, of keeping faith with one’s self and one’s ideals, a quintessentially American story that he could, with only a few important details altered, have written himself for the Saturday Evening Post, back in the thirties. But no, he didn’t write it. He lived it, improvising it from the days and hours he was given, making it up as he went along.

“Let him be remembered by that story and his place will is assured.”

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*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review book was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.

FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star - The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire. show less

I got this as an audiobook ER win, as the book has been re-released to accompany the movie that's just come out recently (which looks great). Interestingly, to me, there don't seem to be any revisions to the book which was originally published in the 1970s. The audiobook was generally well done, though the reader is very slow (I sped mine up and that worked fine).

Cook is forthcoming about his admiration for Trumbo, and tries to bring this up when it would appear to be coloring the book's content. He's open about his process and who he's spoken to, and what their relationship with Trumbo was/influences on their opinion.

I read Johnny Got His Gun in high school and it has certainly stayed with me over the years. However, I didn't know much show more else about Trumbo or the fact that he was blacklisted. Good biography, up-front, honest writing, recommended. show less

I had no idea what this book was about going into it. I have definitely gotten a lesson in insanity regarding American politics of the 40s and 50s. Dalton Trumbo (author, screenwriter and one of the Hollywood Ten) is familiar to me because of his book Johnny Got His Gun. (the book was so interesting that I decided to read Johnny Got His Gun- it is amazing and horrific) I had no idea he was the screenwriter of such mega-hits as Spartacus, Papillon and Exodus. I also didn't know that he went to jail with the rest of the Hollywood Ten rather than cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities and give them names of his friends and co-workers who might be associated with the Communist Party.

The book is eye-opening and I show more definitely learned a lot. The author, Bruce Cook, is a fan of Trumbo and paints him in a positive light for the most part. Personally, I can't imagine being faced with the choice of betrayal or contempt of Congress. prison and blacklisting. Actor Larry Parks said it best: "Don't present me with the choice of either being in contempt of this committee and going to jail or forcing me to really crawl through the mud to be an informer. For what purpose? I don't think it is a choice at all. I don't think this is really sportsmanlike. I don't think this is American. I don't think this is American justice." I have to agree with him.

The narration of the audiobook is well done by Luke Daniels. Recommended listening. show less

Dalton Trumbo has long been a hero of mine. He was one of the who refused to testify during the Hollwood red scare and served prison time as a result. He also authored Johnny Got His Gun, one of the most powerful anti-war novels I've ever read.

Because of my admiration for Trumbo, I was very excited to receive a copy of this audio book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program.

Unfortunately, this biography wasn't really to my taste. It's detailed and thorough, but also very, very "Hollywood." Particularly as an audio book it reads more as a film script (there is a film coming) than a scholarly biography. The narrator has a plummy tone and takes on a variety of accents as he portrays different characters the author interviewed, which show more draws attention more to the performance than to the content. If you enjoy reading People magazine, you will probably love this book. If you want more scholarly fare, you'll leave it disappointed. show less

This was a very interesting book about a fascinating guy and a shameful time in our history. I was entertained and educated at the same time. Trumbo was really an interesting guy. I was amazed at all the films he wrote. The tale of the blacklist is heartbreaking. Bruce Cook is clearly a fan of Dalton Trumbo and so the narrative feels slanted, but Cook does acknowledge this as he writes. This is an older book re-released to coincide with the movie. The material doesn't feel old. Much of it was eye opening to me. Luke Daniels does a good job narrating the story. I'm grateful to HighBridge Audio and LibraryThing for sharing this title with me in exchange for my honest review.

Trumbo is a biography of Dalton Trumbo, the man who broke the blacklist of Hollywood screen writers, actors and others who worked in the movie industry. I didn’t know who he was before listening to this audio version of the book. I am old enough to remember the tail end of era. I can remember the flash of bulbs when they took pictures and the questioning and responses.

Dalton Trumbo’s character and the events of his life are
portrayed by interviews with him, his friends, relatives and a few that he did not get along with. The narrator, Luke Daniels did an exceptional job. The author is very honest throughout the book. He had admired Dalton Trumbo for a long time so he concedes that his biography is written with great respect and show more appreciation for Dalton’s work.

The author takes us into the times when the Red Scare spoken about often. World War II had just ended when the House Committee on Un-American Activities started their investigations. The interviews were the most exciting part of this book.
Trumbo was one of the “Hollywood Ten” investigated by the HUAC committee, he served a prison sentence for “contempt of Congress” and when he left prison, he could not find job anywhere. He started taking requests for writing, he paid people to write under their names. He was hard working and took every job that he could find.

Now that I know much more about Trumbo, I want to read his book, Johnny Got His Gun and will view old movies with new eyes. The pace of this story was excellent. The only part that I was a little disappointed in was the last CD. I thought that part could have been cut from the audio book.

I highly recommend this biography of Dalton Trump for those who want to learn more about the Hollywood blacklisting.

I received a finished copy of the audio book, as a win from LibraryThing from the publishers in exchange for a fair book review. My thoughts and feelings in this review are totally my own. show less

A very good book solidly written and overflowing with quotes and first-hand information. It didn't rise to a 4 or 5 star book simply because it rarely surprised me or gave me more than the basics. While I got a lot of details and particulars about events and many secondary sources and people, I didn't feel I got to know Trumbo or his wife nearly as much as I expected.