The Last Book I Read

I've been a fan of James Garner since I was about three years old and used to watch Maverick reruns every morning while I waited for my sister Sally to come home from kindergarten so we could have lunch. Watching that show is one of my earliest memories, though to be honest, back then I was a bigger fan of Jack Kelly who played the slightly more traditionally heroic of the Maverick brothers. When I rediscovered the show in late night reruns when I was in high school, I was amazed that my toddler memories of its quality more than held up. Of course, by that time I was regularly watching, and enjoying, The Rockford Files, in which Garner essentially played Bret Maverick as a modern day private eye. Around that time I also noted that Garner popped up in a lot of movies I liked, such as Support Your Local Sheriff, Marlowe, and Skin Game. In other words, he's been a favorite actor of mine for a long time, and I was kind of looking forward to reading his memoir when I saw it on display in a bookstore back before Christmas, and was gratified when I received a copy as a gift. I was mostly looking forward to reading behind-the-scenes stories of Maverick and Rockford, and each receives a chapter. There are also sections on Garner's hobbies of driving fast cars and golfing, and a lot of commentary about his perspective of the entertainment industry. The best parts are those about his childhood, which was uncommonly rough, even for a Depression-bred kid, and the effect that had on how he looked at the world once he became an adult. All in all, it's a decent book, but it starts with something of a disclaimer by Garner that he never really thought his story was all that interesting, and there are long stretches where it seems like he's kind of hellbent on proving the point (or at least not going out of his way to make his story more exciting). He mostly has generous words for those he worked with, and the exceptions are not dwelt upon. Throughout his career he was often accused (or maybe complimented) for just playing himself on screen, and while that's ultimately condescending to his craft (his conclusion too), I think the modesty and self-deprecation on display in this book are genuine and they kind of undermine the overall impact of reading it. But, despite that, I kind of appreciate that Garner was true to his feelings, and didn't glamorize a story that he doesn't see in those terms. Where that leaves a potential reader I guess depends on whether you are a fan to begin with or not. I am, and so I'm glad I got the chance to read his story, even if it didn't exactly knock my socks off.