SPEED READING: James Dean, On the road to Salinas

James Dean book cover

Last September 30 marked the 60th Anniversary (September 30, 1955) of the death of actor James Dean, as he and his mechanic were involved in a tragic, fatal accident as they were driving from Los Angeles to Monterey for an SCCA sports car race.  Along with the assassination of JFK, the death of Marilyn Monroe, and the sinking of Titanic, young James Dean’s untimely passing has fostered an unending cult following, and more than its share of unanswered questions.

This new book, by serious car guy, and  committed James Dean scholar, Lee Raskin, answers many of the questions about the road wreck that turned the handsome young actor into a film legend and cult figure at the age of 24.  I’ve known Lee for many years, and he’s a smart, serious guy, and has written about this subject before, and has spent decades researching James Dean the man, his cars, his budding racing career, and the days and activities leading up to Dean’s fateful trip up North.  And he shares every bit of his fastidious research with you in this new book.  Forget most of the other crap you’ve read about this topic; Raskin shares with you police accident reports, medical reports, and a ton of first hand, primary interview information on the James Dean tragedy.

James Dean back cover

Having written car guy biographies about Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and James Garner, you can guess that a guy like Dean interests me a lot.  (Odd parallels: Dean and McQueen both won their first SCCA races at the wheel of a Porsche Speedster Super, and after racing the Porsche, McQueen bought a faster Lotus sports racer, and Dean ordered one, but never took delivery of it).  Even if your interest is a bit more casual than mine, you’ll get a lot out of this read.  For this effort, author Raskin has secured rights to publish documentary photographers by Hollywood celeb photographer Sanford Roth, These images are hauntingly wonderful, capturing the handsome young actor in many casual situations in the weeks prior to his passing, and some even shot the day of, and during, that fateful drive.  The author’s research is fastidious, and he handily debunks so much BS that’s been said and written about this historic event.

I’ll stop here by saying this is a fabulous read, and if you enjoy sports car racing of the 1950s, Porsches, and/or James Dean, Hollywood legend and lore you’ll love and must have this book.  Well done Lee!

 

JAMES DEAN

On The Road to Salina

160 pages, softbound, hundreds of black and white and color photos

ISBN  9780989114936

Available on Amazon.com or publisher direct at www.stanceandspeed.com