
Camera Man
Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century
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Narrated by:
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Dana Stevens
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By:
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Dana Stevens
Named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker, Publishers Weekly, and NPR
In this genre-defying “new kind of history” (The New Yorker), the chief film critic of Slate places comedy legend and acclaimed filmmaker Buster Keaton’s unique creative genius in the context of his time.
Born the same year as the film industry in 1895, Buster Keaton began his career as the child star of a family slapstick act reputed to be the most violent in vaudeville. Beginning in his early twenties, he enjoyed a decade-long stretch as the director, star, stuntman, editor, and all-around mastermind of some of the greatest silent comedies ever made, including Sherlock Jr., The General, and The Cameraman.
Even through his dark middle years as a severely depressed alcoholic finding work on the margins of show business, Keaton’s life had a way of reflecting the changes going on in the world around him. He found success in three different mediums at their creative peak: first vaudeville, then silent film, and finally the experimental early years of television. Over the course of his action-packed seventy years on earth, his life trajectory intersected with those of such influential figures as the escape artist Harry Houdini, the pioneering Black stage comedian Bert Williams, the television legend Lucille Ball, and literary innovators like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Samuel Beckett.
In Camera Man, film critic Dana Stevens pulls the lens out from Keaton’s life and work to look at concurrent developments in entertainment, journalism, law, technology, the political and social status of women, and the popular understanding of addiction. With erudition and sparkling humor, Stevens hopscotches among disciplines to bring us up to the present day, when Keaton’s breathtaking (and sometimes life-threatening) stunts remain more popular than ever as they circulate on the internet in the form of viral gifs. Far more than a biography or a work of film history, Camera Man is a wide-ranging meditation on modernity that paints a complex portrait of a one-of-a-kind artist.
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The Dawn of Cinema Through The Life of Buster Keaton
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I didn’t know much about Buster Keaton, so this book was very informative, and I took a few detours to YouTube to watch some of the shorts and movies that were mentioned.
I found Mr. Keaton’s interest in television to be particularly interesting.
I recommend this book for any fan of old Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton.
A very informative look at Buster Keaton and other legends
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What A Life!
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Having been born in late 1954, I was familiar with Buster's name and face, but not with his work. I recently saw a review of Sherlock Jr. as a forgotten classic, watched it in amazement, listened to an interview with Dana Stevens, all within the span of a few days, and added this book to my library. Setting aside a few other books I was reading, I could have listened to this in one day. To me, it was that good.
I appreciate Ms. Stevens including mention of Buster's works in later life, which I will add to my viewing list. It's sad, to me, that Buster never took the opportunity to audition for the part of Lucky in Waiting for Godot. To see him playing opposite Zero Mostel and Burgess Meredith would have been a treat.
The fates converged...
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More than a biography!
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A well written tribute
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What an achievement!
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Informative and entertaining
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Maybe better than an ordinary biography
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terrific book
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