This is an auction for ORSON WELLES: THE ROAD TO XANADU by Simon Callow.

"A wonderfully readable, sharp, shrewd and evenhanded biography... Callow is a witty and feeling biographer."

• Chicago Tribune

"This riveting, revealing portrait of the legendary director and star is unlikely to be surpassed."

• Los Angeles Times Book Review

Amazon.com reviews:

"Callow's vastly entertaining chronicle of Welles's first 26 years seems even finer than it did when it was first published in 1995. The author's ability to skewer his subject's evasions and lies while retaining critical affection for him is perhaps explained by the fact that Callow, an actor himself, understands the need to mythologise. Welles's innovative theatrical work in the 1930s has never been better described or analyzed. Even such oft-told sagas as the War of the Worlds broadcast and the filming of Citizen Kane gain new dimension from Callow's intelligent treatment."

"Simon Callow captures the genius of Orson Welles as only an actor/director deeply rooted in the entertainment industry could. Here is Welless prodigious childhood; his youth in New York, with its fraught partnership with John Houseman and the groundbreaking triumph of his all-black Macbeth; the pioneering radio work that culminated in the notorious 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds; and finally, his work in Hollywood, including an authoritative account of the making of Citizen Kane. Rich in detail and insight, this is far and away the definitive look at Orson Wellesa figure even more extraordinary than the myths that have surrounded him."

More very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Hardback 1995.

640 pages + 24 pages of photographs.

Very good condition.

The cost of shipping is $4.95.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.­­