Life Itself: A Memoir

I enjoyed listening to the CD on my drive. As other reviewers have stated he at times early on spent a lot of time going into his catholic personal history and upbringing. While I am not a catholic, it was informative as to how his religion shaped his ideas and his strong work ethic. It did seem to drone on a bit about how catholicism had helped him form his innate ability to have a critical eye in becoming a film critic, because it helped him develop a set of good core values to look appraisingly at the world and its films.I loved his recounting his conversations with John Wayne and other well known actors of the time. I wish he had talked more about any encounters or interviews he might have had with George Lucas or Steven Spielberg as they are such icons in the history of the film world of today and the recent past. At times I thought he sounded a tad arrodite or as if he were above the fray, concerning some of the people and films he wrote about. Still, his amazing track record as a leading film critic have made him earn his stripes, and when he talks a lot of people like myself shut up and listen, because honestly, he has earned those stripes over time and having spent thousands of hours reviewing movies I might never see in my lifetime.I grew up without a father, so hearing his story of how he was raised was touching. His upbringing and the lessons he garnered from both his mother and father were insightful. His observations about his past surgeries and how it has changed him, I also learned a good deal from. I am grateful he did take the time to explain how it changed his ability to communicate and how he does so now.I appreciated hearing his reflections on how he was a social drinker, and yes, perhaps an alcoholic in his past and how that might have effected his take on the world at times and the people who were in and out of his life. Those kinds of introspections and then being able to talk them about helped show his past experiences have made him come "full circle" as he has. I like that he talked about being married to a woman who is savey, smart and one tough cookie who has hung with him, even during some of his toughest medical problems and surgeries. I was glad to see he transcended the race card and in so doing literally has enriched his past and current life.Bottomline: It is a good book on tape to listen to if you have a 14 hour drive ahead of you. To the author and his lovely family, I say well done, well written, holding back hardly any punches and for having talked very well about, well, Life Itself... Thank you for having made 14 hours of life on the road a more tolerable and nicer place to be able to reflect on how lucky we are to have film critics like yourself and to be living the lives we now are. I appreciate more of what I have now, knowing the struggle yet ahead of me to overcome what ever life is going to be throwing at me. Sincerely, Adam Thomson, III

I've been a fan of yours for many years now. You've been a great inspiration to me, and there was a time I even wanted to be a movie critic, because of you. I started writing movie reviews for my school newspaper almost ten years ago and even ended up being a contributor to MovieFreak.com the year I graduated from high school (2003). I didn't quite make it as a critic, but I am always writing!I recently read your memoir, Life Itself, and once again, feel inspired by your writing. I even flooded my Wastin' Away Press blog via tumblr.com, with excerpts from the book (I hope you don't mind, I did quote you, and rest assure, these quotations are Ebert legit!What I love about the way you wrote your book, it is very versatile that it could interest almost anyone to read it.-A journalist.-A movie buff.-A movie goer.-A writer.-Or just someone that enjoys reading celebrity memoirs.I was really moved tail end of your book. The fact that you are still writing to this day is inspiring. Truth be told, you could be spending the rest of your life doing nothing. But you choose to write, because writing isn't just your occupation - writing IS your life. Most people that don't write do not comprehend that. But every single writer does.No matter what one writes, every writer feels the same about writing. It's a shared understanding. But with you, writing has been more than just writing, it has been your voice. I can't imagine what it is like being in a room full of people, and not being able to keep up with the conversation as it is going. But I can imagine how much you have relied on your writing to communicate. I myself have a hard time communicating as I am talking. I find that I write much better (and I seem smart when I write, oppose to my big, loud, mouth!)I don't expect you to read this. But regardless, I feel compelled to let you know I love your book and enjoy your weekly reviews. Despite the fact that I disagree with some of your ratings (I am sure you haven't heard that one before!), I absolutely love your writing, especially when the creative mind of Roger Ebert runs wild with some of the god-awful films you had to review!Thank you so much for many years worth of great writing (and many more to come).Sincerely one of your loyal readers,Keith Helinski

Typically a memoir is the author talking about his life in chronological order, noting all the events, the ups and down. The adventure of it all. This memoir was unusual in that a great deal of pages was spent on talking about other people - friends, colleagues, recurring acquaintances. I think I understood his logic though. Roger wanted to talk about the people that shaped his life experiences. People that had a lasting impact on how he views the world. How he experiences life. But still I found this format unsatisfying.Part of the enjoyment of reading a memoir is to get past all the façade and let the author narrate his own life experiences in detail. Through the act of "listening" to the author narrate the events from childhood onwards, you get a better sense of the person as a relatable human being instead of a public figure. I found myself asking quite a few times - especially in the middle of the book - if this is really a memoir at all.From what I remember, the parts of this book that are of the typical memoir style are the beginning and the end. I found both of these parts satisfying. Listening to him about his early life in the Midwest, taking walks in Europe, getting sick, and his thoughts of the Big Questions reminded of why I was what drew me to this book.I don't regret reading it. The parts that were good were worth it. He's well-read, open-minded, thoughtful, and seems to speak honestly about things, and I feel enriched from reading this.

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This is a fascinating read for anyone who grew up watching Siskel & Ebert on TV, like I did. The memoir contains the obligatory chapters about Gene Siskel, how the show came to be, Roger Ebert's experiences with David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey, and the illness that eventually took his life. I'll admit I skipped to those chapters first, but the book also delves into a lot of things I never knew about Roger Ebert, like his battles with alcoholism, his Catholic upbringing, and his strained relationship with his mother.One particularly interesting insight is that Ebert was a newspaper man first and foremost and that film criticism and TV stardom were things that fell into his lap. He and Siskel both treated film criticism like beat reporters, but instead of covering local politics it was the latest movies he had been assigned to report on. The fact that he was a writer first, a critic second, and a TV celebrity third helps to explain why he was so prolific over the years, even during his long illness, and why this book is so easy and enjoyable to read.Yes, there are times when the book feels a bit unfocused, and that might not have been the case if it had been written twenty years ago while Ebert was in his prime, but even though he'd lost a few steps by the time he sat down to write his life story, Roger Ebert was still a better writer than most people half his age in perfect health, and this is the best memoir Roger Ebert will ever write, which makes it a must read for his fans. And the fact that Roger Ebert wrote this book at this stage in his life meant that he knew he didn't have a lot of years left, and he addresses his feelings abut mortality in some of the book's most moving passages.

'Life Itself' demonstrates that Ebert had as fantastic an ability for recollection & nostalgia as he did with writing film reviews. I had expected more anecdotes when it came to his middle years & felt the series of interviews was a little disparate & didn't really cover the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s all that well. Nonetheless, what Ebert included was fantastically entertaining & I could easily read twice as many recollections written with his unique flair. Two thumbs up.

Written in a sincere, personal, down-to-earth and thought provoking style. A fascinating account of life in America back in the 1950's and 60's. His numerous accounts of encounters with famous journalists, writers, cinema stars and other artists is very interesting. What a rich and unique life Roger Ebert lived. Thank you for sharing!

An end of life reminiscence that provides interesting background on what made Roger Ebert tick, the influences that led to his movie criticism and analysis, his early struggle with alcoholism, his relationships with many well-known celebrities and business acquaintances, and his self-awareness throughout an extremely difficult period of illness and surgery.