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List Price: $12.95 | | Publisher: Plume
Salesrank: 764008
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Humphrey Bogart's son examines his father's life as an actor, a man, a husband, and a father, as he presents a picture of a man with a tough image that belied his ambitions and vulnerabilities. Reprint.
Bogart: In Search of My Father Reviews:
INFO ON BOGIE 
2009-08-29 -
I recently picked up this book at Goodwill for a 'song' wanting info on Bogie. Though enjoying Bogie's movies I don't consider myself a fan but I figure if you want to learn more on HB whom better to get the info from than his son. Hah! Turns out most fans will know as much or more than the son. So the son needed to do in depth homework just to write this book. After reading the book, my feeling is that the author seems to have always been an angry person, almost from birth, and this is on the whole, a somewhat angry book.
Still the book remains very readable, as with many of us SHB has been to college, allowing many elements of Bogart's life to adroitly come through, facts most readers may have read before, while offering new facts to others. I consider the book more in the 3-star range due to the recurrent, personal, and plaintive "poor me" statements, however, because other more solid, objective elements are included I up it to 4-stars.
It's tough to lose a parent at any time of life, (I've buried both mine) especially your father at age 8. Especially a legend of the silver screen, possibly still more famous now than in his lifetime. However, as the Bible says, once Bogie's allotted days were fulfilled, one just has to move on, life does that with or without Humphrey Bogart in the world. SHB either was unable or refused to do that, so he wasted much time fighting against the inevitable. The author states several times he is not a person of faith so faith could offer him little comfort, then or now, much to his great loss. So he resorted to much bad behavior mixed with drugs, and strangely he can seemingly still write of it with almost a chip-on-the-shoulder pride. With his lack of faith or much else he failed to ever see that his anger and unproductive behavior never did any harm whatsoever to Bogie, only to himself. Further much of his abhorrent behavior no doubt came from anger at Bogie's dying, when Bogie had no control whatever over the length of his days. Again according to Scripture, none of us ever do.
With his recent marriage and this book he says he now sees it all more clearly, finally got it together, hope so for his sake and those around him. Especially concerning his mother, for it is axiomatic mothers never ever give up on their children, ever. Though it seems quite clear he often gave up on her, just as with God though, she never deserted him. She was always there and remains there to this day. Hope he now sees that too, for he is indebted to Lauren Becall, and she seems mostly to have always been there if or when he wanted to turn to her.
I can recommend the book to readers interested in the Bogart-Becall years, yet most of the readers, especially fans, may already know most of what is in the book. Though the personal writings of Stephen Humphrey Bogart may be a catharsis of major import to him I doubt they will register as much with people who both had to mostly behave themselves or to always work constructively all their life to earn a living, never having the Bogart-Becall connections or other resources of SHB on which to rely.
Semper Fi.
son of a legend... 
2007-04-03 - I don't imagine any of us really know what it is like to be the son of a legend..the incredible pressure that must come with living up to your father..it sounds like a wonderful easy life but as Stephen Bogart let's us know it's not..a book full of anecdotes and stories, self-examination, a bit too much whining for my tastes but nevertheless some tasty morsels can be found in this book..
Would you like some cheese with that whine?
2006-11-14 - The book is a collection of stores from interviews conducted by Stephen. Who, after a battle with cocaine, removing the chip from his shoulder, and maturing, decided to find out who his fater was. The book is a fast read, has a few interesting stories, and the pics are good. Glad I checked it out of the library and didn't pay for it.
Insightful tale of how Bogart's son came to terms with his fame
2005-12-31 - Heard BOGART: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER, written and
read by Stephen Humphrey Bogart . . . his son was only eight
when he died and for a long time, it was difficult for him to
deal with his legendary father . . . only with the encouragement
of his famous mother, Lauren Bacall, was he finally able to
come to terms with some of the anger he felt toward his father.
I'm still not quite sure that I understand this feeling; it's almost
as if he blamed his father for dying . . . however, Stephen
Bogart did a good job of researching his father Humphrey, and
he shares many amusing anecdotes that I not heard previously.
In addition, I enjoyed reading about how Bogart and Bacall
met and fell in love.
BOGART: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER gave me the impression
that Humphrey had no idea how to raise his children, but it
was clear that he did love them . . . Stephen Bogart now
appreciates this fact, too.
a tiring search 
2004-01-12 - Well written but hardly engaging, Stephen Bogart descends to the predictable far too often. Open any section and the recipe will be identical: Fascinating anecdotes about Humphrey Bogart & mid-century Hollywood are sandwiched between massive slabs of "oh my daddy died and thats why life has been so hard for me me me!" The mantra of selfpity continues throughout. For those who blame their parents for the crippling hardship of adulthood (!) this is the book for you. Bogart fans will perhaps be less pleased - 2 stars for fluid prose & the bits which actually deal with Bogie, icon & man
