Greetings, First Friday Book Club members:
Our next meeting will be Friday, October 2nd at 2pm at the McKinney National Airport [1500 E. Industrial Blvd. McKinney, TX 75069]
Our reading for October is Hank and Jim by Scott Eyman.
"In many respects a study in contrasts, Eyman’s joint biography of two Hollywood legends reveals just how immutable the bonds were between “Hank” Fonda, an impious, New Deal Democrat with a volatile home life, and “Jim” Stewart, a churchgoing, conservative Republican with a devoted family."
"What kept Henry Fonda and James Stewart friends for 50 years?" [Washington Post review] "I think what sets them apart is their shared concern with moral purpose in their work, the way they try to live up to our professed ideals. This sets them apart from an actor like John Wayne, whose characters are far more self-contained, and often act in defiance of social norms." - Scott Eyman
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Some ways to watch James Stewart and Henry Fonda movies: [FREE] You Tube directory: Henry Fonda: (1939) The Young Mr. Lincoln at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOojr-G1ss (1939) The Story of Alexander Graham Bell at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WDyKO7GQ70&list=PL1qb0i1ov4H4kUzA1u_5nmNpX_6pPxKyj&index=24 (1946) My Darling Clementine at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4vBB2GBaNs James Stewart: (1951) No Highway in the Sky at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVxyzpab3wE&list=PL1qb0i1ov4H4kUzA1u_5nmNpX_6pPxKyj&index=18 (1948) Call Northside 777 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOO9PfVFBg&list=PL1qb0i1ov4H4kUzA1u_5nmNpX_6pPxKyj&index=9(1948) (1948) Rope at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxvhjgNRE8s (1950) Broken Arrow at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtXiAKmDp0E (1939) Made For Each Other at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcYKLVbBMyg&list=PL1qb0i1ov4H4kUzA1u_5nmNpX_6pPxKyj&index=10 _______________________________________________ Amazon Prime: James Stewart: (1955) Strategic Air Command at https://tinyurl.com/y3rj3xvt (1941) Pot O' Gold at https://tinyurl.com/y3zoa7lt _______________________________________________ Netflix Henry Fonda: Battle of Midway at https://www.netflix.com/title/60027942 Once Upon a Time in the West at https://www.netflix.com/title/60031884 _______________________________________________ Documentaries: [Author at Burbank Public Library] HANK & JIM, The 50-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda & James Stewart [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g2iuqoPzrA ] Henry Fonda: photo essay - from infant to 77 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyNAI4Kt884 [Biography] James Stewart at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVn-NCXXoRo
Our alternative reading is Goodby to a River by John Graves
"Considered an American classic, this mesmerizing memoir chronicles the author’s farewell canoe excursion—with his dachshund and other supplies—down the Brazos River in north-central Texas before the tributary was dammed in the 1950s. This quiet narrative offers up a timeless meditation on the autumnal landscape, the former inhabitants and scenes of the river, and the ever-changing shades of nature. His trip concludes near Fort Worth, where the author would eventually settle until his death in 2013. A compelling read for enthusiasts of John McPhee and Peter Matthiessen."
"The Texas which Graves portrays in Goodbye to a River is the real place, plain, harsh, unforgiving and magnificent. His work was devoid of chauvinistic baloney, boosterism or cheap romance. In a way,' he once said, 'I was trying to explain Texas to myself.' He also defined Texas for thousands of readers."
"Canoes, too, are unobtrusive; they don't storm the natural world or ride over it, but drift in upon it as a part of its own silence. As you either care about what the land is or not, so do you like or dislike quiet things--sailboats, or rainy green mornings in foreign places, or a grazing herd, or the ruins of old monasteries in the mountains. . . . Chances for being quiet nowadays are limited..."
Bring your thoughts on the books, the movies, the writers and their ideas.
(And remember to bring your mask.) See you on October 2! Tami Book club web page = First Friday Book Club Book club Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/FirstFridayBookClub