Description
By: Philippe Defechereux .
Scope: The complete yet never told story of James Dean’s passion for professional racing, his cars and races, within the context of his life, the many celebrities he befriended and his stunning Hollywood success before his tragic death at 24. The book also details his fatal accident almost “frame-by-frame,” based on police reports, witness testimonies and the author’s own analysis.
James Dean was America’s first “Teenage idol” and almost single-handedly initiated the youth revolution that swept the country in the late 50’s and ‘60’s, turning first into the Beat Generation, then the Hippies, then the anti-establishment movement. All of this is artfully weaved into the book, in context with James Dean extraordinary talents – acting, music, sculpture, racing, etc. -- and revolutionary approach to everything.
Book size: landscape format 11” x 9” and 132 pages
Illustrations: More than 100 top quality photographs, the majority being splendid shots by the greatest photographers of the 1950’s such as Sanford Roth and Dennis Stock, featuring not only James Dean, but also celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson, Sammy Davis Jr, Ursula Andress, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Geraldine Page, Pier Angeli, In addition, the book features some never-before-published high-quality racing photos showing classic Porsches, Ferraris, Jaguar, and Mercedes and vying against American Specials on the race tracks of the 1950’s.
Author: Philippe Defechereux is a former automotive advertising executive with great passion and experience about cars and racing. On the occasion of James Dean’s 40th anniversary, he published a short version of James Dean’s racing career and fatal accident published in French and Dutch with 40,000 copies sold to-date. In 1998, he wrote a historical racing book titled “Watkins Glen 1948-1952 – The Definitive Illustrated History.” The book earned many awards and extraordinary reviews. Philippe Defechereux also writes frequent articles for car magazines. He has appeared many times on television and done radio interviews; he will be available for such after the book launch.
Target Audience: Baby boomers who were alive when James Dean rose to fame, plus Generations X and Y who know of James Dean but wish to learn more and easily about this great American icon, including through superb visuals. Besides North America, Great Britain, France, Germany and Japan are natural markets for this book.
