David Niven - The Moon\'s a Baloon torrent

General Information
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Title: The Moon's a Balloon
Author: David Niven
Copyright: 1977
Audiobook Copyright: 1977
Genre: Speech

File Information
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Number of MP3s: 4
Total Duration: 2:11:17
Total MP3 Size: 30.09


Book Description
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Published in 1972, THE MOON'S A BALLOON proved one of the great bestsellers
of the decade--and if you read the first page you'll know why. You are
immediate hooked by star David Niven's wild, wicked sense of humor.
Whether it is his Dickensian childhood, his outrageous tour of duty
with the British military, or his climb to unexpected stardom, this
is truly Niven exactly as you imagine he would be.

Imagine, however, seems to be an operative word. Niven was less interested
in relating the facts of his life than he was in telling a good story
and in putting his best face to the public--something that is not entirely
unexpected in an autobiography, particularly the autobiography of a
Hollywood star. Later writers have noted that Niven played fast and
loose with the facts in THE MOON'S A BALLOON, and that for all his charm
he could be viciously despicable when the mood took him; it is also
worth pointing out that he was never quite the "A List" star that he
seems to be in his memoirs.

But all this is actually a little beside the point. Whether it is factually
accurate and emotionally honest or not, THE MOON'S A BALLOON is simply
a delightful read right from the first page, where we meet Nessie, the
Picadilly hooker who introduced Niven to the joys of the flesh. Approximately
half the book concerns Niven's life before he arrived in Hollywood as
a would-be actor, and it is a riotous ride; once Niven hits the film
industry, however, he begins to name drop with the best of them--offering
memorable glimpses of such famous names as director William Wyler and
stars Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh. It is all fascinating stuff.

It can also be quite startling. As just one example among many, when
writing of his first wife's death Niven mentions that Joan Crawford
stepped in to care for his children while he attempted to cope with
his grief. Yikes! And although he was a great womanizer and cut a swath
through Hollywood's beauties, Niven does no name dropping there; he
does, however, describe an affair with a "Great Big Star" who was very
likely Merle Oberon, the leading lady of WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

True enough, THE MOON'S A BALLOON will hardly stand a cold factual analysis--bu-
t it is a tremendously fun thing to read, a joyous and fun book, and
while quite a lot of it is of the "tall tale" variety it certainly presents
the star as he likely most wished to be seen and be remembered. Don't
pick it for bedtime reading, because you'll never put it down! Recommended.-