Jerome Robbins, by Himself: Selections from His Letters, Journals, Drawings, Photographs, and an Unfinished Memoir by Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins, by Himself: Selections from His Letters, Journals, Drawings, Photographs, and an Unfinished Memoir Reviews

• 
  Richard Dominguez

  Jerome's (what seems to be) complete life story, told very factual. For me this reads like a dictionary.
• 
  Elza

  Brīnišķīga biogrāfija!
  Mākslinieka dzīves stāsts, kas izstāstīts caur dienasgrāmatu ieraktstiem, vēstulēm, fotogrāfijām. Te ir viss: mākslinieka ego un vienlaikus šaubas par sevi, veiksmes un neveiksmes, dzīves prieki un bēdas.
  Ļoti patiesi, iesaku!
• 
  Brie

  This was won in a Goodreads First Reads contest.
  
  A solid book that would have been even more interesting to me if I was more aware of the subject and his work. Very interesting and engaging read.
• 
  Kevin

  With access to the letters, journals, essays and unfinished memoir of Jerome Robbins (1918-98), biographer Amanda Vaill creates a compelling autobiography of the director and choreographer. Vaill ("Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins"; "Hotel Florida") is skilled and savvy about arranging eight decades of Robbins's archival writings into a coherent and compelling chronology. She also offers succinct overviews at the beginning of each chapter, and her annotations at the bottom of each page clarify and enrich.
  
  Robbins won five Tony Awards and two Academy Awards over his long career; his musical résumé is astonishing. Thanks to his positions as director, choreographer, producer and show doctor, there are fascinating behind-the-scenes tales about the creation of legendary Broadway musicals including "On the Town", "The King and", Bette Davis's revue "Two's Company" (in which Robbins worked with ex-fiancé Nora Kaye and current male lover Buzz Miller), "The Pajama Gam", "Peter Pan", "West Side Story", "Gypsy", "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Funny Girl" (hiring Barbra Streisand over the objections of producer Ray Stark). Of Streisand, Robbins notes, "When she sings she is as honest and frighteningly direct with her feelings as if one time she was, is, or will be in bed with you."
  
  His letters and essays about creating dances and musicals with such greats as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Ethel Merman, Rodgers and Hammerstein, George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet are breathtaking. The book also includes large chunks of Robbins's autobiographical drama "The Papa Piece", which he wrote about testifying in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1953--a decision that haunted him. This superbly assembled Jerome Robbins autobiography is nirvana for Broadway fans.
  
  JEROME ROBBINS BY HIMSELF is a supremely entertaining autobiography pieced together from the director and choreographer's diaries, journals and unfinished memoir.
• 
  Elizabeth Schroeder

  Having worked at NYC Ballet about 10 years before Mr. Robbins passed away, I was so looking forward to reading this book. Although he is among the greatest choreographers who ever lived, I found this book, with journal entries and letters he wrote to many in the dance, music, and Broadway world over the years, intensely boring. How ironic that Jerry himself (perhaps a reflection of his deep insecurities) gave such an uninteresting portrayal of his extraordinary life and career!
  
  Far too much time is spent on his childhood; too little on his adult professional years. The personal letters were, to me, so short that they lacked context -- and I was familiar with nearly all of the names in the entries and photographs. The lack of context was also due to our only having his letters, not an exchange between him and the addressees, and to the fact that people don't tend to provide backstory and context in their personal journals or letters.
  
  Amanda Vaill did a Herculean job of trying to select the various letters and journal entries that were most important, but in the end, this book could have been edited down further. The strongest sections, in my opinion, were the ones she herself wrote -- introductions and overviews that were then followed by letters and journal entries from the period (as well as some artwork).
  
  Still searching for a biography of this legend that will do him justice.
• 
  Russell Ricard

  Jerome Robbins, by Himself pulls back the curtain on this creative genius’ life. Unique is the deep dance into his highly complex head and heart. The many revelations about the contradictions and conflicts in his psyche are one’s readers can trust, because they are documented in his own voice through journals, letters, and excerpts from an unfinished memoir. Of huge interest and intrigue is the inclusion of Robbins’ literal notes, and sometimes torturous ruminations on his creative process. Expertly edited by Amanda Vaill, along with her definitive commentary, this book should serve as the authoritative text on Robbins’ legacy.
• 
  James Grissom

  Few people on the planet know more about Jerome Robbins in particular and dance in general than Amanda Vaill. Even fewer have her gifts as a writer, and she brings those gifts fully to the organization and explanation of a wealth of letters, journal entries, and jagged edges of an unfinished memoir by Robbins. What we don't know about Robbins is a lot, and many things are clarified in this valuable book.
• 
  Amanda

  Well worth reading if you're interested in mid-20th century culture (middle/highbrow).
  
  The introduction makes a point of suggesting many of his collaborators thought Robbins was more of a physical than verbal presence, but his lack of writerly polish is actually quite endearing in the selected letters. His musings on himself are very intriguing, and do illuminate some of his approach to dance.
• 
  Stuart

  Probably a labor of love strictly for theater/dance nerds, but this is an outstanding work that assembles a full portrait of Jerome Robbins’ life using his own words.