I love this story! It's a love story, a family saga, interracial marriage, and friendship, it's a true Texas type story, go big or go home! I loved it, then streamed the movie, it was perfect!
I highly recommend! Thank you.
carolintallahassee

Giant is a old Hollywood epic film featuring some of the most famous (and infamous) movie stars in the history of cinema. The book chronicles the making and behind the scenes of the movie, as well as the strong personas of the stars. The book is a bit gossipy and heavy on James Dean (but when you have him as one of your stars, it is hard not to focus on him). It made me want to watch the movie in depth multiple times and will bring a new perspective to an old classic.

I found this to be an excellent book about the movie Giant. The way it was made from the director to the actors and the people behind the scenes. The author will start with the author of the original book and move through the differences between the book and the film. He will tell you how the director already had certain people in mind to play the parts and for the most they all panned out, except for James Dean who the director did not want but finally settle on. After watching the movie once again but this time after reading the book I really cannot imagine the film with another actor in the roll of James Dean. Yes he does things that some of the actors according to them were stealing the scene but really he made the film. It was his little add on in a scene that was not called for anything, like when he was walking the fence line after inheriting the land, and stand in the room twirling the rope when they read the will. Those are just two examples. He learned the rope tricks on location from the man who was their hired to teach Rock Hudson to speak Texan, that man was from Texas and was a stuntman in Hollywood and paid a good amount for teaching in the day and drinking at night with Dean. The author will take you into the back ground and life of the actors and will take you through the town they used and what has happened to the town since. A wonderful book and full of good information about the movie and the stars.

I have long had a fascination with the movie Giant, and still, after all these years, never miss an opportunity to watch it again. This book told me things I would never have known, and I'll have it close for a re-read - it's as addictive as the movie. Well researched and well written.

This is a wonderful book for fans of the movie Giant. It has extensive background information on the movie production and information on all the stars in the movie. .As a long time fan of this spectacular production I enjoyed the well researched and well documented facts. Each of these powerhouse stars were at their peak at the time they filmed this movie and Giant was a popular movie of its time. I highly recommend this book. A very enjoyable look at a rare group of well loved stars working together during a heyday of Hollywood on a set in Texas that became a classic film. What fun this book is and a blast from the past of when Hollywood stars were great.
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review .

I love classic movies so I thought that this book would be really interesting. But, it was really too blue for my taste and it was slow. I like Edna Ferber’s writing and Elizabeth Taylor too, but I just couldn’t get interested in this book and frequently found myself offended by some of the language. Unless you are obsessed with the movie Giant and can handle salty language, skip it!

Oh how I enjoyed this book. What a wonderful book about the making of "Giant" and the behind the scenes knowledge that is presented. For fans of any of the stars, especially James Dean this is the book for you. This book is presented in a way that you lose time while reading. My sister loves this movie and I have gifted her this book and she loves it also. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Edna Ferber’s Giant is an epic book that was adapted into an epic Hollywood film. That production featured a cast of Hollywood legends, up-and-coming stars, and durable character actors. In a new book, Don Graham reveals what happened when all these personalities coexisted for a time on a remote location in Marfa, Texas.

The book is at its juiciest when it dishes about its leads: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. While I did not find much new here about these stars, the juxtaposition of their histories demonstrates what an odd trio they were: perfectly matched in some respects, horribly at odds in others. This is reflected in their varied relationships on set, where Dean and Hudson despised each other, while Taylor went back and forth between the two, having dramatically different experiences with both men.

Around these three there was another social whirl, with supporting players for the most part excluded from the company of the stars like high school outcasts. Some, like emerging method actress Caroll Baker would find themselves drawn into that exclusive crowd and intoxicated by the acceptance. Others, like the seasoned Mercedes McCambridge, were less concerned with status, instead focusing on finding comfort and entertainment during a grueling shoot.

So much of the production of the film is about these relationships and how director George Stevens presided over the group. For that reason, it makes sense that cast and crew interactions dominate the story here. This isn’t a film about technical issues, but rather the culture it reflected and the community that brought it to the screen. Author Edna Ferber felt strongly about her novel and the way that it was translated to the screen, and though she had little power over how the adaptation was approached, she never failed to provide input, and her point of view contrasts in an interesting way with the Hollywood take on Texas.

Graham also digs into the details of pre-production and the critical reception after the film’s release. He shares a some interesting tidbits, like the fact that Stevens seriously courted Audrey Hepburn for the role of Leslie Benedict and that he originally envisioned Alan Ladd as Jett Rink. It’s intriguing to imagine how dramatically these casting choices would have changed Giant.

This is a compelling portrait of a massive film. It covers a lot of ground, but remains engaging. I thought there was more biographical background than necessary on the three stars, but found the production notes fascinating and a solid document of the complexities in managing such a massive production.

I liked the film Giant but I found this book a bit dull even though
there are lots of anecdotes about the cast and crew. I didn't finish it,
unfortunately.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for
an honest review.

Not what I normally read, but Giant is one of my fave movies, so I felt this was a must read. I'm not disappointed! Very informative and interesting. I enjoyed it. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review

Fans of Edna Ferber might be better off to stick with her well-loved novel "Giant," but lovers of the film "Giant" possibly would enjoy this making-of-the-movie book. Background information of the crew, the production-related scoops and such make this a good companion (or coffee) book along with the enjoyment of the movie "Giant."

Even though I have learned few new things about the actors and the movie production, but this book suffers from information overload. There are more than enough information that, especially the juicy gossips, I don't think are necessary to be included. They are interesting facts to know, but they bear no significance to the movie production directly.

If the final print includes the behind-the-scene pictures might make this movie book more interesting. Through the generosity of the publisher, I obtained my e-gallery through Netgallery. By all means I can't say if the final edit would be furnished with photographs. I hope it does. Abundance of pictures would certainly make "Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film" a more enjoyable read.

A very engrossing book, a real feast for every movie lover, Meticulously researched, it provides an amazing (and sometime surprising) background on all the talent involved in the making of The Giant.

Don Graham has written a straightforward, exhaustively researched, thorough book about the making of an epic movie.

I loved this book. It's richer and more complex that the movie; the characters of Bick Benedict and his young wife Leslie are carefully detailed and we get an inside look at the family dynamics at play. It has everything--cattle barons, oil tycoons, love, hate, jealousy, all set against the background of La Reata, a million acre cattle ranch. Highly recommend

This is a title which a James Dean fan, like myself had to read. However, not completely sold on who all else would find interesting.

With Giant, Don Graham has created a nicely researched story of the making of the famous movie. The backgrounds and histories of each of the actors, director, and novelist are explored and put into context to help explain all the nuances during the filming. Rather than just giving us "X did this", we get more about the emotional and mental state of everyone involved - from Liz Taylor's disintegrating marriage, Hudson's attempts to hide his homosexuality, Dean's increasingly irrational behavior, and director George Stevens' world war II horror stories and how he incorporated them into the movie. As well, we get a great feel of how Texas felt about a movie that didn't necessarily make the State look wholesome.

The book is presented chronologically to filming, rather than the movie's storyline. That means the first chunk of the book sets up the people, with backgrounds on Ferber, the stars, the director. The middle of the book is about the filming of outdoor scenes in Marfa, Texas. And then the rest of the book is about soundstage filming for the interior scenes. Not a lot about the reception of the film is covered and the author resists making personal opinions for the most part about how important the film was or whether it made a social difference. For once, the author isn't stating that it's the greatest film ever made or that it made a lasting impression on everyone's psyche.

Perhaps because there isn't a lot of surviving information, the meat of the book is about the backgrounds rather than anecdotes of on-set activities. We do get various reports from Marfa residents about vignettes they saw/encountered during the filming, some interesting memories about the sets, and some tidbits about scenes. But for the most part, the book really is about the incidentals. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the incidentals because they really helped to define the film so much better. From Stevens including the burial scene of Angel despite the studio heads detractions, the reality of the issue of the racism in Mexico, Taylor's issues with Stevens, Hudson feeling threatened that Dean was taking over the movie, etc.

Perhaps where Graham does the best job is putting the complex James Dean into context to understanding his actions. From the speeding in fast cars to the erratic behavior, the 'stealing' of Taylor away from Hudson's camp, to the unpredictability on set. At the time, Dean's performance was so intense that he did chew through each scene he was in; at the same time, we can look at the performance now and wonder at why being so over-the-top with the mumbling acting was so inspiring.

The wordsmithing is easy to follow and this is an enjoyable read. I never found the facts to be boring and greatly appreciated the macroenvironment analysis that helped so much with understanding what was happening with all the people involved. I also learned quite a bit about the stars of the time, what they went through (even the males had to do casting couch sex to get parts), and all that went into a film at that time. After the read, I went an watched Giant for the first time (I had never seen the movie) and it was great to have all the information from the book fresh on my mind. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This was an interesting book. I enjoyed learning about the movie and more about elements of those involved in the movie. There were some really great details included and it was well written. If you like this movie then you'll like this book.

Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film was just okay for me. 3 stars.