Had to read this because the 50th anniversary of Jaws is this year & that’s my mom’s favorite movie.

I loved getting to know Robert’s story & his life & how he got to be such a huge character in such a huge movie.

I thought this was very informative & well written. One of the better memoirs I’ve read.

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Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the Set of JAWS and Beyond by Christopher Shaw Myers is a biography of the actor, with a special focus on his family and role in the movie Jaws. Mr. Myers is an American author and nephew of the actor.

While I know that Robert Shaw shined in Jaws, as a James Bond fan I know him as Red Grant in From Russia with Love. While I do appreciate Jaws, the first “summer blockbuster”, I like the Bond movie better.

Robert Shaw’s biography is written by his nephew, Christopher Shaw Myers, who inherited his uncle’s writing chops. It’s an enjoyable tale, which gives readers not just stories about the famous actor, but also mini bios of the entire Shaw clan as a frame of reference. One can say that the book is just as much about his sister Dr. Joanna Shaw Meyers as it is about Robert.

I felt that this book is meant more for the future relatives of the actor, than it is for the public. It concentrates on wonderful family anecdotes just as much, if not more, than timelines and screen credits. Frankly, to me those anecdotes are what makes any biography or auto-biography worth reading.

We get to not only appreciate Robert Shaw’s impact on Jaws and it’s “young director”, but also understand the man. This is not an all-encompassing biography at all, the subtitle of the book makes clear, but a loving work from one relative to another.

The 007 flick (which is still one of the better ones, almost 50 years later) as well as such classics as The Sting, and The Man in the Glass Booth which Shaw wrote are all mentioned but are not the focus of this book. It is, nonetheless, a fascinating , well written and delightful insight into a fascinating man and a fascinating family.

This book was a great read. I only knew Robert Shaw through his role as Quint, and this book gave me a glimpse into the man who made that role so iconic.

As someone with thalassophobia and a very rational fear of sharks but who also likes scary movies - of course I love JAWS. Of course I think Quint is utterly iconic, and now I appreciate his character even more.

Robert Shaw and his family had a life of endless challenges, and truly, loving his sister Joanna was probably one of the things that got him through it. Having a compatriot against parents, villages, poverty, addiction, prejudice, and someone who always believed you were capable of your dreams is such a beautiful thing to read about even if it was happening in the midst of pain. Their sibling relationship redeems some of the most tragic or frustrating things about Robert Shaw.

He was clearly brilliant - not just an actor but when I looked into the things he wrote, he had a unique view on the world and lived in a time that was unlikely to nurture it. He was the guy that knew everyone and wanted to give a piece of himself to everyone. I don't think he ever expected to do it through JAWS, but you'll feel lucky to have that with you by the time you finish this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, High Bridge Audio and Kensington Books for the digital copy of this book and audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was curious to know more about the actor and writer, Robert Shaw. I, of course, remember him so vividly in Jaws and was shocked when I recognized him, albeit barely, in From Russia With Love as an albino assassin. And one of my favorite movies growing up was The Sting, so I admired his acting but didn’t know much about him.

This biography, however, is not what I expected at all. Written by his nephew, Christopher, the book is as much about Shaw’s sister (the author’s mother). Joanna Shaw Myers. And quite frankly, I found Joanna’s story much more interesting than Robert’s. However, if we didn’t learn about Joanna and Robert’s close relationship, this book would have been a short story.

The biggest part of this biography is how Robert Shaw developed his USS Indianapolis speech for the first summer blockbuster, Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws. Because the book does not unfurl in a chronological order, but rather non-linear, you get snippets throughout the book until Shaw delivers his monologue.

For the unlucky Shaw, his life was marked by tragedy. His father battled an alcohol addiction, and so did he. His father’s life ended by suicide, his second wife overdosed, and Shaw himself suffered an early death.

This book is narrated by Daniel Thomas May, and he was okay, but he’s not that great performing female or children’s voices. I’m not sure I would listen to something narrated by him again, and I was glad to have the digital ARC to follow along with or I would have been pulled out of the narrative more easily.

A thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing/Citadel Press for the opportunity to read Christopher Shaw Myers's "Robert Shaw" as an eARC.

This was an outstanding biography of Robert Shaw and the Shaw family in general. While the book focuses on Shaw's famous role of Captain Quint in Jaws, it also covers Shaw's acting and writing career and includes the stories of several other members of the Shaw family. Shaw Myers did an amazing job relaying a myriad of familial stories surrounding his famous uncle as well as the rest of clan Shaw. I was equally as enthralled with the tales of young Robert's exploits as with the Jaws-related incidents. I'm not going to lie, but as a Star Wars fan, I also appreciated the stories about Alex Guinness and Robert over the years.

An outstanding and forceful story, the only criticism I have is not quite understanding Shaw Myers's choice to skip around back and forth chronologically while telling the story. This minor gripe in no way diminishes the story, it just seemed an odd stylistic choice.

This was an easy to read book. It moves fairly quickly and for the most part kept my interest. I really expected it to be just about Robert Shaw and making Jaws. However it’s also about his one sister Joanna. Overall it’s an interesting book but not really what I was expecting.

A good book on a great actor gone too soon and a movie so timeless and perfect, to see behind the scenes makes this required reading.

Added the conversation starters at the end of the book adds a level of enjoyment and discussion makes this book GREAT

One star loss because the author, having a "relationship" to the subject matter leaves me to wonder if the view is skewed.

Still recommended, but with a cynical eye on the author and a rose colored eye for my appreciation of the talent in Robert Shaw

Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of Jaws and Beyond is a biography that is intimate and will have you turning pages until the end. The author, who is a relative of Robert Shaw, wrote this well and I was glad to read and learn about Robert Shaw. This book has me wanting to watch Robert Shaw's films beside Jaws, which is my favorite. Overall, I highly enjoyed this read and would recommend to any reader who loves biographies or liked the movie Jaws. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing/ Citadel Press for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review of Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of Jaws and Beyond by Christopher Shaw Myers.

4.25-4.5 Stars

Just in time for the upcoming summer season, a worthy biography of the infamous Robert Shaw to accompany my annual Jaws marathon. Written by a relative and including mini bios on the entire Shaw family as a frame of reference (I enjoyed learning about Joanna's life just as much as I did her older brother's), I truly relished this work. It's realistically tragic in some sections, but overwhelmingly thoughtful and enduring. So many interesting experiences and achievements during tumultuous times are intertwined here. The book has inspired me to go back and watch some my favorite Robert Shaw films, view others for the first time, and explore some of his writing (beyond the legendary Jaws soliloquy).

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If you haven’t watched Jaws, you haven’t lived! I’m a 70s child and it’s one of those films that is a regular watch. I didn’t know much about the life and times of Robert Shaw, so this book intrigued me. As we reach the 50-year anniversary of the ‘Jaws’ movie, it is a prime time for this book.
The book is written well and and keeps your attention. It’s split into years of the Shaw family life. Every chapter serves up information that makes sense of the man that Robert Shaw was. We learn about his parents and the life they led. We learn about his siblings and their relationships. We learn about his love for acting along with the successes and failures along the way.
The book delves into his early years, from his childhood in London to life on the remote, rugged Orkney Islands with a strict mother, a doctor father, and several siblings. His sister Joey (Joanna) was particularly close to both Robert and the author's mother.
Shaw’s journey through RADA, his rise in theatre, and his work as a playwright all highlight his undeniable talent. He thrived in the spotlight, using his sharp wit and brash personality to full effect.
A part of the book was naturally devoted to the the chaotic filming of “Jaws”, especially the infamous USS Indianapolis monologue. The story of Shaw and a similarly inebriated Thornton Wilder hashing out the speech in a bar on Martha’s Vineyard is both fascinating and fitting. Alcohol loomed large in Shaw’s life. The memoir frequently references his reliance on drinking, including Shaw’s own words: “I need it to act.”
Overall, it’s a riveting read. From chapter one where the opening line is “Mrs Shaw, did you murder your husband?” – you know you’re in for a wild ride. The book shares life, love, movies, plays and behind the scenes moments that are precious memories. That’s not forgetting the stories of how Robert's mum and sister met Richard Dreyfus and Roy Scheider.
Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read it!

I grew up in the 70's and Jaws was and is a yearly watch for me. This memoir by Shaw's nephew Christopher Shaw Myers is a nice read though I question "why now" as Robert has been dead since 1978. We read about his childhood in London then moving to rural , rugged Orkney Islands with his strict mother and Dr father and 4 or 5 siblings....Joey (Joanne) being the closest to Robert and the authors mother.
Through his RADA schooling in London to theater plays and playwright Shaw loves the spotlight and uses his brash, caustic personality to his advantage. The parts of the book that bothered me the most were the elaborate conversations that the author was not present for or could any of these conversations be verbatim. The favorite part for me was the disasterous shoot filming Jaws. And how the famous USS Indianapolis speech was written by a drunk Shaw (and a drunk Thornton Wilder) hashing out the storyline inn a bar on Martha's vineyard. Like father, like son both Shaws had a overwhelming problem with alcohol with the author pointing out many times quoting Robert Shaw himself as "I need it to act". All in all a good read. Thank you publishers and NetGalley for the fun read.