All That Heaven Allows

“Griffin has written a definitive biography, one that effectively toggles between gleeful gossip-dishing (as befits Hudson’s era of film-world glitz) and a genuine affection and admiration for the man behind the screen presence.” (Boston Globe) .

“All That Heaven Allows is by far the definitive biography Rock Hudson and his fans deserve.... Griffin offers an unforgettable, richly nuanced and psychologically intriguing portrait.” (Shelf Awareness)

“Like Rock Hudson’s life — marked by glory as a Hollywood star and pinup but also the lifelong shame of the closet and his AIDS-related death — his afterlife was blessed and cursed in equal measure. Mark Griffin sets the balance right in a full, empathetic biography, sparing few details about the complicated life of a man who was born (and died) too soon.” (Vulture)

“In Mark Griffin’s excellently captured biography of Rock Hudson, he offers not a sensationalistic portrait; but one that carries a heartfelt and realistic view of this actor, gay man, and glorious star of motion pictures. This is the best and most researched of the biographies on Hudson. Truly an expansive and honest book.” (Rage Monthly)

“At once the luckiest and unluckiest of men, Rock Hudson finally has the book that his fans have long been waiting for. This richly detailed biography is a revelation. Mark Griffin’s thoughtful and compelling All That Heaven Allows isn’t simply a book about one of the most determined and hard-working movie stars in the history of Hollywood, it also happens to be an insightful look at America in the second half of the 20th Century. Read it and weep.” (Sam Kashner, co-author of The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters and the New York Times bestseller Furious Love)

“Exhaustive and empathetic…. Griffin fills in what’s left to say [about Hudson’s life] in between the lines with an impressive list of interviews with movie star friends, acquaintances and co-stars and also digs deep into private journals and correspondence.” (USA Today)

“Mark Griffin’s perceptive and sympathetic biography All That Heaven Allows gives Hudson, both the movie star and the man, the kind of reassessment only time can allow.” (Associated Press)

“All That Heaven Allows is a rich and complex story of Hollywood’s biggest star in its most golden age.” (New York Journal of Books)

“The hardest role Rock Hudson ever played was Rock Hudson. And he played it brilliantly. . . . Mark Griffin’s All that Heaven Allows goes behind the scripted characters to tell the real story.” (New York Daily News)

“This juicy biography explores Hudson’s rise to Hollywood fame, the extraordinary efforts to keep his sexuality a secret and the bombshell news of his AIDS diagnosis in the 1980s.” (Newsday)