Life Itself

A Memoir

By: Roger Ebert

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

"I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out."
—from Life Itself

Roger Ebert is the best-known film critic of our time. He has been reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967, and was the first film critic ever to win a Pulitzer Prize. He has appeared on television for four decades, including 23 years as cohost of Siskel & Ebert at the Movies.

In 2006, complications from thyroid cancer treatment resulted in the loss of his ability to eat, drink, or speak. But with the loss of his voice, Ebert has only become a more prolific and influential writer. And now, for the first time, he tells the full, dramatic story of his life and career.

Roger Ebert's journalism carried him on a path far from his nearly idyllic childhood in Urbana, Illinois. It is a journey that began as a reporter for his local daily, and took him to Chicago, where he was unexpectedly given the job of film critic for the Sun-Times, launching a lifetime's adventures.

In this candid, personal history, Ebert chronicles it all: his loves, losses, and obsessions; his struggle and recovery from alcoholism; his marriage; his politics; and his spiritual beliefs. He writes about his years at the Sun-Times, his colorful newspaper friends, and his life-changing collaboration with Gene Siskel. He remembers his friendships with Studs Terkel, Mike Royko, Oprah Winfrey, and Russ Meyer (for whom he wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and an ill-fated Sex Pistols movie). He shares his insights into movie stars and directors like John Wayne, Werner Herzog, and Martin Scorsese.

This is a story that only Roger Ebert could tell. Filled with the same deep insight, dry wit, and sharp observations that his readers have long cherished, this is more than a memoir-it is a singular, warm-hearted, inspiring look at life itself.

©2011 Roger Ebert (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Great Words and Stories

Loved this, the only thing I felt that dragged were the stories of celebrities, I felt like it was padding, however when it got back to Ebert’s life, that was absolutely perfect! Great read

Beautifully written and narrated

I'm so glad to have read this memoir by Roger Ebert. The narrator was excellent. As much as I was aware of Ebert there's so much to discover in a life's work of this magnitude. It was interesting and captivating. He is missed! Enjoy the listen!

mixed feelings

What did you love best about Life Itself?

Roger's rich life, straight from the horse's mouth.

What did you like best about this story?

Mr. Ebert's power of recall was a little frightening, but I certainly admire it, and the prose is just beautifully precise.

What about Edward Herrmann’s performance did you like?

I was almost inspired to listen to the Cheney memoir. The narration was spot on throughout, down to the different accents. I could even sense the slightest tinge of feeling in some of the more emotional passages.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

It ain't over till you stop living it.

Any additional comments?

Maybe I'm reaching for the moon here, but that's only because the author has already set the bar so high with his other writings. I am aware that redundancy is inherent in vignette-style memoirs such as this one, but I would have much preferred those repeats replaced with more anecdotes about the walks through his favorite haunts, great directors /actors, and movie/book references.

Fast Forward to Chapter 20

If you're a fan of Roger Ebert -- and I most certainly am one -- you may wish to start your reading of this book at chapter 20. All the previous essays (that's how this book is structured; not as a timeline narrative of his life, but a collection of essays on topics from his life) focus on his family life and youth, and offer nothing of much relevance to understanding Roger the man, or why he became such a great critic. I found it a chore to power through and get to the far meatier second half. Of course, if information about his relatives' cooking skills, or that people he lived with in South Africa had a cute dog and other such personal minutiae are your thing, then by all means dive in.

The task is made easier by Edward Herrmann, the narrator, who is simply superb; probably some of the best work I've enjoyed on Audible outside of Simon Vance's accomplishments.

Even in the second half of the book, I was left wanting for more. We learn that Roger never desired to be a movie critic, that the job was just handed to him. But he offers no insight into how he thought and worked to turn himself into one of America's finest despite having no initial lust for the task. His discussion of Gene Siskel, too, is unfortunately shallow despite that partner being perhaps the one human being we most closely associate with Roger.

We do get entertaining chapters about his associations with several different Hollywood stars, e.g., John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and more, but this is basically classy gossip, and reveals nothing about Roger Ebert, except that he's met some famous people.

Perhaps the most revealing and touching sections were the two poignant chapters about his wife, Chaz, who was a complete enigma to me prior to reading this.

So Roger, please go back and tell us what it was like to be a movie critic!

Surprisingly funny, poignant and beautiful.

If you could sum up Life Itself in three words, what would they be?

A must read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Life Itself?

I cannot pull one thing out. It was all memorable. Roger Ebert expresses so many emotions that I believe we all feel, but cannot speak of. The humility and tenderness of his self observation, his downfalls, his successes, all revealed to me a man I really didn't know anything about, though I watched him on TV for years. He is so much more than a movie critic. And he has found peace and joy even in his tragedies. I recommend this highly to everyone, as I can not imagine a person who would not be moved.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Oh, there were so many. I'm going to listen again.

Any additional comments?

Roger Ebert is truly a bright star of a person, one so needed in this world today.

Fascinating look into the interior life of one of the greatest film critics of all time

Roger Ebert’s memoir goes into some harrowing, magical and surprising places — not unlike life itself. The one criticism is there’s not nearly enough talk about his time working with Gene Siskel whom he worked with 24 years (nearly half his life). He gives a few solid chapters to him but it’s slightly frustrating as he had a great connection to him that not many others would be able to talk about. Either way, it’s a terrific book.

Boring. Don't bother!

How could the performance have been better?

Narration was boring along with the story. Get Rob Lowe's book...you won't be sorry.

Ebert is best enjoyed when he writes about others

What would have made Life Itself better?

Less detail! Pages and pages and pages were spent on the tiniest details that I had absolutely no interest in. I have been a fan of Ebert's for years, but in this work he seems endlessly enamored of his own ability to recall facts from his past, giving no thought to whether anyone will care.

Would you ever listen to anything by Roger Ebert again?

I have always enjoyed Ebert's writing, but I know now to avoid pieces he writes about himself.

Did Edward Herrmann do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Edward Herrmann's voice began to take on a tone of superiority and self-importance, but I suspect that was due to the words he was reading.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Life Itself?

The chapters about his experiences with notable people in the film industry can stay just as they are. All the material about his childhood could be compressed into 50% of the space, and half of the minutia about his adult life could be cut away with no detriment to the work as a whole.

Any additional comments?

I cannot recommend this book. But I still think of Ebert as a talented movie critic whose writings on film I always enjoy.

Not the Audiobook You’re Wanting

Let’s start out with positives: the narrator is fantastic and Roger Ebert (RIP) is a talented writer that can make anything interesting… and that’s where the positives end.

If you were looking for a book that details the life of reviewing movies this is not it. The review show Siskel & Ebert is rarely talked about but he does spend an entire chapter talking about Stake N Shake. It’s like if JK Rowling wrote an autobiography and the only mention of Harry Potter is her saying, “and that’s when I wrote Harry Potter” Unfortunately, I was unable to find any other audio books by Roger Ebert or Gene Siskel on audible. So I would recommend just sticking with watching poor quality re-uploads of their reviews on YouTube as a podcast.

I wanted to like it more

I really respect Mr. Ebert and consider him hugely talented as a film critic and as a writer, but overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It was too heavy on nostalgia and minutia, and as a previous reviewer noted there were many repetitions of portions of anecdotes and stories. I will say this, Mr. Ebert's ability to face his challenges and his own mortality with humor, strength, and optimism is very impressive--I just thought that the memoir was overall too sentimental for my tastes. The vocal performace is wonderful, though.