Boulevard of Broken Dreams - The Life, Times and Legend of James Dean.

seems oddly mistitled since the book has little to do with dreams and a lot with homosexuality. Dean became famous when he made Rebel Without A Cause, and later - Giant. He became an idol for the nation's teenagers, none of whom probably suspected what a mixed up, unhappy and tortured individual he really was.

Alexander certainly is mesmerized by Dean's sexuality, and there are some truly disgusting episodes in the book, providing detail of Dean's homosexual relations.

On the other hand, the book provides a very exact account of how Dean found his death (in a car crash) but doesn't explain the stubborn rumor that made the rounds for years, that Dean hadn't died at all.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams is well written, and it is to Alexander's credit that he provides details of how Hollywood created a romantic image of Dean, publicizing him on dates with Pier Angeli and others. They went even further with Rock Hudson (Dean's co-star in Giant whom the studio practically forced to marry for the sake of "the image." The marriage lasted a full month and then Hudson went back to being the compulsive homosexual he was.) Alexander, deliberately or otherwise, tends to romanticize Dean, who was something of a drifter, with an early home life to match.

The book explores Dean's relationship with Elizabeth Taylor, with who he acted in Giant, and who seems to have a penchant for odd types a la Dean and Michael Jackson. In any case, whereas Giant director George Stevens hated Dean (as did Rock Hudson) others found his vacillating and opaque personality attractive, and still others admired him as a "free spirit," eager to knock down the boundaries and limits set up by society.

It is doubtful that, apart from his sexual relations, Dean really saw himself that way. In any case, Boulevard of Broken Dreams reveals an insecure, at times almost pitiful character, searching for love and relationships in his own way which, even when he found them, didn't satisfy him.