I could not put this book down. As a life-long Gene Kelly fan who first became entranced by his talents as a child watching "Singin' in the Rain," I can't imagine a better way to gain insight into my screen hero than this book. All of the key players in his life are contributers through interviews (including Kelly himself.) It is a stimulating read from the first page to the last. Now I am trying to find a copy to own! If you have one to sell, please contact me.

this book is an excellent look on Gene Kelly's phenomonal performance life. He truly is one of, if not the best preformer ever. His choreography and tapping style was such a breakthrough from the Astaire dainty dancing days with more athletics. I strongly recommend this book.

The other reviewers have said what I am going to say: There just is not enough about Gene Kelly's life in this book. It's a little TOO "celebratory". Any conflicts that arise between him and others at the time are glossed over as Kelly doing no wrong. Some of his failures are presented as if they did not create a problem for the star, yet anyone who has lived on this planet (so then everyone) KNOWS that Kelly's failures and difficulties were probably not as ho-hum as the authors would like us to believe. In their attempt to be respectful of the venerable star, they take us sometimes for fools who have not experienced life. I'm only two-thirds of the way through the book, but it does not seem to me they are going to mention the fact that Kelly kept Michael Kidd from becoming more than he could have been, speculated by some to be the result of jealousy and insecurity about the competition Kidd offered. Also, several of Kelly's famous dance numbers are referred to as "the most remembered", "his biggest", "his most famous", "his daringest", etc. Well, they can't ALL be that. This indulgence in hyperbole is reminiscent of a "That's Entertainment" film. The photographs are wonderful, but the book's layout creates an awkardly cumbersome book that is too heavy for what it contains, and just doesn't "fit" well on your lap when reading in bed, nor does it carry around well when moving from room to room in your house on a lazy Saturday when trying to enjoy your book. I know that seems petty, but reading is an entire experience with a definite ritual. The shape of this book interferes with that coffee-and-pajamas-on-the-couch ritual. It's just too heavy and could have been easily condensed into something smaller and more manageable. Nitpicking aside, read this if you are a Kelly fan. It's a delightful journey back in time.

I really thought this book was great! If you are a Gene Kelly fan this book is for you. It has little tid bits about Gene that a fan would want to know. Gene Kelly- A Celebration mostly talks about the movies Gene made and his contributions to the movies. Great pictures also. I highly recommend buying this book.

This book is a must for all Gene Kelly fans. It has wonderful pictures of him, and allows you insight into his life. This book describes the making of each movie that he made. Buy this book, and I'm sure you won't regret it.

I bought this book hoping to get some insights for my up coming trip to the Cabo/Baja area. I was very disappointed. The book is FAR MORE a campers guide than a fishing guide. Inspite of being a 3rd edition the pictures look VERY OLD! And judging by the tackle, lures, boats and vehicles in the pics they all seem to have been taken in the 70's. As to fishing info, very general at best. Very little on specific tackle, riggings etc. And the "best times to fish" calendars conflict completely with just about all other guides (at least for the areas I was interested in). If you plan to trailer a camper or camp out it seems to have a lot of info on camp sites. But if you're looking for a Baja fishing guide, save your money.

This book is hands down the best book on fishing and on Baja I have ever found, and I have looked long and hard. Color pictures would be nice for the 4th addition, but they are by no means necessary.

This book saved me $$$$ on 1st fishing trip to Baja. Above that, it saved me much frustration and lent tremendously to the overall success of the trip. Have recommended it to many people headed for the beaches of Baja.

I have engineered, designed and built my own Baja trailer and would like to share this with the authors for any upcoming editions of this "Bible".

Also, I would like to see a review of the Porte Boat mentioned with the tin and inflatable boats. I have used this boat in Baja, Northwest mountain lakes, Puget Sound and Southeast Alaska (both freshwater and saltwater shoals). Please contact me for futher comments.

Again, many thanks for this guide. Incidentally, my success is from Punta Chivato to south of Loreto using Mulege as a base.

If you can find a copy of this book, it's a short but sweet biography which concentrates on Gene Kelly's film career. Since it is part of the Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies series, that is to be expected.

You'll find plenty of black and white photographs and reviews of Kelly's films. The book was published in 1976 so it understandably ends well before Mr. Kelly's death. For a more in-depth look, I'd suggest either Clive Hirshhorn's biography "Gene Kelly" or Tony Thomas's "The Films of Gene Kelly." Considering that there are only a few books about Mr. Kelly that have been published, this is well worth picking up if you're a fan.

This is a postscript to my review titled "The Book Who Couldn't Dance." For me, the last straw comes on Page 218, when Yudkoff botches his description of the "Singin' in the Rain" number. It's one thing for Yudkoff to botch the numbers in LIVING IN A BIG WAY, which after all is a fairly obscure film -- though NOT impossible to view -- but to botch the most famous Kelly number in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, the most famous Kelly film of all time?! Well, how can you trust ANYTHING in the book after that?

I agree with many of the other reviews of this book, there has been no author that has really captured the life of Gene Kelly. I truly wish that Kelly's wife, who was working on a book with Gene at the time of his death, would write about this complex genius. However, this book does a "pretty good" job at telling us about Gene Kelly.

The best part of this book is the early years in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania. The author goes in great detail about the early years, but after "Singin' In The Rain"(1953), he condenses the next 45 years into 40 pages. I think Gene's life deserved a more thorough examination. Gene did some magnificant work after 1953, such as "Invitation To The Dance" and "Xanadu" (which the author despises), not to mention Mr. Kelly's many works for charity.

There is also some blaring errors like the mention that Vera-Ellen attended the 1985 AFI show for Kelly. She could not have because she died in 1981 and from the 1960s on was a recluse. But again, all in all, the bio is not that bad. To be honest, it would do until a better one comes along. Hopefully one will, because the memory of Gene Kelly deserves better...

Gene Kelly : A Life of Dance and Dreams is well written and researched (the errors are only minor, such as the fact that Vera-Ellen did not speak at Gene's AFI salute since she died in 1981). Despite a fantastic and thorough beginning, the book really falls short in the end when it tries to cover the years 1952-1996 in only 35 pages. The second half of Gene's life deserves at least as much time as the first half! It's like there needs to be a second volume, but this one was going to press. More info was needed on Gene's relationships with his family, especially after the emphasis on his love of family in his early life. It was apparent that the author was unable to speak to Gene's surviving family members in writing this book. Despite that, the author did a good job with the sources he did use.