The Richard Burton Diaries Kindle Edition

As the title states, this is a collection of Richard Burton's Diaries, annotated and presented in book form. It is not a biography, but does have autobiographical elements. The diaries have not been prettied-up, nor is the editor even certain that Burton intended to publish them. If you're expecting a smoothly written biography you will be disappointed. If you'd like a peek at Richard Burton's introspection you are in for a treat.Credit must be given to Burton's widow Sally. She generously donated the set of diaries to Swansea University and made this book possible. She knew how much of the content referred to her husband's (in)famous marriages to Elizabeth Taylor; a lesser woman might have destroyed the diaries out of jealousy. Sally receives the editor's highest praise for her donation and her "wonderfully supportive" assistance. Many members of the Jenkins-Burton-Taylor families are also credited, and the list shows what a work of love this book is.Chris Williams, a professor of Welsh history and former director of the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales, has taken on the mammoth task of making the diaries more accessible to the general reader. He footnotes the first mention of people, places and things, providing dates of birth (and death) and a brief line or two of biography; locations, full titles, dates of publication, translations, etc. Burton was extremely well read, and the footnotes provide detailed info about the books Burton casually refers to. Williams admits uncertainty in a few spots, but his devotion to the task is unquestionable. He usually corrects Burton's spelling, but there are a few very minor blips (e.g. Burton refers to "Barbara Streisand" in April of 1969 and Williams' footnote also has "Barbara"... Burton self-corrects to "Barbra" in April of 1970, and the index uses the correct "Barbra"; also a letter from Kate is in the index as a letter from Jessica). An extensive bibliography and index (together totaling almost 40 pages) are invaluable aids for a 654 page text.The diaries are presented in chronological order (and may not be complete: there are several large gaps). They begin in late 1939 when 14 year-old Richard Jenkins (his birth name) notes the death of the wife of one of his older brothers. The early entries are dryer reading, mainly short mentions of football (rugby), jobs, school, daily life, etc. They pick up some charm when he mentions his family, learning to play Monopoly and Yahtzee, and collecting dung for resale. The dung stories lead to a sweet recollection years later when, as a rich and famous celebrity, Burton fondly recalls the happy childhood times spent with siblings evading local farmers and acquiring the profitable manure. The early diaries run through December 1940.The second set picks up in January of 1960. "Jenkins" is now "Burton" and Burton is now married to first wife Sybil and has 2 daughters (Kate and Jessica). The entries for 1960 are brief and end in June.The third set picks up in January of 1965 and runs through March of 1972. The fly-on-the-wall moments of the beginnings of his romance with Elizabeth Taylor have passed unrecorded (or lost), and Burton and Taylor are now the Golden Couple. The diaries covering the first Burton-Taylor marriage are, in many ways, the highlight/heart of the book (as well as comprising the largest number of pages). Burton has love (his thoughts about Elizabeth Taylor range from love struck to realistic but are always heartfelt), fame and family. He still has dark moments (drink, temper, his daughter Jessica's condition, his brother Ivor's tragic injury, Elizabeth's many illnesses/injuries) but many highs as well. Throughout Burton remains somewhat awed by his good fortune, and the great heights reached by a poor boy from Wales. His introspection at the height of his success makes up the soul of the book, and shows Burton at his best and worst.Side note: At one point (in a valiant effort to cut down on alcohol) he decides to use red type or ink (to write the date) to signify "good" (low alcohol) days. Dates in red font in the book might have been a nice (but expensive) touch, but footnotes are used instead.The fourth set picks up in April of 1975 and runs through November of 1975, and is mainly marked by the second marriage to Elizabeth Taylor. "Booze" is now a frequent (and sometimes only) entry. The marriage (more her idea than his) quickly fails. Apart from a stray entry for March of 1977 the dairies pause again.The fifth set picks up in June of 1980 and runs through October of 1980. Burton is now married to Susan Hunt and is in a revival of Camelot. His health is becoming an issue.The sixth set picks up in February of 1983 and runs through April of 1983. Burton's marriage to Susan Hunt has ended and he is now with Sally Hay. They marry in July 1983 and he dies in 1984.Because the book is a series of journals you may easily read it at your leisure. It is a large book, and will take time to go through, but it has its treasures. Burton's opinions of the people he meets and the places he goes (and the movies he is in) are truly entertaining (and often insightful), but the high point for me was his obvious love of books and reading. The one constant in his life is his collection of books (there is a very humorous story of how he shoplifted books in his poor days and Elizabeth Taylor's response). Burton describes with joy and pride the gifts, esp. books and book related items, that his friends and family give him. His love of books, fancy hard covers or cheap paperbacks, anchors his life. His wives come and go (and sometimes come again), but his love for his children and family also remains true. A wonderful look at the thoughts of an extremely intelligent man who lived a life worth recording.

The diaries give you an insight into the world of entertainment; that is the world of the performer which demands a great deal from the individual who must, either through talent, looks or a magnatic charm, hypnotize the public into thinking he or she is a God like figure. Some of these performers were born with a combination of all these things and along the way had the good luck or the right accidents in life to make it all happen. However the pressure on the performer is with him/her every minute of their life; either before the camera or on the stage. They have to please.Performers live "on the edge" all the time and they search in life as they do in their work, for the all time high. They demand alot from life because they always have to give so much.You can understand the role of alcohol in their lives to offer them a way to feel this high or, sometimes, ironically, to escape from this high.In the particular case of Richard Burton, you can feel all of the above in his constant battle with life; his need to perform, to feel to an extreme degree anything and everything, and his tremendous desire, at the same time, to escape all of this through his drinking and his obsessive reading. The pleasure he found in Elizabeth Taylor was a combination of at once enjoying the all time high; possessing one of the most beautiful women of the century in the most intense ways possibly. Their relationship in both "love" and "hate" moments describes this conflict in both their souls. They demanded so much from each other that it was a situation always hanging on the edge of life.Richard Burton was a brilliant man, a writer of extraordinary talent. Even though the reader does not recognize more than half the names of the people he interacts with in the diary, one cannot put the diaries down because of what he does with the English language, British style. There is no doubt that the British are using English in a very different way than the Americans.Burton has tremendous insights into human nature. He is a warm, democratic person, liberal in his views, passionate about his likes and dislikes, philosophical (and always so right about life and human nature), funny in untold ways, someone you wish you had known and would have hoped that you too was one of the persons he liked and appreciated as a human being. ;

The ghost of Richard Burton would no doubt be horrified to see his diaries published for all to read. He was of course desperate to be taken seriously as a writer - and these journals, which begin in earnest in 1965, were clearly intended to provide meat for an autobiography which he never got round to writing. Fascinating on many levels, this is essential reading for anyone interested in acting, love, self-destruction, self--loathing, language, and indeed the state of Elizabeth Taylor's piles (just one of her many medical problems, and the one most likely to have gone unmentioned in an official autobiography.)Burton comes across as witty, intelligent, articulate and enormously well-read; he is also friendless, shallow, and incapable of finding lasting happiness. Only too late does he seem to realise that alcohol is not his friend. Overall it is a tragic tale, but, in his own words, beautifully told.

Dalla foto sembrava più piccolo. Invece è un bel librone :D arrivato in ottime condizioni. Non vedo l'ora di leggerlo tutto!

The only thing I disliked about the book was what I found years ago when I read some extracts in a magazine: the descriptions of Elizabeth Taylor's medical problems. I don't want to read about her menstrual discharge and how hard it was to flush down the drain.These matters aside, it is full of catty gossip about film and stage people of the era - 1960's & 1970's. Burton does not hesitate to vilify people he disliked, eg. Alain Delon, or to heap praises on his old chums from the theatre.

I've never been a fan of diaries nor of fawning over the famous, but Richard Burton was one of those characters that was larger than life and larger than any stars of his era. Even when I was young I remember hearing about Burton and Taylor. The media spoke of them during the regular news as if they were royalty and it most obviously left an imprint of curiosity.For anyone who is at all interested in Burton or the years he was active, the book is fascinating. There are gaps where he would stop writing his diary, and those leave you wondering what he was thinking. And there's the bitter sweet ending where you wish he could have stayed on this planet a bit longer to fill out more of his thoughts.And all through the book you see not just an actor but someone who loved the written word. His entries are at times downright poetic. At others you can feel the pain as he discusses his feelings about friends, family and loves. And like all of us, deep down, he's just another person. One whose fragility is evidenced within the pages and who you get to know somewhat intimately as he documents his years.If you're into bios, pick this up. If you're into true stars of the golden age of movies, get this book. If you're just curious about the inner thoughts of an obviously brilliant man, this is well worth the read. I doubt anyone can't pick this up and not get something out of it.

Por tratarse de unos cuadernos de anotaciones y reflexiones privados, son textos inmediatos y sin artificios, duros en ocasiones, pero siempre inteligentes y muy expresivos.