Featuring new material including excerpts from Desi Arnaz's unpublished second memoir and a revealing epilogue by daughter Lucie Arnaz, here is the revised edition of the New York Times bestselling memoir of Cuban American entertainment legend, TV pioneer, and “I Love Lucy” star Desi Arnaz.
This edition of “A Book” features additions from Desi Arnaz's uncompleted, never published second memoir, a new closing chapter picking up his life story where A Book leaves off following his divorce from Lucille Ball, a new Epilogue by Lucie Arnaz, and new photos throughout. Desi's original work and the additions come together to paint a comprehensive portrait of a man beloved and admired by family and people he worked with despite admitted personal failings, and to whom Lucy herself gave credit for the success of I Love Lucy and pioneering television production in its infancy. This full story of a life and legend now completes one of the most fascinating and revelatory Hollywood memoirs ever written.
In the author's own words: "Welcome to 'A Book', in which I try to explain how a kid from Cuba found a way to make a living in the United States. It's all here-the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the unbelievably lucky breaks, and the heartbreaking failures... You will learn what Lucy and I had to do to convince people we could play husband and wife in 'I Love Lucy'. Shortly afterward Lucie and Desi Jr. were born and our world was paradise. The irony of it all is how our undreamed-of success, fame, and fortune turned it into hell. It wasn't easy to write about all of it, but as my son said, 'There's only one way to do it, Dad. Tell it like it was.'"
Desi Arnaz was born into a prosperous and powerful family in Cuba in 1917, but a revolution changed the Arnaz family fortunes and took him to America. Talent, determination, and sheer desperation led to a career as a musician and, eventually, a role in the Broadway musical “Too Many Girls.” The film adaptation of that show introduced him to the one girl with whom he would fall in love and leave an indelible mark on history: Lucille Ball. Together they created what's considered one of the greatest television shows of all time, “I Love Lucy.” While at it, across a career spanning five decades, Arnaz would alter the course of Hollywood and pioneer a new industry. The father of two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., he died at the age of sixty-nine in 1986.
