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  • The Dark Side of Genius

  • The Life of Alfred Hitchcock
  • By: Donald Spoto
  • Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
  • Length: 23 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Dark Side of Genius cover art

The Dark Side of Genius

By: Donald Spoto
Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
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Publisher's Summary

The story of the man who changed people’s relationships with their showers forever, thanks to Psycho, this is the classic, Edgar Award-winning biography of the enigmatic and intensely private Alfred Hitchcock. One of America’s greatest film directors, his suspenseful subject matter ranged from the dark drama of a man possibly trying to kill his wife, to the humorous problem of disposing of a body, to the ecological underpinnings of an attack by fowl fiends in a sleepy harbor town.

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.

Donald Spoto is the author of more than 20 books, including best-selling biographies of Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn. He lives with his husband, Danish artist and school administrator Ole Flemming Larsen, near Copenhagen, Denmark.

©1983 Donald Spoto (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The finest book about a filmmaker yet. Sensational in its revelations; at the same time, a biography of unassailable integrity. I could not put it down." (Gregory Peck)

"Absolutely compulsory reading." (New York Times Book Review)

"A vivid and perceptive portrait…. Knowledgeable and revealing." (Time)

What listeners say about The Dark Side of Genius

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  • Overall
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    3 out of 5 stars

he dies!

he dies and the story stops dead! like final chapter is missing. funeral? legacy? the end.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very detailed and well researched

One of the best audiobooks out there the narrator the story just the best and thanks audible it was free..

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