Steve McQueen: The Cooler King: His Life Through His Movie Career, Paperback

A definitive book on the life and movie career of Hollywood rebel Steve McQueen, with around 100 exclusive interviews from friends and directors to producers and cinematographers, from editors and co-stars to make-up artists, writers and hairdressers. This is a revealing journey behind the scenes of all 28 McQueen films - and more. This could well be the best book yet specifically focusing on McQueen's movie career. It is well-balanced between the telling of the famous actor's vulnerabilities, character flaws and the sheer bad-boy antics. But it also reveals a warm and personable side to McQueen that is often neglected. The Mail on Sunday called it "Sensational" and Steve Nontell of the Steve McQueen Birthplace Collection, Beech Grove Public Library, Indiana, said the following: "The volume of interviews is the stand-out feature of this book, with great behind the scenes insights. This is not merely a clone of previous McQueen biographies, but a helpful addition to the telling of McQueen's story." And Steve's co-star on Bullitt, Jacqueline Bisset, commented: "I'm glad Steve is getting some attention with this book. When he died it took a long time for him to get much attention and I was surprised by that. I'm glad books like this are being dedicated to his memory." And Jeb Rosebrook, the script-writer of McQueen's 1972 rodeo picture Junior Bonner, said: "In Steve McQueen: The Cooler King, Richard Sydenham's meticulous research and interviews with those who were there, incisively reveals the complexities of man and actor; of a life up from the emotional hardship of childhood to the top of the Hollywood Mountain, revealing a most human side seldom known to his public."

Richard Sydenham has been a journalist since 1994, working mainly in sports. This is his fourth book but first non-sports title. He has written for organisations such as the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, The Sunday/Daily Telegraph, Bloomberg and lived in Dubai for a year in 1998-99, while working for Gulf News. He is the founder of the media and sports company Big Star Creations. Richard lives in the West Midlands, UK.