Home and alone

Actor, director, and artist Stern shares amusing and insightful stories about his life and his many years working in show business. Readers will be grabbed immediately by his nostalgic descriptions of growing up in 1960s suburbia. He learned he was dyslexic when he was a child. His accounts of moving to New York City (alone and as a teenager) to begin an acting career are gritty. Stern is known for his roles in Home Alone, Breaking Away, and City Slickers; his long career has provided opportunities to work with many famous people on various productions. His work in movies, plays, and TV supplies the backdrop for many anecdotes, written in an engaging and friendly tone. His collection of good, bad, and usually comical encounters with a laundry list of celebrities, including Joe Pesci, Robert Redford, Donald Trump, Barbra Streisand, and more, will entertain readers. VERDICT Stern's life, from a dyslexic child to a successful movie actor, is fascinating. Mixing behind-the-scenes insights from iconic movies with witty accounts of interactions with Hollywood A-listers creates a top-notch celebrity memoir.--Kathaleen McCormick

The actor discusses his career on the stage and in film, and his life focusing on the value of art and public service. Now 66, Stern, perhaps best known for his roles in Home Alone and City Slickers, is no longer "the precocious teenager who moved to New York as a seventeen-year-old, at least ten years younger than all of my friends, the youngest dad at all my kids' school events." As he discusses his childhood in Maryland, his introduction to the theater, and writing a musical version of Lord of the Flies, the author's love of the work shows through on every page--as does his family's legacy of a strong work ethic (his mother told him, "I don't care what you do but you are out of this house when you turn eighteen"). Realizing that "academics were not going to get me anywhere," he committed to acting. After some early stage work, he began working in films, appearing in a number of critically successful projects in the late 1970s and early '80s, including Breaking Away and Diner. Stern analyzes key moments in the development of his craft, as well as the twists and turns of a very public life, which included work with the USO and the experience of being sued for $25 million over a TV show. Although readers may pick up the book to learn more about Hollywood, his focus on his work-life balance brings some of the most memorable passages, from his narration and directing work in the TV series The Wonder Years (which included no on-screen billing), which helped him overcome his childhood dyslexia, to his experience working with the Boys & Girls Club and his lifelong focus on public service. A fascinating and funny look at the life of a famous actor who found further fulfillment through giving back. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.