Nevertheless: A Memoir

Nevertheless: A Memoir by Alec Baldwin        Audio Book: 8 hours, 30 minutes     Hardback: 288 pages                    

There is a story told in the U.K. that has a few variations I have heard that goes like this,  a speaker is giving a talk and regales the virtues of a particular woman whereas someone in the audience, congregation, bar, etc. yells, “(The lady’s name) is a  (we’ll say) floozy!”   To which the speaker says, “Nevertheless…” and goes on talking.     That tongue in cheek humor is richly sprinkled throughout this memoir with witty repartee that Alec Baldwin is a true master at.   You can picture in your mind that twinkle in his eyes when he is keeping a straight face but saying something so hilarious you wonder how he does it.   He pulls no punches, names names and lets the chips fall where they may in this honest straight forward telling of his life up to this point.    He shows his dark side, he is honest about humiliating circumstances in his life and he shares both the good and the bad without any hesitation.    He tells a lot of things one might not want to offer up to the masses about the real person behind the celebrity.    He owns up to his wrongs and he takes pride in his good works.   He tells the story of the true Alexander “Xander” Baldwin who grew up in a Catholic family of 6 kids on Long Island, NY.    He doesn’t try to play off any of the bad press he has received he confronts his demons (anger, addiction, etc.) toe to toe, and he makes no excuses.   He shares some of his political experiences and is very vocal about his political views and why he feels the way he does.   He talks about family, love and loss and love again, his career from beginning to end, many of his famous friends and what they have taught him about acting and the causes he fights deligently for and his vehemence for making the world a better place.    I have enjoyed Alec Baldwin’s acting skills since I first saw him years ago on the primetime soap opera, “Knot’s Landing,” to his stint on the t.v. series, “30 Rock” and his many film roles.   He is a great actor and I enjoyed this book very much.   Aspiring actors will learn a lot about the craft from this man and vicariously through the lessons he learned from many other actors.   Well done.