A Life at Full Boil

I have been absolutely riveted by Samuel Fuller's autobiography, 'A Third Face.' As Sam might say, 'it is a damn good yarn that grabs you by the balls and won't let go.' I'm not quite done, I've got less than a hundred pages to go, but what a journey. Sam's story is also the story of the Twentieth Century, the American century. We get a front row seat to key events: the newspaper business in the 1920's, the depression, the union movement, World War II (Fuller is actually part of the invasion forces in Africa, Italy and Normandy), the Cold War and the movie business in the 50's through the 90's. Through it all (from hell and back) Fuller keeps his energy and optimism at full boil.

What is that cliche? 'The Triumph of the Human Spirit?' Yeah, well in Sam's case, it's an apt phrase, except, you can leave the bullshit at the door. Late in the book, Sam meets up with another old Lion in the hills of California, the novelist, Henry Miller. Miller seems to sum up a certain viewpoint that, whether you believe it's true or not doesn't really diminish the attitude behind it: 'Don't look for miracles. You are the miracle.'