Internationally known as the star of three dozen movies and three television series, and a familiar face in TV commercials, James Garner is one of our finest actors. He is also one our funniest, but as he points out, "I don't do comedy. I do humor." And it is Garner's special brand of wry, subtle, carefully crafted funniness that has brought him widespread fame and a devoted following.

Raymond Strait's pioneering biography discusses in detail Garner's movie and TV roles, taking us behind the scenes of the "Maverick," "Nichols," and "The Rockford Files" series, and on the sets of many of Garner's movie credits including Victor/Victoria and The Americanization of Emily.

Strait also takes a close look at the man behind the roles?the family man and Hollywood maverick. Always an independent spirit, Garner had a tumultuous childhood that led him to a series of survival jobs, intermittent high-school football stardom, a stint in the Merchant Marine, and two Purple Hearts in Korea. He brought the resourcefulness and self-reliance of his youth to Hollywood, where he has earned a reputation for his off-screen battles with the industry's moguls as well as for his phenomenally popular on-screen persona. This is a story none of James Garner's many fans will want to miss.