I'm not sure what purpose this sort of book is supposed to serve; is it supposed to make Stephen Bogart feel good about himself, or make the rest of us feel good about his father? The author admits from page one that he remembers very little about his father to begin with - Bogie died when Stephen was eight - and has understandably wiped most of what he did remember after a lifetime of being introduced to people who promptly quote bits of Casablanca at him, so essentially this is a series of interviews with Bogie's friends, punctuated by adoring noises from mum Lauren Bacall. The images of celebrity childhood are mildly interesting, as is the image of the dying Bogart being wheeled on for an hour of cocktail chat with his friends, almost to the end, and the book is written in a wry, Sam Spade style which makes, it easy to read.
