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Message: <blockquote data-quote="216bruce" data-source="post: 6837064" data-attributes="member: 72333">Not disagreeing with you, but just an alternate take.First, I love both of the books. However...just imagine if someone wrote a book about one of your parents and presented them to the public from the perspective of someone outside of the family, removing your bias and looking at that parent with a fresh 'eye'. I know if someone did that for one of my folks that the resulting view would certainly be different than what I saw as a member of the family. Not necessarily better, not necessarily worse- just different. I've read both of those books twice, along with Barrier's book (once). I really don't see Gabler presenting Walt as anything other than a human being. He doesn't come off 'bad'- just human. The Thomas book seems almost like a studio bio compared to it, but I really think that Diane couldn't, by nature of being family, look at Walt/Dad as being anything different from what she saw as a daughter. I know if it was my dad the Gabler book was about that I would have a hard time coming to grips with the idea that maybe the marriage to mom wasn't perfect or he could be somewhat 'different' than the guy I knew. Anyway, I'm willing to bet that the PBS doc will show him to be a human- warts and all. I also would have been surprised that it would have been made at all if Diane was still around. I find it great to have a balance by reading all three of these bios but I understand Diane's objection.Personally, I find it very refreshing to see Walt as a human and not as a deity. It makes him more approachable, believable and the story more interesting. When you look at the amount and variety of the interviews and research that Gabler did for his book, it's hard to argue with the portrait that it draws, even if you don't want to 'like' it all. The Thomas book, even though it has a first-hand experience with Walt interviews, doesn't have the blessing of time and distance from it's subject that Gabler's book does. Just an opinion.</blockquote>

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