Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon

by Greg Laurie, Marshall Terrill (With)

Overview

An intimate look at movie star Steve Mc Queen's reckless life of fast cars, women, and drugs all the way up to his dramatic life-change and terminal cancer diagnosis.

Join Greg Laurie as he takes a cross-country drive in his 1968 Highland Green Ford Mustang 390 GT through the canyons of Malibu, the alleys of Hollywood, the wide and open roads of the Midwest, and the streets of New York as he traces the woolly geography of actor Steve Mc Queen's life, relationships, career, and spiritual journey. This iconic muscle car was the vehicle Mc Queen drove in his most raucous and enduring film, Bullitt.

In the 1960s, Mc Queen was, according to box office receipts, the biggest movie star of his generation and one of the coolest men to ever walk the planet. Greg Laurie was a teen at the time and an ardent fan of "The King of Cool," first mesmerized by Mc Queen in 1963's The Great Escape. Like millions of cinema fans, Greg developed a lifelong fascination with the actor. Now he has a chance to tell Mc Queen's story.

Mc Queen was a complex, contradictory man who lived the same way he drove his motorcycles and cars: fearlessly, ruthlessly, and at top speed. After a lifetime of fast cars, women, and drugs, Mc Queen took a surprising detour.

In this book, Laurie thoughtfully interviews Steve Mc Queen's friends, co-stars, associates, widow, and pastor to tell of the dramatic life-change for the actor in the spring of 1979—six months before Mc Queen was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

What were the critical steps that led Mc Queen to make such a life-altering decision? Perhaps more importantly, why is that part of his story so rarely told? This book answers these questions.

Greg Laurie will follow the seeds of Christianity that were sown throughout Mc Queen's improbable life where a Light finally shone into the darkness of his troubled life. These seeds miraculously germinated, allowing Mc Queen to see that redemption through Jesus Christ is a lasting truth more glittering and real than any magic of the entertainment industry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310356158
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	130,655
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Marshall Terrill is a veteran film, sports and music writer, and the author of more than books. They include bestselling biographies of Steve Mc Queen, Elvis Presley, and Pete Maravich. His book, Steve Mc Queen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon, is in development to be made into feature film. He also executive produced the 2017 feature film documentary, Steve Mc Queen: American Icon.

Table of Contents

Author's Note 13

Introduction 15

1 All I Need's a Fast Machine 21

2 The Widow and the Preacher Man 29

3 The Last Chance Ranch 37

4 Don's Garage 46

5 Laurieland 51

6 Julian and Charlene 60

7 Hog Heaven 71

8 The Father Who Wasn't There 82

9 House of Horrors 90

10 Two Schools of Thought 96

11 A Death Sentence 104

12 New York State of Mind 110

13 The Blob and the Bible 117

14 California Dreamin' 124

15 The American Dream 128

16 A Man and His Castle 133

17 Motherless Child 139

18 The Canyon 146

19 The Monster Within 153

20 The Fall 159

21 A Jamaican Seed 165

22 The Towering Babel 173

23 Nothing New under the Sun 181

24 The Visitor 188

25 Broad Beach Memoirs 193

26 Learning to Fly 199

27 Hello, Preacher Man! 205

28 Somebody Up There Likes Me 210

29 A Test of Faith 215

30 Knockin' on Heaven's Door 221

31 See You in Heaven 227

Postscript: Good News in a Bad World 235

Editorial Reviews

When Greg Laurie shared the story with me of Steve McQueen finding faith and hope at the end of his life I was deeply moved. Everyone knows Steve as an American Icon, but few know of this chapter in his life and I'm glad Greg is shedding light on it.

Mel Gibson