“Nevertheless” by Alec Baldwin

I have not lived in Hollywood for many years, but back in the day I could be quite a name-dropper. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere danced together for the first time at my wedding in 1989. I hung out with Natasha Richardson when we were both pregnant. And I once served Pasta Pomodoro on my fine china to Anne Hathaway at my Sea Cliff house and pretended I had made it myself. I confess this to say that I appreciate people who are name-droppers because, more often than not, they are very good storytellers. Alec Baldwin falls into this category. He is a master of the good story and if you have not listened to his podcast “Here’s The Thing,” stop right now, switch apps and listen to a few episodes. “Nevertheless,” his recently released memoir, is filled with interesting stories about his career – from his early years on the soap opera “The Doctors” to his more recent work on “30 Rock” and, of course, his 17 appearances on “Saturday Night Live.” He talks about actresses he admires such as his co-stars Julie Harris in “Knots Landing” and Mary Louise Parker in “Prelude to A Kiss.” He writes about his bouts with booze and drugs, his father’s death and his mother’s depression. And he even reflects honestly about his tumultuous marriage to Kim Basinger and their custody fight that included the notoriously vicious voice mail message to daughter Ireland. Today, you find Baldwin is beyond content in his new marriage to wife Hilaria and grateful for their three children. You are left with the sense that this is a very smart, articulate, well-connected man who has enjoyed an incredible career well-worth writing about, and name-dropping about. Nobody is perfect, but Baldwin handles his successes and failures deftly. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.