Nurtured by the great Group Theatre in the turbulent thirties, he became the prophet of the new actor in America. On the screen he was the first rebel hero, the forerunner of Marlon Brando and Paul Newman. Moviegoers knew him as John Garfield, but to the friends of his lifetime he would always be Julie Garfinkle, an authentic product of the streets of New York. It is the classic American story: an impoverished Jewish boy, overcoming formidable odds to obtain wealth and world fame, only to become ensnared with the political turmoil of the McCarthy era that would claim him as a tragic victim. Here is the definitive life story of Garfield, super actor and super stud - of his brilliant career, his stormy marriage and tempestuous affairs, and his political misadventures in the feverish environment of Broadway and Hollywood. More than a biography, it is a bittersweet social portrait of the world of the performing arts during a time of travail, written by one of the foremost historians of the movie culture.