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Pat O'Brien's wit and joie de vivre come through in this entertaining, anecdote filled memoir. O'Brien had his own unique style of writing (and even some mistakes in spelling). Most of the book deals with his earlier life. He goes in depth about his early days on Broadway and in stock companies touring the country. After this period in his life, though, the information thins. This book is at any rate a decent record of his life through World War II. After that he just briefly mentions the rest of his life, talking only about the more strandout events like visiting Ireland and meeting the pope (two very big things for an Irish-American Catholic). He ends the book with a short mention of what his faith means to him.
From this book one gets the impression that O'Brien was a very good man (especially by Hollywood standards). Not only does one feel his strong devotion to his faith, but one also senses how deeply he loved his family. You can also see that he was a man who had many friends, and his friends was a subject he liked to write about. A large part of the book is taken up with stories about the people that he knew throughout his life, people like Spencer Tracy, Ring Lardner, Toots Shor, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, James Cagney, and many more. It was as a storyteller (and for his "gift of the gab" as he put it) that many knew and liked him best.
The Wind at My Back (the title is derived from an old Irish proverb) overall, in my opinion, makes an enjoyable read, and is a good book for anyone who is interested ever so slightly in the life of Pat O'Brien. On the other hand, though, this book is not a chronicle of his movies and this is probably not for those seeking detailed information about his film career. The only films of his that he talks about in depth are Knute Rockne, All American and The Front Page. The rest of his movies are only briefly mentioned if mentioned at all. Besides this small flaw, it is a good book, and I recomend it.
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