Sean Connery

Yule traces Connery's journey from humble Edinburgh beginnings to his movie breakthrough as agent 007 and his subsequent success in ``escaping Bondage'' to carve out a career as a widely admired character actor. Connery's troubled first marriage to actress Diane Cilento, which the author calls a ``destructive career race,'' is recounted, along with the details of his longtime friendship with film star Michael Caine, his betrayal by a trusted financial manager and his consuming interests in golf and money. The actor comes across as a dour, canny, wryly humorous Scot who can turn nasty (but not in the grand manner) when provoked; a hardworking, rough-hewn fellow without pretentions who watches his pennies and has strong if conventional views. This entertaining biography has certain flaws, which will not put off Connery's fans, however. Yule never asks his man how he chooses, prepares and performs his film roles. Also, he stresses that Connery has a highly developed feminine side, but the only evidence he offers is that the actor is said to write poetry. Connery, now 61, lives in Spain with his second wife, Micheline. Yule wrote Fast Fade: David Puttnam, Columbia Pictures and the Battle for Hollywood. Photos. Movie/Entertainment Book Club selection. (Aug.)