BEING an ardent fan of Gary Cooper, from Lives Of A Bengal Lancer (1935) to The Naked Edge (1961), when asked if I would like to review Jeffrey Meyers's biography of Gary Cooper, I gave a Cooperesque "yup" and nearly snatched the book from his hands.

Meyers's sprawling account of the life and films of Gary (born Frank James) Cooper, chronicles the 'American Hero's' relatively short life, from his early years in Montana; his partial education in England (to smooth out the rough edges brought about by working on his lawyer father's ranch); his time as a film stuntman, uninspired cartoonist and illustrator, bit player in 1920s westerns; and his rapid rise to stardom, which took off with The Winning Of Barbara Worth (1926).

Unlike most of his contemporaries - Bogart, Cagney, Gable and Tracy - Gary Cooper, although manly and of the strong silent type, displayed a quietly shy and sensitive persona, which won favour with his leading ladies, and others who aspired to be so. Richard Widmark said Cooper "was catnip to the ladies." In life, as in films, he always got the girl.

The author opens all of Cooper's closets, revealing his tempestuous love affairs with Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly and Patricia Neal, and many others, his long friendship with kindred spirit Ernest Hemingway, and his involvement with the Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood blacklist.

Those interested in the Golden Age of cinema should enjoy Gary Cooper - American Hero, for he was, undoubtedly, one of the great film actors of that age.