Fearless and Free: A Memoir

Published in the U.S. for the first time, this memoir captures the experience of talking to Baker (1906–75) more than the experience of being her, leaving her mystery intact. Released in France in 1949, it comprises Baker’s side of her dialogue with journalist Marcel Sauvage, who began interviewing her in 1926. Some interviews were initially translated into French and are now retranslated to English, so there are several layers of interpretation between Baker and the page. However, the memoir captures how Baker thinks and feels (her empathy for suffering people comes up often) and her philosophies of life and performance (she says she never rehearses because she’s not a machine and finds randomness beautiful). It only lightly covers some experiences that readers would surely like to hear about (such as how Baker came to perform in Manhattan’s Plantation Club) but covers others, such as her travels through Europe, in detail. Baker also speaks vividly about working in French intelligence during World War II and being used as a political symbol.