When you know inside information about the life of a man who's influenced the literary community, you can't help but let that seep into your writing.  Especially if you're writing a biography about this man.  Add to that the fact that you're his son, and you've got a triple-whammy!
Brian Herbert (a successful author in his own right) shows us the powerful life of his legendary father, Frank Herbert, in Dreamer of Dune, the biography of Frank Herbert's life.
The story surrounds Frank Herbert from his humble beginnings in small town Washington, to his rise to the head of science fiction's most coveted awards (the Nebula and Hugo awards).
Brian Herbert takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride as Frank and his family go from starving in Mexico, to eating caviar in Hawaii.  Then we get let down again as Bev, Frank's love of his life, passes away.
Throughout the biography, Brian expertly weaves the life that would lead Frank Herbert to write his magnum opus: Dune.  His newspaper days, working for senatorial candidates, ecological research and travels all helped shape the world of Dune that would emerge onto the literary world and shape the science fiction community for decades to come.
A well-written biography with some touching information on a man who may still remain and enigma to many fans.  Enjoy.

This is ‘the’ bio on the truly brilliant FH. No other book comes closer than this in telling you how it all got to ‘Dune’. Excellent!

Interesting, not a biography fan but love Dune,  (discounted price made me get it)

Why read this book? How can the life of a writer be interesting enough to fill 536 pages? A writer sits in front of his typewriter or computer. He thinks, and he types. Maybe he wins some awards. So what? Everyone has been to an award ceremony. It is boring. True, there had to be more to his life than that. He graduated from high school, he went to college, he worked as a journalist, and he decided to write a book. Nothing interesting there. And now we are back to square one. He sits in front of his typewriter or computer, he thinks, and he types.

This book must be boring. Right? It absolutely MUST be boring!

Knowing this, why did I read it, and why did I give it five stars?

I had just read all sixteen Dune novels, ten of which were written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Therefore I was familiar with Brian Herbert's writing style. It was unpretentious and easy to read. Still I had doubts that a thick book about a writer could be anything but boring. But I tempted fate and took a look at the reviews. Out of 23 reviews, "Dreamer of Dune" had an average rating of 3.9, including eight 5.0 ratings and no 1.0 ratings. No one seemed to hate it, very much, and many good things were said about it.

Frank Herbert was a pioneer of science fiction, winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, author of the best-selling, most popular science fiction novel of all, the classic "Dune." Knowing that gave me an advantage while I read. Who has not dreamed of being a bestselling author? I fulfilled my dream, vicariously, journeying through life as a world-famous writer. Everyday details of life that would normally be boring, magically became interesting. And there were extraordinary details too, as when Frank met Harry S. Truman.

I got much about the adventures of Frank Herbert and his family, from when Frank's grandfather settled in Washington, near Tacoma, to when Frank had his own paradise built on the Hawaiian island of Maui. I also got tidbits about Frank's relations with founding fathers of science fiction like Jack Vance and Poul Anderson. I got much information about writing, mostly about how and why Frank's books got written, but also some tips on writing in general. A good amount of space was devoted to Frank's writings of his Dune books. Also, Brian tells how he wrote some his own books, for which he got help from Frank.

I got nothing about the Sci-Fi Channel productions of "Dune" and "The Children of Dune." Those occurred years after Frank died. But I got information about early, failed efforts to make a "Dune" movie, and I got a good deal of information about the "Dune" movie made by Dino De Laurentiis and  David Lynch. Frank took part in that production, though its box office receipts were unremarkable in the U.S..

Regarding the David Lynch "Dune," this biography indicates that there may still be about three hours of cut material unseen by the great mass of "Dune" fans. Though the theater-released ending was inconsistent with the novel's, those three hours are enticing tidbits for many fans. And the biography indicates that at least some of those three hours is consistent with the novel (consistency is important to "Dune" fans). If a full five-hour director's cut of Lynch's "Dune" was released, would Dune fans buy it, or at least rent it? The only extended-version DVD that I know of, however, runs to just 137 minutes. Where is that additional material?

"Dreamer of Dune" is not just about Frank Herbert. It is also about people, and history, and life. So, all you of who are students of what is good and interesting, attend this class and pay attention.

I paid attention, my interest was held, and the book earned its five stars.