It was 60 years ago that James Dean, his star just beginning to rise, died in an auto accident. The crash, and the events surrounding Dean’s death have been shrouded in mystery. Author Keith Elliot Greenberg attempts to put some of those pieces together in a new book, Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: James Dean’s Final Hours, from Applause Books.

We talked with Greenberg back in 2010 about another book Dec 8, 1980, the day John Lennon Died.  Greenberg went back to Dean’s hometown to talk with some of his family members and classmates.  He also profiles Dean’s mechanic, Rolf Wutherich, who was the passenger who survived the crash, and chronicles the strange circumstances that surrounded Dean’s crashed car.