Availaible October 17

"Salah Bachir is the biggest hearted philanthropist with the rock star life.”

Elton John and David Furnish

“Sweetly and directly, Salah recounts his amazing life, entwined with so many amazing lives. I’m honoured to be included! (And happy that #marlonbrando comes out of it well!)”

Margaret Atwood (on Twitter)

“Salah Bachir’s encounters with stars over the years opens on a backyard garden barbecue with Marlon Brando, and bread continues to be broken with icons as fascinating and seemingly disparate as Muhammad Ali and Liberace, Margaret Atwood and Cesar Chavez, Andy Warhol and Princess Margaret, to name just a few. But the true literary coup is that the biggest, brightest star we encounter is the author himself.”

Alan Cumming

“As his book promises, Salah Bachir is First to Leave the Party, and also always first to step up to the plate—so much so that he is magnet to famous people everywhere who all seek his company. A great book by a great man, who also happens to be a great friend.”

Ben Vereen

“The glamorous Salah Bachir has led an extraordinary life, as evidenced by his memoir—always championing important causes for countless individuals and charities close to his heart. His drive and actions have made the world a better place.”

Kim Cattrall

“Salah Bachir has the biggest Lebanese heart of anyone I know.”

Norman Jewison

“Why would so many great and powerful people warm up to Salah Bachir? Clearly, for comfort in the personal warmth that permeates this lovely memoir of his life among the famous, as well as the sensitivity and intelligence that make this something extraordinary: a celebrity book without fawning or hype.” 

David Hajdu, New York Times bestselling author of Lush Life and Positively 4th Street

"I am in constant awe of you. You don’t hesitate to say what you believe to those in power, and to those who most need to hear the truth. You always do what is right even when it’s hard to do. We could all use a bit of your courage, a bit of your belief in ourselves and a lot more of your flair! Congrats on your book. The stories of your experiences are incredible. Your purpose is inspiring and meaningful to all who most need a voice.  

Buy this book people!”

Arlene Dickinson - Business Executive, Author and TV dragon 

"I don't think I can gild the lily further or embellish the sense of affection and admiration showered legitimately by so many of Salah’s friends for his extraordinary generosity and enthusiasm for life, his devotion to arts and culture, his courage in the face of medical adversity and his love of the olive groves of Lebanon.  It's entirely understandable that people should love him so dearly. Salah you are a hero."

Stephen Lewis, co-founder of AIDS-Free World and UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa 2001- 2007

“Salah is the patron saint for all of us who are full of curiosity, hungry for celebration, horny for fun, and who won’t stop until every need is fulfilled. His appetite and passion for life is voracious. His ability to transform those passions into making life better for others is even more impressive.”

Atom Egoyan

  “I can’t tell you how much I love this book. I especially love the core idea, how it is about you, but only through your encounters and interactions.  I like how the details emerge so naturally, and thus the book is just as much about the people you’ve admired and known and promotes the idea of living through culture and relationships.  Such a beautiful and graceful and funny approach to autobiography.  I’ve never read anything like it, and the message and tone of humanism and humility is something really special.  

But I also love your writing!  Some lines that stuck with me: ‘....the tabloids are pretty good at going at things with gusto, like running Princess Diana into a tunnel from which she would not emerge’ and “but he could be quite charming, as rent boys must have found when he reportedly had them strip to their underwear in his hotel room and read to him from the Bible” and my absolute favourite, ‘I’ll just say I would like all religions to buy my book’ !!!

My favourite sections might tell you something about my own interests.  For me, the ones that resonated most were Brando, Welles, Sondheim, Trudeau, Aretha Franklin, Andy Warhol, Cesar Chavez, Harvey Milk, Bette Davis, Andre Leon Talley, Muhammad Ali, and Marlene Dietrich.  I also love the behind-the-scenes details of how you conducted interviews and the magazine editing process.  I even love when you puncture my sacred ones, like your great chapter on Jimmy Stewart.

Salah, it really is entertaining, and it has such a warm voice.  But it is also a real achievement—that rare thing, an innovative memoir—and I think people are going to love it."

Paul Roth, Director - The Image Centre

“Some may know him differently in other situations, but my experience is that Salah is the greatest, nicest, sweetest personality. I am in love with him. Without him we wouldn’t have CANFAR.”

Bluma Appel, Philanthropist and Founder of The Canadian Foundation For AIDS research

"A great volunteer fundraiser brings passion to his or her work—passion that is infectious and lifts up other people and inspires them to get involved."

"Mr. Bachir is an extraordinary volunteer, donor and fundraiser who has strived throughout his life to make incredible change in the world. We are honoured to be able to recognize his lifetime of philanthropy and social impact.”

Jason Lee, president and CEO of AFP