By Pam Walatka

Above, at 80, Lauren Bacall is still acting and still cool.

Lauren Bacall’s “By Myself and Then Some” (Harper Entertainment, 2005) is suffused with sang-froid (calmness, composure, literally - cold blood). She’s the coolest. The book acts as a sequel to “By Myself” (Random House Publishing Group, 1979) with the final pages adding the “and Then Some.”

At 19, playing her first movie role, opposite Humphrey Bogart in “To Have and Have Not,” she leaned against a doorjamb, asked Bogart if he knew how to whistle, and gave the iconic performance of nonchalance.

Bacall tells the story of her life on pretty much the same emotional note. Some events elicited her strong emotions, but the telling is done on an even keel.

Her personal life in a nutshell: grew up in New York, always wanted to be an actress, was tall-lanky-beautiful, got a modeling job that got her a movie test that got her a starring movie role, married Bogart who was 25 years her senior, bore his children and loved him dearly until he died of cancer 12 years later, almost married Frank Sinatra, married Jason Robards and had another child, got divorced, loves acting, and continues to act and win acting awards.

She and Bogart were a legendary couple. About filming “To Have and Have Not,” “Howard [Hawks, the director] was really happy with … the celluloid relationship between Bogie and me. Originally the script had involved an attraction between Bogie and the character Dolores Moran played. Howard … came to the conclusion that no audience would believe anyone or anything could come between Slim and Steve. So scenes were adjusted accordingly and all of mine made stronger and better. You can’t beat chemistry.”

The book has many photographs of her with celebrities. The people she talks about are celebrities.

She lovingly describes her many friendships with guys - whose names we recognize - but is too ladylike to say which were lovers and which were just friends. She was devoted to Adlai Stevenson.

Bacall has worked hard to maintain her career, her friendships and her relationship with her children. “I will do almost anything to keep a friendship alive and well.”

She still works. “I continue to search and hope for the next job - in a way I suppose it enables me to think and to look forward to the future. To think there is a future.”

Her films (more than 50) include “Key Largo,” “The Big Sleep,” “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” Her plays include “Applause,” for which she won her first Tony, and “Woman of the Year.”

Bacall is 80 and lives alone in New York. She has discovered that a small dog can be a good companion and adores her papillon, Sophie.

The book abounds with her sense of humor, “(Lots) of laughter. That’s because in my cockeyed way, I think life is a joke.”