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by Isabel Gillies
ISBN: 1439110077
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 261 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a new, unread copy with a publisher mark.
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Customer Reviews
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A train wreck!
Rating  (1)
Date: 2010-08-18
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Summers in Maine. Selling wild flowers in Mason jars at the farmers' market. Taking her two perfect little boys to pick veggies at the organic farm. Hot professor husband. The dream house. GAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKK.
Then along comes Sylvia, the new French-accented professor of 18th century literature. Isabel befriends her, gives her a standing dinner invitation, and somehow doesn't see that Josiah, her hottie husband, has taken up with Sylvia. Red flag after red flag flies in her face and she goes blithely on. Her friends see all of this and say nothing. Sylvia, who says she's Isabel's friend, does nothing to discourage Josiah's attention. With friends like these, who needs enemies?! Josiah denies everything and basically throws it back on Isabel, telling her she's insecure and that's her problem. What a schmuck.
And all the crying? All the begging? All the screaming? All she needed to do was grow a spine! I would never put up with Josiah's borderline abusive behavior and I especially wouldn't beg him to stay (you want to be with another woman? BYE! Don't let the door hit you on your way out!)! Nor would I get down on my knees in the snow to ANY woman and tearfully beg her to stay away from my husband! That disgusted me, and frankly the only reason I finished the book was to see if she finally kicked either one's a$$. Nope. She goes crying home to Mommy and Daddy's Park Avenue apartment where Daddy offers to pay to have her kid's freakin' drum set assembled because she falls apart in tears YET AGAIN on Christmas Eve.
The story does have a happy ending, and I truly hope Isabel and her boys are happy now. After that train wreck, they deserve it.
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Okay....interesting read.
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-07-29
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book recounts the author's experience of going through a divorce; being in a situation whereby her husband wanted to end their marriage, but she did not. It reads somewhat like a diary, starting out describing what a wonderful life they had together, and then giving a play-by-play description as it all begins to fall apart. The catalyst for her husband's decision to abandon the marriage is the proverbial "other woman" with whom he is having an affair; interestingly, not his first extramarital affair. Despite her pleading with him to not abandon their marriage and their children, he is resolute to do so.
I personally found the book interesting because many years ago, I was in a similar situation and can relate to being in a relationship with a one-sided desire to end a marriage (I wanted to continue, she wanted to split). The frustration, desperation, and anger in this situation are pretty much inevitable, and the author does a good job of providing an honest and open recap of what she went through.
As the title indicates, this situation sadly does indeed happen every day. The main takeaway for me was similar...not only does it happen every day, but when it happens to you, you're not alone in how you're feeling and what you're going through. If anything, it was worthwhile reading for me just to get that small bit of comfort, if nothing else.
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I digress...but she doesn't.
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-07-01
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book caught my eye in the grocery store. It was $11 and it just looked good. It kinda beckoned me. I usually don't even go down the book or magazine aisle. But for some reason I did. I saw it was a true story and I am all for a true story. There was a blurb on the front stating that readers who liked Eat. Pray. Love. would like this book and because I want to write a New York Times Bestseller and this one was one, I bought it. For research purposes. I love paperbacks. I also love books that are mine and not from the library. I find I read library ones gingerly. My own books I caress, devour, fold, eat with, bathe with, take to bed with me and put them underneath the pillow next mine. Library books have to remain on the nightstand and aren't allowed to rest on my belly in the bathtub like books of my own. So maybe you might not want to borrow my copy of this book, but it was a decent read. And I can say I recommend it. She is a good writer, but not great. It is far from literary genius, but she is well educated and well in touch with her feelings and emotions. I liked it because it is like reality television without commercials. You get a front row seat inside this woman's monologue as she pours her heart out to you.
The story itself was good, not great. I mostly liked her talking about various parts of her life, growing up wealthy, her family, their vacations, life in New York, and the home she remodeled with her husband. And all the emotion and joy and pain of life and marriage and children and being a wife and mother.
By the end of the book I thought the woman may have gone a little crazy. I don't want to give away the story, although you can find the plot on the back cover, but it is about D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Raw, and real, but entertaining as you get to lean on their new kitchen counter tops in their 100 year old brick house and watch them fight. I read it one Saturday, opening it with my morning coffee and didn't put it down until I went into the kitchen to make a tomato sandwich and finished it by 5:00 and even put it down to mow the lawn. This means I couldn't put it down. It was good. I liked it.
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Extraordinary Portrait of Selfless Female WASP
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-06-01
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I've finished the book. It took me three days. I had to pause now and then because there was too much to take in at certain emotional points along the way.
Although worthy of many pages, I've decided a multiple page review won't work.
Critics I think are missing the point. Isabel would probably agree with you that she was too "this," or too "that," and she shouldn't have been such a doormat. (Perhaps her ex-husband can use that line in his next poetry class.) This book was all about the bare honest truth, and how much she loves her family.
I am from Isabel's tribe. Episcopalian. Summer place in New England. People in my family say "humdinger." My father used to rake leaves, even though he could have paid someone to do it. Readers have no idea, given the WASP value for privacy and fabricating cool exteriors, how much writing this book must have cost Isabel.
From Isabel's view of the world, it should be enough to work hard, make commitments and keep them, trust the people close to you, love, tell the truth, and do your best. I happen to agree with her, and I admire her for her for this and what she is willing to pay to try and make it so.
A powerful example is when Isabel gets on her knees in the snow in front of the woman taking her family, and begs her to stop. Isabel's values don't allow for the existence of someone so utterly heartless as to put her own needs before those of a young woman, her family, her children, and her marriage. Surely if this other woman understood what is going on, she would back away. Alas, for the second time in a very powerful five minute span toward the end of the story, she finally comes to realize neither her husband, nor the target of her husband's fantasy are able to care about anyone else but themselves.
Isabel Gillies is a remarkable woman. She is beautiful in every way that could ever be important, and a few more that aren't. Her parents and extended family, her friends, her students, and most of all her boys; they are all very fortunate to share her life and her love.
PS: You will enjoy Isabel's sense of humor, much of it self-depreciating.
She is very kind to the two people who inflicted so much pain (a la Daisy and Tom?). Me, I imagine the two lovers (months after Isabel has moved back to New York), sharing a calm Ohio breakfast, newspaper, and coffee... until the news of another new faculty member coming to the Oberlin Engish department, brings a hint of unanticipated excitement - and not just a little fear - into the otherwise bucolic scene...
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Pull Yourself Up and Start All Over Again
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-05-03
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
As for name recognition, as a long time Law & Order SVU watcher, I was clueless as to Isabel Gillies was. However, that was quickly remedied: she is the wife of Christopher Meloni's character. And so it wasn't name recognition that sold me on this book but rather a gift certificate and the fact that the title appealed to me. Not much criteria to buy a book and certainly not a very informed reason to actually read it. However, I liked it very much. Essentially this is the story of a marriage gone under. The hubby is Josiah (presumably a pseudonym). He is a poet in the English Dept. of Oberlin. For someone such as myself who has seen too much of university English departments, this is what so-called poets do when they need to make a living. He also ends up being a philanderer. In short order, the wife goes from a presumably happy wife and mother to a single parent struggling to keep things civil for the well-being of the children.
Gillies had spunk. She was going through probably one of the worst parts of her life. She does what she has to do for her kids and her own sanity. Describing herself as the wife or mom 'in the parka', she doesn't see herself as a worthy adversary for Sylvia the fashionable college instructor/galpal who is her soon-to-be ex-husband's muse. However, Gillies keeps it together to forge ahead and move back to NYC and revive her career and move on to a new normal.
I might have easily come up with this plot myself as I've seen variations of it in the past. However, Gillies rather eloquently tells this story from her own perspective. In refecting on her past history with her husband, we find out there was another ex-wife who intimidated her, another child(son), and another intimidating girl friend who brought down the first marriage. While she never says this, I concluded that the loss of this husband was no loss but possibly history repeating itself. After resettling in NYC, the book concludes with the ultimate fade to black moment. Isabel finds the true love of her life. She remarries and is happy with her new husband and family which includes a stepdaughter. She gets along with Josiah and even appreciates that intellectual seductress Sylvia who is now Josiah's wife. I liked this book. I liked Isabel's writing style. I liked her perspective and I liked the story even if it wasn't all that unique. Possibly Isabel should have been the English professor because she keeps the story flowing and interesting. However, since we never meet the new husband, I was hoping he wasn't a poet with a lot of baggage. I was so hoping he doesn't teach English.
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by Ed McMahon
ISBN: 1401602363
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 240 pages
Condition: New
Comments: Sold with pride. Brand new, unread copy. This is not a previously owned copy, but comes from the publisher, to us and to you.
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Customer Reviews
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Too Short!
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-07-19
Here's Johnny written by Ed McMahon is a testament to the long history the two men shared. I found the book to be fun to read, informative and especially heartfelt. I miss both Johnny and Ed and will always remember the Tonight Show as television at its very best!
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Light stories about a comic master!!
Rating  (3)
Date: 2009-12-18
I was a Johnny Carson fan from high school and well past college. I watched about 30-45 minutes several nights a week. So I have very fond memories of the whole atmosphere of the show that Ed McMahon talks about.
This memoir is brief stories, mostly with chuckles. And very enjoyable ones. There is nothing earth shaking here, and no new bio information. But if you liked the show, this is a very enjoyable telling of stories. No real organization, just pleasant memories.
As for the Kindle edition, please note that the font is VERY LARGE, with much spacing between sentences and paragraphs. But no typos or formatting errors.
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Loved Ed, but . . .
Rating  (2)
Date: 2009-09-13
. . . he really can't write. Lots of repetition, overstatement, exaggeration. Not a good book at all; I couldn't finish it, and I finish everything.
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Waste of paper
Rating (2)
Date: 2009-07-08
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
For decades the author was the designated sycophant on the Tonight Show, laughing even when Johnny Carson wasn't funny, accepting every insult Carson handed out and agreeing to anything Carson said. Now Ed McMahon reprises the fawning role in book form.
On virtually every page he informs the reader that Carson was witty, smart, generous and other encomia. He repeats verbatim amusing incidents that are all on the ads for Tonight Show DVDs: e.g., the potato chip collector, the cute kids, Dolly Parton's notable physique, etc. There is very little that regular viewers of the program don't already know. We know nothing significant and new about Carson. Oh, he was a very private person--a secret already known by millions.
The book left me with a sour taste for McMahon, the huckster, the magazine salesman, the talent scout pretender. And I wasn't amused by the stale anecdotes regarding Johnny Carson.
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Disappointed
Rating (1)
Date: 2009-05-15
I have always loved Johnny Carson and was looking forward to learning more about him in this book, but unfortunately, Ed McMahon was not the man to tell it. Ed's manner of writing was exactly how he was on TV -- pretty boring and non-descript. He spends more time talking about himself and how valuable he was to Johnny's success (???) than giving behind the scenes glimpes of Johnny and his guests. A pretty boring read.
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by Ron White
ISBN: 045122115X
Binding/Media: Paperback - 320 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously UNREAD copy pulled from our store shelves. It is rated as like new because it may have light shelf wear.
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Customer Reviews
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fun and easy read
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-02-05
I gave this book to my hubby for Christmas as a stocking stuffer and he absolutely loved it. He finished the book in 2 days and couldnt stop telling me how funny it was. His only gripe was that we had seen Ron White in stand up about 4 months earlier and he said alot of his material that we heard when we saw him.
I will be reading it next.
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You wo't be silent, too busy laughing..
Rating (3)
Date: 2009-04-21
Great stuff, although some of the material has probably been heard too many times already1
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SAMO-SAMO
Rating (3)
Date: 2009-02-07
There's no doubt Ron White is a funny guy, but this book was just an outline of his stage material. I expected more than just his comedy routine and there was too much time wasted on his drinking and doping, and Jeff F. coming to save him several times, kinda like he was still a child and never grew up...maybe he hasn't. The profanity is OK for awhile, but he needs to become more verbal and sensible in some of his stories/descriptions and not rely on his typical, over-done cuss words...but then again, that's his act. Also, thank goodness for Sluggo to keep his act funny and moving forward. The cartoons by Matthew Shultz were great. If you've seen him on stage or TV, you've "read" the book.
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Pissed myself laughing
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-29
Been a fan since I first saw him on The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. It was great to 1) read his stand up, 2) read a bit more about him and his journey to where he is now 3) see funny pictures.
As I read his stand up material, I could hear his voice, and it was just as funny when I read it, as it was when I first those bits. This one's staying in my book collection. I've only been to one Ron White live show, but hopefully I'll be able to get him to sign my copy one day, I'm a huge fan.
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If you've seen him, you've read this.......
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-09-09
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Not crazy about the book -- but -- the seller mailed it timely and it was in excellent shape, when I got it.
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by Bob Newhart
ISBN: 1401302467
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 256 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. Gently read copy in like new condition.
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Customer Reviews
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No skid marks in front of this book
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-07-10
I've heard some funny lawyer jokes. Here are two: 1. Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, an honest lawyer, and a drunk were walking along when they simultaneously spotted a hundred-dollar. Who picks it up? The drunk, obviously. The other three are mythological creatures. 2. It was so cold last week that I saw several lawyers with their hands in their own pockets. The joke Newhart selects is this one: "What is the difference between a lawyer and a snake? When there's an accident, there are no skid marks in front of the lawyer." Add a lot of stammering, a lot more name dropping, some hokey everyman references, and you have the sum total of this book.
All of the jokes and routines in this book are at about this level of funny, which is overtold, cliche, and not funny at all. Newhart performs his long-winded inventions of bureaucratese involving things like the security guard calling in about King Kong climbing the Empire State building, or speechwriters advising Abraham Lincoln about test markets and 'doing the speech the way Charlie wrote it,' etc. These routines may have been funny half a century ago. They might be funny now if the accountant delivered them at a retirement party or something. It's nothing I would pay to listen to, and worse, it was painful because I really want to like Bob Newhart.
I wish I could like this book. Bob Newhart has a gentle manner that I appreciate. In addition, I like the fact that he pokes fun at bureaucracy and authoritarian behavior in general. I really hoped that this book would be funny, or at least insightful about comedy in general in the manner of Steve Martin's book, "Born Standing Up." The insights amount to such observations as comedians hate dying on stage, and fame doesn't last forever. This book was neither funny nor insightful. I've read murder mysteries that were funnier (most books by John Lescroat, where I got the first lawyer joke). I've read economics books more insightful (Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide).
Agonizingly stammered through by Bob Newhart.
I only review audiobooks. Check out my other reviews for audiobook recommendations. I welcome your comments.
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One of the greatest comics of all time
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-05-12
I've been a fan of Bob Newhart for as long as I can remember. First being exposed to his television shows ("The Bob Newhart Show" in syndication and "Newhart" in the 1980s) and then to his stand-up comedy routines, immortalized in albums such as "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. A couple of years ago, Bob (I feel like I can call him Bob) decided to write his memoirs. Titled I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!, they are a look inside the mind and the history of one of the best comics to ever be up on stage.
These aren't just your typical memoirs, however. As Bob states in his introduction, memoirs are supposed to be cathartic for the author. They offer up juicy stories about that the public doesn't know about celebrities. They are "kiss and tell" tomes that produce a lot of juicy gossip. Nothing so ordinary for the immortal (or seemingly so, anyway) Bob Newhart. Instead, we get a straight telling of his childhood, how he had to work numerous part-time jobs while trying to make it in comedy, and then the road to the top when he finally did hit the big time. Along the way, the reader gets wry asides, funny stories, a history told with Bob's characteristic wit, and even some of his most famous routines, word for word (such as the classic "The Driving Instructor"). The most dirt we get is that Don Rickles never really learned how to use a video camera.
The book is obviously written plainly, but the tone of "voice" that Newhart uses makes it seem like he's just chatting away with the reader. I can almost hear his trademark stammer as he's telling you his story. I don't know whether that's intentional or not, but it does add to the informal nature of the book and adds a lot to the readability of the book (I finished it in one Sunday morning reading session).
Newhart grew up on the West Side of Chicago, in a relatively poor family with three sisters. He briefly went to law school, then was drafted into the army (managing to stay Stateside, as well as managing to pull a few over on his superiors). He developed a talent for comedy at an early age and decided that's what he wanted to do with himself. He worked nothing but part-time jobs while he attempted to establish himself. He tells some very funny stories from both his childhood and his young adult days. Basically, he has a background that simply demanded that he go into comedy. Thankfully, he's quite good at it.
Throughout the book, you get the feel for a completely different age, one that I only felt the cusp of, being born in 1970. Newhart was part of a new wave of comedians; more than just joke-tellers, they told stories or made commentary on the way things were going in society. From the very beginning, he decided that he would be a clean comic, and I can't even remember him ever telling a dark joke or saying more than a bad word here or there. He admits to having a dark sense of humor at times, though he generally keeps it to family and friends (except when he relates one rather twisted joke he played on his daughter one time, regarding veal).
I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! doesn't really have any faults, except for the fact that a few of the things I was looking forward to are given short shrift. Newhart goes into great detail about his second television show (I didn't even know he had done a show for a year in the early '60s), the smash hit "The Bob Newhart Show." However, while he does mention it a few times, including the wonderful series finale moment, he doesn't really talk about "Newhart" that much. I loved that show, and would have loved to hear some behind the scenes stuff about that. He does talk about why he ended it after eight years, with CBS moving it all over the schedule and treating it rather shoddily. He briefly mentions his subsequent television series, but the less said about them, the better. He uses them only as a jumping off point to why it might be time to leave television for good.
The book also won't really mean much to those who aren't familiar with Newhart to begin with, which sadly is probably most of the younger generation. Once somebody has been introduced to Newhart through his comedy routines, and maybe going through a DVD set of one of his television shows, then hitting them with the book would just add to their enjoyment. I doubt many would make that step, though, through no fault of Bob's.
I enjoyed the book very much, though. I couldn't stop laughing through most of the beginning, even reading some of his classic routines left me rolling in my chair. Even when he's telling some of his history straight, he's always leaving you with a chuckle or two while you're reading it. I loved his observations on his good friend, Don Rickles, another comedian I've long enjoyed. His insights into the comic mind are even better. His obvious love for his wife, Ginnie, and his children, shines through whenever he talks about them as well.
I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! is basically a must-read for any Newhart fan, and should even be read by those fans of old-time comedy. You'll definitely enjoy it.
Originally published on Curled Up With a Good Book © David Roy, 2009
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I Shouldn't Even Be Writing This...
Rating (3)
Date: 2009-12-23
Bob Newhart is a funny, funny comedian and actor. No question. But as a writer of books...not so much.
I could listen to/watch Newhart routines all day long. However, his humor doesn't appear to translate well to the page - could be his writing?
If you're a Newhart fan you'll find some laughter in some of the gems in this book and you'll be one step closer to knowing Newhart the man. If, on the other hand, you're not familiar with Newhart and his deadpan delivery I'm afraid you'll find this book dull and only moderately funny.
If you're exploring Newhart, start with his recordings and/or his TV shows. Only once you get a feel for his timing, facial expressions and intonations will you begin to appreciate what's in this book.
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Fun Read
Rating (4)
Date: 2009-09-29
For anyone who appreciates the humor of Bob Newhart, this is a fun book to read. His keen sense of irony and the idiosyncracies of the "human condition" make you chuckle, if not guffaw. And, you get the feeling that this is a nice, down-to-earth guy who has a wicked sense of humor. Spending a little time with him by reading this book is, therefore, a pretty good thing and a great diversion from life's craziness.
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Bob Newhart, Funny Man!!
Rating (3)
Date: 2009-06-25
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a 3 CD album. Disk 1 & 3 were very good.....funny, snippets of his career. Disk #2 was damaged so I couldn't hear it. Though Amazon refunded most of the cost, I still had to pay 1/2 of the shipping charges. This disk showed visible damage. It shouldn't have been shipped in the first place.
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by Rena Fruchter
ISBN: 1852273461
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 256 pages
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Book in very good condition with VERY LIGHT reading wear. EX LIBRARY copy which did not spend much time in circulation before being released. Library markings present but no further markings.
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Customer Reviews
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Oustanding - just like his work!
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-24
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Read it in 3 sittings. Im 36 (born in 1972) and remember Chevy on SNL and watching him later on VHS tapes. Have every line memorized in Caddyshack, Fletch and Vacation. This book simply gives you a window into a guy who is more complex than we all think. I appreciate his humor and style more now than before. If you like or love Chevy (or physical comedy for that matter) - buy this book. Will not disapoint.
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Only Rena Fruchter Knows How to Write About Chevy Chase
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-12-27
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Too often, and since I never have met Chevy Chase, more negative things have been written about him than positives. The press and many people automatically jump on the bandwagon, like little kids in school, by reviling Chevy in any way they can just because "he can't act or host a talk show."
I am a self-admitted loyal and devoted fan of Chevy Chase for 30 years for better and for worse, just like how Chevy's wife, Jayni, is with him. Author Rena Fruchter has written about Chevy in a manner that is more sensitive than anyone can imagine. She does write about his faults here and there, but she stresses more on the positives than the negatives.
Fruchter does start out with Chevy being a victim of child abuse in the hands of a demented mother and stepfather. When he became a father, he went the opposite way - he is more loving and devoted to all three daughters. Then she writes more about him where if he isn't the most versatile actor in town, then he is versatile with his talents outside of acting - tennis, playing playing piano, politics, and the environment - all of which Chevy has been passionate about over the years. According to Goldie Hawn, Chevy can talk about anything and everything. Let this be a lesson to all those Chevy "bashers" the next time they think he is "stupid." After all, he was valedictorian of his high school, so there are at least his school smarts.
Sounds like I'm sticking up for Chevy. Someone has to. I myself can easily relate to many of Chevy's faults and embarrassments. I can bungle in many social situations, for instance, and I'm all too good at that. Fans admire stars who they can identify with and have a lot of characteristics in common. For me, it is definitely Chevy Chase. I'm a devoted fan of Goldie Hawn, too, but I seem to share more characteristics with Chevy than I do with Goldie.
So throw out all the "Saturday Night Live" books. After reading this book, I was just angered by the previous SNL books that depict him as a heartless, self-centered meanie. Jayni and the girls definitely agrees here. Fruchter writes that "they abused him, not that he abused them." Chevy has publicly stated numerous times that the accounts of him about his "SNL" days are gross lies and exaggerations. Forget much of the tabloids about him. Some of it sounds exaggerated. And what could have been just another one of Chevy's publicity stunts in which we would be quick to think that Chevy is lying about child abuse for more attention turns out to be an honestly told book. If you feel for Chevy, as I do, read this book. One of the best celebrity bios ever written.
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Lop-sided Book About A Star Who's a Jerk
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-12-11
1 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
The fact that this biography about Chevy Chase is "authorized" should warn you that it is basically a lop-sided view of Chase that talks highly of the star while ignoring many of his faults. He is called sexy (when homely would have been a better description), his acting is compared to Cary Grant (seriously? Chase has almost no on-screen charisma) and totally absolves him of any blame for his leaving Saturday Night Live after one year (no matter how many SNL people contradict him--and virtually all of them disagree with his analysis of it).
Namely, it comes across as a bit of a fan book. It's better written than many other Amazon reviewers claim, but it also can be disjointed and conveniently leaves out large portions of information. Even with the surface coverage of major stories regarding Chase's life, he comes across as egotistical, completely self-involved and distant from those beneath him.
Chase admits to many terrible things--having his first wife get an abortion before they are married, a couple of affairs with unnamed famous people (and an occasionally named person like Candice Bergen) and even cheating to get out of the draft in the Vietnam war.
This is not a man who should be celebrated but a man who should be condemned. We're supposed to feel sorry for his upbringing, with a wicked mother who abused him. But he glosses over the fact that he was a RICH abused kid and that he made no attempt to get help from his father or grandparents--so in reality it's his own fault for not reporting his mother and then years later try to use her as an excuse for his own behavior. Ultimately there is no reason to feel sorry for the guy, although he really, really wants you to feel bad for him. It's obvious that he doesn't understand himself at all.
Whatever he thinks he is to his kids or to his public or even to himself, in the end even a puff book like this can't keep back the truth that he's a jerk.
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Chevy Chase... a truly decent guy
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-09-06
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I met Chevy Chase as a fan in the summer of '76. He was in the process of leaving SNL and allowed 4 giggly gals visiting the Big Apple the chance to tour the 17th floor at 30 Rock one summer night. He and his companion, Alan Zweibel, were so very nice to us. After reading Shales & Miller's "Live From New York" book, I can't help but wonder about the jealous, insecure souls intimidated by a talented guy who clearly had issues with his biological family as well as subsequent cast families born from a show he helped breath life into from day one, as much as Michaels, O'Donoghue or Downey. "I'm Chevy Chase...and You're Not" confirms the guy I met when he had just become a household name was and is a very decent guy.
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This book is about the amazing life of an amazing man.
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-08-26
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought this book because I have always liked Chevy Chase. I heard he could be kind of a jerk to people and I remember when I watched the Friars Club Roast of him nobody showed up. In fact they had to get random comedians and other people to show up and talk about him. Reading the book you will find out that a lot of people are mad at/hate him. You will also find out why. It really shocked me as to why so many people don't like him as I sure it will you.
All I can say is that this man had such a neat life. He had so many chances to become well known or famous. From writing, shows and even bands he was in. One of which had members that started a famous group. But you will have to read to find out more on that. There is no way I am going to ruin it for you.
You will learn about his family struggles. From those who did drugs. (up until like 12 years ago) To people to hurt him in more ways than one. You will feel so bad when you find out everything he has had to go through. The things that happened in his childhood also effected him in his 20s- 30s. You will see the proof of this when you read about his thoughts, arguments and even his marriage. I am almost sure that before you are even finished this book, you will be mad at yourself for ever being mad at him.
I got really inspired when reading this book. People always tell me I can think fast and that I am funny. So I just yesterday started writing the jokes and ideas I get down. As well as recording songs I thinks of right after I think of them. I know that you will feel inspired in your own way. Whether it be with something in your future, in you present or in you past. You will want to work harder to be he best that you can be at the things you do.
In the end you will get to learn some personal details about a man who has been doing things for people almost his entire life. From the man who was one of the founders of Saturday Night Live to the father and husband who puts the Christmas tree up every Christmas eve on so many televisions. You will really be surprised at all he has went through and all he has had a chance to do. The neat thing is that he really just got lucky A LOT. Through all these lucky breaks a man who is amazing at so many things that are important to so many people emerged. You may see that he is not all that different from you. You then will start to understand the man that is Chevy Chase as if you were there with him through his entire life. I know I did. I would like to end all this thanking Chevy Chase and the author Rena Fruchter.
Side note
I see many have given this a bad review. I can't understand why. You learn a lot about Chase and the entire time you are interested in finding out more. I guess there is always someone that could do something better but I am happy with what I have. It's like people are mad because the book does not talk bad about him. The poor guy made us laugh for decades. He may have made some mistakes in his life but who among us has not? I am a 23 year old guy who has been inspired and learned more about a guy I have always liked. So as all that goes. I'm happy with the book.
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by David Bret
ISBN: 0786718684
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 320 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No publisher marks, no shelf wear.
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Customer Reviews
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Ok, I gave you another chance...
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-01-25
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
OK, Mr Brent!
I gave you another chance much to the chagrin of most everyone I know that read this book. I thought the worst was over when I closed the cover of Tarnished Angel but this one has that one beat in tawdry lies from beginnng to end. No small feat I might add!
I wouldn't know where to begin picking the inaccuracies apart. If that weren't enough what is up with the Gay agenda? Is there anyone Crawford knew who was straight? Before you or anyone comes back with any homophobia thrown at me, I am Gay.
I'm sitting here with your Errol Flynn book debating whether to give you that third try or not...
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Joan Crawford-Hollywood Martyr by David Bret (biography)
Rating (1)
Date: 2009-09-08
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I hate to say it, but this book is barely worth the paper it's printed on. If the author, David Bret is not gay, I would be shocked because he certainly has a gay agenda. According to Mr. Bret, virtally everyone in Hollywood during its "Golden Age" was, without question, gay. As I read, it just got to the point when I stopped taking it seriously and read just for fun. He constantly takes unproven suppositions and states them as facts. While I'm not homophobic in the least, I AM a stickler for truth and there doesn't seem to be much of that in this book. Perhaps Mr. Bret feels emboldened by the fact that none of his subjects are still living, thus making it impossible for them to defend themselves and/or sue for libel. Certainly, Joan Crawford's own bisexuality is well documented as is the case for several actors and designers mentioned in this book. However, the author takes great liberties with others which is a disservice to his readers especially since we expect the truth from a biography.
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Save your money
Rating (1)
Date: 2009-03-11
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
At some 263 pages of text, this would qualify as shallow, just by length, for a serious biography of a figure as complex and contradictory as Joan Crawford.
Unfortunately, this book is below shallow. It's just about the most worthless biography I've ever read.
Why? There are several reasons:
1. Mr. Bret has adopted the "Joan could do no wrong" attitude of Crawford's maniacal fans. If there is any critical attitude in this book, I haven't been able to see it. What is particularly schitzophrenic is, on the one hand, denying the existence of any veracity in Christina Crawford"s Mommie Dearest--and on the other hand detailing Crawford's usually exceptionally nasty and vulgar behavior off the screen, which supports anytime in Mommie Dearest.. When Crawford does something particularly foul, it's always justifiable; Bette Davis comes in for continuous condemnation.
2. There is very little substance. Suppopsedly, the book is pbased on unpublished documents and interviews. It feels like there is not a scrap of primary research here. Far too much space is devoted to (badly written) synopses of Crawford's films--most of which, at least to this reader, reenforce the notion that most of these films were pretty bad.
3. The book is riddled with errors. At various points (and these are only ones that spring to mind directly), Bette Davis is said to be at MGM (never--Warner's); that Billie Burke played the "Blue Fairy" in "The Wizard of Oz" (the Blue Fairy is a character in Pinocchio; Burke is Glinda, the Good Witch of the West); that Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls is based on Ms. Crawford (no--based on Ethel Merman)--and numerous other howlers that any moderately literate movie goer would notice.
4. The amount of scurrilous detail about sexual proclivities of the stars would make Kenneth Anger (Hollywood Babylon) blush.
The book opens with "She was one of four genuinely great movie actresses of the twentieth century--the others were Garbo, Hepburn, and Bette Davis." Surely a disputable attitude--and certainly (assuming that Katherin Hepburn is intended) Crawford would be last among them.
David Bret often speaks of Ms. Crawford legion of (unquestioning) gay fans. He is obviously one of them, with all the fanatical prejudice that such a statement applies--and unfortunately reenforcing any bigot's attitudes towards gay men.
In sum, shallow, shoddy, and poorly written. It fails to address the either the real complexities of Crawford's personality or the dichotomy of being a star and being an actress, which is the core of any serious evaluation of Crawford. It fails to put any critical framework around the films. And, on top of anything else, it's so turgidly written that it fails to be even good nasty fun.
Don't waste your time.
Don't waste your money.
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MOST AMAZON REVIEWERS HAVE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD
Rating (2)
Date: 2008-04-02
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
It would be nice to accept this book simply as a guilty pleasure and let its shortcomings slide, but honesty requires pointing out the latter. The first problem is the fact that, although the book was originally published in Great Britain and then published the following year in the United States, no attempt whatsoever has been made to Americanize spelling and punctuation, much less the British slang that one must at times figure out from context ("She put paid to any mother-daughter bond that might have developed between them by rounding on her with, `Listen, kid . . . '"). Are publishing houses now so cheap that they can't afford a competent copy editor?
The next problem is the hype one encounters on the inside flap of the jacket, which declares, "Bret divulges . . . how her loathed mother forced Crawford to work as a prostitute, appear in pornographic films, and sleep her way to the top." Maybe the copywriter for that blurb didn't read the book. The author makes clear that Joan hated her mother, and reports (more as rumor than fact) that Crawford may have appeared in a few "stag films" (other writers have discredited this legend, using such evidence as birthmarks in publicity photos) and intimates that she did indeed sleep around, but nowhere does he establish the cause as being her mother.
These charges, along with many others, are not backed up by authoritative sources--there are no footnotes anywhere in the book--and smack of being entertaining but most likely apocryphal gossip. Virtually every male star of the time, according to Bret, was gay or bisexual and, more often than not, enormously hung. I'd love to believe, for example, that Errol Flynn and Franchot Tone really did spent an intimate night together in memory of actor Ross Alexander, "the lover they had shared," after his suicide, but where on earth did Bret dig up that anecdote? He's not saying.
It doesn't help that on numerous occasions, Bret makes minor errors that could have been easily checked and corrected: for example, the Broadway play in which Fred Astaire appeared was titled "The Gay Divorce," not "The Gay Divorcee" (Hollywood changed the title for the film version since it was deemed inappropriate to characterize a divorce as a happy thing), and Billie Burke portrayed Glinda the Good Witch in "The Wizard of Oz," not the Blue Fairy (a character from "Pinocchio"). If he can't be bothered to be precise about such minor matters--has he never even seen "The Wizard of Oz"?--how are we supposed to trust him for the many outlandish claims he makes about stars' private sexual conduct?
Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr shares some of these shortcomings with the equally delicious, similarly non-documented book Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine, but Considine does at least in some instances credit where he heard the rumors, and further attempts to be fair and balanced: for each vicious rumor about one of his subjects, he usually includes an opposing viewpoint from a different colleague. It is a much more readable and satisfying book overall.
One also has to question the value of the film synopses that make up a major portion of Bret's book--virtually every film Joan appeared in is related plot-point-by-plot-point. Why? If you are interested enough in Joan Crawford to be reading a biography of her, chances are you've already seen "Mildred Pierce"; and if by some freak occurrence some readers haven't, why in God's name spoil the surprise ending for them? A description of the overall theme of each film would be fine, but the he-said-then-she-said minutiae seem like so much filler. Perhaps Bret's publisher was paying him by the word.
I will give the author this: He obviously loves his subject, and it shows. I especially appreciated the way he attacks Christina Crawford and her loathsome book "Mommie Dearest" every time the opportunity arises. I'm sick of seeing that self-serving bitch on every documentary ever made about her mother (so she had to write thank-you notes at Christmas--boo hoo). It is totally obvious that once it became clear to Christina that she wasn't going to have a successful career as an actress, she decided to make a career out of smearing the name of her mother. It's time she finds some sort of productive job and gets on with her life, instead of being a professional victim.
So for a few giggles and at times unbelievably outrageous rumors and gossip, "Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr" can be fun, but for heaven's sake don't rely upon it as a reliable history of the woman who has justifiably been called The Ultimate Movie Star.
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Joan deserves better!
Rating (1)
Date: 2008-04-01
8 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is not a biography.It is an attempt at muckraking expose. It is written by an author who cites very few authentic sources, who writes incorrect information ( He says that Ricardo Cortez was Sam Spade in the 1941 version of THE MALTESE FALCON when everyone knows it was Bogart who played the role in that version. Another example of total inaccuracy is when he states in his discussion of Johnny Guitar that Ward Bond played nothing but cop and fighter roles. Has Mr. Bret ever seen a John Ford film?) Bret is totally preoccupied with the sex lives of Ms. Crawford and her acquaintances, even to go so far to discuss stuff that in no way can be proven. He spouts heresy and hearsay. This is an offensive tome and does not attempt to honor Ms. Crawford's illustrious career. It is a sham and I was ashamed to have spent money on it. If you have the slightest respect for Joan Crawford, please avoid.
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by Dayanara Torres, Jeannette Torres-Alvarez
ISBN: 0451226461
Binding/Media: Paperback - 224 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously UNREAD copy pulled from our store shelves. It is rated as like new because it may have light shelf wear.
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Customer Reviews
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A wonderful-well written book that deserves to be a bestseller
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-07-24
I usually do not write reviews. I don't have the time. But I felt a moral obligation to do this one.
This is one of the best books I have ever read and believe me, I have read plenty of them. This book has tons of helpful information. Dayanara and her sister, who is a real professional in the field,(because you can tell she knows what she is talking about) have written a book that is informative and easier to read. A book that after finishing it, will leave you with a sense of peace and empowerment. I have been divorce for 3 years and I wish I had bought this book earlier. It would had saved me lots of money. I keep this one on top of my nightstand, so I can always refer to it.
Thank you guys for writing it. It has truly helped me tremendously.
If you can only afford one book on the topic, trust me, this is the one you would not feel sorry for purchasing. It is worth every penny.
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Married to Me
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-11-03
I really enjoyed this book. I think that it is a very helpful book not only for people who are divorce, but also for women in general. We all have been through break ups and heartaches. This book inspires you to take care of the most important person in your life; yourself. It is an easy to read book that provides steps to overcome your divorce, but at the same time is also inspirational and motivational.
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amazing
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-09-17
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
As a married woman that has been thru a lots of things in her marriage is very inspirational the way Dayanara teach us how thru it all you have to forgive and live for you and your kids. It was very sincere.
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Impressive!
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-08-14
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought this book because Yari is a well-known celebrity in the Philippines back in the 90's. I was just curious.... like I also bought Tori Spelling's book...
However, I found this book really INSPIRING. How I wish I had this book while I was going through my divorce. I have collections of books about divorce, moving on, rebuilding from well known Psychologists and recommendations from my therapist. But this is the first and only book that I will keep reading until I can rediscover myself again. Good job Yari! You are now my idol and inspiration.
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Definitely uplifting book
Rating (2)
Date: 2008-08-09
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is good for women going through the tough time of a divorce. I gives helpful hints to help yourself so you can move on with your life
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by Tim Kendall
ISBN: 0802313132
Binding/Media: Paperback - 258 pages
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Tight binding. Minimal shelf wear. Decent reading copy. This book is an EX LIBRARY copy. No highlighting/ writing apart from library markings.
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by Doug Crandell
ISBN: 1556525524
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 272 pages
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No shelf wear, no writing. This book is an early release from circulation, EX LIBRARY copy in a like new condition. Library markings present.
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Customer Reviews
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Great book!
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-11-19
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Having grown up on a farm not too far from where Crandell did (I attended the same school only about 15 years earlier) there were so many things I could relate to in this story. That being said I have a feeling there are many other people out there who can relate to a lot of things in this story no matter where they grew up. I got a kick out of the things young Doug thought about the things going on around him-reminding me of things I misunderstood as a child. I did not want to put the book down right from the start. It was great to see how his writing ability came to be-you could tell early on in his life that he was destined to be a writer-how many 7 year old boys keep a journal? I highly recommend this book.
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A thought provoking memoir
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-09-28
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Doug Crandell has written a poignant memoir that cannot fail to touch your heart and mind. Doug must have been a complete mystery to his family as a child. He was so sensitive, so intelligent, and so different from the rest of the family. The unconditional love and acceptance from all in the Crandell family shine as a steady beacon in his well written book. I became so caught up in the family story, and Doug's individual story, that I was almost holding my breath hoping that all would turn out for the best.
Mr. Crandell's memoir made me want to hold a piglet too- preferably a runt! I learned a lot about pig farming on a small farm from his story. I don't think I'll ever want to eat a ham sandwich again! His descriptive powers were so great that I could almost see the piglets long eyelashes and hear their contented breaths in the little pen.
I do wish that I knew if Doug was ever able to use his hand in any way. I kept thinking, "if only you could have seen a hand surgeon when this happened". But alas, there was never enough money and everyone did the very best they could without a lot of medical help, or really any kind of outside help.
You will love this book.
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Humorous and Poignant.........a must read!!
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-04-05
I grew up in neighboring Illinois not far from `Pig Boy'. So, in reading this lovely memoir I found myself transported back into my own childhood memories of growing up. I was tired of reading at the time and therefore hesitant to give this memoir a chance. When I finished, I found that the author had reignited my passion for reading. This memoir will make you want to read again...to write again. The author truly captured the very humorous and.... yes poignant business of growing up, families and the unique value that every person brings to this world. Get this book, you will be glad you did.
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The Three D's
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-05-31
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
First of all, I really enjoyed this book. I was skeptical going in, thinking it was just another outbreak in the rash of memoirs that has erupted on the best seller lists. This one is different. On the surface, it's a coming of age story, a story about self worth, self awareness, and the impact of family (the family in question being "the seven D's" - all of Doug Crandell's brothers, sisters, and even his parents have names that start with D.) But it turns out that what the story is really about is the three D's: disability, disfigurement, and just being different.
Two of the author's fingers are essentially severed in a childhood farming accident, leaving the boy disabled, disfigured and different. This leads to an awareness and an appreciation of those three D's -- that turn out to be everywhere in young Crandell's world: his mother who is "no longer a woman" due to a hysterectomy, a man with cerebral palsy who connects with the author, the runt pigs destined to be destroyed but saved by Crandell, a grandmother with a humped back, a sister with scoliosis, even the oldest brother is left changed by a never fully explained abduction reminiscent of Mystic River. (Most everyone in the book is marked in some critical, defining, and not always obvious way. Some, like the landlord's son, are, to quote John Lennon, crippled inside.)
Sherwood Anderson and his collection of grotesqueries, Winesburg, Ohio is the influence pointed out by Doug Crandell for helping him sort out his confused world of being marked different as well as leading him on the path to becoming a writer. What I noticed were the influences of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and in particular Carson McCullers. For a story of the Midwest, Pig Boy's Wicked Bird has a distinct Southern Gothic feel. (One person's physical characteristics are described as "crooked," "twisted," and "warped" in the space of a single paragraph). Like The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, or even Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms, these disabled, disfigured, and different people will live with you forever.
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Peculiar Power and Distinct Nostalgia
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-10-16
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
There is a distinct nostalgia in Pig Boy's Wicked Bird. The peculiar power in this depiction of an American family is relevant to anytime, place, or condition. The author uses beautiful language and rhythmical sentences to creat a compact telling of this humorous and poignant memoir. The business of living can be lonely. The reader can make profitable use of the insights illuminated throughout this story.
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