And this bio gives an excellent glimpse into her life and career--
347691
Streep is such an American treasure! And this bio gives an excellent glimpse into her life and career--
4001123
Alexis Hunter's splendid book, "Joi Lansing -- A Body to Die For" provides an intimate peek into the last years of one of the iconic blonde bombshells of the mid-century. Like so many others, Ms. Lansing lived her life at the mercy of the entertainment industry, and its obsession with perfect looks and eternal youth. In this book, Ms. Hunter lets us in on Ms. Lansing's dark secrets and struggles but, ultimately, this is not simply a story of the far-too-early death of a Hollywood beauty, but rather a tale of the redemptive power of love. Ms. Hunter's direct and honest telling of her time with Joi Lansing makes us feel for them both, with their journey of love and devotion in a time when such a relationship was not to be revealed. Yes, this book is full of the juicy little details that one expects in a Hollywood bio. But even more importantly, it gives us true insight into the mind and heart of Ms. Lansing; her generosity, her fears, her exuberant spirit, her need to please, her capacity to love in short, all that made her the luminous presence that she was.
3906074
Harriet Reisen's new biography of Louisa May Alcott provides a fresh and engaging look at the beloved author's life, that is sure to please Alcott's many fans and also win some new ones. It was written as a companion book to a PBS "American Masters" episode that is scheduled to air late in 2009. The renewed attention is very welcome, for Louisa May Alcott was a fascinating and complicated person: prodigious author (over 200 books), Feminist, Abolitionist, unmarried by choice, fiercely independent by nature, yet required by circumstances to become both the physical and the financial caretaker of her family, Alcott's personal struggle  will surely resonate with any sympathetic woman - or man! - today.

For Alcott scholars, Reisen's book offers, for the first time in print, some new quotations from the (unpublished) second volume of Madelon Bedell's interviews with Louisa May "Lulu" Nieriker Rasim, Alcott's niece, who lived  until 1975! For the rest of us, this biography of a woman, who was so much more than the author of "Little Women," provides a sympathetic and clear-eyed window into what her life may actually have felt like, to Louisa May Alcott, as she lived it. It is a fine achievement.
4564126
Most autobiographies that I've read are about people whose work or popularity I am familiar with, i.e. the field of sports or entertainment of some sort. But I was introduced to this book, ironically, by the author himself at a book fair. As a selling point he said his book was interesting and a good read. And I, an avid reader, can attest that this is not only a good read, it is an 'excellent read'!
Mr. Beverly provides clear, honest insight into his life stemming from a troubling, turbulent childhood, through a whirlwind career as a musician and DEA agent. At times, this book read like a mystery story. Each facet of Mr. Beverly's life interconnected to the point that I felt the highs and lows of the experiences he shared.
As the title suggests, Mr. Beverly's transformation was made possible from a deep rooted spiritual disconnection from whom he identifies as the creator and giver of life. Through self reflection and wisdom, he is able to look back and assess that despite all the trials he encountered, his course was not one that he walked alone.
I found Mr. Beverly's story to be sad, funny, intelligent, moving, but most of all inspiring. His was a soul, that though lost at certain periods, found it's way back home.
Gary Armstead
2866369
As a lifelong fan of Betty's MacDonald's memoirs ("The Egg and I" and its three sequels), I have long wished someone would publish a full biography of her life.  There are so many hints in the books that make you want to know more about her, her family, and the places she lived in Washington State.  When I heard that this biography was in the making, I awaited it eagerly -- and it did not disappoint me!  What a wonderful book.  Becker is a lively, eloquent writer (the book is worth the purchase if only for Becker's delightful Prologue about how she came to write it) -- and she's an excellent historian, which makes the book a wonderful combination of pithy, meticulously researched facts and very readable narrative.  I read it over the course of three nights, and I am about to start re-reading it.

I especially appreciated the sensitive way Becker balanced telling the truth without compromising the privacy or dignity of surviving members of Betty MacDonald's family -- or of Betty herself, whose real life was of course far more complex and sometimes dark than her humorous memoirs reveal.  Becker's research was prodigious: she uncovered extensive archival materials from a plethora of sources -- including letters and papers from MacDonald's friends and family that had never been made public until now.  And she traveled to every place Betty lived from her birth onward; she visited Betty's former homes, the buildings where her father worked, her schools, the streets and paths she and her family would have followed.

What a vivid portrait Becker paints for us:  of MacDonald's fascinating life, and also of the times and places in which she lived, especially Seattle in the 1920s through the years of World War II.  I highly recommend it!
2070558
Schmidt has written an excellent bio from start to finish.  His writing is organized, clear, and easy to read.  This is a pleasure as so many biographies lack many of these qualities.  A nice selection of photographs.  And most important, a well researched effort with logical and reasonable insight offered and no gossip.

Her story is simply as sad and tragic as they come.  I didn't realize just how tragic until I read this.
3538479
"On Her Trail" is a great read if you have an interest in any of the following: The balance of career and family, The evolution of television network news, The personal insecurity of the famous, Washington high society, LBJ, Women trying to enter the work force in the 50's and 60's, Mother-and-son relationships, Edward R. Murrow and Eric Sevareid, The art of planning dinner parties for the rich and powerful, or The early televising of America's political conventions. John Dickerson's masterful book on his mother Nancy Dickerson, is a hybrid, two-thirds biography (her story), and one-third autobiography (his story of knowing and discovering his mom).

John was born, as he writes, at the beginning of the decline of his mother's career and fame at NBC News. He artfully interweaves a bit of his early life with his mom, especially his discovery of his mother's world, and over time, his gradual realization of the way his mother worked and operated, a subject he knew little about until his research began in earnest after her death in 1997. He discovered in Nancy Dickerson's huge collection of papers many things he had no previous inkling of: Photographs of his mom with Jackie Kennedy, a photo of Nancy dancing with President Johnson, and notes to her from very famous people from an era that is now history. He had no idea growing up that his mom was a regular on the Today Show. He discovered fun little tidbits everywhere, like the story the campaign trail, when Lyndon Johnson visited Nancy late at night in her hotel room in his pajamas for perhaps more than just conversation. (The situation ended before anything happened, and after Lady Bird sent Bill Moyers down the hall to fetch her husband.) This book is filled with stories and insight, and allows the reader to learn more about how Washington operates, how the news business functioned and functions, and how a son gets to really know his mom after she is gone.
1206335
An honest look at what really happened by one of the most educated, qualified and intelligent women of our time.
342671
I found this a very readable biography, and I appreciated learning more about the role her parents (particularly her father) played in her career moves. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse of the inner workings of CNN, NBC, and CBS and their respective anchors. What I concluded from this biography is that Katie's niche is not that of a serious news anchor (possibly her dad's influence to be another Cronkite) but rather something more akin to that of a talk-show host where she can use her particular gifts to the fullest.
4543066
Terry Teachout has done a masterful job in painting a detailed portrait of Louis (pronounced "Lewis") Armstrong. Like many good show-business biographies, "Pops"  draws upon numerous sources, interview subjects, and firsthand accounts of people, places, and events. But Teachout is more than a mere researcher or anthologist. His outstanding skill is the interpretation of this data. He smoothly integrates the many voices heard in the book, and puts Armstrong's life and times into a perspective that is easily accessible. (His 22-page prologue introducing Armstrong is enough to get you hooked on the story: it could easily stand alone as a capsule biography, and sets the tone for the detailed biography that folllows.)

Louis is frequently quoted throughout. Teachout had access to his personal correspondence and hours upon hours of his home-recorded monologues, with the happy result that the narrative is punctuated by candid, pertinent comments from the subject himself.

If you're interested in Louis Armstrong, celebrity biographies, or the history of jazz, "Pops" is recommended very highly.
1909672
An excellent biography on Ms Spears. She has lived quite a lot in her 30-something years. She was fortunate to have caring parents who stepped in when the bottom-feeders were taking advantage of Ms Spears. Her father Jamie, once an unstable alcoholic, became the most stabilizing force in Britney's life. Although well-meaning, I feel Lynne Spears was so caught up in Britney's (and even Jamie Lynn's) celebrity, she didn't realize how the pressure and stress that comes with being a celebrity with was affecting her children. However, both her parents rallied and together were able to stabilize Britney's once chaotic life. She is doing well now, as testament to the care from both her parents and from the people around her who truly care about her well-being. Right now Britney has a successful show in Vegas.
While it would have been tempting to blame both Spears for Britney's problems, the author treats Lynne fairly as he does her father Jamie. Even the people whom he considers "bottom dwellers" are still treated fairly in this book.
1599716
This book was exactly what many star's autobiographies are like-- Self serving, yet entertaining. I could not put this book down, although I wonder if everything Miss O'Hara says is true.. Aside from the needless bashing of Joan Crawford, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball (according to M.O. Desi didn't really want her) and Walt Disney, this book is an interesting look into Hollywood's Golden age by a fiery, and talented actress.

She doesn't hesitate to tell you who she thinks is gay, rude, self absorbed, etc.

I was particularly amused by the way Maureen explained her marriages-- as if she played no part in their demise-- OR THEIR beginning!! And also in the fact that she was so bitter about not receiving top billing for The Parent Trap over H. Mills, who is obviously the star of that film, who cares if she IS a kid? Kudos to Walt Disney for sticking to his guns.

Overall, a great read, I recommend it.
1063986
Margaret Talbot's "The Entertainer" is that rare Hollywood book that manages to mix nostalgia, memoir, social history and biography. A staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, Talbot manages to pull this off in part because she is such a fine writer. But she also combines the skills of a family historian -- this is the story of her father, after all -- with the perspective and insights of an experienced journalist. The result is a book that is informative, engaging, revealing, and at times, very moving. And what material she has to work with! Her actor father Lyle Talbot's career spanned nearly the entire 20th century and he acted in almost every facet of show business from tent theater companies in the old Midwest to Warner Bros. in the '30s, Broadway in the '40s, television in the '50s and '60s and beyond, and back to the stage. The author concentrates on Talbot's early years touring the Midwest and his brush with movie stardom during the Depression working with everyone from Bette Davis to Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple to Mae West. If I have one criticism of the book it's that it races through the latter years of Lyle Talbot's career when he was a ubiquitous presence on television as a character actor of many faces. Throughout the book, his daughter chronicles her father's extraordinary romantic life with actresses, chorus girls and lesser mortals, and his battle with alcohol, before being saved by a much younger fifth wife, Paula, with whom he had 4 remarkable children (three of them are journalists, the fourth a medical doctor). The author grew up as the youngest child listening to her father's stories of his charmed life, and he could not have passed them down to a more gifted chronicler.
1545264
As Debra Monroe charts her coming of age in "My Unsentimental Education," the wider culture is going through an incredible shift: the first real entrance of women into the professional workforce in the U.S during the late 70s and early 80s. She didn't have any women professors during college or graduate school, and yet she became a successful one herself. She didn't have any models for a life beyond small town wife and mother, but she forged her own path and continually claimed and reclaimed her agency. She brushes off the idea that she's a role model, but her tenacity and grace (in her career and in her family life) inspire. With her endless charm and deeply satisfying writing, Monroe details her life and loves and passions while remaining grounded, candid, and avoiding even a hint of sentimentality. Monroe's latest book is an enjoyable, funny, and fascinating read--and one of the best books of any kind I've read in years.
1752559
As a post-WWII baby-boomer, I was quite familiar with Mrs. Schlafly's controversial public life. Regardless of the sour grapes in Beth T's review, this book is an excellent biography of an authentic twentieth century heroine. Both admired and scorned, Mrs. Schlafly lived out her personal convictions with drive and determination.

She put her family first, spending the first 21 years of her marriage establishing a home and personally pre-schooling her six children by teaching each one to read before entering public school. An author and co-author of a number of books and pamphlets, as well as a brilliant organizer and public orator, Mrs. Schlafly accomplished more by 9 a.m. than most people complete in an entire day!

She put herself through college while working a full-time job testing ammo in a wartime factory and later returned to school where she was conferred a law degree. Mrs. Schlafly ran for public office twice, and spearheaded the successful defeat of the ERA, a document she believed to be one of the most pernicious and thoroughly dangerous documents in American history. According to Mrs. Schlafly, time has substantiated her assessment.

Author Carol Felsenthal is to be commended for this outstanding biography. Though her personal feminist ideology opposes Mrs. Schlafly's worldview, she rarely allowed that to show up in this book. That is as amazing as it is commendable.

For those interested in other books featuring Phyllis Schlafly, try "Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism," by Donald T. Critchlow. His book covers Mrs. Schlafly's life from more of an historical and political viewpoint than a strictly biographical perspective.
1634313
I give it 5-stars, but it's interesting to compare this to biographies and see her updates over the years and how her story changes :)
2062517
If you are interested in Diana Vreeland or fashion, you will enjoy this book. For someone who is so famous, not that much exists about Vreeland, which is why I devoured this. The author delves into Vreeland's creation of her own myth as it arose from her unhappy childhood in which she retreated into a dream world of fantasy. As an adult she was fortunate to make a living creating fantasy for others. Having worked in the magazine industry in addition to having a passion for fashion, I couldn't get enough of the details about Diana's work life and career. This author creates a balanced view of her, both embracing her genius for fashion while also acknowledging her shortcomings (as someone who must have been either inspiring or absolutely terrifying to work for, depending on how you got on with her). The author is not sucked into the myths that Diana created about herself and promoted in other writings about her life, but works hard to establish what has truth to it and what doesn't. I was spellbound by the story of her life and, now that I'm older myself, her dealings with aging and being forced out of her job and how she was forced to remake herself at an advanced age. Overall, this is an insightful view behind the oft-repeated legends such as they "Why don't you...." column, the Studio 54 nights and the red-paneled Vogue office to a woman who had some all too human failings, but lived a life that was true to her own unique spirit. As with just about every biography I read, especially one involving art or fashion, my one nitpick is TOO FEW PHOTOS!