Fascinating joint biographies.
594604
rather turgid prose style but information more than made up for that minus.  Interesting take on George Washington and his relationship with Hamilton.
607635
A fun and interesting read on a major friendship that affected the way we look at the world.
1396774
Fascinating insight into the contrasting lives of these two women.  I am so glad that they found each other in the end.
4425842
Interesting, little known subject. Fascinating biography. Lots of alluring descriptions of phenomenal photos, but skimps on examples.
I wanted to see more images.
1255831
This is a remarkable life  story on several levels: Beyond the inherent interest of a rags-to-riches
story, it also shows several other fascinating life  transformations like 'street-urchin-to-mute-actor-to Algonquin-Round-Table-Member'
and 'vaudevillian-to-post WW1-good-will-ambassador'.  Vividly described friendships with well known writers, artists, musicians, etc. of the early 20th century make this a very enjoyable reading experience.
1789147
Excellent story of two very interesting people told by a nephew.  Their journeys are amazing.  We learn of their lives and experiences through correspondences and the nephew.
1282095
Very interesting treatment of the subject.  The book has copies of her momentoes and it was fun to see the various items.  Not usual biography treatment.  Good book to have in addition to a traditional bio.
4014937
Great cover art, a tour de force to match the quality of the narrative  within.  The "split" personality pictured on the cover is Billy,  nee Dorothy, Tipton, a small-time musician who lived and worked as a man  for over 50 years.
I'm not a big fan of biographies, so it takes a lot  for me to pick one up.  I found Middlebrook's story of Billy so compelling  that it was hard for me to put this biography down until I finished  it.
Middlebrook has been criticized for using too much conjecture, but  she is always scrupulous about letting the reader know when she is doing  just that.  Her exhaustive research about the life of musicians -- and  lesbians -- in the first half of this century allow this conjecture, I  believe, because Billy left very little of herself behind when she died a  decade ago.  A few photos, a few letters, and a number of people who knew  her as either or both Billy and Dorothy survive; Middelbrook builds an  intriguing narrative from these remnants and scraps of Billy's life.  Nonbiog reader that I am, I am now looking forward to reading Middlebrook's  _Anna_Sexton_, too.
A postscript: I thought Middlebrook was very adroit  in using 3rd person pronouns -- he, she -- in such a way as to keep the  reader clear throughout the book on just which side of Billy's psyche and  persona was being described at any given moment in time.
1344235
There are many biographies of interesting people in our past and not a lot of them are written by a direct descendant.  This one has been written by the great grand daughter of a very adventurous man, Jacob A. Westby, a native of Norway who immigrated to the United States in the 1800s. Among other things he was a gold prospector, surveyor, prison warden and close friend of the outlaw Younger brothers who he became acquainted with while he was Deputy Warden of the Stillwater Prison in Minnesota.

This book features very interesting side bars of the writer with personal recollections to enhance the reading of this book.  Jacob Westby had a large family and each of his sons and daughters have a brief history of their lives recounted as well.  There are some interesting photographs from Jacobs past including one of the nice home that he built in Minneapolis, Minnesota that is still standing today.  Cole Younger visited there frequently.
4611535
Lots of facts about their lives. Gives an understanding of the type of person both of them were. Professional successes and personal failings.
3050666
A brilliant, engrossing collection of memories from individuals across all strata of Russian life. Arranged in roughly chronological order, with many of the extracts unearthed and translated here for the first time, this compact (albeit expensive) volume offers a rich, multi-faceted portrait of one of the world's greatest, and most under-appreciated, authors (indeed, we learn, only the works of Shakespeare have been more widely adapted for film).

{As reviewed in&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Russian-Life/dp/B00008CQIB/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Russian Life</a>&nbsp;magazine.}
1939647
The book was more than simply a gathering of separate biographies. It easily flowed from one to another syncing with early American history. I was particularly interested in Jesse James. A descendant of his operates a very nice winery near Paso Robles, California. A very good read.
2852473
My book group read this book along with Sonia Sotomayor's book and it was interesting to see how the lives of these two high-achieving women were alike and not alike. I don't really enjoy reading political autobiographies, but I got some insights from this one (maybe not the insights that were intended) by reading between the lines.
2894179
A fascinating set of linked mini-biographies. This book is at it's best when describing the women; when the spotlight is on Muhammad there is a tone of suppressed condemnation which is distracting. The structure is a bit off-putting at first, as the first 2 chapters seem to cover everyone, but it works well, with subsequent chapters showing new aspects and details of each wife. The writing is uneven, and sometimes the tone is odd, particularly when the author refutes other interpretations. I suspect this is a result of trying to write for the complete outsider while also attempting to rebut established myths. Volume 1 covers the first 5 wives, and feels complete: it is hard for me to imagine another 13, which mainly shows how extraordinary Muhammad's life was.
2727505
This carefully researched and constructed biography of the six Mitford sisters,  Nancy, Pam, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah, and their brother, Tom, is a fascinating look not only of their lives but at the time in which they lived. The reader is drawn into the world of minor British aristocracy and is treated to characters who, although somewhat eccentric at times, seem much like people we know: Parents are well-intentioned if somewhat misled, children are willful and spoiled. Life, however, is frivolous and carefree in an increasingly dangerous and threatening world. It's easy to understand where Nancy got her sense of humor and her ability to write social satire -- it was bred into the bone.
It's also understandable (and not at all uncommon) that the older siblings found some measure of success while the younger ones behaved like the over-indulged, spoiled children they were and never seemed to cease to be.
The reader who remembers (and the student of) the early- and mid-20th century will recognize the famous names that wander through these pages with the infamous family: Aly Khan, Winston Churchill, Katharine Graham, Diana Cooper, Evelyn Waugh and more -- it's a star-studded group of friends, relatives and acquaintances that touch and often seriously influence the lives of the Mitfords.
I loved this book. The story is fascinating and almost surreal as it unfolds through the girls' schooling, debutante years and various adult exploits played against the backdrop of the developing World War and its aftermath. Lovell has done a superb job of presenting the zeigeist of their era and their lives in a readable and entertaining text.
1865475
Fascinating collection of stories and interviews documenting the interactions of interesting spiritual writers, thinkers and leaders with spiritual writer Andrew Harvey.  The theme of the intersection of social activism and spiritual growth is emphasized, but does not dominate every page of the book.
1819500
A well-written, fascinating biography, I think.  The author quotes from interviews with Tony Curtis, some of
his ex-wives, and numerous people who knew him and worked with him. Very detailed about Curtis' life and
career.  The chapter about the making of the film "Some Like It Hot" is especially interesting.  I now want to read
the book that Tony Curtis wrote about the making of that film. ( YouTube has some very interesting video clips of
Tony Curtis being interviewed, by the way.)