Celebrities Books

A very informative book, for finding out information on Stars. The illustrations are excellent, a thumbs up to the illustrator, he should go far with his abilities. Keep up the good drawings.

This is a great book to sit back, relax and read. I found it to be a great stress reliever, and my time passed so quickly as I couldn't put the book down. Hope everyone enjoys this book as I did.

The birthday directory is an amazingly fun and interesting. I found it informative and hard to put down. It's full of interesting tidbit's.I highly recomend it for schools and student's and a must for libary's! It's worth the pick up.

The illustrations in this book are great

Are you one of those people who constantly forgets to send birthday cards to those you love? What about people you don't even know (the famous, near-famous, and infamous)? What about people who no are longer capable of celebrating their birthdays (i.e., the dearly departed--hey, it's the thought that counts). Yes, dates can be tricky to remember, especially if you find calendars and clocks to be offensive. THE BIRTHDAY DIRECTORY is your answer to all of these problems. It includes names, dates, and background information for thousands of people. Athletes, musicians, movie stars (adult and legit), writers, artists, and politicians are just some of the character types you will find between its covers. A large number of strange b&w illustrations have been added to spice things up. Entrees are listed by month, making it easy to see who was born on the same day as you. I was pleased to discover that Abe Vigoda (A.K.A. "Fish") and I share the same birthday. Abe Vigoda!!! Now, that's what I call trivia. Could anyone ask for more?

The Bobbed-Haired Bandit is about a pair of poor newlyweds, Celia and Ed Cooney, who turned to armed robbery to better their lot, sriking terror in the hearts of Brooklyn grocers in 1924. The competitive New York City tabloid press turned the girl desperado into a media darling, an anti-heroine for the age - Jesse James, in a flapper dress.

The authors - both of whom are historians and "scholars of the media" - stumbled across the story by accident:

"Digging through yellowed clippings in a scrapbook at the New York State Library in Albany, we came across a criminal with an intriguing moniker: the Bobbed Haired Bandit. With so much type set on her behalf, she was hard to miss. There were hundreds of articles about her, none of them all true."

But these two fellows knew a good story when they saw one, and like me they have a fine appreciation for the rich vernacular of old journalism. They don't write headlines like these any more.

NEW GIRL BANDIT, A BLONDE,

HELPS KIDNAP TRUCKLOAD OF

SUGAR: TWITS CHAUFFEUR

***

BEWARE THE BOBS

***

DEPREDATIONS BY GIRL ROBBER

AND MAN COMPANION ROUSE

POLICE OFFICIALS TO ACTION

***

FORGET SEX - SHOOT !

Now tell me the last time you saw a word like "depredation" in a headline. Or "twit" as a verb. I love it!

Now back to the story. So this young lady and her man go on a tear, robbing store after store, making the police "look like brass monkeys almost every time the sun went down," in the lady's own words. The journalists of New York gave her the front page day after day, while the crimes of other, more ordinary folk were "passed over unnoticed" (Brooklyn Eagle). The lady robber became a blank canvas, and journalists threw lots of ink on her.

The authors did something interesting with all these old clippings, using newspaper articles from elsewhere in the same papers to explore other themes in the life of the city at the time, from the impact of Prohibition, the changing roles of women, on down to the weather reports to flesh out the full story of the "naughty scamp," to try to explain why she became the media phenomenon she was.

Then, like the Younger Brothers before them, the Cooneys attempted a poorly planned daylight robbery, and it was their downfall. Though they tried to flee, they were caught and returned to New York for a triumphant homecoming.

It turns out the journalists liked her story a lot more before she had a name. Before she had a poor childhood. Before the truth of what she was negated a lot of the coverage of her crime spree. In an extraordinary editorial, the influential newspaperman Water Lippmann had this to say about Cecilia Cooney:

"For some months now we have been vastly entertained by the bobbed-haired bandit. Knowing nothing about her, we created a perfect story standardized according to the rules laid down by the movies and the short story magazines. The story had, as the press agents say, everything. It had a flapper and a bandit who baffled the police; it had sex and money, crime and mystery. And then yesterday we read in the probation officer's report the story of Cecilia Cooney's life. It was not the least bit entertaining...."



Even after she was caught, and, along with her husband, sentenced to prison, Mrs. Cooney continued to be a blank slate on which various parties wrote rants. But these biographers don't let the story spin off into a sidebar. The last couple of chapters tell the rest of the tale of the bandit and companion, and by that point, she's visible as a flesh and blood person through the headlines, a heart and mind in addition to a journalism phenomenon. As the authors remark --

"Reading these stories... not only tells us how certain individuals and specific events were understood at the time but also reveals how the past is remembered and reminds us how history is made... "the record" of the past is documented mostly by the commercial mass media, which subject the events to a filtering of fact and fancy based on standards of popularity and profitability. For what mattered most to the newspapers of New York City in the Twenties is the same thing that ... [matters to] book publishers of today: telling, and selling, a good story."

And ain't that a final truth.

Celia Cooney, most celebrated as the "Bobbed-Haired Bandit" of the Twenties, comes vividly to life in this scholarly yet entertaining exploration of her brief life of crime and celebrity, with emphasis on the celebrity. Both Celia's own recognition of her fame and the multifaceted interpretations of it by police, press, and the public make for fascinating reading. Her duel persona as the aspiring flapper and expectant mother who joins her husband on holdups to make ends meet makes for one of the more compelling crime stories of the Jazz Age. Her later life, concealing her criminal past while raising her sons who knew nothing of it, presents a striking contrast to the young lady bandit who publicly gloried in her exploits. The photos are equally intriguing and belie the image of the dangerous gunwoman, especially when tiny, harmless-looking Celia is standing alongside husband Ed. And there are plenty of absolutely classic old crime cartoons from New York newspapers. Alternately funny, shocking, touching, and harrowing, this is one of the best historical crime books I've read in a while.

The Bobbed Haired Bandit by Stephen Duncombe and Andrew Mattson tells the story of Celia and Ed Cooney in 1920s New York. Newlyweds and newly pregnant, Ed and Celia decide to rob some convenience stores to try and make a better life for themselves. Because Celia has bobbed hair, flapper style, the story of their robberies quickly grab the attention of the newspapers and soon the police. The Cooneys find that the stolen money doesn't last long and after a succession of several small hold-ups, flee to Florida only to be captured shortly after the death of their newborn daughter. The authors spend a great deal of time in the beginning of the book discussing the sociological implications of Celia's celebrity, but they can't seem to decide on what exactly the public's obsession with her meant. Much ink is also given to the personal histories of the cops chasing them, but they detract from the real story of Celia. Perhaps one of the most captivating details is that Celia's sons didn't find out about their mother until she had passed away. Celia Cooney was a woman of mystery to the papers in the 1920s and remained one in her life, even to her family. Now there's a story.

The 1920s was a decade when few major metropolitan newspapers didn't have National Enquirer style headlines every day. Renegade women were a fixture in these potboiler stories: Katherine Malm, a.k.a. the "Tiger Woman" and lethal flapper Wanda Stopa titillated Chicagoans, and in New York, a tough little laundress named Celia Cooney was determined to burst through the economic barrier between the Haves and the Have-Nots.

Stephen Duncombe and Andrew Mattson have written the type of book I love: an intelligent re-examination of a now-forgotten media sensation. Celia Cooney and her husband, Ed, embarked on a brazen robbery spree after money worries galvanized them out of anxiety and into action. That's the simplified version. Seen from a broader perspective, the Cooneys' crimes provided an impetus for politicians and the public to argue their views on touchy political and social issues, such as consumerism, attitudes toward the poor, and women's liberation. While telling the story of Ed and Celia Cooney, Duncombe and Mattson also expose the ambivalent feelings that the New York public of the 1920s had toward social progress and change.

The authors did an especially good job of capturing Celia's spunky personality, and showing how it kept her spirits up from her degraded childhood right into her feisty old age. Well done.

This book is a historically accurate, compassionate and insightful look at a fascinating couple who committed robberies in 1923-24. She was pregnant and fashionable and he was the mastermind. Together, they set both the Police Department and the population of NYC on their ears. They were fast, gutsy and a little desperate.

The real story to me is one of triumph over adversity. Not only did "the Bandit" overcome a tragic childhood to become a strong, compassionate, fiercely loyal and independent woman, but she became a tax-paying, law-abiding citizen after her jail time. After her husband's death, she raised two boys on her own through the Depression and World War 2. She is a wonderful example of how it is possible to move past our negative histories and ethical blunders.

I should know - she was my grandmother.

SINCE I STARTED USING "THE CELEBRITY ADDRESS HANDBOOK" I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING AUTOGRAPHS THROUGH THE MAIL. THE MOST NOTABLE AUTOGRAPHS I HAVE RECEIVED ARE: WILLIAM RENQUIST-SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE, GENERAL COLIN POWELL, BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER PHIL RIZZUTO AND ASTRONAUT NEIL ARMSTRONG. "THE CELEBRITY ADDRESS HANDBOOK" IS THE MOST UP-TO-DATE AND BEST REFERENCE ADDRESS BOOK I HAVE SEEN. THE HANDBOOK ALSO HAS A Q&A SECTION THAT IS USEFUL. THANKS TO "THE CELEBRITY ADDRESS HANDBOOK"

COMPARED TO ALL THE ADDRESS BOOKS I'V SEEN, "THE CELEBRITY ADDRESS HANDBOOK" IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE OUT THERE TODAY. I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE WHO WANTS THE ENTIRE FIELD OF CELEBRITIES TO GET "THE CELEBRITY ADDRESS HANDBOOK."

I just received the 3rd edition of "The Celebrity Address Handbook" and I'm amazed. I was looking to take a vacation with autograph collecting on the agenda and I found it in this book. The book lists the NFL training camps and gives the scoop on how to get autographs at these camps. I'm in the planning stage now and I'm looking at how many camps I can see in the California area. Thanks to "The Celebrity Address Handbook"

The way I see it, you can collect autographs one of three ways. You can collect through the mail, in-person or from a dealer. "The Celebrity Address Handbook" explains how to do all three. It has tons of celebrity addresses, a calendar of events for in-person collecting and a complete list of dealers in the U.S. I'm going to try all three ways!!

I've seen a lot of celebrity address books and this one is the most complete. Other celebrity address books list the name alphabetically."The Celebrity Address Handbook" not only list the name alphabetically, but it groups the name and address by the category of what the celebrity is known for. I like this feature because it helps put a name to a face that I remember. "The Celebrity Address Handbook" also contains a lot of names in business, science and politics that you don't see in other celebrity address books. I give "The Celebrity Address Handbook" two thumbs up!

...but an interesting compliment to other more scholarly works about Glenn Miller. This book is a light hearted "vox-pop" with snapshots of the times through the medium of reports, posters, advertisements of the time, with short reminisences of key people who were there and glued together with enough about Glenn Miller to give it substance and relavence.

This is a great book for fans of the Glenn Miller Orchesta. Richard Grudens gives the reader an inside look at one of American's musical institutions. The music of the Miller Orchestra literary jumps out at you, as you turn the pages. So put on a Glenn Miller album, sit in your favorite chair and relive the era with Richard Grudens. Like smoking a Chesterfield, you'll be satisfied!!!

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Glenn Miller's life, and the 60th anniversary of his disappearance over the English Channel, music biographer Richard Grudens presents Chattanooga Choo Choo: The Life And Times Of The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, a collection of true stories, interviews, over 150 black-and-white photographs, and more all presenting the successes, failurs, ups and downs of the most popular musical organization in the American history of show business. Following Miller's legendary career up to his tragic loss, and then going on to relate viewpoints and stories from many associated musicians, songwriters, arrangers, vocalists, and so much more, Chattanooga Choo Choo is packed cover to cover with facts, trivia, and insider perspectives. A gracious foreward by Kathryn Crosby rounds out this quality legacy highly recommended for fans of Glenn Miller's longstanding contribution to orchestra.

I am a Glenn Miller enthusiast and I absolutely adore this book. It exemplifies what a biography should be. It straight to the point and all the facts are present. If you want to learn about Glenn Miller, then this must be the book you get a hold of. An absolute MUST READ !!

His success did not occur overnight. There were major setbacks along the way and at times Glenn Miller wondered if he would ever find "his sound". But in the spring of 1939 it finally happened! Glenn Miller and his Orchestra exploded onto the scene with appearances at the Meadowbrook in New Jersey and at the legendary Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY. Almost overnight they became a cultural phenomenon. In a book that took nearly five years to put together, Richard Grudens has gone to great lengths to recreate the flavor of that Golden Era. Wonderfully written (in nice large print) and generously sprinkled with dozens of fascinating photographs, "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a must read for anyone who is a fan of or is curious about the Big Band Era. Grudens discusses the history of the Miller outfit from all kinds of different perspectives. In the course of writing this book the author interviewed musicians from the original Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as some of the vocalists and arrangers from those golden days. There are also memories from booking agents, record company executives and disc jockeys. Read transcripts from "live" radio broadcasts and enjoy many recollections of the two movies the band appeared in. And then there is speculation over what really might have happened to Capt. Glenn Miller on December 15, 1944.
But fortunately the story did not end on that fateful night. The Glenn Miller Orchestra, using all of Glenn's original charts, was reorganized in 1956. It continues to this day under the direction of Larry O'Brien. Grudens brings us up to date with information on the members of the current orchestra. Quite coincidentally, my wife and I were able to catch a performance of the Glenn Miller Orchestra this past weekend. It was an absolute joy to see them and much to my surprise there were a lot of youngsters in the audience. I was even able to get my copy of this book autographed by featured vocalists Julia Rich and Nick Hilscher. Order your copy of this book through amazon.com or by calling PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000.

I love this book! Great as a gift or just to feast your eyes on celebrities. Top Quality Book - and I know what's sexy! - Kristy Welsh, Author of "Good Credit is Sexy"

though some of the featured celebrities weren't on my "sexy" list, they were presented very well and the photography was high quality. entertaining and creative shots, worth the price if not just for the alice in wonderland shot of drew barrymore on the first page. also includes some random text; very intelligent, provocative and fun. i keep this book out for frequent viewing.

Actually, I have two favorite celebrity photography books: this one and Rolling Stone: Photographers. I am an avid autograph collector; so, I use these books whenever I hear about a celebrity being in the area. At the moment, I have this book signed by Denis Leary and Stephen Dorf..with more to come, I hope. About the only photograph I didn't like was the two-pager of Alicia Silverstone. It doesn't really look like her. This is definitely a great book to have on the coffee table for company while you're still getting ready. :)

I cannot remember ever seeing a book of photography as filled with fun as this collection of images from Us Magazine. The humor is solid and clean, something that comedians have a hard time duplicating. The book is greatly enhanced by the special genius of Mark Seliger for this type of work.

Before going further, let me caution you that some images are of partially undressed women that would earn this material an R rating (on the soft side) if it were contained in a motion picture.

The photographs are reproduced in both color and black-and-white. The reproduction quality is very high, and the editors have chosen well where to use two-page spreads and where not to. Although not every image displays good-humored fun, about two-thirds of them do. The book probably would have worked even better if every image had followed that theme. In most cases, the image itself is a happy one that also contains a joke about the celebrity involved . . . creating two ways to have a fun with the image.

Here are my favorite images in the book:

Drew Barrymore (cover shot) holding boxing globes up as a visual bra as she stands in a sparring pose in a boxing ring by Mark Seliger;

Elizabeth Shue nude holding a dog by Mark Seliger;

Patrick Swayze in a slip by Mary Ellen Mark;

Emma Thompson undressed but covered by the bottom of a stage curtain wrapped around her by Neil Davenport;

A puckish looking Hugh Grant by Jon Ragel;

Kato Kaelin in a swimming pool that magnifies the size of his torso by Mary Ellen Mark;

Jodie Foster laughing by Mark Seliger;

Ashley Judd as Marilyn Monroe wrapped in a sheet in bed by Mark Seliger;

Jason Priestley as an urban cowboy tough guy by Lance Staedler;

Whoopi Goldberg looking alarmed by Mark Seliger;

Helen Hunt half-wearing a man's white shirt with a wistful smile by Mark Seliger;

Sharon Stone looking like a 40's pinup or a 50's Playboy model with lots of fluff by Andrew MacPherson;

Julie Louis-Dreyfus spitting water like a fountain statue by Jon Ragel;

Garry Shandling seriously sitting in business attire in front of a burning desk he cannot see behind him by Mark Seliger;

Leonardo DiCaprio thinking in mismatched, outrageous clothing by Mark Seliger;

Kennedy wearing a veil, and using an arm and a hand to create modesty over an otherwise nude body in a take-off on the classic ways to pose nude women without being too revealing by Mark Seliger;

Smiling Rosie Perez by Dewey Nicks;

Sting in a bathtub with rubber duckies by Max Vadukul;

Siegfried and Roy doing an illusion by Mark Seliger;

Juliette Lewis featuring her face and the soles of her feet by Peggy Sirota;

Smiling Lisa Kudrow by Davis Factor;

Matthew Perry by Andrew D. Berstein;

Gamine-like Sandra Bullock by Kate Garner;

a funny, foreshortened Paul Hartman by Mark Seliger; and

David Schwimmer curtseying in a t-shirt and khakis.

"You are a vision of nowness" is the description of this book written inside. I personally found the images more timeless than that. You get a sense of what is universally appealing at all times and to almost all people.

After looking at these happy images, think about the ways that fun appeals to your better nature. How can you experience that kind of fun more often? How can you surround yourself with an environment that teems with such fun? How can you extend and share that fun with others?

Have a great giggle . . . as often as possible!

In this book, there are lots of pictures of celebrities. There is also a selection of quotes from celebrities. It is worth the money.

Did you read or get this book? Well my God what are you all waiting for!

I have never ever seen such intense research put into an Elvis book before in my life .. and this is just the early volume!

This book is worth not only the great photos but for the impressive family tree and lineage that was done on Elvis and his family. I mean did you know that Elvis' family tree was traced back to Denmark to the 1595? I sure didnt, until now.

I am now going to hold Elvis trivia contests with all my Elvis friends and fan club members ... This book is remarkable. that is all I can say.

Jim once again, a super book. And your assistant did a super job with her research! You guys actually proved a lot of "so-called experts" wrong!

Another must book for the Elvis fan!

This book should get an award just for the research that was done in putting this book together. This team of Jim and Renata is the best ever in the Elvis world. Just wonderful, wonderful information is PACKED into this little book! You would think its a mini encyclopedia with how much writing is involved in this book!

If this book, the early years, is this great; I can't wait for the next volumes!

I personally thought that was no other information that could be FOUND on Elvis, but I was wrong. I think Jim and Renata truly pinpointed Elvis' family tree to a T ..... I can't find fault in it. Everything seems to fit and make sense. Not even Elvis' family members got things as right! So what does that mean to us? THE PERFECT INFORMATIVE BOOK!

Thanks a million!

Ok. While on the road, I used this book to conduct trivia contests. The guys I am with, are Elvis fans and they always try to prove that they know Elvis more than I. So this book put an end to that!

But I will say this: I TOO WAS WRONG on many occasions! I never knew 50-60% of the information that was listed in this book -- and I thought I knew a LOT! So this is an educational book beyond any Elvis fans' expections or knowledge!

I think this will soon become an Elvis Bible to the fans and Elvis world - if it's not already!

Remarkable from the first page to the last!

What struck me about this book was the beautiful and clean art deco cover. What a gorgeous cover! And what fun it is to look at.

I bought it along with Christmas with Elvis by the same author. Never knew about anyone making a Christmas book with Elvis! So I was thrilled about that!

Anyway I took this book home, and to keep it short: I have so far read it 3 times from cover to cover! That is how enticing this book is. Never had I thought possible that anyone could trace Elvis' family history back that far as did Mr. Curtin. Because Graceland still has the OLD information that Elvis came from Scotland and Andrew Pressley! My goodness Mr. Curtin goes back much much farther. What an important addition Mr. Curtin is to the Elvis world. He is the key to the lock on the Elvis Presley that no one dares to write about: THE GOOD MAN!

Thank you Mr. Curtin for showing class in authoring a beautiful book on Elvis. And thank you for all your extremely hard work in finding out all this information on Elvis and for sharing it with us fans. God Bless you and much continued success.

I AM NOW TYPING IN CAPITALS!

JUST READ THIS BOOK AND I WILL SAY THIS : I AM AMAZED AT JIM CURTIN AND HIS WRITER FOR WHAT, AND HOW MUCH THEY RESEARCHED ON ELVIS.

SO WITH THIS REVIEW I AM GETTING ON MY KNEES AND THANKING GOD NOT ONLY FOR GIFTING THIS WORLD WITH ELVIS, BUT FOR GIFTING THE ELVIS WORLD WITH JIM CURTIN! (and lets not forget Renata)

THANK YOU .... THANK YOU .... THANK YOU .... THANKYOUVERYMUCH!

I bought this book for my 19 year old son. He had heard about it and now is always quoting things from it. He found it very,very intersting!

This book is an fascinating and entertaining peek into the real people we see on the big screen. The interviews are brief, one page each, and that is good and bad. Good because it can be read in short bites, bad because it leaves the reader wanting more. The "stars" are people too. This is a glimpse into who they are.

Have always enjoyed "The Meaning of Life" page on Esquire - and to see a large collection of these - and many that i've missed - in one book is just great!

So many different popular characters and personalities and interesting views on the ways of life.

I found this book very interesting. I found out a lot about people that I liked and learned about new ones as well. Very good book, light reading and fun. Highly recommend.

Opinions on some of life's most talked about subjects from past and present; writers, painters, musicians, politicians, actors, etc.... great stories and insightful views on religion, sex, faith, gender differences, relationships, etc..... easy to read and very witty. If your interested in what shapes extraordinary people into who they are then this book is for you. I loved it from the first page. I read this book from start to finish in one sitting. Thats a first.

This collection is truly amazing. To present the lives and careers of 70 famous Americans in such an innovative fashion is a remarkable achievement. The reason it works so well is, I feel, the brevity of the resume. The reader will learn quite a lot in just the few moments it takes to go over the entry. My two favorites are Isadora Duncan and Johnny Appleseed. And the introduction! Did that really happen? Someone should get ahold of Timothy Doe and find out.

I stumbled upon this book quite by accident while researching some biographical information at my local library. To make a long story very short, I ended up spending about two hours with it. It's absolutely fascinating. The author has created a fictional setting for the presentation of these (ostensibly) historically significant documents, and although the introduction may stretch the truth a bit, I find the resumes themselves to be accurate. To sum up, this book is well worth adding to your library. And the potential for future volumes is enormous!

This (I assume) fictional collection of brief resumes of about 70 famous people from American history works on many levels. Although it doesn't deliver in-depth or complete biographies, it gives the reader enough tidbits of information to invite further research. I didn't know Paul Robeson had such an illustrious academic career, for example. Also, I'm a serious B. Traven (Treasure of the Sierra Madre, et. al.) fan, and there's a photo in this book that is said to be him. I don't know if it's real or not, but if it is, it is a significant find. If anyone knows how to get in touch with the author, please make an entry in this review section so I can contact him. There's a lot to be said about a book that can be informative, fun, and educational at the same time. Buy it!

As I have living in Madrid for many years but most enjoy the lives of famous Americans from the days of the Old West such as Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley and many others it was with great joy my cousin sends me this book from Los Angeles, California. I have learned much about these wonderful Western history people as well as many others such as Quanah Parker and Woody Guthrie and Carry Nation and so many others. Everyone could gain and benefit from this book. I will buy two more to make for presents for good friends who enjoy reading.

My friend showed me this book at school when we were learning about the poet Emily Dickinson. I didn't know she was such a good poet and now I have more of her books of poetry. It also has Edgar Alan Poe who was a great poet also. My favorite poem of Edgar Alan Poe is Annabell Lee.

There are also some Indians in this book that everyone should read about. Geronimo and Sitting Bull and Qwanna Parker are good ones to learn about. Qwanna Parker did not let the white people steal the land from his people. He was very brave and everyon should learn about him.

There are lots of other intersting people from history who I have liked to learn about and and the pictures of them are very good.

Mickey Cohen certainly was a product of his time. Edward G. Robinson only played LITTLE CAESAR on screen, Cohen was the real thing. He was made to measure for dominating the crime in and around Hollywood. From fixing prize fights and horse races to shaking down movie stars and politicians.
Then there are the six murders that he freely admits to, not counting all those he doesn't own up to. Still, ask any waiter, car hop or bell boy and they're all tell you what a great guy he was -or rather a great tipper.

Mickey Cohen fitted right in with LA. His exploits commanded the front pages and gossip columns of the day. Brad Lewis' book is well researched, but for me not all the loose ends were tied together. Cohen's relationships with his bosses -the mob, are detailed better in Gus Russo's book SUPERMOB.

I liked this fascinating story of a criminal who didn't believe he was one. Before this very little was known about Mickey Cohen. I found the design descriptions of the night clubs and Cohen's houses and apartments very interesting. This underwold figure was made real, human, and surprisingly likeable. Each chapter revealed another intriguing facet of his life. Highly recommended. It is unusual for a history/biography to be such a fun read.

This is a firts bio of Mickey Cohen but it's much more and in fact covers a whole period in Mafia history centered on the West Coast. Made lively by hundreds of anecdotes, this book is very satisfying and fills a huge gap in the known history of the Jewish Mob, its political and business ramifications and the incredible reach of some of its memebers. From Bugsy Siegel to the rat Pack: all the Hollywood "gangs" are shown here and Mickey was almost like a puppet master pulling strings! A must read.

This book supplies a missing biography of one of the most colorful mobsters from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Gosh, he knew everyone and had the strangest collection of friends. There is some good stuff in here about how the mob worked with the politicians, plus a great history of the Sunset Strip and the old clubs. I really enjoyed it. It should be in everyone's collection. It also tells how it was like to grow up poor in the Jewish communities like Brooklyn and Boyle Heights in California. It's a great read for fans of Las Vegas, too. I never knew how corrupt Los Angeles was, and how the movie people worked with the Jewish mafia and the Italians. Anyone interested in True Crime or historical biographies will really enjoy this.

A comprehensive, thorough expose of the early Mafia days of New York, Hollywood, and Las Vegas. A fascinating read!

The name and life work of Dana Ullman, MPH, should be familiar to practitioners of homeopathy around the world, and especially in the English speaking world. Indeed, in America, his name and service to homeopathy is certainly well known to every practitioner and to many grateful laypersons who rely upon the resources he offers them. His justified fame comes not only through the publication of his own fine books, but perhaps even more actively through his dedicated directorship of the Homeopathic Educational Services, based in California but accessible to the world by mailorder and online. I daresay most American students and practitioners of homeopathy could hardly survive without this well-established, reliable, and highly respected comprehensive source of books, media and software and publications focussed on homeopathy. Through the resources of the Homeopathic Educational Services and his popular books, I believe Ullman has done more to educate, inform and thereby advance homeopathy in the United States than any other single individual. As such, any new book by Ullman is well worth the attention of the practitioner or anyone interested in this fascinating branch of healing, experiencing a rebirth in the 21st century--to a significant extent, midwifed in America by Ullman. His latest work, The Homeopathic Revolution (North Atlantic Press), provides a rich source of historical information on the source and rocky road of homeopathy by tracing its history and with brief biographies of its pioneers and patients.

The Homeopathic Revolution through its highly readable text and uniquely appealing approach can be very valuable indeed for opening some
minds which might very well be more influenced by the personalities and famous exemplars from the history of literature, the arts and sciences and entertainment since the advent of homoepathy in the early 19th century through the present.
In an age of Media where fascination with the personalities of the public world, there is a particular attraction to the use of the famous as exemplars, including the wide spectrum of those offered by the book, i.e., the many special and
admired people who have been documented as devotees of homeopathy. The devotees of those devotees will certainly have their
minds opened by the examples set. Although more detailed history within a broader historical setting may be found in Coulter's multi-volume history,
Ullman's book provides something rather different in spite of the inevitable overlaps in historical material....and considerably more entertainment through the fascination of an historical play and its players.

There will probably be rather fewer serendipitous surprises for readers already familiar with homeopathy's history through Coulter, & al, in discovering celebrities of the past and accounting for homeopathy's struggle for survival, than for someone more or less unfamiliar with homeopathy's struggle for recognition and survival. However, the struggle of homeopathy to achieve and maintain its unique approach is an heroic one, on the grand scale and worthy of more historical/personal treatments which characterize Ullman's book....especially given the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of celebrity worship and the cult of the personality in our media-influenced society. But I do not mean to suggest that this is merely a tantalizing read, with homeopaths as heroes: the book should prove a powerful raiser of consciousness among readers who might not otherwise give homeopathic treatment a try, influenced by its popularity among the great and famous.


From other perspectives, the book offers interesting insights and syntheses of the historical, biographical and scientific. For example, of fascinating interest is the repeated presence and reference to the great 19th century naturalist whose theories of evolution and the origin of species through natural selection also constituted a revolution, viz., Charles Darwin. I found the Darwin's appearances in the story especially relevant in an account of the origin of homeopathy and its descent in man and the survival of the fittest....i.e., in the evolution of medicine. Homeopathy appeared and gained its place in medicine at a time when allopathic medicine offered little in the way of effective treatments for most diseases and was making real progress only in the mechanics of surgery and sanitation. Once allopathic medicine found itself threatened and hired a PR expert to promote itself and discredit its more effective competition, the historical equivalent to Darwin's concept of mutation (here in the form of the Madison Avenue approach to conditioning a population regarding choice of medical care), homeopathy faltered and almost disappeared into extinction. Yet, it survived and I am reminded that although the incredibly powerful and once dominant dinosaurs are today apparently extinct and so one might not think "fit" enough to survive, it is also clear that the dinosaurs actually do survive everywhere on earth as birds. That is, their survivors adapted to fresh forms to preserve their unique genus and genius.....which is what I believe happened, and is happening, to homeopathy. Far from becoming extinct, it is surviving, not only reappearing in its classical forms far from its birthplace (e.g., in India, a land with a history for tolerance of diversity in thought) but in new forms (e.g., complex homeopathy, EAV and vegatesting, &c).

For myself, reading through the book felt like a guided tour through a wax museum of homeopathic history, a Mme. Tussaud's of the Similimum, pausing at each of the bigger than life statues as Ullman profiled the intriguing personalities who populate the history of homeopathy and thereby define it in a personal way. It is an impressive cast of characters in the saga: US Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton, Benjamin Disraeli, numerous Indian political and religious leaders in particular (India, to its great credit, seeming to be the land of the Second Coming of homeopathy), many famous females, e.g., in medicine, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, in civil rights Susan B. Anthony,and Louisa May Alcott and fellow literary luminaries such as Mark Twain... and a stellar cast of 19th century authors. Perhaps even more impressive than the more traditionally open-minded masters of arts, are homeopathic partisans among plutocrats like J.D.Rockefeller, many monarchs including, most famously, the present Queen of England and Prince of Wales, And as for musicians, actors, athletes and other entertainers, I feel hopeless to know where to begin listing the superstars who depend upon homeopathic treatment. Ullman skillfully weaves literary references to homeopathy with historical excerpts to humanize the generations of some of the cream of human creativity and productivity who respected or depended upon homeopathy for their health. Of course, many physicians appear in the account, most of their names unknown to the layperson, but influential both in the progress and preservation of homeopathy...as well as in its defamation by the public relations office of the American Medical Association, whose outlandish melodramatic antics (including outright blackmail) beggar belief.


As an alternative medical therapy, homeopathy is about people, after all. With a few exceptions, since most new books about homeopathy are about technical praxis or theory, I had to keep reminding myself of this personal slant-- that homeopathy is also a history which reflects the vagaries of the human personnae. However, since I myself admittedly have a theoretical bias, the following comments address that orientation:

I especially appreciated how larger, important issues of society seem to
naturally arise in the narrative --e.g., the account of the
relationship of feminism to homeopathy, a correlation which has long
fascinated me as a reflection of a powerful, arguably essentially feminine,
energy in homeopathy insofar as it is a gentle, relatively
nonintrusive and nurturing form of therapy compared to the more
aggressive allopathic interventions.
other issues which i have always found interesting in homeopathy
which are integrated in the saga, address include the notable presence and influence of
Swedengorgian ideas. the fundamental commonality of swedenborg's
cosmology to certain asian metaphysics has also struck me--e.g.,
jainism. both Swedenborg and the Jains perceived the universe
metaphysically as a macrocosmic physiology. other asian philosophies
are also compatible with homeopathic concepts. for instance, the
basic meditation methods advocated in early buddhism (and still
practiced more than 2500 years later) include a visualization of the
pathological counterparts to desire and attachment, which along with
a fundamental delusion about the materiality of the ego, constitute
the source of suffering. such meditations (e.g., charnal ground
meditations, &c) are essentially homeopathic in their psychodynamics.

Related to such western (e.g., Swedenborg) and asiatic (e.g.,
Jainism, Buddhism from Theravada to Dzogchen) spirituality is,
increasingly, Dr Rajan Sankaran's evolving and innovative theoretics: his
conceptualization of the alien (and alienating) , nonhuman realms of
the vegetable, mineral and nonhuman animal kingdoms as energetic
pathological entities, also resonates with ideas in all three
paradigms (e.g., the jains believe that animals, vegetables and even
minerals are sentient, accumulators of pathogenic karma, &c. likewise
the realms of rebirth which karma propels human beings according to
their conduct, also include the same kingdoms which materialize
energy on earth and which can be diagnostically identified in
sankaran's theory of sensations.(interestingly, the old title given
to psychoanalysts of "alienist" would seem to better apply to
homeopaths using Sankaran's diagnostic criteria for locating the
remedy in the alien energy present in the patient. )

fFr me, the crucial key is the understanding and finding homeopathy
credible is to embrace the concept that homeopathy functions
essentially nonmaterially. this concept is the least palatable and
digestible to conventional allopathic thinking because of its belief
that the human being is a material being. buddhism, in particular,
clarifies the nonmaterial nature of human beings, that its apparent
corporeality or materiality is the fundamental delusion in the
aetiology of suffering (whether it is experienced physically or
psychically). for anyone who accepts this metaphysical model (e.g.,
me), the concept of the treatment with nonmaterial remedies of
essentially nonmaterial suffering in essentially nonmaterial humans
makes profoundly perfect sense...

(By the way, if the reader has not already read it, may i suggest you
Prof. B. Alan Wallace's excellent book, Choosing Reality? If
the readers of this review are unfamiliar with Wallace, he was trained as a physicist but became a Buddhist monk. a translator for the dalai lama and now a
professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Wallace's book analyzes the so-called "scientific method" (is it really scientific) which allopaths claim to employ and compare it with other valid means to knowledge. The "weakness" of homeopathy being "tested"
by inappropriate methodology more suited to allopathy, and found wanting, can be better understood by the insights of this brief but invaluable study of the assumptions and intellectual monopoly of the so-called scientific method.
Although I do not recall that it mentions homeopathy or even medicine
particularly, I found this slim volume to be one of the best
catalysts for opening the mind to unfamiliar, if not unorthodox paradigms.
(it is readily available, in print by Snow Lion press).

From these contemplative digressions inspired by the thought provoking contents of Ullman's The Homeopathic Revolution, one can perhaps get a sense of
how inspiring of integrative and connective thought this very
enjoyable book was.... and, for me, that is the highest praise of
an book, being, for me, the most important potential of any work of
art, including literary (even when nonfictional) is to invite,
catalyze and inspire the participation of the creative imagination
of its audience, and so inspire synthesizing gestalts to be created
by making the insightful connections which unify knowledge and inspire as the antecedents of wisdom.

Prof. Neal White

-30-
(About the author of the review: Dr Neal White is Emeritus Professor of San Francisco State University, where he taught for 25 years. He is a complementary medical practitioner, whose practice includes not only homeopathy, but also a variety of acupuncture paradigms, herbalism, etc. He is supposed to be retired, but continues his work in the healing and visual arts in Nova Scotia, Canada.

This book is amazing. Homeopathy is the second most widely practised form of medical care in the world (says WHO) , and yet conventional or 'allopathic' medicine so often pours scorn upon homeopathy. Here is a well written book of praise from Dana Ullman who cites such a range of people using it from a Pope to the Lubavicher Rebbe, from Beethoven to David Beckham the footballer, presidents and kings and queens. Marki Twain, Louisa May Alcott, William James .... This is an unconventional book about a non conventional system of medicine. I hope it provokes a revolution and helps bring homeopathy out from the cold. These well known famous people whose names Dana eloquently drops, have all been cured of some dreadful disease. The book is an easy read as each chapter tells another short story about writers, musicians, politicians and other cultural heroes. This sort of medical history is fun.

This book is really great. Even if you have never tried homeopathy (and so hate it) this book is going to pry your mind open. All the biographies of famous people who use homeopathy not only gives one courage to try it but also backs you up when your friends tell you using homeopathys is for weirdos. Is Tina Turner a weirdo?
Beyond the bios are some really thought provoking pieces about the pharmaceutical industry like Why Homeopaths are Hated and Vilified. Too, the chapter on water and its capacity for memory is most timely in science today. It consider it a MUST READ for 2008

If you have ever wanted to try homeopathy, but weren't sure what it is, or thought your doctor would laugh at you, read this book and learn more about it, it's history and other famous people who were helped by it. I have found it incredibly useful and fun to use the information in conversations with others about natural health care. Who can scoff at all those well-respected people and their amazing stories?

The first book I ever read about homeopathy--about 16 years ago--was written by Dana Ullmann and it helped me pursue homeopathy for health and as a profession. Thanks for writing this one! It is the start of what homeopathy really needs--famous people advocating its amazing healing powers.

This is a long awaited book by the homeopathic community that supports the effacy of this model of health care. Homeopathy is an energy based medicine that is experienced, effective, and gentle. It was not always easy to practice in the past. With the addition of the computer age and a worldwide network of successful teachers, homeopathy is producing results that outperform every other medical model. This book in the mainstream could revolutionize the health care system in America, as it already does aroung the world.

Dr. Bill Tallmon N.D. Ph.D.