Henry Fonda Books

This book is pure pleasure from beginning to end. It feels like returning home to a wonderful, favourite place after a long time away, to find the hearth fires lighted and the lovely, familiar house redolent with the aroma of the evening meal. The musical sound of loved one's voices can be heard in the next room as the fire crackles...This is a warm, intimate visit with Henry Fonda, beginning long before he was famous. It is written by Howard Teichmann, as the stories were shared with him by Henry Fonda. Henry Fonda had always refused requests in past to authourise a biography, but he came to like and trust Mr. Teichmann and they created a beautiful tableau together.

Their collaboration took place during the last two years of Henry Fonda's life. This time period was before, during and following the filming of "On Golden Pond." It covers the early years in New York City, where he shared quarters with Jimmy Stewart and many more people of the same era. It follows him through his career and his personal life and it is an incredibly authentic treatise. It pulls no punches and if you like Henry Fonda before reading his life story, you will never forget him after you read this book!

This is the quintessential biography for Henry Fonda, although, technically it is an autobiography. Whatever name you give it, it is one of my favourite books. There is not another book regarding him that comes close. This is a Winner!!

Since Henry Fonda resisted almost all his life to share his private life with the public, this book of Howard Teichman is probably the one and only book, that helps you getting to know Henry Fonda. You know him from screen and stage, but who is the man behind the actor ? This book tells you not only how he started acting on stage and in movies. It also shows his private life , family life, his personality and how he saw the world. It is simply not to understand, why this book is out of print.

I purchased this for my 17 year old daughter. She has a reading disability and they are reading it in her English class. It has been very helpful to her!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Steinbeck will use a thousand words to paint a picture. He goes overboard with the detail, making it boring by modern standards, encouraging the reader to skip over entire paragraphs. It does, however, paint a very detailed picture of what life must have been like during the depression. His research was quite good. I can just see him wandering around Oklahoma and California with notebook in hand, jotting down endless details to give the book a realistic flavor. One time he used two full pages, and entire Chapter in this case, to describe a turtle crossing the road! The result is an often dull, but educational experience, if that's what you read it for. Most people buy novels for the suspense, because they are page turners. That's modern fiction, geared to readers that spend too much time watching car chases on TV. This book, however, is literary.

One big problem I have with this book is the profanity. Over and over, several times a page at times, Steinbeck take's the Lord's name in vain. I read Christian fiction most of the time so that was a real turnoff. Still, I gave it three stars because it was educational and it gave me a deep appreciation for the blessings God has given me, compared to the plight of the Joad family and so many like them. Maybe if they didn't take God's name in vain so much they would have had an easier time!

For the last few years I've been on a quest to read the one hundred greatest books ever written. Unfortunately I've discovered that there doesn't seem to be any consensus as to which books deserve to be on that list. Out of the three lists I've come upon only two books were even listed more than once ("The Grapes of Wrath", and "Of Mice and Men" both by John Steinbeck), so I've been forced to read as many books as possible from all of the lists to try and compose my own.

Based on the listings I suspected the "The Grapes of Wrath" was going to be a special book so I wanted to own the hardback copy of it, but since it has been out of print for so long I finally broke down and just bought the paperback. Let me just say that this is one of the best novels ever written and certainly will make my final listing. It definitely was deserving of the Nobel prize it received.

Written in 1939 this book captures the story of the Joad family during the Great Depression when thousands of families left their farms in Oklahoma and moved out to California to try to improve their fortunes, only to find sorrow and death waiting for them there.

The story opens with Tom Joad being released from prison on parole for a charge of murder he committed in self defense. He returns home after being away for several years only to find his family packing up and moving away. The crops hadn't been good for several seasons and the banks were foreclosing on the loans. Small farmers were being squeezed out by the big corporations and people were forced to try to find a different profession.

When handbills arrive declaring that there was plenty of work out in California picking crops the people took it as a sign of hope. They sold most of their possessions, packed whatever was left up in a broken down truck and headed west on route 66.

The Joad Family consisting of fourteen people and friends plus one dog, along with all of their belongings set out for the trip in just one truck that they bought from a very charismatic salesman and had customized. (I'm sorry but this was one of the few things in the story I had a problem with, since I just couldn't picture it. I'm one of seven kids and the nine of us could never fit in a station wagon. How did fourteen people and a dog fit in one truck with all of our belongings?) There was Mr. and Mrs. Joad, Grandma and Grandpa Joad, Uncle John, Casy the former preacher, the boys Noah, Tom, Al, and little Winfield, and then there was the daughter Rosasharon (Rose of Sharon) who was pregnant along with her husband Connie, Rosasharon's younger sister Ruthie, plus the dog...

While home on the farm when there was work Mr. Joad and the men ran the family, but when they got out on the road without any work Mr. Joad became a lost without his purpose in life, and Mrs. Joad had to take over as the head of the family. She made all of the tough decisions on the road and showed her strength to keep everyone going. Uncle John is a dark soul who had never forgiven himself for not being able to do more for his wife when she got sick and died. He fluctuates in the novel between being a drunk and someone who gives away all of his possessions to the kids to try to make it up to the world. The oldest son Noah I believe is mentally challenged due to a birthing accident and is kind of lost with all of the changes. Tom who is the next oldest son represents justice and truth throughout the novel. Al is a tomcat who's always out looking for girls, but wants to settle down some day and be a mechanic. Rosasharon and Connie are a young couple who dream of owning their own home with a white picket fence and raising a family. Casy used to be a preacher but lost his belief in God. Out in California he discovers a new calling. The kids Winfield and Ruthie I believe just represent innocence.

Along the road they live day to day, dollar to dollar with the belief that all they need to do is get to California and they would find salvation. They meet many adversities along the road which they struggle to overcome. By working together and making some new friends they manage to survive. The whole country seems to be moving and change is in the air. Route 66 is perfectly described, from the truck stop restaurants, to the broken down gas stations, we are shown different levels of haves and have nots. The Joads do a little better job than some in maintaining their moral standards and beliefs but they see the road take it's toll on the people.

After many tragedies and tribulations they finally arrive in California only to find that they were mislead. California may be beautiful and the land fertile but it is all owned by greedy men, who don't want to share any of their wealth.

A great number of people have been lured out west in order to produce a cheap labor force to pick crops. With thousands of people fighting for just a few jobs they would accept lower wages just to keep from starving. The people tried to turn to the government for help only to find more greed and corruption. The government would only grant assistance to people who had been in the state for more than a year and the police were all either related to or paid off by the wealthy land owners who wanted to maintain the cheap labor force, so they kept the people moving so they couldn't obtain any lasting residency.

People were living in make shift homes on the edge of town called Hoovervilles (after Herbert Hoover, president 1929-1933), until the cops came and forced them out.

Even in desperation the people still tried to ban together to create their own rules and maintain their basic morals for what was acceptable, but they were being plagued on at every turn. They still acted as men, but you could see their tolerance reach critical levels.

Each chapter you could feel the tension rising as the people were beaten down and mistreated. It was hard to believe the level of cruelty. The rich were afraid of the poor people and thought they were going to take everything they owned so they treated them as less than human and gave them nothing. The poor could only turn to other poor people for help since no one else seemed to care. Throughout the book as the people reached a greater and greater level of desperation you wondered when they were going to break, but the human spirit seems to persevere.

After all that transpires you are just amazed at the ability of these people to keep fighting and go on, and that gives you a little bit of hope.

I'd highly recommend this book.

This novel follows the travails of the Joad family as they migrate from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression. Because very little internal dialogue is presented, the Joads and other characters seem just plain stupid. However, by their actions one realizes they have a dignity and intelligence that is not obvious at first. They struggle against misfortune as best they can. In depicting the life of the Joads, the novel offers a vivid portrayal of the lives of many who suffered through the Great Depression. On a broader level this work also provides a commentary on government, religion, and politics. The climactic scene is meaningful but does not flow from the preceding chapters, and the ending is odd and will make you wonder what the message is.

By the end of the novel, one may realize that this story is not just about the Joads, but a story of all Americans, no matter what the background. This is truly one of the greatest novels of American literature.

Re This edition only The Grapes of Wrath (Pacemaker Classics)
I ordered this copy of the Grapes of Wrath thinking that it was the paperback edition with full text and criticism with a different binding. Should I have paid more attention to the note I discovered after the fact that the "Search Inside" referred to another edition of the novel? Yes. Should Amazon have marked the photo of the book cover with something akin to a scarlet letter like "A" for abridged? Yes. The words "Abridged" and "For ages 9-12" appearing prominently in the first line of the description would have stopped me in my tracks. The reviews and "Search Inside" for abridged books should not link to unabridged editions of the same work.

This book departs from some of the mythology that persists about Ms Fonda's career and her political activities. This book treats her rise as an actress and as an icon of American film properly but also focuses an unblinking eye on her betrayal of her country during the Vietnam War. There are more than enough records of her activities during the war that clearly prove her multiple trips to Hanoi for the enemy's support and comfort, involvement with propaganda broadcasts from enemy radio stations, support for enemy activities (including her infamous serenade for an NVA antiaircraft gun crew). She went well beyond "political activism" and all the way to treason with her energetic support for the communists. History will record that she was extremely lucky not to have faced a trial and serious prison time for her treasonous activities.

I am always curious how some of the other readers take this period of her life as "just political expression" or "youthful indiscretion". How would they have approached the subject of some other prominent personality that say, visited Berlin during WW II, made radio broadcasts with Axis Sally, taunted US Prisoners of War and then returned with Nazi propaganda points for the press?

Ms. Fonda is a talented actress - but the rest of her history is just as important to know and this book lays much of it out for everyone.

Read Jane Fonda's autobiograhy to learn about the Vietnam expierience, what really happened. Jane's version totally fills in the blanks, and is proven. This is one Urban myth that has been used to steer people away from reacting to their government's lies, and shift total blame to Jane Fonda's mistake, which is completely ridiculous.

I love a good bio, especially one that tries to tackle a complex and controversial subject like Jane Fonda (a brilliant actress). Yet, I guess what I also want is something that examines her approach to acting and the making of some of her films, that kind of thing facinates me.

This book does an excellent job in its political critique of Jane Fonda. Her hands are seriously bloody and there's no way around it. Read Snopes.com's account of her Vietnam activities because they are NOT a matter of debate. Just a matter of shame and Fonda's attempts to cover up.
(...)

This book deals with Jane Fonda and her actions when she visited North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and in authors' sense of belief, gave aid and comfort to the enemy during the time of war. On this, I have utterly no doubt that Jane Fonda, one of our most infamous liberal nazis of Hollywoodland, is guility as she stand.

However, the presentation of the book is bit questionable because the authors appears to be too overzealous in their approach. Research although pretty good, appears to be bit one sided. Not to say that on certain things, they almost sounds outright racists. A good example would be on page 33 when they referred to the term "subhuman Asian communists". Indeed, if the Asian communists were "subhuman", then their behavior would be acceptable since they are not human anyway, right?? Second example, the authors' zealous to paint traitors got them looking in the case of Iva Toguri, and they got her on the crosshair right with Jane Fonda. Unfortuately for the authors, Toguri was actually pardoned by President Ford (first time ever for a case like this). Her trial was misfire of justice as perjury tainted her actions and supporting statements by American and Australian POWs who were aided by her went unnoticed by the court of that period as well as by the authors today. (It was also left out that most of broadcasts made by Toguri were written by American and Australian POWs). It doesn't helped the authors that most American high commands regards Toguri's broadcasts as more of a morale booster for American troops who enjoyed her music and meaningless bombastic statements. Putting Toguri case in this book reflects on one sided research and utter lack of understanding on the part of the authors.

So what is the point of all this? The authors put together a nice case against Jane Fonda but the text of this book is filled with overzealous errors. Most people who read this book like me, needs no convincing that Jane Fonda should be hung, drawn and quartered for she is an out right traitor to our nation. The authors I believed, should stick to that element since every traitor got a their own different story and Jane Fonda's story is unique by itself. There isn't enough impact story on her personally and why even today, Jane Fonda should not be let off the hook. I am not aware of any statue of limitation on treason!

It is now more than 30 years since the last Americans left Saigon, and while most of the embers stoked in the 1960s have cooled, the visit by anti-war activist Jane Fonda to North Vietnam still inflames many. Given the temperature of the topic, any indictment of Fonda should be documented thoroughly and analyzed rigorously. The review of Fonda's activities should be divorced from any discussion of the merit of the war itself (or whether the United States was right to have been involved.) This book fits the bill on all counts.

Unsurprisingly, since one of the authors is a law professor emeritus, this book is written as a legal brief would be: the Holzers discuss the facts in detail; then explain the law; and finally apply the law to the facts. "Aid and Comfort" starts with a discussion of Fonda's early life and her involvement as a young adult with left-leaning French friends of her then-husband Roger Vadim. None of this background is necessary for the indictment, as Fonda's motive in going to Vietnam is irrelevant -- what counts are her acts. Nonetheless, it is interesting, and provides a picture of a very insecure woman whose political opinions were formed and shaped by the men with whom she was involved.

The next chapter is a harrowing discussion of the treatment of American POWs by the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. It is hard to read, but is necessary to demonstrate the effects that Fonda's words would have on these servicemen. After all, broadcasting propoganda aimed at destroying the spirit of those who were barely clinging to life is more serious than disseminating it to a well-fed population with other sources of news. (In either case, as the Holzers demonstrate, a charge of treason could be levied.) The authors then discuss Fonda's actual speeches (reproduced in full at the end of the book.) They make an eye-popping read. I was unaware, for example, that Fonda had falsely accused the POWs themselves of taking anti-war positions -- a charge which could only sap the strength and morale of these men when the broadcasts were later played to them.

The Holzers then devote two chapters to a detailed discussion of the law of treason. Although legal discussions sometimes can be dry for non-lawyers, the facts of the cases (including the prosecutions of "Axis Sally" and "Tokyo Rose") are interesting and the authors clearly explain the standards for treason. The book then demonstrates why there is enough evidence against Fonda to at least bring a case to a jury. That the government did not do so was due more to the politics of the time than any lack of proof.

Many believe that we should put the Vietnam War behind us and stop ripping scabs off festering wounds. This, in my opinion, is the wrong way to view it. As with Holocaust survivors, the POWs of Vietnam need some measure of justice, no matter how late it comes. While the US government will never actually prosecute Fonda, this book provides necessary healing by trying -- and convicting -- Fonda in the "moral" court.

historically or legally. Meticulously documented, logically argued indictment of Jane Fonda--with "character" development that no Hollywood biographer, let alone autobiographer, would dare pursue. We learn far more about the actress-agitator in Aid and Comfort than in her own fact- and reality-deprived My Life So Far which, I'm not the first to suggest, appears to have been written for no more compelling reason than mitigating the Holzers' claims. The claims, unfortunately for Ms. Fonda, however, leave little or no spin-room. Ms. Fonda wasn't tried for treason for lack of evidence or lack of intent but for lack of prosecutorial will. As a result, the very concept of treason--the only crime defined in our Constitution--has become so gravely defined-down as to render the crime meaningless and prosecution impossible.

A great read for all who see the spectre of the Vietnam antiwar, antimilitary, antiAmerica movement looming over our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and a must-read for those who don't.

This excellent and meticulously researched book indisputably makes the case that Jane Fonda could have and should have been indicted for treason for her unconscionable activities on behalf of our nation's enemy during the Viet Nam War. Contrary to what other reviewers have opined, this is NOT "ancient history." With our troops once again in harm's way in a shooting war, Ms. Fonda's despicable activities need to be kept clearly in mind by those who would cross the line separating robust discourse from the giving of aid and comfort to the enemy. Disagreeing with our nation's foreign policy does not give one license to commit treason. Ms. Fonda's treasonous actions, and our government's weak-kneed failure to prosecute her for her crime, also need to be kept in mind by our current leaders. When the government makes the decision to commit our armed forces to war and (for some) death, it has an obligation to prosecute those who cast in their lot with the enemy our troops have been ordered to defeat. Like it or not, time during war is different; not everything goes. And any government who, in the name of "freedom," fails or is afraid to prosecute the treasonous, itself betrays our nation and its armed forces. The tale of Jane Fonda -- and what she did, and what the government didn't do -- is indeed a timely one, and this book is important right now.

For some time, I have owned this book and would often think about reading it, even picking it up and toying with the idea of glancing through it before placing it back on the shelf opting for another book instead. I guess I was afraid that Erika and Henry Holzer might somehow tarnish my view of Jane Fonda- my pristine unveiled despising of Jane. I always liked my attitude in such matters. What if they told me things about her that I hadn't known were true or worse that I had thought I had known? Though it would be another testimonial to the mystique and unrest of the Vietnam War, I really did not want anymore knowledge of Jane in my head.
I broke down and read it recently and in fact my worst fears were true, but not in the way I expected. I did feel pangs of guilt as I read page after page. They did tell me things about Jane Fonda I had not known, though none improved my image of her. What the authors did do however, was give a very detailed accounting of the cloud surrounding Jane Fonda and her activities in the early 1970's, including trips to Vietnam and other foreign lands. I felt guilt because I had wasted so much time avoiding this book. It is a fine book. It is an incredible book actually. I found it to impressively detailed and well documented. As the scholars that they surely must be, they presented the information based on many sources that are easily verified. I cannot imagine the level of dedication and tenacity required of the authors in order for them to complete their work so thoroughly. I have read many books related to Jane Fonda and her exploits of the early 1970's and none are better. None are even close.
They presented information that was damning to say the least but were just as quick to give research that exonerated Ms. Fonda of acts that she has been accused of for years. Usually books that would seem more of a reference book than a memoir or fiction would bore me, even if they had useful information. To the contrary I was able to start from one cover and work to the other with little interruption. At the end, I was struck by the fact that this book was so well researched and written that it could also easily be used as a reference book.
Knowing what I know about the activities of some American citizens during the Vietnam War, I am quite grateful to authors/researchers such as Erika and Henry Holzer, for I credit them with great wisdom and fortitude themselves for being more objective than the person they chose to write about. I would think the authors would agree with my response to a friend not long ago who told me that Jane Fonda was vilified. "If Jane has been vilified, it has been by her own actions". The authors make clear at the conclusion of their book what they think of Jane Fonda and her actions during the Vietnam War and I completely and wholeheartedly agree and am not afraid to say so. I do not know what the authors think now with so much time that has passed both since the war and since the writing of their book. Perhaps they feel a slight pang now and then that there is a time to let things go, to forget or pretend at least that past wrongs, however vile never happened. I feel a slight pang now and then like that, but it is so small it is a little like gas, maybe it is gas. Because I know that the proof is in the pudding or the book as it were and the things Jane Fonda and her associates did were in fact treacherous and immoral and yes villainous. I recommend this book more highly than I ever recommended any book as a work for history to be truly known.

This book is a fun ride. However, if you've read a lot of celebrity bios, you'll be turned off, as I was, at how MacRae appropriates various anonymous and ancient showbiz stories as her own personal experiences.

For example, she has a lover defending her to a foe by saying, "What she has, you used to have. And what she has, you can't spell." Nice line, but it's from a movie.

The whole book has a goofy, made-up quality - even more than the usual Hollywood autobiography. Rather than trying to paint herself as the innocent waif (as June Allyson tried to do in her autobiography), MacRae bends over backwards (a-hem) to sex up her image.

With a huge grain of salt, it's a fun, juicy read. And I wouldn't trust one word of it as far as I could throw the publishing house.

"Oh, by the way, I was once married to ...."; now can I tell ya all about my life?" There. Do you feel like reading this superficial analysis of a Hollywood marriage run amok? I didn't think so. Typical, feminist retro-look at the past when Sheila was a part of the dinner club circut power couple come unglued. Trivializes the highs(1950's),depicts the 1960's as the rise of a multi-talented what, dancer/singer, when groups were in vogue?Granted, survival was key here, but I wanted to know more about the golden-voiced Gordon MacRae and what became of his gifts that, among other things, launched her. Not to be. Ended up being about as interesting as a Matt Helm bedroom farce,with the reality glossed over and the reality of what once was unrevealed.

The pictures in two photo sections tell the whole story of Gordon, Sheila and family. I have selected some interesting items about Hollywood instead of the typical movie couple in the Fifties. He made four movies with DoDo Day: "Tea for Two", "The West Point Story," "On Moonlight Bay," and "By The Light of the Silvery Moon." She was a bit old for the perrenial boyish MacRae. They were asked to pose for an Easter Seals poster with some 'handicapped' children. She refused on religious grounds that she was a "Christian Scientist and they don't believe in cripples." (Hear that, Wink M.) Gordon was insulted and cursed this Girl-next-door character "She's giving my religion a bad name." Oh well, in her older years, she always had to be filmed through a special filter to obliterate her wrinkles and aging process, the big phony. I loved Gordon in "Carousel" and "Oklahoma." He was fabulous and such a good singer.

Movies are tricks of the eyes and the makeup artists. There's a quirk in how we see that allows a series of still pictures to spring into motion. In pursuit of that optical illusion, fortunes have been made; lives devoted to it, and some ruined. The trouble was if you couldn't tell what was 'legerdemain' and what was 'real,' (magician from the magic); Sheila appeared as the magician's assistant and eventually got to know all the tricks.

They were in Hollywood during the blacklisting and has some interesting things to reveal about the prophetic Ronald Reagan. Also, when she was named as "Mother of the Year" her marriage was a shambles and they were on the verge of a divorce. Sounds like Debbie and Eddie, a typical Hollywood couple. Of all her affairs, I was shocked that Frank Sinatra was one! She had moved here from England and kept a tinge of the British accent; I guess that's what intrigued him as I don't think it was her singing. She was pretty and talented during the Sixties, but after the divorce, things went downhill for them both. Such is life, but especially for the woman.

I have always enjoyed reading a celebrity's autobiography and Sheila MacRae's was no exception. Having been born long after the success of MacRae's famous husband, Gordon in 1960, I was unfamilar with his films as well as Miss MacRae's credits as an actress. Through this autobiography, I read with great interest as well as great sadness, over a man and woman who were deeply in love, but destroyed by Gordon's alcoholism and excessive gambling. The bright spots are MacRae's close friendship with Lucille Ball, some revealing insight into her friend Cary Grant's love life, and the Hollywood parties attended in their heydey. After reading the book, I emerged an admirer of both Sheila and Gordon MacRae.

An ego driven report of some obviously superficial relationships with people mostly dead. Self-centered and
pompous. And for this they felled a tree?