Whoopi Goldberg Books

This issue gives us the first shots of Sally, plus some other developments. The baseball themes are being fleshed out (complete with mass-quitting of CB's team) and the Psychologist's Stand makes its debut.

What's most interesting is watching the beginning of Sally's crush on Linus. While the reprinted strips of before show Sally falling in love and Linus responding with revulsion, the new strips reveal some interesting tacks.

First, early on in the book (in a strip that hadn't seen the light of day in the reprints I had read over the years), Linus actually expresses an interest in Sally, wondering if she would be dateable at 17 (when he would be 22). One gets the idea that Schultz actually wanted to develop a situation where Linus was in love but his object was unrequited.

Later on in the book, Schultz hits gold: Sally falls, Linus is embarassed. While some of these strips are familiar, the section where Sally's heart breaks is new to my eyes. Towards the end of this book is a comic strip that is worth every penny: Sally sees Linus walk by and responds in a way that everyone has responded to a broken heart. Only Schultz could have reduced it to half a day's strip!

The fifth volume of "The Complete Peanuts" covers the years 1959 and 1960. During this period, the four main characters are Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus Van Pelt, and Snoopy. Schroeder, Violet, and Patti all have fewer appearances in the strip. Although, Schroeder has a clearly defined role which makes his character stand out more than the other two. Similarly, Pig Pen has a specific role while Shermy is a throw in character, despite the fact that both appear rarely. During this period, we have the first new character since the short-lived Charlotte Braun almost five years previously. Sally Brown is born on May 26th of 1959, we find out her name on June 2nd, and she makes her first appearance in the strip on August 23rd. We see her walking for the first time on August 22nd of the following year.

There are some classic firsts which appear in this book. One is the first strip to have Lucy's Psychiatrist stand, in which she offers the classic advice "Snap out of it!" to Charlie Brown, followed by "Five cents please." The Great Pumpkin is also mentioned for the first time in these strips. There are also some wonderful sequences here, including the impending destruction of Snoopy's doghouse to make way for a freeway bypass, Linus' crush on his teacher, Charlie Brown missing a baseball game to push Sally in her stroller, and many more.

As with the previous volumes in this series, the index is an amazing resource. If you want to look up the strips in which "The Mad Punter" appears, all you have to do is check the index. The Foreword in this edition was written by Whoppi Goldberg and she reflects on her interview of Charles M. Schultz, as well s the role "Peanuts" played in her own life. "Peanuts" was my favorite comic strip when I was young, and it is wonderful to read all these classic strips again. There are also many strips here which were never printed before, so it is a great pleasure to experience them for the first time.

The best ever written. It's very difficult not to relate to Charlie Brown. He is Joe Everyman. I can't wait for the rest of the strips to come out. A big mistake for a "Peanuts" fan not to own them.

What is happiness? On April 25, 1960, Charles Schulz, through his character Lucy told us: Happiness is a warm puppy. This immortal sentence is just one of the things that appears in the fifth volume of The Complete Peanuts, which comprises the years 1959 and 1960. As in previous volumes, we see once again why Peanuts is considered by many to be the best comic strip ever.

In some sense, things have not changed from past volumes: Linus still has his blanket, Charlie Brown still can't fly a kite and Lucy is a champion fussbudget. On the other hand, things do move forward, albeit slowly. As original character Shermy (the first to ever speak in a Peanuts strip) becomes less significant, we get a new character with Charlie Brown's sister, Sally. Before she can even talk, she will have her heart broken by Linus, but don't worry, she'll recover fast.

Resiliency is the key to many of these characters, none more so than the strip's centerpiece, Charlie Brown. Constantly luckless and often ridiculed by his "friends" (only Linus, and occasionally Schroeder, are relatively consistent in being nice to him), Charlie Brown, despite his glumness is actually the eternal optimist. He never gives up on flying his kit or playing baseball or even his belief that one day, Lucy will actually allow him to kick that football.

Behind the deceptively simple drawing and the child characters (by this point in the strip, even the adult voices are gone), lies an often deep and sophisticated art, filled with wit and humanity. And like any piece of art that is great and immortal, it is timeless and as good now as ever, whether you're an adult or a child.

Eric Paddon said in his review that Whoopi Goldberg's "specialty is foul-mouthed hate diatribes toward anyone who isn't a raving leftist like her."

He also says Charles Schulz used lessons from the bible in his comic strip.

Please don't believe Mr. Paddon, a professor at a Christian college. Ms. Goldberg didn't put any hate in her introduction to this book. She loves the Peanuts.

You never had to believe in the New Testament or the Republican Party to enjoy the Peanuts. You don't now. I know a Muslim and a Buddhist who both enjoyed Mr. Schulz's comic strip for decades. Do Christian faculty members know that the cartoonist named Woodstock after that anti - family music festival ?

Please plunge in this wonderful collection of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the gang. They are timeless. Maybe they can inspire today's children who show promise in cartoon art.

i had just bouht this book from amzaon.com and i though it was amazing. the detail the intrest. it seemed like the author was really into whoopu for he explaied her very well. if you are thinking of getting this book i wil reasure you it is awesome! o now have a new respect for whoopi for i know now what she has gone threw.

"I'm not black, I'm brown!" So says Bessie Delany, at age 100. Despite her years of involvement in the Civil Rights movement, accepting its nomenclature wholesale isn't part of Bessie's personality. She's the feisty sister. Sadie, age 103, is the one who conquers by saying nothing - while going right ahead and doing exactly what she wants. Or by playing dumb, as she and Bessie both put it; but either way, it's always worked for Sadie. These two, the second black woman licensed as a dentist in New York and the first black woman to be appointed a New York City high school teacher, have lived together more years than not in their long lives; and as of this book's publication, they're still in their New York home and taking care of themselves just fine, thank you very much.

What do they have to say? Plenty, mostly in alternating chapters. Their father was born a slave, and their mother's parents - a mulatto woman and a white man - couldn't marry because state law forbade it. That freed slave eventually became an Episcopal bishop, and all ten of his children became college-educated professionals. Sarah and Elizabeth Delany were old enough to be shocked and hurt when Jim Crow became the law of the South, and each had to find her own ways to survive and thrive in spite of both cultural and institutionalized prejudice. Relocating to Harlem, New York City opened new opportunities, but didn't take them away from that familiar struggle. Through it all, Sadie and Bessie lived by the creed their parents had taught them: You're here to do good. To which Sadie added her own maxim: Maybe I can change the world a little bit, by changing me.

The challenges these two women faced are not familiar to me personally, in one sense, because I've never had to face racial prejudice. Yet in the way they met those challenges, with determination, realism ("As long as they need you, you've got that job"), and plenty of humor, any fellow human can surely find inspiration. A wonderful read!

The Delany Sisters are simply a spectacular duo of fighters. Their story is one almost every person would find amazing. The way they see this world, and how their past experiences with Jim Crow and being colored in the South before the Civil Rights Movement shaped their perception of humans forever. The book is filled with very warm humor and it is essential to understand part of the complex psyche of 'colored' people in the United States today, which, by the way, is a term prefered by the Sisters over black or even African American to refer to themselves and their people.

Let's just say I fell in love with the sisters so much that I adopted their last name. I am in awe of these remarkable woman, still. After living for more than a century they did not believe they had a story to tell. I am grateful that Amy Hill Hearth was able to convince them otherwise.
Their accomplishments were remarkable not only what the two oldest sisters did but the entire Delany family. Their father Henry was borned into slavery, however, he did not use that as an excuse. All of the Delany children were trailblazers because there were no civil rights for people of color in the early 1900's. They did what they had to do, Bessie was honest and brutal as she felt it was her duty to tell people the truth. Sadie was considered the sweet one, however, she too was a go-getter.
I recommend this book and the two other books that were co-authored by Amy Hill Hearth. Without Ms. Hearth these women and their stories would have never been told, I am thankful to her for bringing them into my life. I expected the sisters to live forever but Bessie died in 1995 shortly after turning 104 and Bessie at 109 in 1999. They are still alive in the hearts of many of us and in the pages of their books.

This book was recommended to me by my 95-year-old mother, and I must say it was an excellent recommendation.



Author Amy Hill Hearth must have had numerous conversations with Sadie (age 102) and her "little sister" Bessie (100). The book is written with the words and the spirit of these two special ladies shining through each page. The Delany sisters were born to a father who was a former slave and who got an education and later became the first black bishop in the Episcopal Church. Their mother had white blood, but she chose to marry and socialize among the black race. As the sister explain, if you had one drop of black blood at that time, you were considered a Negro.



The sisters describe their growing-up years and their gratitude for their parents' love, guidance, and the high standards of conduct which they held up to their children. They tell what is was like to be chased by the Ku Klux Klan, discriminated against by teachers and employers, and be the victims of the Jim Crow laws. They mention the illustrious black people, such as Adam Clayton Powell, and Cab Calloway, who were part of their social circle. They tell about their patriotism during WWI and WWII and in one of the most poignant comments in the book Bessie says, "We were good citizens, good Americans! We loved our country, even though it didn't love us back."



This is a look back at American history by two women whose family was prominent in the black community, but mostly unknown in the white world.

It is an eye-opener and is a wonderful story.

HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY'S FIRST 100 YEARS is simply one of the most engaging, educational and insightful memoirs I have read about two extraordinary women (Bessie and Sadie Delaney) who saw tremendous change and evolution in the world, over the course of (more than) a century. These two fiesty women penned this wonderful book, with an introduction by Amy Hill Hearth, and I remember well how phenomenal it was to see them interviewed together, on PBS, when the book went to press, prior to the release of a made-for-TV-movie version of their memoirs.

This book is great for anyone looking to connect the present with the past; particularly through the eyes of two exceptional women who were born in South Carolina during the mid 1890s, experiencing racism firsthand (as two educated African-American women) and met many individuals who were instrumental in adding art, culture and brilliance to the Harlem Renaissance (a great cultural movement that took place between the 1920s and 1940s, in Harlem, New York, celebrating the cultural achievements of many African-American artists, musicians, dancers, photographers, writers, sculptors and radicals alike). What's more, these two women received college educations at time when it was unusual for Caucasian men to obtain them! Read this and tell two more people to check out the book, when you're through. Great reading!

This book is full of everything I so loved about Jim Henson. His creativity, vulnerability, compassion and humor are excellent reminders of how to live with optimism and how that outlook always brings solutions. This is a must own book, and as a gift it will bring the best to your loved ones.

Great little book to keep in the car, at your desk, in your book bag, or nightstand. Easy to open it up, read a page or two, then continue in a great mood. Good times!

It was toio short and needed more bio.. However Henson remains my hero, my inspiration and one of the few examples of what is good in this questionab;e world.
Long Live Jim!

That's the best way to describe the philosophy of the Muppets and the work of Jim Henson. Zany, silly, goofy, but full of heart and an unending optimism. This book gives a peek at what he was trying to communicate about life using these flawed, but loveable characters.

Highly recommend.

The loss of Jim Henson greatly diminished the world. "It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider" gathers together some of Henson's thoughts on a variety of topics. What comes through is an individual who was deeply concerned with making a contribution to the world, and how we can all live a life in harmony with ourselves, with other people, and the world around us. This is a short read, a book for keeping in the bag on the way to work and other times when losing yourself in pleasant thoughts and deeper private reflection is appropriate.

This book takes on a 'true approach' to living in poverty, especially for blacks to live in poverty. I'm a social work undergrad college student, and until I read this book, I was'nt aware of exactly how it was in poverty. Alex writings in the book, made me feel as though I was living with the Rivers and feeling their emotions. Thank you Alex for writing this excellent book. I encourage all college students to read the book, especially social work students. It really made me understand how blessed I am. Now I'm trying to see how I can get a copy of the movie, Oprah Winfrey played the mother. I didn't even know there was a movie for it. Can't wait to see it!

All of the positive reviewers of this book got it right. This book paints an equally grim view of the disturbingly painful(and unfortunate given we live in the most powerful nation in the world) existence of some of those most marginalized by society. And yet, I'd call it just as equally uplifting in terms of the triumph on the human spirit.

This book is a year-long documentation of the experiences of two young boys growing up in the projects on Chicago's West Side (just a mile from the downtown loop) and their families attempts to get out, get ahead and live a better life (in essence the American dream, though this image is never called by name in the book) during the late 1980s.

The big picture you'll get from this book is the horrific and violent conditions these boys face and must cope with on a daily basis. Lafeyette, 12, and Pharoah, 9, create an interesting though loving brotherly contrast.

Given the environment, you've got little Pharoah, smart, alert and very patriotic, who buys into the belief through education he can lift himself and his family out of poverty. He's independent and stunningly focused on success at his age.

Lafeyette's like the older extreme of Pharoah though further along in life, he's starting to lose faith in the myth of the American dream given 3 significant acts : 1) a close/positive friend being mistakenly murdered by police, 2)a celebrated cousin graduating from high school only to struggle to find work, struggle to pay for part-time college classes all while STILL LIVING in the projects 3)the mental wear of just being tired of living in his conditions & being consumed by general vibe of hopelessness that surrounds him.

Perhaps the saddest part of this read is the overwhelming sense of hopelessness that most of the inhabitants hold that they'll never rise above these circumstances despite all of their attempts to do so.

Economic empowerwent, pursuit of excellence and education are pretty much at war with politics of the day, the lure of the evils of streetlife (drugs, drug selling, gang culture) and even religious faith (innocent little Pharoah actually stops believing in God b/c he doesn't think he's listening to his prayers to get them out of the projects and away from violence).

Kotlowitz does an amazing job of giving you enough color to get the full picture of just about every person he details in the book. You'll have your moments when you look at a person, perhaps judgmentally for making a bad personal decision, but you'll get to the root of a lot of the problems of these people so much so that you almost relate to them as if they're your own family/friends.

That being said you'll more than likely come away with an equal feeling of people taking responsibility for their lives/actions AS WELL AS a sense of what the government should be doing to make sure all people have the shot at the American Dream regardless of race or class -- after reading this book, set in the 1980s, you'll definitely get a sense that not providing equal resources and access to quality education can be blamed on the powers that be.

This book puts a human face on families forced to live in the most inhumane of positions in life & just goes to show that for all those critics who'll point the blame at the poor for their own circumstances, please remember there are innocent children born into this lifestyle that suffer physically & mentally on a daily basis and aren't really being given the "chance" in life they deserve.

Kotlowitz captures the essence of life in government housing. This book is a painfully wonderful read. Glorious and uplifting at times, wrenching and frustrating at others. This book should be required text for anyone claiming to be a represenative of the "people". I wish George Bush would read and understand how policy truly affects people. After reading this book, anyone who claims that poverty is not a form of violence should seek professional help.

"There are No Children Here" is a book, in my opinion, that is good for the soul. While reading it you realize that things in your life could be a lot worse then they really are.... well at least I did. I realized that I should be more greatful and thankful for the little things I have in my life that I take for granted. I got so wrapped up in the whole story that i forgot that this was about real life while reading "There are No Children Here." I totally forgot that all of this actually happened. Reading this book was like watching a movie. Growing up in the city myself, I didn't realize that such poverty and violence could exist. I was never exposed to gangs or even gang bangs, the poverty, and the violence probably because i had a mother like LaJoe, a loving mother who did everything she could to keep her kids children. Yes, I did experience the feeling of being scared of bullies but not for my life. I didn't go through anything compared to what Lafeyette and Pharoah had to. These children, little adults, saw nothing but violence and and poverty to the point where all they wanted to do is die to escape it all. An example in the book is: "We're gonna die one way or the other by killing or plain out," James said to Lafeyette. "I just wanna die plain out." Lafeyette nodded, "me too." If you ask me.. I'd say go out and get yourself a copy of this book because you won't regret it. It will open your eyes up to what the "other America" is like.

For those readers who have commented that this book is boring, I have one question....is the existence of this type of devasting poverty boring and insignificant to your partiticular life? This is not a ficitional story of the hardships and struggles of the River's family; rather, it is a harsh reality that exists in our country, one of which we turn our backs and close our eyes to daily. This book is touching only if you understand and acknowledge the facts that perpetuate poverty and welfare-denpendency in the United States. I believe that the readers who comment on LaJoe's laziness are truly portraying their ignorance and stupidity in their comments. In my opinion, this book paints a vivid picture, too vivid for some, of the America that most people do not want to see. My advice for others- read this book because you will be shocked a horrified at our "land of the free." Are those in poverty truly free or are they drowning in a world that smothered them to begin with?

"Koi and the Kola Nuts" is a story about a chief's son named Koi who goes out and searches for a village that respects him after his father's death. Along the way, Koi encounters a snake, some ants and an alligator, who he saves their lives by giving them some of his kola nuts. As Koi arrives at the village, the villages don't believe he is a son of the chief, therefore, they give him some impossible tasks that he may not fullfill. Can Koi pass all of these tests and prove to the village he is the son of the chief?

This story teaches a valuable moral about friendship and determination. When Koi is in grave danger of being eaten by the villagers, the animals that helped along his journey, came and helped him with the impossible tasks. I love this story because the images are extremely breathtaking and I love the way Whoopi Goldberg puts this story together. I especially love the scene where the villagers are saying to Koi,

"He's no son of a chief,
He's merely a thief,
He's nothing more than an azu with a curse,
Let's a great big feast,
Or a little one at least."

I just loved that song!!! This video is enjoyable for everyone who loves an African story done by Whoopi Goldberg!!!

"Koi and the Kola nuts" is the perfect book for young readers. It is culturally great. It is from Liberia. It gives a great moral, and that is that if you give to people, it will come back to you several times over. Great book, and I fully recommend it!

Another excellent example of Stephen King's work. His short stories are as suprising and well done as his longer novels. From man eating amphibians to killer toys to finger tapping, King's imagination seems to open up. My two personal favorites are Chattery Teeth and Rainy Season but none were a disappointment. An easy and definite read for all the Stephen King lovers.

IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY STORIES IN KING'S CLASSIC SHORT-STORIES AND NOVELLA'S. THIS BOOK SHOWS HIS MANY TALENTS AND MAKES YOU THINK, "WHERE DOES HE GET ALL THIS SUFF?" NIGHT FLIER WAS MY FAVORITE BECAUSE I LOVE VAMPIRE STORIES AND THIS ONE IS A GEM. NOT LIKE THE MOVIE WITH JOSE FERRAR, BUT MORE HORRIFYING WHEN YOU READ IT. I HOPE KING COMES BACK WITH ANOTHER GREAT VAMPIRE NOVEL LIKE "SALEM'S LOT" (MY ALL TIME FAVORITE. ANOTHER GREAT READ IS "DOLAN'S CADILLAC", IT'S HUMOROUS AND CLEVERLY DONE.

Within the past three decades, Stephen King has ruled the literary world with his exquisite, passionate, colossal novels; easily read by the young and old alike. It's difficult to even run across the casual, "weekend reader" that hasn't at least thumbed through one of his books. One would think after conjuring up thirty-plus novels, two nonfiction books, a countless number of telescripts, and even composing six novels under his infamous "Bachman" pseudonym, that King would have the time to draft, revise, and publish seven novella collections over the years. The Nightmare and Dreamscapes compilation nestles itself into the middle of the pack in chronological terms as well as substance. The beauty (and the beast) of novella collections such as this, is the certainty that most readers will love some stories and despise others. It's all a matter of subjective taste of course, and having to face the reality that you (the reader) will have to painfully sludge through the mud to get to the gold.
Without becoming long winded, Nightmares and Dreamscapes represents some of the best non-horror work I've ever read from Stephen King. "Umney's Last Case" and "Head Down" are my personal earmarked selections of noteworthy enjoyment. "Crouch End" turned out to be quiet nice, as well as "The End of the Whole Mess", "The Night Flyer", and "Suffer the Little Children". The remaining stories are humdrum at best but most are worthy of one read through.
Nightmares and Dreamscapes is a must read for any Steve King fan, however casual fans who may not care much for the horror genre should find a certain level of delight as well.

I would recommend this book just for the introductory essay (see below).

[Note: I made some Mormon angry because of my negative reviews of books out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews almost as fast as they are posted.]

So your "helpful" vote is greatly appreciated. Thanks

King is a master writer, and I enjoyed this collection. I loved "Umney's Last Case" (evocative of 1930s crime fiction). Also liked the "House on Maple Street" (it kept me turning the pages).

The book is worth it for the introductory essay by Steven King. Here are some of the great lines from that essay, and I hope they make my short review worth reading.

Steven King wrote:

"When I was a kid I believed everything I was told, everything I read, and every dispatch sent out by my own overheated imagination. This made for more than a few sleepless nights, but it also filled the world I lived in with colors and textures I would not have traded for a lifetime of restful nights. I knew even then, you see, that there were people in the world--too many of them, actually--whose imaginative senses were eight numb or completely deadened, and who lived in a mental state skin to colorblindness."

Robert McCammon said something similar his brilliant coming-of-age novel, "Boy's Life"

"See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic they knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves."

I love taking long drives, and when I take those long drives, I love listening to audiobooks. Let me set the stage: when I listened to Nightmares and Dreamscapes, I was on my way to 29 Palms from Texas, all by myself, via back roads. Dark, unlit, deserted back roads. Somewhat unwisely, I popped this tape in around 8pm, somewhere in New Mexico, just as the sun was starting to set and make everything shadowy. Needless to say, the stories were a bit scarier than they would have been had I read them safely in my own, well-lit house with the alarm system at the ready. I credit (blame!) the actors for this, for they were outstanding! For example:

Crouch End: read by Tim Curry, quite possibly the scariest man in existence. I was familiar with the Cthulu myth, but to hear it through the imagination of Stephen King and the excellent, creepy and threatening Mr. Curry was terrifying.

Rainy Season: the very idea of maniacal toads raining from the sky is absurd, and the voice of Lisa Simpson doesn't seem scary at all. But put the two together on a dark, deserted road and you have a recipe for real fear.

The rest of this volume of stories is very good, if thought-provoking rather than terrifying. Vengeance lovers, rejoice! Dolan's Cadillac is a must-read (listen), as is The House on Maple Street.

This is a great book for kids as well as adults. It is well written with funny illustrations. I would recommend it and am planning on buying a few more for gifts.

Very entertaining way to help your children learn how to be "polite". Excellent illustrations bring home the points of "Please, thank you, excuse me,".... and more. Fun to read and then discuss.

I really enjoyed this book !! I bought it for my grandchildren but I may purchase another copy for myself. It was very easy to read, great illustrations and taught manners in a very positive and child-like way, without talking down to children. Kids will love it !!

Great book for kids!!! I think a few adults I know should read this as well. Great read and the pictures are fun. It is never to early to learn manners.

With a great voice for kids--as if she were not that far removed from being one herself, Whoopi Goldberg begins with the admonition that "Nobody wants to see your finger in your nose." From there we move through a series of vignettes--forgetting to use important words such as "thank you," interrupting, sneezing without a handkerchief, not cleaning up your mess, being a bad sport (school, home, neighborhood and foreign travel are covered) until we learn that none of these is as bad as "picking your nose, which you can do [page unfolds showing a small boy in a woodshed, finger approaching nose] only if no one sees you." It's a bold admission sure to please young readers. The mixed media illustrations by Alexander Sroczyski are colorful and energetic, with pop-eyed characters who sneeze, interrupt, whine, make a mess, and grab for food. A note in the lower right hand corner of each double-page spread alerts us to yet another manners atrocity when we turn the page. And so we learn and laugh, and promise never to put our finger in our nose [unless we're standing in the woodhouse and no one can see us].

Whoopi Goldberg in her usual standup and movie routines is absolutely wonderful, so I was expecting big things from this audiobook. Perhaps my expectations were set a bit high.

Instead of the string of jokes I'd been expecting, a full 2/3rds of the book was devoted to Whoopi expounding on her political viewpoints. Despite the fact I usually agreed with her political views, her soapbox-ranting style left me wanting a more eloquent spokesperson for her position. Much of the time, she simply comes off as a less thoughtful Dennis Miller.

All of this would be bearable if she had some tiny shred of humility, but about the fourth time she assured me that she is, in fact, "a funny person," I was ready to toss the tape out the window.

I bought this to listen to on my daily commute. I had to listen to it at home because I kept driving off the road from laughing so hard. Whoopi Goldberg is honest, funny and real. Book was hilarious, but this is so much better from her reading and adlibs. Find a copy and share!

Whoopi is normally hilarious. But the language in this book really turned me off. People who use language (swearing) like that sound like common street trash.

I bought this because Whoopi is great , her ideas are great her jokes EVERY THING. I dont usally shop from the internet but hey! I thought this was worth it and it was. This tape got me laughin' it got me to think about stuff. Yeah there is language but who doesnt use the "F" word every now and then?This is a collectable and a definatly a MUST HAVE. So WHY ARE u still reading this? GO AND BUY IT!

Much like George Carlin, in "Audiobook," Goldberg manages to obsess -- sometimes to the point of shrieking -- over such issues as picky eating, men's grooming habits, favorite popes, Christmas, drivers from a certain Eastern state and politically correct language. If you don't like authors or comedians who can't let something drop, don't purchase either "Book" or "Audiobook." However, if you love a good, sustained rant -- that isn't directed towards you -- that seems to end in catharsis, do yourself a favor and get it. I'd definitely lean towards "Audiobook," because Goldberg gets her point across as perfectly as if she was onstage.

Yes, Whoopi does use "language," as she warns people at the beginning of the tape. If you didn't get the implication, it means that she uses profanity from time to time, saying the "s" word, the "f" word and a few others, too. She doesn't hold back, but says what she wants and expresses exasperation however she wants. If you want polite commentary on some of the same issues, there's always etiquette books. (Hey, Miss Manners is always amusing.)

Goldberg addresses her relationship with Ted Danson (mainly the minstrel decible), her premature status of grandmother, Clinton's extra-carricular activities as well as those of a few other recent presidents, discloses how she got her name and some stories from her childhood. "Audiobook" is basically a series of essays about why she sees the world the way she does.

I don't always agree with her opinions. Some of her essays are more serious than funny. However, I did find this glimpse into her mind fascinating and engaging. It feels a little like hanging out in the back booth of a diner while an outspoken friend holds court, which is probably one of the best statements I can make about what is essentially an autobiography.

Whoopi G. was never an easy artist to experience. If you're not prepared to be uncomfortable or take issue with what she has to say, don't bother. She claimed to want this project to spark conversation between people and, like it or hate it, chances are you'll be talking about it for a while.

I enjoyed this book as a child. To me it encomposed my dreams:of being rich and having friends. I enjoyed Ms. Goldberg's spin on Alice in Wonderland.