Television Books

It's quite alarming to learn how the failure of the press to report responsibly on government and politics (versus scandal, crime, and drama) is affecting the demise of a living democracy. Four out of ten Americans don't even know who the vice president is (although I have to believe in this year with the VP running for president, that might be different)! The book documents quite well how the press is methodically contributing to the decline of interest in politics and the power and political influence of the owners of media giants. A good read!!

Rob

If ever the First Amendment needed a life jacket, this is the time. Rowse tells how good newspapering, that is tough, honest reporting, is drowning thanks to the media giants and the corporate villains who control them. Whether its politics, economic disasters for the working poor, pollution or corruption, America is being denied a saving hand from the very institutions that the Founding Fathers provided us. Here is a lighthouse book offering a way out of our troubled journalistic waters. And it's a page-turner, as well.

In Drive-by Journalism, Arthur Rowse makes a convincing case that a lack of reliable news is crippling American democracy.

As a result of deregulation of the news and entertainment industries, a steady series of corporate mergers has concentrated the media into a five-firm oligopoly of unprecedented power. We may think we have a lot of channels to choose from, but they all come from the same handful of sources, all of which are more interested in satisfying corporate investors than in producing an informed electorate. Rather than compete, the media conglomerates collude like mafia bosses, divvying up the available markets, using every available second of air time to sell us products, services, and a consumer lifestyle. This does not speak well to the likelihood of our getting trustworthy news.

Rowse deftly slaps down the ridiculous yet pervasive myth that the mass media are liberally biased and demonstrates conclusively that quite the opposite is true. Although many reporters have liberal tendencies, they are not the ones who determine which stories get reported. News networks have become lap dogs for their parent companies, and these media giants are as conservative as they are powerful. Moreover, they respond to advertisers, not the viewing public. NBC, for example, wouldn't dream of reporting on General Electric, the most notorious polluter in the nation, because GE is now NBC's parent company. The same is true of ABC and Disney, CBS and Westinghouse. In fact, every major network is now owned by the biggest advertisers in the nation. Don't think that isn't affecting what gets reported on the 6 o'clock news.....

According to Rowse, about 40% of what we see on the news these days is not even the product of investigative journalism; it is pre-packaged propaganda "donated" to the networks by political and corporate public relations firms. By accepting these gracious handouts, the networks can reduce the number of expensive journalists they employ. The result, of course, is that networks no longer investigate; they merely serve as conduits through which powerful organizations deliver their pre-fab images to the public.

Perhaps Rowse’s most frightening point is the link he makes between poor news reporting and citizen apathy. With nothing but info-tainment and scandal stories on the news, Americans have no viable means to choose between one candidate and another, between one policy and another. So they don’t bother. With voters thus sidelined, well-funded corporate lobbyists have the undivided attention of our lawmakers, whom they outnumber 40 to 1.

This book is well-documented, well-organized, well-written, and vitally important in our times. Better still, it’s truly interesting. Rowse provides fascinating insider anecdotes that bring all his statistics to life. Very highly recommended.

In Drive-By Journalism: The Assault On Your Need To Know, Arthur Rowse sets for a compelling and persuasive argument that we are being lulled into political and social apathy by the steady beat of media produced "news-amuse" journalism. Rowse points out that media mergers are rapidly creating a huge news cartel with just five conglomerates controlling what most people see, read and hear in television news broadcasts and major urban center newspapers. Profit-at-all-costs pressures have created a kind of "drive-by" journalism with an emphasis on trivia and tragedy ("If it bleeds, it leads!). News producers must nowadays showcase information in a recreational or entertainment framework that prefers sensationalism over substance, sound bites over insights. That's why such critical matters as health care, gun control, tax equity, campaign reform, and the environment are made subservient to personality and horse race style coverage. Drive-By Journalism should be on the shelves of every community library in the country, and required reading for journalism students, media activists, and those charged with the responsibility for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating the news of the day.

"I saw the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns. They took the babies out of the incubator ... and left the children to die on the cold floor."

Casual news observers will recognize this quote, or at least the essence of it.

During the build-up to the Gulf War, this story, told by a teen-age Kuwaiti girl, was repeated again and again in the news media. As much as anything else, the anecdote softened public resistance to American intervention in Kuwait - a huge military undertaking that never completely shed its mercenary hue, but which enjoyed broad public support nevertheless thanks largely to a media that seemed ill-equipped or unwilling to get beyond the veneer of official proclamations and gee-golly techno-wizardry to the tough business of covering a war.

Less casual observers might know that the story was a pure fabrication. In fact, it took two curious reporters relatively little effort during the war's aftermath to discover what the entire Washington press corps had missed - not only was the story not true, but the girl who told it was the daughter of a Kuwaiti ambassador.

What very few of us probably realize to this day, however, was that the tale was just one piece of a coordinated propaganda campaign conducted by PR flacks on behalf of the Kuwaiti royal family. All told, the Kuwaitis spent $11.5 million to win the hearts and minds of their American saviors, most of it paid to Hill & Knowlton, one of the largest public relations firms in the world. For that relatively modest sum, Kuwait was able to summon the sympathy and might of the world's most powerful democracy, despite Kuwait's own questionable commitment to human rights. And going along for the ride the whole way were the American media.

The victory of public relations over reportage prior to the Gulf War is just one of the fascinating nuggets found in Arthur E. Rowse's Drive-By Journalism: The Assault on Your Need to Know, a blistering indictment of the current state of American journalism. A veteran journalist and media critic who has worked for National Public Radio, U.S. News & World Report, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, Rowse writes like a man who knows how the sausage is made and isn't too pleased about his grandchildren having to eat it.

His book chronicles a spate of journalistic cardinal sins and exposes a rogues'gallery of media decision makers who have turned the sacred business of informing the public into a scramble for ratings and profits.

Elian, Monica, O.J. and JonBenet are just the tip of the iceberg, and, in Rowse's view, symptoms of a much more pernicious dynamic than just the public's demand for sensation and scandal.

At the heart of the media's current reliance on fluff, trivia and sensationalism, he argues, is the trend toward corporate ownership of media outlets. While journalism has always been a business, the profit motive was once far more balanced by - even subordinate to - journalistic standards.

In the 1960s, when CBS head Bill Paley was questioned by a member of his news division about the cost of his ambitious plans for news coverage, his response was more typical of that era: "Don't worry about that. I've got Jack Benny to make money for me. You guys cover the news."

Since then, says Rowse, mainstream media outlets have fallen all over themselves to slash staffs while favoring grislier, more sensational, more irrelevant coverage. Thus, crime reporting has become more frequent and more strident even as crime has dropped, while stories with emotional impact like the Elian Gonzalez saga supplant coverage of policy decisions that affect millions of Americans.

And instead of discussion about candidates' qualifications or stances on pressing national problems, campaign coverage is dominated by trivial horse race issues like who's raised the most money.

This hasn't just made us more uninformed, argues Rowse. We've also become much more susceptible to disinformation. Eager to fill the hard news gap left by the media have been special interest lobbyists, public relations flacks and think tanks - well-funded and well-organized groups with agendas to sell.

Rowse also explores the well-worn canard that our mainstream media are predominantly liberal. Not only does the prima facie evidence - that media are increasingly coming under the control of profit-driven corporations - suggest a conservative tilt, a look at the opinion pages of daily newspapers, where aggressive spin is encouraged, tells a different story as well. Of the top political columnists in the nation, the far-right Cal Thomas, with 537, is syndicated in the most dailies. George Will is second with 450. In fact, based on client numbers, Rowse counts a 3-to-1 advantage for conservative columnists over liberal ones. Add in talk radio, which is almost exclusively the province of right-wingers, and the liberal media myth explodes.

Other disturbing trends cited by Rowse are the increase in "gotcha" journalism; a snowballing, media-fueled cynicism about government's ability to address national crises; and a tendency to tilt reporting toward advertisers and affluent readers at the expense of broader coverage. (If the stock market is this strong then inflation-adjusted wages couldn't possibly have fallen in the last 20 years, right?)

If there's a criticism here it's that Rowse is woefully short on solutions, and those he does offer feel like spit in the wind. Perhaps the only real recourse, then, is for us as individuals to simply smarten up. Drive-By Journalism is a good first step down that path.

Writing this book has been, obviously, a labor of love for William Mann, whose earlier books convinced me that henceforward, everything he writes is to be treated as the work of an immensely serious, politically committed and ethical scholar. And yet when all is said and done, and a hell of a lot gets said in this book, I remained singularly unconvinced. Unconvinced as to Schlesinger's talent--sure, he made some great movies, but he'd have to have made CITIZEN KANE for the scales of justice to swing back to normal in light of MADAME SOUZATCHKA or THE BELIEVERS. Unconvinced about the frame story, for it seems so pathetic to dwell and dwell and dwell on the miseries of Schlesinger's life after his debilitating stroke when he could hardly speak and seemed miserable in every encounter. Unconvinced even about the title, which seems to have been chosen to echo Schelsinger's greatest success, MIDNIGHT COWBOY, but in that acse why not just call it MIDNIGHT COWBOY? And then in the long run he seemed like a miserable man in every respect of life, looking back, he was never very happy nor does he seem capable of radiating either good will or basic charity. Added to this the contemptible misogyny which, in a Balzacian scene, Mann summons up by asking Schlesinger for his final, considered opinion of the late Penelope Gilliatt. It's unprintable here, and unpleasant even in context of whatever crime she was supposed to have committed.

Are authorized biographies ever a good thing? What's the point of advertising them in that way?

And yet taken as a whole the book is a splendid piece of work, and in giving us the extremely varied picture of a lot of filmmaking atmospheres, from the Angry Young Men scene of the late 1950s in England, to the New American Cinema that MIDNIGHT COWBOY may be fairly said to have begun, to a later day when stars and producers and test audiences made movie making difficult for directors, Mann excels. It's panoramic in sweep, extremely detailed. And maybe the "authorized" label encouraged many in Schlesinger's circle to speak with Mann, including--well, it seems just about everyone. A great story about Madonna's affectations begins the book, which I won't spoil here but it involves her belief that she had a shot in securing the lead role in MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. Enough said, go for it!

Two lapses in sense made me doubt my hero Mann for a moment. In discussing the Austin Powers phenomenon, he pronounces that "We've come so far that rebels now go BACK in time rather than forward, when the youth culture borrows relics of the past and jumbles them together into a pastiche of expression and attitude." Surely this has been an attribute of youth culture at least since WWII? Blue jeans weren't invented in the 1960s, they were retrieved from a workingman's past in the 19th century.

And look at this sentence, which touches on the critical reception of MIDNIGHT COWBOY. "Stanley Kauffman in THE NEW REPUBLIC adored the film, using adjectives like 'dexterity,' 'intelligence' and 'perception' to describe John's direction." Okay, maybe I'm missing the forest for the trees, but on the other hand maybe "adjective" has a new definition: "noun"?

Edge Of Midnight: The Life Of John Schlesinger is the authorized biography of the filmmaker whose most famous works include "Midnight Cowboy", "Bloody Sunday", "Marathon Man", and "Day of the Locust". Written with the full cooperation of Schlesinger, his family, and his companion of 36 years Michael Childers, as well as with complete access to tapes, diaries, production notes, and correspondence, not to mention interviews with the actors, crew members, friends and colleagues who knew Schlesinger, Edge Of Midnight accurately traces the singularly amazing career of a dedicated and visionary man. Highly recommended for professional cinema researchers and intrigued lay readers alike.

William J Mann is interviewing famed movie director John Schlesinger at his home in Palm Springs. John has just had triple bypass operation followed by a stroke which has left him paralyzed on one side, confined to a wheelchair, and almost voiceless. Although his brain is far from crippled and he can nod, shake his head, and sometimes answer questions in a brief, unexpectedly pointed whisper.

They spend their days together looking out at the mountains which edge the city, and William sometimes talks with Michael Childers, John's lover and partner for many years. Friends of John's occasionally pop in for a visit - Julie Christie, and Brenda Vaccaro, all tearful and upset at John's seemingly hopeless condition.

Mann uses this sense of immediacy to great effect in Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger. Each chapter begins with a sense of how John is declining and how the author is racing against time to find out as much as he can. By interweaving the present with the past, Mann traces richly varied accounts of John's early struggles and glory days.

The end result is of man who has led a creative, and artistically fuelled life, with Mann offering a poignant contrast between the figure who sits staring at the mountains beyond the window, adrift in silent internal exile, with the sound of his laughter on recorded tapes. John's creative energy and intuition, his penchant for mischievousness and naughtiness, and his willingness to take risks and really push the cinematic envelope for more than twenty years, are highlighted with a candid and sincere accuracy.

And John Schlesinger also gave us Julie Christie, whom Schlesinger chose for the character of Liz in Billy Liar. The world of cinema would indeed by dull without the gorgeous Julie. Much of the narrative talks about the tremendous international success of Darling, and how the movie, not only cemented Christie's stardom, but also allowed John to go on to make even riskier movies.

Mann talks about why Darling was so historically significant and the part it played in the cinematic sexual revolution, which in turn greatly affected the changing sexual habits and attitudes in much of the West. John was determined to raise the bar with onscreen frankness, and he often found himself stymied by the Hollywood old guard who were determined to promise their audiences "real stars looking glamorous in beautiful gowns in beautiful sets, no kitchen sinks, no violence, no messages."

But it was Midnight Cowboy and Sunday Bloody Sunday that really pushed the cinematic envelope: Sunday Bloody Sunday, with film's first same sex kiss, boldly rejects "moral" judgment in its account of the middle-class London doctor and the professional woman's feelings and presents both kinds of love as equally natural.

In Midnight Cowboy, Jon Voight's naive hustler from Texas foresees a future for himself in New York as a stud for affluent lonely ladies, but failure plummets him to the city's harsh and seamy underside instead. Midnight Cowboy proved that films, which overthrew convention, that dared embrace radical form and content, could also make money.

Schlesinger admits that he wanted to tell stories that dealt with the human condition, human difficulties, and even the illusions of love. His films were all about adult themes - the difficulties of maintaining relationships, abortion, extramarital affairs, and homosexuality. He wanted to make films about "people pushed on to an edge," and also people who were regarded as the underdog, the outsider in society.

He believed that films needed to be relevant, and that they needed to reflect the changing society. He also wanted his audiences to think, but more importantly, he wanted them to "feel," be it terror or revulsion or compassion or pity. In later years when he couldn't set up the films he wanted to make, Schlesinger damaged his reputation, then his heart and his arteries, by accepting too many potboilers in the desperate, unfulfilled hope of a box-office success that would enable him to work on his own terms again.

Glenda Jackson had a filthy sense of humor. John played a terrible joke on Julie Christie, which involved a feminine sex aid during the making of Far From the Madding Crowd. Sean Penn, although enormously talented, was a nightmare to work with. At the last minute, Brenda Vaccaro refused to show her nipples when doing the love scene in Midnight Cowboy.

The Hollywood brass turned their back on John after the colossal failure of Honky Tonk Freeway, Rupert Everett and Madonna gave the poor man hell on his final disastrous movie, The Next Best Thing - Madonna begging him to do for her what he had done for Julie Christie, while Everett was more concerned with rewriting the script as they were shooting.

William J. Mann has indeed written a formidable account of one director's life, a wonderful patchwork of tidbits including interviews with the people he helped make famous - Alan Bates, Julie Christie, Glenda Jackson. Martin Sheen, Ian McKellan, and Dustin Hoffman.

What evolves is a fascinating biography of a man who desired success, and ambition, and even lots of money. It's a portrait of a tormented man who had a quirky pessimism not withstanding and lived a life relatively free of personal demons. Comfortable with his homosexuality, and totally committed to making movies, "his art came not from discontentment with life, but rather from a love of it." Mike Leonard October 05.

Poor John Schlesinger. This gifted filmmaker never seemed happy, gave off more than a whiff of bitterness, and even seemed jealous of some of the people with whom he worked.

Most especially, the late Penelope Gilliatt, who authored his finest work, "Sunday Blody Sunday." There has been much misinformation regarding this film. Gilliatt was a brilliant film and theatre critic and a writer of fiction. She was orginally part of the greatly influential team of Kenneth Tynan and Gilliatt at the Observer (London). Schlesinger asked Gilliatt to write the sceenplay of Sunday Bloody Sunday. He thought she was the "right writer." Subsequently, the film was made and received rapturous reviews; it stands today as Schlesinger's finest work, along with his T.V. film, "An Englishman Abroad." The trouble started when Gilliatt received the vast majority of the praise for the film, back in 1971 -- I remember. Pauline Kael went so far as to say that Schlesinger had been inspired by the "delicate substance" of Gilliatt's script, which led him to do his finest work. (And Kael and Gilliatt were NOT friends.)
Perhaps, in addition to Gilliatt's brilliance as a fiction writer, Schlesinger chose the heterosexual Gilliatt to write the script because she had been a champion of civil rights for gays and lesbians in Great Britain in the 1950s, when she was only in her 20s, long before, say, Stonewall in the U.S.A., and fought so that GLBTs could have a place at the theatre and film tables of England under the repressive and homophobic Lord Chamberlain. At any rate, her much-honored script is what the film is remembered for. (Also, Sunday Bloody Sunday didn't get a Best Picture Oscar nod, whatever that silly thing is worth, not because of the subject matter, but because a major English studio was about to go bankrupt owing to the dreadful and dreadfully expensive movie bomb "Nicholas and Alexanda," so the Academy members rushed in to help, or at least tried to, with a Best Picture nomination for it to get the studio afloat.) On its release, SBS was not a commerical success.
Anyway, SBS was a major criticial success. The attention focused immediately on Gilliatt and her original screenplay. Schlesinger charged in one interview that Gilliatt had wanted him to film the scene in which Peter Finch and Murray Head kiss, in long-shot, with the two of them running toward each other in slo-mo and shot side-on. Gilliatt was a film critic of what has been described as sky-rocketing intelligence (at the Observer and at The New Yorker), who received threats for her theatre criticism in support of breakthrough playrights in England. I cannot believe that she ever, even once, suggested, as Schlesinger claimed, that she wanted Finch and Head to run toward each other in slow-mo longshot for their kiss. Read her dazzling reviews of Ingmar Bergman's The Passion of Anna and Face to Face to know that she was simply incapable of that sort of sentimentality. To my knowledge, Schlesinger never offered any proof of the charge, either. The problem was, as I remember the events, he and Gilliatt didn't get along and he simply seemed terribly jealous of the acclaim heaped on her. He called her an intellectual snob, apparently because she was largely self-educated and a genius. She had, according to her friends, a near-photographic memory, was the youngest person ever to pass the entrance exams to Oxford, spoke six or so languages, was a serious writer of fiction and criticism, and had a colossal knowledge of theatre and film. Schlesinger must have felt deeply intimidated. How could he hold his own with her?
The playwright Joe Orton, also gay, apparently had no problem with her erudition, as they were beloved friends, and Gilliatt had many, many loyal and faithful friends in the GLBT community. Anybody who has read her fiction will know the script is hers in its entirety, and she made changes only to repair some structural problems and to accomodate the line readings of the actors, with whom she worked closely throughout the film, especially Glenda Jackson. Peter Finch said her script was the most beautiful he had ever read. How all this must have galled Schlesinger, already a sometimes trying presence to those who knew him. At the end, he made one dreadful film after another, often blaming the result on the actors' interference, etc. In truth, Hollywood had become so infantilized that the work of serious filmmakers was largely abandoned long before Schlesinger's death. All the same, he made two magnificent works, Sunday Bloody Sunday and An Englishman Abroad, and one deeply flawed but beautifully acted film Midnight Cowboy. It's doubtful the rest of his work will survive. As for Gilliatt, her vast body of criticism (film and theatre) is used in university film and theatre classes around the world, many of her short stories will survive as masterworks of the form, her brilliant profiles of Bunuel, Godard, Renoir, etc., are among the best of their kind and will be read long after all of us are gone. And Schlesinger, apparently jealous to the end, will forever be indebted to Penelope Gilliatt for her contributions, and she made many, many more contributions to the film than her screenplay, for as long as he or his film is remembered.

I am lying in the sun in Hollywood and I have just devoured this splendid John Schlesinger biography. I recommend it to every movie fan the world over. It is a lovely book and worthy of its subject.

Being north of forty, it would be impossible to underestimate the importance of John Schlesinger's influence on my life as a gay man. Midnight Cowboy and Sunday Bloody Sunday were seismic movie going moments for me. Truly great movies in their own right, both have fully-dimensional gay characters as well as homo-erotic moments that lodged in my young brain and stayed. Jon Voight is a luscious Ken Doll in Midnight Cowboy. And Murray Head could be the poster boy for sexy 70's male in Sunday Bloody Sunday. Glenda Jackson watching Murray's perfect physique as he showered was thunderous for me because every day in Catholic high school I stood next to beautiful boys in showers and I couldn't stop staring and also could not forget none of them would ever be mine.

And thank you John Schlesinger for Julie Christie! The movie-going public will be forever in John's gratitude for giving us Julie.

They say that the music one listens to in our teenage years becomes "our" passion music-wise for our entire lives. Certainly, my life-long allegiance to Joni Mitchell and Aretha Franklin attests to that.

I feel the same way about Julie Christie. I was too young for Billy Liar and Darling when they came out. But both movies mean a great deal to me now. As do McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Shampoo and Return of the Soldier and Afterglow. I love watching this creature on screen. Julie is sexy to me even though I have no desire for her. And I am as much a fan now as I ever was when I first laid eyes on her. More of a fan probably.

Bravo to William J. Mann for painting a vivid portrait of one of our greatest film directors. And bravo John for your illustrious career!

Mary Jane Alexander, I am a New York film critic and enthusiast.

Film historian and authority James Robert Parish has done it again! "The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood," like all of Mr. Parish's well-regarded books, is comprehensive, thoroughly accurate and immensely readable. The sheer research is astounding and Mr. Parish uncovers the many fascinating tidbits that enliven film history. This is a book that is a must not only for every film and media library, but also for the general reader and film fan who wants is interested in the careers, lives and place in film history of the many ethnic stars who have thrilled us on screen. Bravo.

Also recommended: The Hollywood Songsters; Hollywood Divaas; and Hollywood Bad Boys

This is a wonderfully concise, detailed, and helpful general reference source for anyone researching ethnicity in the major films, television shows and performers of the past century. The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood is easy to read, gives only the important highlights of each title and personality, and is well-indexed. The photographs in the book are nostalgic and illustrative. It's all in here -- the breakthroughs, the award winners, the important firsts, as well as other contributions that make Hollywood history and today's Hollywood unique.

The movies have always help guide and shape moviegoers into an an understanding of who they are, where they're from, and where they're going. But much of the vast American public has been virtually invisible on the screen -- which is why this book is so valuable. Our overlooked ethnic groups -- African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Jewish Americans, and Native Americans -- now have a wonderful reference source to help them understand who they are, where they're from, where they're going. This encyclopedia may be a bit pricey for average bookbuyers (where's the cheaper paperback edition?), but it will be criminal if every library in the country doesn't make it readily available.

Jim Parish has outdone himself with this voluminous, impeccably researched work which is a concept long overdue in the publishing world. With the fine work of Allan Taylor, he has created a wonderful tome and a reference book which will be quite useful as well as enjoyable to read. Well worth the money! Cough up! You'll be happy you did.

By Hollywood, I expected the author to concentrate his efforts on films, which would have been fine in and of itself. But I was surprised (pleasantly) to see the detail into which he looks at the presentation of ethnic groups on television as well. This is the book that should be required reference material on every course in pop culture and in film studies as well. But don't let that scare you away from reading it. The book is written in a style that everyone can enjoy. It's one of those books once you pick up and start flipping through, you spend hours going through.

This book sticks to the music, and what music it was, or should I say, what music *made* - sometimes from situational film material. But this work sticks mainly to A-list, non-soundtrack recordings.
Whether he stuck closely to the demo, or reference disc, or completely reworked the tune, he made it at least interesting and listenable, and those that didn't make that cut (like "Hey Jude") are given a fair chance.
Since '68, I still can't believe what he did with "You'll Never Walk Alone"; discovering years later it was he on piano working out a "head" arrangement on the spot, made it seem even greater. This book will remind you why you liked a particular track in the first place or why you should have. At age 17, I didn't appreciate the depth of this performance, which in this book is described with masterful strokes. Another revelation for me was in reading about "Crying In The Chapel". I've always enjoyed Elvis' record of it, but thought he could have put more *voice* on it. Roy and Aspell evaluated the number as a whole and brought out nuances which have caused me to realize that it, too, is A-list.
I would have been happy to find reviews of movie fluff entries like "Sand Castles" or "Shake That Tambourine", but let's hope we get an "alternate take edition" of this fine manuscript.

THIS NOVEL SHOULD GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS TO EVER BE WRITTEN ABOUT THE KING OF ROCK -N- ROLL . IT'S REALLY GOOD . IT TELL'S THE STORY BEHIND 112 OF THE KINGS GREATEST AND NOT SO GREATEST SONGS .IT FOCUSES ON WHAT REALLY IS GREAT ABOUT ELVIS' LIFE HIS MUSIC !

There have been 4,567 books written about Elvis, mostly by people who have never known him, but whose third cousin's sixth-removed niece might have once dated Elvis' former schoolteacher's third wife. Then there's "The Essential Elvis." What makes this book so different is that Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell trace Elvis' life and legacy through personal history as well as 112 of his most significant songs. The book doesn't proclaim to be an expose or definitive history (it's neither); what it is is a clear portrait of the Man Who Would Be King, told through behind-the-scenes knowledge that uncovers and pieces
together the story of a man, his times, talent and cultural influences. And the 20 photographs -- many of which have never been published --- add a nice touch.

"The Essential Elvis" is a thoughtful exploration of the King's music from 1954 until his death in 1977. It's an important and much-needed work that concentrates solely on Presley's artistry. Authors Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell break free from the ill-informed mythology of most Elvis publications by re-examining Presley's work in provocative, exciting ways. You may not agree with all of the writers' criticisms, but it encourages you to track down the 112 Elvis recordings listed in their book.

This excellent book is about what was most important to Elvis and his fans: his songs and music. One of the most significant things the authors said about Elvis is the following words: «The first and best thing that can be done for Elvis Presley is to lessen the emphasis that has been placed on his later years and focus on the talent and genius that define the King.....one of the reasons for his demise was because he cared and felt too much...it got to the point that being Elvis Presley was one of the hardest jobs in the world». I agree completely with the authors and, as a fan, my only wish is that this book will make the people, who don't respect Elvis, see the light...

I agree with all the previous reviewers, this is indeed a beautiful book. I could hardly put it down and stayed up late at night reading it. I was anxious to finish it to see how everything turned out and now wish I could still be reading it - I miss all the characters as if they were people I knew. I had just returned from my first trip to Ireland this past summer and was looking for movies and books set in that beautiful country. I found the movie "Falling for a Dancer" and liked it so much I looked for the book. I now want to read the rest of Diedre Purcell's books. She is a talented writer.

I saw the movie and fell for Liam Cunningham and am now looking for my Mossie Sheehan. I am not much for the romantical farce normally, but this one caught my eye and heart. I am also looking for a copy of the movie.

From beginning to end, I found this book truly enthralling. I absolutely adored it. I could not at all put it down. The story is in depth and right at the heart of conflicts of emotions. The characters are lovable and realistic. It is full of heart ache, joy, love, romance, modern dilemas and sex. What else does one need from a book?

My advice to any hopeless romantic is to read this book, and maybe even then, buy the video. Even if you have already seen the video, it is worth reading the book. The plot is a lot thicker and more enjoyable!

Falling for a Dancer is the first Deidre Purcell novel I had read. I bought it after having seen the movie; which by the way is also very good. I was immediately taken with the very difficult living conditions in post WWII Ireland. I hadn't realized hard the Irish worked just to have enough food for the many mouths at the table. The leading character Elizabeth is a credit to her heritage. I admired her sense of commitment, yet she wrestles with her strong, youthful sensuality. This book tells as much about life as it does about living. Gals, if you want a well developed story line with well-written sexuality and romance, this is your book. I now have a complete library of Purcell's works. As the previous reviewer said, this book is known by two titles, Ashes of Roses, and in the US, Falling for a Dancer. It is a novel I will read again & again. Even with its pathos and often heart wrenching tragedy, it is definitely a book you will not want to pass by.

Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if a certain event in your life had never occured?To read this novel is to read about the life of some one like that. If the bus had never broken down Elizabeth(Beth) would never have met George and her life wouldn't have been changed for the worse. It is the 1930's and Beth is living in Cork with her parents. She is after arriving home from a trip to Dublin with her friend Ida, but she has a deep secret that no one must know - she is pregnent and has only two choices- leave home and move into a home run by the nuns for unwed mothers or to marry... After a horrifying visit to the nun-run home Beth solomly decides to marry. The match is made for her, she is to wed a resently bereaved man named Neeley Scollard. After a quiet ceremony Beth is brought home- not to Cork but to her new home in Beara on the west most tip of Dingle where she is met by her new daughters.Beth has a son whom she calls Francey. Straight away it is obvious that Neeley is a strict man- all of his family fear him. Neeley's cousin Mossie is a decent type of person but Neeley maintains that Mossie is a land-grabber and that he and his family are to have nothing to do with him. After a dance Neeley losses his temper and hurts Francey, that night while Beth is in Cork hospital with Francey, Neeley dies. Everyone suspects that young Danny Mc Carthy has murdered him- noboby knows. After many years of heart ache and turmoil Beth wants to leave Beara but finds it too hard to leave. Mossie trys to win her heart but ............. You don't think that I'm going to tell you the whole story? If I did where's the point in reading the book? Deirdre Purcell is the best in a new type of writer. She is able to pull you into the story and into the lives the characters. I really enjoyed this book- I've read it God knows how many times. I have found that I hate to put this book down when I'm reading it. If you want to read more about the Scollard family, the continuation book is called Francey and it lets us know what happened the only boy and the rset of his clann (family for those of you that don't speak Irish). Happy reading- let me know if you read the book and enjoyed it or even if you hated it- I might be able to suggest more books for you. Slan o mise !! (Good bye from me !!

Ordered this book and it was received within a few days. Lots of very useful information but as this is the first volume of 3, some prices are are out of date. You should use the web site for each trip or call the phone number for up to date pricing. A very well written book that that describes interesting places to visit the year around.

Superbly illustrated with black/white photography and "user friendly" maps, One Tank Trips With Bill Murphy showcases 52 Florida-based adventures that can, quite literally, be taken with one tank of gas in the car, van, truck, or motorhome. From the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City to the Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota, a wealth of relevant information and "how to" advice make One Tank Trips With Bill Murphy a strongly recommended planning aid for anyone seeking fun in the Florida sun! Also very highly recommended is the new sequel, More One Tank Trips With Bill Murphy (0942084276, ...) which follows the same superbly presented composition of the first book and offers the vacationer with 52 additional fun-filled Florida excursions based on the "one tank of gas to get there and back) that ranges from the San Sebastian Winery in St. Augustine to the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum in Parrish. If you are planning an outing anywhere in Florida, begin by browsing through these two excellent travel idea guidebooks by Bill Murphy.

I got this book because I was new to the area - Am I glad I did! It has lots of wonderful places to visit including nature parks that locals didn't even know existed. I have given a copy of this book to all my overseas & out of state guests and they have enjoyed exploring the wonderful area we live in. Does not contain the big theme parks - we all know where they are - but all the hidden and interesting places that are suitable for all ages. A great book!!!!

I like Bill Murphy's choices for downhome, uniquely Floridian trips to a variety of sights. But if you would like more of the same painted on a bigger canvas, give Real Florida: A Travel Guide for the Passionate Yet Practical (The Budget Romance Traveler series) a try. This friendly book has a great "budget-romance" attitude and spans the state from Apalachicola to the upper Keys. (The author is a Tampa native, too.)

THIS GREAT TRAVEL BOOKS BY WELL KNOWN TV ANCHOR BILL MURPHY HAS SOLD 75,000 COPIES SINCE November. It is well written with 52 great trips to take on just one tank of gas. You will be surprised how many other interesting places has besides Walt Disneyworld!!!!

This is a multi-layered book that gives the reader a great feel for the many facets of movie-making. Its structure, with is juxtaposition of Mr. Damon's dreams, goals, feelings, and fears as a young actor with the more cured and wizened insights of a Hollywood producer and innovator allows the reader a real and intriguing (and somewhat titillating) experience of a world for which we joes-public seem to have so much, at once, fascination and ignorance. Mr. Damon blends his first (and first-hand) experience with method acting (for which Marlon Brando was so well-known) and his palpable sensibility and angst regarding the friction between west coast "movie actors" and east coast "stage actors" with first-person accounts of the wars he fought while inventing the international film sales business model (and, by the way, this latter point regarding international sales really seems to be a major contribution that Mr. Damon seems to have made in the "movie industry"). He gives accounts of the politics and subterfuge that accompany an up-and-coming actor as backdrop for the politics and subterfuge that accompany Hollywood business. I would think that this would be important history for anyone interested in entering the Hollywood realm. For me, as a casual observer, Mr. Damon provides this history with humor, candor, and an openness that proved very accessible and certainly eye-opening. (Besides all this, you'll get the fascinating story of how Das Boot was translated into English, widely considered to be the best movie translation of all time.)

Mark Damon's life story gives the reader a peek into a world that most of us outside the film industry could never imagine. His many careers within a career intricately describe a man who was never satisfied with being good at what he does - he had a compelling need to be the best, as an actor, independent film salesman and producer. Mark continuously plays a high stakes game with his professional lives and has won way more than he lost along the way. In his continuing quest for success, Mark almost single handedly brought the independent film industry to be a force to reckon with in the entertainment business. And the format of the book, moving forward and backward in time, keeps the reader riveted to it, anxiously awaiting the next episode. You won't find another story about a man and his industry as unique as this one.

Mark Damon's excellent biography is a testament to determination and talent. Damon's amazing resilience to overcoming defeat and achieving success shines through again and again. The book resonates with the truth of a man who has looked at himself, warts and all, and has put it all out there for the reader. Having broken new ground in developing a new way of marketing motion pictures thoughout the world he has assured himself an important place in the history of the movie business. His book is a must read, not only for show business people, but as an inspirational statement about "picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and starting all over again." Mark Damon's multi faceted career, from a star of "spaghetti westerns" to a producer of major motion picures, with many acomplishments along the way, makes for a facinating read. I recommend the book without reservation.

I couldn't put it down. A real Hollywood page-turner. Very well written bio that flips back and forth between the childhood genius puzzle inventor and early age money maker to the high flying Hollywood film distributor/producer. Fast paced and inspiring, the book took me to Hollywood, via Chicago, Italy, and Cannes. I loved reading about this man who not only brought us some very important movies, like Das Boot, and Monster, but was also at the top of his game in at least three career areas, most wouldn't even attempt. I strongly suggest you try it--a great summer, or anytime read.

From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster is a well written, outstanding autobiography. It's a true "American Success" story which mostly covers the last half of the twentieth century. Mark Damon has led a remarkable life which most people would envy. He truly invented the international film sales business. The story of his life is entertaining reading and the book will grab your attention and not let go. I would highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in the entertainment business (particularly film). A must read!.

It's unfortunate that when talking about Jeff Smith, there's always the issue of what did or didn't happen in his personal life, but for those of us who were fans of the show we will always remember him for what he was, one of the top voices in food television long before anyone ever even thought of the Food Network. He had intelligence, humor, and a warmth of personality that only a handful of people could ever communicate through cathode rays, and those same traits are to be found here in these pages.
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American is hands down my favorite of his cookbooks, and one of my absolute favorite cookbooks ever. It's a wonderful lesson in American cuisine and full of wonderful recipes. I frequently find it sitting on my coffee table, and it gets read, even when I'm not looking to cook anything.

First off, I'm a big fan of Smith, nevermind all the scandal. I watched his show religiously when I was a kid, and his were the first cookbooks I ever really read. He got me into cooking, for sure. This is one of his better books. Interesting lessons, great recipes, both unique and familiar. Some of my best versions of things, like chicken and dumplings, jambalya, barbeque, biscuits, and chili come directly from this book. Like all his recipes, they're straightforward, and always turn out well. I love his writing "voice", he always made me feel welcome in his world, and I view this book as a comfort, these days. It's like slipping into a favorite sweater. Even if you don't cook from it, it's worth reading just to read.

The Frugal Gourmet' Jeff Smith shows us some great American standards with interesting historic information to boot with this authentic American cook book! This is an excellent cook book for everyone. Jeff Smith has another winner here! It's full of great recipes and stories by a very talented cook and writer. This one focuses on American cooking. I have used many of these recipes and found them to be very good. Being a home grown cook myself and having a mother who is a fantastic cook, I found this book to be very helpful in expanding my culinary taste buds.

Jeff Smith entertained us for years on his PBS program 'The Frugal Gourmet'. Not only did he teach us many savory dishes, he also educated us. Not satisfied with just cooking delicious meals for his viewers, he would give detailed history lessons about the origins of the dish and made it all a lot of fun!

This may be Mr. Smiths best cook book and it is a worthy edition to everyone's cook book library. I own and have read many, if not all of his cook books, not only for the man's knowledge of cooking, but his incredible wit! This guy was funny and I would have loved to have hung out and throw a few beers down with him.

Unfortunately, this man had some very seriously bad press released about his personal life and well..... I am not one to spread rumors.....he seemed like a great guy and sadly he died before he was able to clear his name.

R.I.P. Frugs!

This is a great book, not only in the recipies (which are all wonderful), but in the stories BEHIND the recipies: where it all came from. I used this book quite a bit in the States, and now that I live in Germany I don't know what I would do without it. Our friends are always asking me for TRUE American dishes (not just the hamburgers everyone associates with the States.)

I really love all thoseHistory stories about GeorgeWashington, Thomas JeffersonThe Pilgrims Etc. that went along with the recipes.I hope that Jeff Smith will return to Television very,very soon.

Vishnevskaya's reputation for forthrightness AND the sub-title she chooses here --A Russian Story-- indicate strong intentions for this book. Not 'MY Russian Story', but 'A Russian Story', because Galina Vishnevskaya tells an epic Russian story, honoring with a severe truth the Russia of sorrows of which her story forms but a unique part. This is no prima donna's idle tableau of a curtained career. Vishnevskaya's art comes of suffering, & she doesn't head down that road. She divulges her art generously, but her attitude never self serves. Her aim is always higher - she's interested to say not only what HAPPENED in Soviet life, but what WAS. and WHO!--- Vishnevskaya regularly excoriates with galvinizing abandon the soviet lackeys with whom she had to deal! She names names and motives, because it's the damned truth! The West in general and artists in particular owe a huge debt to Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya for the willing sacrifice of themselves in exile for the simple truth. Rostropovich garners the commentary in the West with the cello & conducting, but Galina is the heart of genius, and THAT seems the telling component in this book. Her depiction of Solzhenitsyn is heartrending, and stands as the book's axis; everything leads to it, and derives from it. Her friendship with Shostakovich, her brilliant feelings toward him-- an almost daughterly reverence informed by the highest artistic aesthetic. It's also through the part Shostakovich played in her life that we meet a musically learned Galina as well. She was a musician FIRST, singer second. How rare and wonderful - no wonder Slava fell in love! Galina dances with the shadows of Shostakovich throughout, & it's one of the book's endearing aspects. There are wonderful stories too of Britten and his music, & a surprisingly frank exposition of Furtseva, soviet Minister of Culture, whose enigmatic machinations both helped and ill-served Galina more than once. Vishnevskaya can sing AND write! The book ends when you don't want it to, leaving Russia... it's ultimately a love story -- Galina and Russia. Maybe she'll yet write her American story.

"...We were actors in real life and human beings on the stage."

Thus spake Galina Vishnevskaya, in interviews she and her husband, Mstislav ("Slava") Rostropovich, gave in Paris in 1983, captured in a companion book ("Russia, Music, and Liberty: Conversations with Claude Samuel.") to this one. The quotation barely begins to suggest the Kafkaesque world in which they lived, when they were musical artists of the highest order in the Soviet Union.

Vishnevskaya was a "prima donna assoluta" at the Bolshoi Opera during her prime, arguably the finest Russian soprano of all time. And, as her prime overlapped those of Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, one can only wonder what her international reputation might have been had her career been entirely in the west; the first two-thirds (and best) part of it was largely away from the gaze of the international music community.

This is, as she subtitles it, her "Russian story" covering her life up to the final hours in 1976 when she left the Soviet Union, eventually (two years later) as an exile. And it almost ended before it ever started.

Born in poverty to parents who abandoned her to her grandmother, she possessed an incredible voice as a child. Largely self-taught, and then - at age sixteen - improperly taught - she didn't learn proper voice technique until after she had established a beginning career in operetta. Then she contracted TB, and the doctor caring for her offered that the only cure - which she refused - was to collapse the infected lung. It was only by mortgaging her future singing fees for black-market purchase of scarce antibiotics that she recovered.

In 1952, in her mid-twenties, she auditioned for the youth group of the Bolshoi Opera Theater, was instantly accepted, underwent a meteoric rise through the Bolshoi ranks on her voice and talent, and soon became the prima diva of the troupe. In 1955, she met Rostropovich, whose courting of her is one of the few lighthearted sections of an otherwise chilling tale of intrigue, deception and lies in the intelligentsia circles in which the pair of them existed and performed.

The next two decades (1955 - 1975) of this journal focus largely on one person, and the special relationship that they had with him: Dmitri Shostakovich. As artists, it was only natural that their paths would cross and thereafter, for the rest of Shostakovich's life, intertwine. But this was more than acquaintanceship; it was friendship based on trust during Shostakovich's years when it was virtually impossible for him to trust anyone. And Vishnevskaya defended that trust with the ferocity of a tiger. One anecdote of her ferocity will suffice as an example.

In the early 1960's, the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko was well-published in "accepted" Soviet literature journals despite his "rebelliousness." His famous poem, "Babi Yar" (1961) about the German slaughter of Ukranian Jews during WW II, gained overnight success, and Shostakovich, moved by the poem's message, placed it at the core of his Thirteenth Symphony with Yevtushenko's warm agreement. The work received its Russian premiere "as is" on December 18, 1962, and was tumultuously received by the audience but not by officials of the state, who read into it a message of Russian complicity in the matter of anti-Semitism, a subtext of Yevtushenko's that was undoubtedly accurate, as he revised the text shortly after the premiere without consulting Shostakovich. Some years later, in London where Vishnevskaya and Rostropovich met up with Yevtushenko, Vishnevskaya gave Yevtushenko a tongue-lashing over his "revisionism" that runs several pages.

In an act of supreme political courage involving another Russian writer, Rostropovich provided refuge, for four years in the early '70's, to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whose writings on conditions in the Soviet Union were officially banned. Solzhenitsyn subsequently went into political exile, but this act of courage was to have its effect on the careers of Vishnevskaya and Rostropovich, particularly the latter, who for all intents and purposes had his abilities to perform and conduct stripped away from him. Only by "pulling in markers" were the two of them able to secure permission from Brezhnev to go abroad on a two-year "artistic leave."

"Galina" ends on a note of uncertainty and apprehension, as Vishnevskaya, in 1976, boards a plane with her two daughters to join Rostropovich in the West, eventually (1978) in exile when their citizenship was revoked for the Solzhenitsyn matter. But this is merely the end of her "first" Russian life and the beginning of another, more international, one. Her own career as a diva continued for nearly another decade; Rostropovich went on to become an internationally-known conductor while continuing his career as a preeminent cellist; with "perestroika," they made an historic return to Moscow in 1990 (after Gorbachev restored their citizenship), at which Rostropovich conducted what is to me the finest performance of Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" Symphony (immortalized on a Sony CD that also included Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" and William Schuman's orchestral arrangement of Charles Ives's "Variations on America").

Nowadays Vishnevskaya loves to brag about her six thoroughly-Americanized grandchildren. They oversee the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, a charity for immunizing Russian children against disease. She recently founded the Galina Vishnevskaya School of Opera in Moscow, for providing master classes to promising young artists. All in all, a rather remarkable "follow-up" for this peripatetic pair of seemingly perpetually-young 75-year-olds.

But the clock cannot be turned back. "Galina" serves as a gripping reminder of how things were over the fifty years that the two of them spent in the Soviet Union. And, at least as important for me, it serves as one of the most honest and accurate appraisals of Dmitri Shostakovich the person as one is likely to find, from one who knew and loved him as a true friend.

Even in a totalitarian society, supreme artistry can sometimes carry clout. For Vishnevskaya (and Rostropovich), there was enough clout - barely - to get out and "live to tell about it." Thankfully.

Bob Zeidler

Of all the singer's biographies I've read (which is plenty!) this remains at the top of the heap. It is a journey that could have only come from the pen of Vishnevskaya and, unlike so many autobiographies which eventually turn into a "And then I sang _____, and then I sang at the White House, and then I . . . " Galina reads almost like a novel. Her description of the Soviet Union during the war years is positively chilling. The road she took to success, punctuated by hardships followed by tragedies is never less than enthralling. How many biographies can truly be called "page turners?" Well, this is one!

The insights she gives into the Soviet system, the role and treatment of artists by the government, her personal views on politicians, singers, composers all come off with rare candor that almost caused me to blush.

Feeling mezzo soprano Elena Obratzsova had been been a betrayer, she humiliated the young singer in public shouting out "Judas" writing of Obratzsova's exit, "Like a snake with a broken spine, she crawled past the amazed Americans, who stood aside to let her pass." Ouch!

My favorite passage from the book succinctly, and pointedly paints the most vivid picture of the Soviet system:


In this vast, monstrous theater, with our faces twisted by
underground jargon, we Soviets wriggle and squirm for one
another. We are actors by compulsion, not by calling, in an
amateur theater run by no one. And all our lives we perform our
endless, pathetic comedy. There are no spectators, only
participants. Nor is there a script, only improvisation. And
knowing neither plot nor denoument, we act.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Whether or not one is a fan of opera, this will prove to be an enlightening, fascinating read.

[Taken from my review of the hardcover edition - same comments nevertheless apply.]

As one reads this book, where Gospozhá (Mme.) Vishñévskaja is throughout blunt about everything she turns her pen to, one really gets not only great entertainment generally (it is most excellently written!!); it is a superb window into the Russian soul at its best in addition to being an outstanding analysis of the conditions of artistry, artistic life and life generally under the Soviets!! It also serves as an excellent guide into the great composer Dmítriy Dmitrjévich Shostakóvich's life and artistry as well as that of her husband Mstíslav Ljeopóljdovich Rostropóvich; furthermore, its recounting some of the scandals forced by the Communist leadership when they couldn't accept the fame and worthiness of such books as "Doktor Zhivágo", "The First Circle" and "The GULag Archipelago" as well as such pieces of music as "Lady Macbeth of Mcjénsk District", the 13th Symphony and enough other works of Shostakóvich is positively juicy even in the midst of the disgust and revolt caused by reading how intolerant Communism really is!!!

An ABSOLUTE MUST for any intelligent person to read and have in his library - especially if he is into the arts and/or politics in any way whatsoever!!!! This is one of those relatively rare books which both entertains AND edifies - and does it all superbly (what a life experience on her part!)!!!!

[POSTSCRIPT: This very book (which I've enjoyed rereading MANY, many times!!!) also was critically influential in preparing me to go hear - and fall in love with!!!! - Shostakóvich's operatic 'magnum opus' "Lady Macbeth of Mcjénsk District" when it was given its Canadian première by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto in 1988.]

Galina, né Pavlova, has many interesting stories to tell about her remarkable life: as a baby abandoned by her parents, an army officier and a polish/gypsy mother, she was raised by her paternal grandmother. Galina overcame so many difficulties in her life, surviving the blockade of Leningrad during the war and so many hardships such as tuberculosis and starvation. Unlike so many singers' biographies, this intelligent artist shares more than anecdotes about the opera world and her many successes in the theatre. She speaks of her personal friendships with people such as composer Shostakovich her neighbor, scientist Andrei Sakarov, also a neighbor, and writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a live-in guest in her dacha. There is much commentary written with not a little bitterness about the Soviet authorities who so often thwarted her career and blocked free expression in the arts within the Soviet country and in other countries where she was invited to perform. She writes very well and with much insight into philosophy, human relations, personalities, etc. I found the book very absorbing and hard to put down. Her close friendship with British composer Benjamin Britten also yields many stories of their memorable times together both at Aldeburgh and on vacation in Armenia and Russia. Her remarkable and at times stormy marriage to cellist/conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, her third husband, brought about big changes in her life, and their mutual courage and boldness to stand up for freedom against the Soviet regime cost them their citizenship.

Got it, enjoyed it.....ordered it with another book that I never got, but that's okay!

This book is a must have for anyone who is an Earl Hamner or Walton fan. Mr. Hamner's rawest emotions exude from each page as he so eloquently shares his thoughts and experiences about the women of his latest book.

This book was very well written. The ladies written about were interesting people.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (2/07)

"Each of our lives is the result of a myriad of encounters with an astonishing variety of our fellow human beings." Earl Hamner celebrates the lives of 29 remarkable women that touched his life.

Where else would Mr. Hamner start than with his mother, Doris Giannini Hamner? "My mother and father had a good marriage. They genuinely loved each other. Some evidence that they got along reasonably well is that eight children were the result of their love." His series "The Walton's" was based on memories of his childhood growing up in Virginia.

Ellen Corby played the part of Grandma Walton in the TV series. Ellen brought tartness to a show filled with sweet characters. While Ellen and Earl did not always see eye to eye they developed a strong friendship over the years. Ellen's life defines tenacity. After suffering a stroke she returned to her role as Grandma uttering the words, "Need Me!"

Patricia Neal played the role of Olivia in the special "The Homecoming." She was beautiful and elegant. She later stated that the reason she didn't play Olivia in the series was because she "wasn't asked."

Olivia was my favorite character in the series. Michael Learned "was then and remains today, a radiant actress, an exciting and loyal friend." The stress of a long running series took its