Biography Books


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Biography Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Biography
The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers
Published in Paperback by Adams Media (2001-10-01)
Author: Karl Iglesias
List price: $12.95
New price: $5.90
Used price: $5.75

Average review score:

Motivating, Inspiring, Informative
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-11
This book was very helpful. As someone who currently has no "mentor" so to speak in the film industry, this book has acted as my temporary guide. It addresses many problems screenwriters go through, as well as warning people of the pitfalls that many aspiring screenwriters fall into. Highly recommended.

BUY IT!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-05
I own several screenwriting books and consider this one to be in the top 3 (McKee and Vogler being the other 2). The reason is because this is one of the few screenwriting books with information coming straight from successful screenwriters. This is key, because through their insights you can better understand how they work, think, and live. And this ultimately affects your writing positively because a lot of the uncertainties during the writing process are discussed. It won't teach you about structure etc, but it contains information that to me was equally vital: how to think as a successful screenwriter.

If you read only one book on screen writing, read this one
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-18
In real estate they discuss the three "L's" Location, location, location. This is the three "W's" Write, Write and Write more. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to write a screen play.

A Must Read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-14
This is a must read for anyone who aspires to be a screen writer. Any wannabe writer has their own personal favorite blogs, a blog that helps inspire, motivate and teach them. This book is almost a best of those blogs from successful writers whose movies they have written have actually BEEN PRODUCED.
The one main theme of this book is just write and write and write because you love writing and not because you want the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle. Great writing will open a lot of doors for one and most importantly, keep that door open.
In my opinion, I like to study and and read how successful writers from all genres got their first break, their work ethic and how most importantly they work through writer's block and rejection. Again, Karl Iglesias' book does that successfully.

The truth you need to hear before pursuing your dreams
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-10
I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iglesias at the Screenwriting Expo. He knows his craft, he loves the business. And he's brutally honest in conveying the realistic odds of breaking into Hollywood. While no one ever says it's easy, he can tell you just how hard. This book is a must read for any aspiring screenwriter. Interviewing some of the greatest screenwriters, they all are forthcoming in telling their own tales of struggle, achievement, success, and most of them, frustration.

This book may be geared toward all screenwriters, however it succeeds in leaps and bounds, by telling the realistic truth any up-and-coming screenwriter needs to hear. Too often people are putting together a script hoping to win the lotttery, sell it for mid-six figures, and not taking the time to understand that the money should never be the motivating factor of writing any script. And if that's your only motivation, you'll never succeed in making your dream come true. This book reminds those of us that do it for a different reason, what that reason is. It's the love of writing. Anything else, any other reason, is simply a waste of time and energy.

Mr. Iglesias lays it out in plain view, through interview after interview, just how much of an uphill battle it is get someone to simply give your script a look, and even then, chances of your selling it are slim. Nicholas Kazan once spoke at a seminar. He told them to go turn in their registration forms and go home. He then told them that if any of them seriously entertained that advice, they would never make it. It's all about challenge and it's all about sacrifice. This book will help you realize how important both of those things are.

Biography
Amazing Grace
Published in Paperback by New Age World Publishing (2003-01)
Author: Laura Knight-Jadczyk
List price: $21.95

Average review score:

Life-Changing
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-31
It is difficult to write about a book that in many ways was life-changing. It awoke within me the realisation that the Grail Quest was not something that had to do with psychedelic lights, mystical mumbo jumbo, ritual, or chanting "ommmmm". It was intimately linked to one's daily life. And it threw down the gauntlet, as if it was saying, "Now that you've understood that part, what are you going to do about it?!"

For this reason, this book will not be to everyone's taste. If one wants to escape life, then there are thousands of other books out there. If one is interested in the results of Knight-Jadczyk's search, then The Secret History of the World, which presents many details of her thirty years of research, is the book to read. But if one wants evidence that the Grail Quest is open to anyone, no matter their background, this is an excellent place to begin.

The seeker of the Grail is "a widow's son," born in obscurity, beset on all sides by trials and tricks and traps, and that suffering and overcoming this suffering is what purifies the soul and gives hope to others. This is the true alchemical work. This is the point that Amazing Grace illustrates. That is the purpose of the book, to bring the Grail Quest and esoteric work down to earth through the story of a woman living in the backwoods of Florida, whose struggle to overcome her many problems became the means by which she became a true Knight of the Grail. All of us have the same opportunity.

To further understand the Knight-Jadczyk's development, what happened after Amazing Grace ends, it is necessary to read the Wave series and other articles on her site.

I mentioned above that Amazing Grace was life-changing. When I first read Amazing Grace, I knew nothing at all about the author. In my case, it led to my eventual contact with Laura Knight-Jadczyk. I now work with her. I mention this in the interest of full disclosure. I would have left the book unrated for that that reason, unfortunately, Amazon does not offer that option.

And a note to a previous reviewer who mentioned the passage on sending Laura's daughter to do the shopping -- no, the six-year-old did not go alone. She went with her father. They lived far out in the country and had to drive into town. Not even a precocious six-year-old could get away with that. Also, Laura doesn't talk to "aliens". The Cassiopeans describe themselves as "Us in the future", but Knight-Jadczyk also hypothesizes that they could be the manifestation of her subconscious self.

An Inspiring Read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-03
I have discovered this book to be a fascinating and heart-felt autobiography of a unique individual who traveled on the road of "many dangers, toils and snares," and on the quest for the truth and of discovery. This is the story of the Soul who saw and experienced many hidden dangers of the unseen evil in our world and discovered the most difficult truth about the nature of our reality through her experiences as expressed in this book. The lessons she learned and experienced give us a strong understanding behind Laura Knight-Jadczyk's passion for knowledge and Truth, and we can learn from these lessons.

This book is consisted of 44 chapters with roughly 540 pages, and it is very well written and very inspiring.

I truly agree with this author as she said in the end of her introduction (p. 14):

"We have the potential to discover the genuine existence of spirit and the play of the archetypal forces in our world, and to connect with them in a dynamic way."

The Grace of the Author is What is Amazing
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-30
This is the story of the life of a one-of-a-kind individual, the sort you might read about in, say, one the great Russian novels of the 19th century. It won't be anything like what you may expect, but you will find yourself, at its end, loving this ordinary/larger-than-life woman and the richness that is her life.

Outstanding Read....
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-14
Laura Knight-Jadczyks' writing style kept me riveted to this book. It is her story of Mystery and Intrigue. The "Adventures" she endured were quite incredible and written so eloquently as to keep you wanting more. I highly recommend this book and found it an outstandingly good read.

An Amazing read
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-22
The author eloquently expresses her experiences in this account. It's easy to see the programs and patterns when someone puts it down for us to see. But can we see it so readily in our own lives? This one left me with many questions about my own experiences, and those around me. An eye opener.

Biography
Animatrix-a Female Animator: How Laughter Saved My Life
Published in Paperback by AuthorHouse (2003-09-15)
Author: Heidi Guedel
List price: $23.95
New price: $15.13
Used price: $15.07

Average review score:

animatrix indeed
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-11
Miss Guedel's book is a wonderful,honest and insightful memoir of the Disney animation studio of the 1970's.Her portraits of many of the talented artists are both humorous and revealing in ways that avoid trivialization and cheap sentimentality.She is a gifted author and one can only hope for a sequel book which chronicles her time with the Don Bluth studio.This book is a must have for any serious scholar of traditional Disney 2d animation history.

What a Movie this would make
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-12
An amazing, archetypal hero's odyssey,
I could not put it down.
I attended BHHS and knew Heidi and many of the other players, and can attest to the veracity of all she writes.
Any Producers out there, here is a fantastic opportunity!

This book explains a lot about the Heidi I knew...
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-21
Heidi was my step-cousin but we lost touch after Helen Parrish (her step-mother and my aunt) died. While reconnecting with Helen's two children last year, one (Choddy) showed me a copy of Heidi's book and I promptly bought a copy and read it.

I visited Helen and John Guedel occasionally, although I lived in Atlanta at the time. I remember Heidi as being perennially sullen and aloof but this book details "the rest of the story". Clearly I would've been considerably more sympathetic had I known the hardships she suffered during her earlier childhood.

This is a great story and well told, undoubtedly a catharsis for Heidi but a great read, too. I was disappointed at not learning how her life evolved following her departure from Disney. Guess I'll have to wait for the sequel.

I'm going back east for another reunion with Helen's children this week and to see my last living aunt on the Parrish side, Kathy, whom I haven't seen in 35 years. Thinking about it reminded me to share my thoughts on Heidi's book.

Read it...I think you'll enjoy it even if you weren't there.

OH! The iconoclastic sense of humor!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-08
OH_MY_GOD. This author posts on a site called Internet Infidels, and believe me she STILL pulls no punches. She still posts under her real name. I wouldn't if I were her. I'm sure the outraged religious fundamentalists will come here next and try to pan her book. WOW.....After following some of her posts, I looked up Heidi Guedel's profile on the Internet Infidels site and it led me here to Amazon and her book. I've just finished it. Now I understand...... and I can't stop laughing.

After you learn about her childhood, and her sanity-saving ability to turn even the worst human behavior and circumstances into humor (much like Groucho Marx did, and she met Groucho, by the way, because her father produced the Groucho TV show) you get to ride the waves of laughter along with her as she turns Disney Studios upside-down by stamping "BULL$**T" on the company memos they posted in the hallways, and putting fake puddles of spilled beer on stacks of priceless animation drawings just to watch a rather pompous artist implode. There are many more pranks and scandalous tales about some famous artists in the animation business, including one who recently won an Academy Award for 3-D special effects.

And far from poking fun only at everyone else, she bares her own soul and exposes her own legendary boo-boos - like accidentally putting a stack of drawings by famous Disney animator Ollie Johnston on the roof of her car and driving off without it. She returns in the middle of the night, realizing what she must have done, and finds one drawing left on the street in front of the studio, with a tire mark across it. What she does about it next is so poignantly funny..... but I won't spoil it for you. Read this book. It is so special and so REAL.

A brilliant mind with a wild sense of humor
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-07
I first became aware of Heidi Guedel when I was lurking around reading debates on Suijuris and Internet Infidels. I am amazed at this person's writing talent. I am also surprised that she posts under her real name, considering the firey way that she stands up for her opinions. I am not surprised that some people that she out argued on an internet forum have tried to pan her book by putting insulting reviews here. But this book really speaks for itself. After I became impressed with Heidi's unusual ability to debate so brilliantly with all kinds of people on many different subjects, I did a search of her on google and found her book. I looked inside and could not stop reading. If the whole book had been available here I would have read it right through to the end. I could identify with her feelings right along with her. This book is not sad or depressing, it is inspiring. She has such courage and determination. She became a Disney animator and met some of the greatest and most famous animators of all time, like Milt Kahl and Ollie Johnston. She is mischievious and imaginative, which comes through in the writing. Most of all her astounding intelligence comes through in her writing, both in her book and in the debates she participates in on the internet. It's too bad that this book was not published by a big company that would advertize it and promote it. It is an undiscovered treasure.

Biography
My life and hard times (Armed Services edition)
Published in Unknown Binding by Editions for the Armed Services (1944)
Author: James Thurber
List price:

Average review score:

My Life & Hard Times
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
James Thurber was one of the funiest authors of all time and this book cements his reputation. I enjoyed it many years ago and after re-reading it, I enjoyed it again.

Amusing introduction to beloved wit
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-23
Should be required reading for all folks of any age looking for an introduction to life in these United States, for those learning to overcome despair and disaster with humor and grace, for any and all learning the English language.

A fun Thurber book for all his fans
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-18
Thurber is a great favorite of mine, and this was another fun book to read.

An old, old fashioned read.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-24
Take your mind back half a century and read these mildly amusing essays about life in the 1920s and 1930s. The style is so different from modern prose, but it is well worth the read.

Talent Like This is Rare
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-25
Thurber's classic about growing up in Columbus, Ohio is laugh out loud funny, even 80 years removed. Talent like this is rare. He deserves his literary reputation.

Biography
The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk
Published in Paperback by Grove Press (1998-08-04)
Author: Palden Gyatso
List price: $14.00
New price: $7.25
Used price: $3.99
Collectible price: $14.00

Average review score:

Highly Recommended
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-05
This book is a deeply moving and informative story about what has been going on in Tibet ever since the Chinese invasion and crackdown. It's a critically important story for anyone interested in the truth, in the ongoing oppression of Tibetans and Tibetan Culture, and in world affairs in general. The story of this one monk is representative of events at large. Whether you're a Buddhist or not, this book is not to be missed.

There is also a documentary about Gyatso Palden, called Fired Under the Snow, and if you are lucky enough to see it , it is also highly recommdned. I met Palden Gyatso at a recent screening and was deeply touched. He is old now, but free, and has devoted the rest of his life to telling his story so we can KNOW what's going on.
It is heart-wrenching but inspiring at the same time. Read it and spread the word!

A SHORT NOT TOO EASY TO READ LIFE STORY
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-06
An American friend was profoundly moved by the suffering she saw in Tibet recently...as red china gears up for the Olympics.
Palden Gyatso's is an incredible story of suffering and faith.
Tibetans' face an ongoing now 60 year struggle to retain their heritage and to not be `disappeared' up by a communist regime.
When I was much younger I read a book `With God In Russia"..this is its buddist counterpart!
What struck me about the other reviews is that they don't mention we the free world ESPECIALLY THE USA is now on the hook to Red China!
AND IT CAN HAPPEN ELSEWHERE!
MAO KILLED 60 MILLION...OR SO THAT'S THE NUMBER I READ....the other accountas of the book don't take this into account..what happened in Russia/china/tibet/Vietnam/north korea can happen elsewhere.....and china grows richer and stronger year by year.

Engaging Read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-04
I recently met Palden Gyatso at a Dalai Lama teaching and bought a copy of his book there, mostly as a way to support him. Though I read all the time I rarely finish a book as I usually lose interest 2/3 of the way through and move on to something else. But this book was an exception - incredibly interesting and inspiring - I finished it very quickly.

Informative, interesting, inspiring
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-20
This is a great book. I am an activist for Tibetan independence and knew much about the atrocities taking place in Tibet since 1949, but this book put a face to the facts. I highly recommend this book if you're interested in Tibet, Buddhism, or in learning about a remarkable man who went through horrible oppression and has emerged gracefully.

About as powerful book as you will ever find.....
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-15
This book is a testimony to the endurance of the human spirit, able to overcome the most nefarious system perhaps the world has ever known. The fact that Palden Gyatso is able to relay his story to you and me is nothing short of a miracle after what he had to endure for years inside China's prison system undergoing "reformation." The stories of torture, starvation and freezing nights will stay with you forever and make you question how strong your own beliefs are and whether you could do what Palden Gyatso did. I do not wish to reveal too much, but will say that calling the story compelling is a vast understatement.

This book is as important now as ever. China has the 2008 Olympic games and yet these brutalities continue to occur. Not to mention the fact that China is now relocating Chinese into the Tibetan region, threatening forever one of the world's great cultures through dilution of the society and culture.

Buy this book and see both the horrors of mankind and also his greatness in what he can overcome. If you like this book, I would also recommend Ama Adhe's book from a woman's perspective in the same system. We often hear the word hero, but rarely is it so appropriate as it is in describing these amazing individuals.

Biography
Be A Global Force Of One! ... In Your Hometown
Published in Paperback by Pacrim Publishing (1999-07)
Author: John T. Boal
List price: $14.95
New price: $9.90
Used price: $0.53

Average review score:

Excellent Resource and Inspiration
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-07
This is an excellent resource for those who already volunteer or want to and don't know exactly where to start. Even if you don't volunteer with any of these 202 examples, you'll certainly be inspired to find your niche to help others. The contact information about each group is very helpful. John's last chapter, 20-point Front-End Alignment" was an added bonus of inspiration.

Practical and Feasible
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-15
I'm a retired manager from one of the major automakers. The business community has changed greatly over the past 35 years and has become more socially conscious. A Global Force of one provides practical and feasible ideas to implement projects with meaningful results.The bigger the company the harder it is to implement company wide programs this books shows how individual plants and offices can make a difference. Easy to read and well organized it can be read and re-read almost anywhere. I recommend this book to all management trainee's and middle managers.

subvert the dominant paradigm
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-10
I teach a social problems course at a large urban community college where practicality is of the essence in designing a course syllabus. This text introduces students to practical, exciting ideas for combatting the social problems of our communities and is a touchstone for a generation of young people entering society with a desire to do something worthwhile with their lives. I highly recommend this book for teachers, parents, and those interested in persoanl growth.

Good ideas but the book didn't work for me
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-19
I would like to thank the author for writing a book to inspire people and create a more caring world.

I think my most telling response to this book is that while it is supposed to get you excited about getting involved...I read it, put it on the shelf, and don't feel any more empowered than I did before I read it (which says just as much about me as it does about the book). While I agree with the intent of most of the highlighted programs, I don't feel ready to start a community program so I would just move on to the next page. Nothing really jumped out and made me say "Wow, that sounds amazing. YES! I want to support that program!".

Some similar books that I enjoyed more are: (1) How to Make the World A Better Place and (2) The Better World Handbook which discussed how you can integrate your values and actions on a daily basis and make a difference in many areas of your life (e.g. money, shopping, community, food, politics) instead of just through volunteering or helping to set up a new community, business, or school program (like most of Global Force of One did). If you want to read a book to inspire you and combat your cynicism I would also recommend Soul of A Citizen. After reading it I immediately went and volunteered in my community.

These books are more accessible to the amount of effort you are willing to put in and did a better job of meeting me where I am and encouraging me to taking positive personal steps to improve the world and live a more fulfilling life.

Good luck improving the world and living a life worth living!

Excellent source for service learning programs!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-08
John Boal's BE A GLOBAL FORCE OF ONE is one of the best resources I have ever found for community service learning projects. As a teacher of CSL, it's important to know what other projects are going on and how to modify them to fit your own school, agency, or club's needs. This should be used as a regular textbook in any formal CSL program on either the middle or high school level--it is in my program!

Biography
Before Gaia (Fearless Series Super Editions)
Published in School & Library Binding by Topeka Bindery (2003-12)
Author: Francine Pascal
List price: $15.70

Average review score:

Wow!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-26
My friend at school and I are both Fearless freaks, and we do this whole book-swapping thing. Well, when I handed her over one of my books, she handed me this, and I thought that it was an unnecissary book to read, and it would make no difference whether I read it or not...until I picked it up. WOWEE! It was great! The book is all about how Gaia is bumped into on the street in 2002, and given a mysterious message about how she can discover her past. The book will flip from the 'present' 2002, to the past 1973, when Tom (and oliver) met Katia. I recommend this book to all of the people who enjoy reading Fearless, and who want to discover more about this troubled teen! I honestly haven't looked at Tom and Oliver the same way (if you can call it 'looking') since! Enjoy this easily 5 star book!

One of the best in the seris!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-24
This book would have to be one of the best book out of the seris!
Gaia is acproached by one of Loki's old friends,who has quit Loki's agency and "Permantly Borrowed" some files about her parents and some of the evil thinks Loki did just so he could take Gaia or Katia.
Gaia does some detective work in this book to find the clues,and is revisted by some old memories.
As well in this book,we learn who Gaia's dad is but sadly Gaia doesnt get to find out as the files are snatched away from her.
A great book that I would recommend to any Fearless fan!

Thrilling
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-23
This book was brilliant. This young adult action/mystery series is about Gaia Moore, a New Yorker born without the fear gene. This book goes back to explain about how troubled and dangerous her parents' lives were. While some questions were answered, one still remains - how did Katia Moore end up dead? Slow to start, but built up dramatically into an absolute thriller. (A+)

Best should make more. super editions
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-26
This is such a good book. You learn a lot about Gaia's child past. And during this whole time she is trying to find things out. So in other words you know things she doesn't. During this Tom's twin bro comes up Gaia's mom and this weir dguy and about a few more you will have to find out about when you Read it.

Helps you out if you are confused
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-27
When i saw this book along with the next Fearless book i was picking up, i had to get it. Sometimes i would be so confused reading the books that i'd have to re-read some to understand completely what was going on and why. After i read Before Gaia, everything was much more clear. It explains many events in the past books that didn't make much sense. I would definetly recommend this book for any Fearless reader, but i warn you..if you haven't read all the books, don't count on understanding it!!

Biography
Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny : Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam
Published in Library Binding by (2008-10)
Authors: Zainab Salbi and Laurie Becklund
List price: $23.00
New price: $23.00

Average review score:

CAPTIVATING
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-02
There was not one moment during this book that I wasn't totally captivated. The author puts a human face on the struggle of those in Iraq who lived under Saddam Hussein. And throughout, you are constantly reminded that she was among the "fortunate" by comparison. I found it to be an excellent education in the history of the country and the evolution of it in recent decades as well. I read this book on a recent camping trip in New England when I should have been mesmerized by my surroundings. Instead, I found I could not put this book down.

Information you don't get from the media
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-10
Short and sweet.. This is an awesome book. You see so many sides of Suddam. His dark side certainly made him a candidate for his execution!

review
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-05
it took a while to get here, but it was in good condition when it did.

Between Two Worlds
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-13
Zainab Salbi's life seems idyllic, but even as a child she senses the tension felt by her wealthy parents as they entertain and are entertained by Saddam. Salbi's story shows two sides of Saddam: the cruel and abusive despot and the genial manipulator. In spite of the web Saddam spins around her family, Salbi experiences adolescent rebellion, ignorant of the danger her parents see threatening her, just as it threatened her mother and eventually ruins her parents' marriage. Salbi's story is a fascinating portrayal of a family living in luxury under tyranny and the dangers faced whether the choice is to endure or to escape.

Outstanding Memoir, Written With Humility!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-17
Wow! This book knocked me out. I could NOT put it down. It really helped me understand some of the conflict within Iraq, but more importantly, the author and tone of this book is just very human, real, and accessible. As a youngster, and for all of her formative years, Saddam Hussein is in the background as a family "friend". Though her parents resisted his friendship, they found it more and more dangerous not to be his friend. It's like living with the devil! However, the author eventually gets out of Iraq and away from Saddam Hussien, due to an arranged marriage. I won't say how that goes as I don't want to ruin the ending.

I do feel that this is one of the absolute BEST memoires I ever read and it was written with a lof of grace and humility. For me, it was an important book, and I highly recommend you read it. I think it will become a classic memoire.

Biography
Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll
Published in Paperback by Da Capo Press (2007-04-23)
Author: Rick Coleman
List price: $15.95
New price: $5.95
Used price: $3.95

Average review score:

Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost dawn of Rock'n Roll
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-25
Blue Monday is an interesting but not a compelling read. We never get inside Fat's head to understand the man, so we get an expanded discography. The dates, times and places seem to be well researched which begins to wear after a while. The matter of fact style just does not bring Fat's personal life into focus, although there are many descriptions of incedents about him. He remains a mystery in reference to his personal motivation, dual life style, and reclusive habits.
Russ H.

We waited...and finally saw...
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-13
I guess if Antoine "Fats" Domino could keep the President and First Lady waiting, then he could keep us waiting for his first biography - this is a Natural Born book about a musical genius, intriquing personality, and unassuming cultural revolutionary.
The author tells his story and includes many entertaining anecdotes about life at home and on the road with several sets of support players - the greatest names of course being Dave Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty, and Lee Allen. We get a strong picture of the smiling, "safe" rock and roller, as the often defiant man's-man. And a complex artist/showman: he could sing The Rooster Song while flashing rings to make Freddie Blassie envious.
A great bunch of previously unpublished black and white photographs from Look magazine, among other handsome prints of lesser known shots really bolster the text.
A serious ommission for the audiophiles: not even a selected discography and no sessionography. [Though there are "Notes" in the back of the book on the mysterious Broadmoor recordings, including personnale and dates!]. Of course the '50s period sessions can be found as a booklet in the Bear Family 8-CD set, and in a European book, "Jazz Records"; also in a fairly recent issue of Goldmine magazine. But Fats Domino ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise FD session data has never, to my knowledge, appeared in print, and what a fabulous component that would have made.
Speaking of the ABC-Paramount tracks, the author did not mention in the text a very important 4-CD set, "The Paramount Years", which included the *incredibly* rare fourth l.p. for that label, plus the 1980 "If I Get Rich" from another record company!
The idea that "The Fat Man" is the first R & R record also doesn't agree with me. Yes, the elements are there, the upbeat shuffle and bright lead vocal, but that powerful sound (and many others by Fats in that '49 to '54 period) were not *primarily* for the youth. The first discs to be produced for teenage tastes came much later. I wouldn't even include "Tutti Frutti" in that category, as it too, lyrically and instrumentally echoed an earlier, "swingin'" sound. [It was "Ready Teddy" folks which screamed out...Rock and Roll!!!].
Still, this book should be "required reading" for those dedicated followers of those Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

The Fat Man From New Orleans
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-16
Boy ol Boy, Rick Coleman has written a great book on the TRUE story of Rock & Roll! I know as I was there and if you want to know what it was really like to be on the scene when true rock & roll was called race music on a juke box, Boogie Woogie and the down home blues was taking over the country then get this book and turn others on to it also. No one person was more responsible for the birth of R&R and R&B than the Fat Man! This was long before Elvis, Haley and the hand full of others came on the bandwagon. [...]

IT'S ABOUT TIME FATS GOT HIS DUE
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-13
Rick Coleman's new book "Blue Monday" is the first full biography of Fats Domino. Many interesting things are therein.
- Fats was the first black rock & roll star. His records made the pop charts before r&r's dawn in 1955.
- Kids did not buy albums in the 50s, but Fats' albums sold, meaning he had an adult following like Louis Armstrong's.
- Fats concerts were often scenes of teenage riots. He may be known for `Blueberry Hill,' but his fierce rolling piano ignited his audience.
- "Blueberry Hill" was the product of a botched session. Engineer Bunny Robyn edited together the best parts of several incomplete takes and simply repeated the chorus.
- The string-laden "Walkin' To New Orleans" was a big breakthrough which traditionalists lamented. But it hit R&B (#2) even higher than pop (#6).
- Roy Brown once ditched a plan to have Fats open for him on tour. Fats never forgot it, and refused to have Brown open shows for him when the tables were turned.

Of the Big Five (EP, FD, CB, JLL, LR), Fats is the least lionized because he was not a "rebel." Historians normally embrace only people with bold lifestyles.

Stunning research and compelling writing about one of the first great rock stars
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-06
From his first record in 1949 until his harrowing escape from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Antoine "Fats" Domino has defined New Orleans and its culture. This book puts Fats, his city, and his music into perspective in amazing detail. In the process, Rick Coleman convincingly demonstrates that Fats and his collaborators--especially songwriter/arranger Dave Bartholomew and producer Cosimo Matassa--have as solid a claim as Elvis, Carl, and Jerry Lee with Sam Phillips in Memphis or Wolf, Muddy, and Chuck with the Chess brothers in Chicago as the prime architects of rock 'n' roll. The product of more than 20 years of exhaustive research, this is, surprisingly, the first biography of one of the greatest early rock stars. Coleman had his work cut out for him; Fats is notoriously reclusive. Nevertheless, you come away from this book admiring Fats's talent and drive, and Coleman's exhaustive research and evocative writing. All the other great Louisiana rockers are here--the bayou wild men, backwoods musical savants, and forgotten honkers, shouters, string-benders, and drum-thumpers who helped create the Crescent City sound. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the real, complete history of rock 'n' roll instead of the revisionist pap that passes for such. -Mark Hoffman, co-author of "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf"

Biography
A Champion's Mind
Published in Audio CD by Random House Audio (2008-06-10)
Authors: Pete Sampras and Peter Bodo
List price: $29.95
New price: $14.60
Used price: $18.97

Average review score:

Brilliant, another grand Slam for Pete Sampras
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-10
Pete Sampras was not only a great and exceptional tennis player, but also a great athlete and competitor in Sports History.
In this book he gives a very great insight of his life in the top, the struggle that every champion has to carry on. It is great how he handled the losses. A big Champion like him can teach that even for him life was not always ALL about winning, but also dealing with losses.
Another very important concept that Pete Sampras remarks, are his core values, learned from his family. This is a key concept that many people omit and just focus on the results, not the things that took Pete Sampras to be the best Tennis player ever.

An interesting read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-07
It was interesting reading about Pete Sampras' different tennis matches, but I was hoping for more about Pete's family and stuff about his life other than tennis.

Fabulous book from the greatest tennis player ever
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-29
I am Pete Sampras` fan and of course I enjoyed this book a lot!
I knew about most of the matches and important events, so it was really interesting to read Pete`s view of things.
And at the end I had a feeling, that the book was too thin:)

A true champion
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-28
Pete Sampras is my all time favorite tennis player and this book was a unique opportunity to gain insight into the personality and make up of one of the greatest champions of all time. It is hard to put the book down, once you start reading it. I would definitely recommend it to tennis players and non-tennis players alike.

A wonderful book filled with insights into a Champions mind!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-12
What a wonderful book. I could read a section about a match and want to pull out a tape and watch the match over because the book explained what Pete was feeling as he went through the match. Also, it was so interesting to read about how he was feeling during the many emotional times times in his life. The book shows us a Sampras that we rarely saw on the court.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to everyone, not just tennis fans.


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