Book Description

Regis Philbin seems to have it all. He's the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the most popular game show in television history. He already has a large fan base from his daytime talk show, Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee. Thanks to these successes, he now has his own fashion line. And, he has two national bestsellers to his credit. So what could he have to complain about?

Well, plenty. Now Regis Philbin, the king of curmudgeonly humor, has written an all-new book of side-splitting rants.

Regis provides the inside scoop on his ridiculously difficult life, with cantankerous takes on everything-and everyone-that drives him crazy. In addition, he reveals some of the funnier moments behind the scenes of his television shows, and his takes on travel, sports, and his legions of fans.

Whether it's skewering the producers of his morning talk show, or describing the travails of celebrity life today, in Who Wants to Be Me? you can be sure that Regis Philbin will tell it like it is. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Who Wants To Be Me?
Regis Philbin, one of America's most know figures in the television entertainment industry, has taken this book very high. In here, you can expect short, true stories that really do make you chuckle. These make Regis what he is. I do recommend this book! -John

Who Want's to be Me?
This book is fair. If you are a Regis follower and watch his LIVE show this book will be boring. He has told many of these stories on the air.

I like Regis, but I wanted to read something different from what we hear on his daily show.

Regis likes to RANT!
OK, I'm an all-out Who Wants To Be a Millionaire fan, so I expected to like this book. (Hey, don't expect to like a biography, and certainly not an autobiography, if you don't like the person it's about and you don't like their style.)

Judging by the style of the writing, I believe this book was written by Regis sitting down with a tape recorder and telling stories. If you like his stories on Live! you'll like this book. He tells of travel frustrations, chainsaw envy, celebrity troubles, and Millionaire success. The style of the writing is just like his speaking style: "I wanted a CHAINSAW! And no one took me SERIOUSLY!"

The book includes plenty of comments from Joy and the two Philbin daughters, excerpts from the Live! show, David Letterman Top Ten lists, etc. This is no War and Peace, but it's a good, fun read. Here's hoping it will give me some subjects to bounce off of Regis when I make it to that Millionaire seat.

Nothing here for trivia buffs
Regis is associated with the successful trivia show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", but there is no trivia here. Perhaps Regis should read the book "Quizzing" which is a book with some great trivia questions and answers.

A Fun Book To Read
Over the past few weeks "Live with Regis" has become a very enjoyable show to watch. It's so much kinder and more entertaining than the old show used to be. As my admiration for Regis, Michael Gelman and Art Moore have grown, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading Regis's new book and getting a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes of a hit show. But the book includes much more about Regis and the struggles that he has managed to overcome. You go guy! ... Read more

Book Description

Named one of the "21 hottest stars under 21" by Teen People magazine, Brandy, the chart-topping singer and star of TV's Moesha, is one of today's hottest young talents--a bright, headstrong woman who handles the hurdles of stardom with major maturity, while enjoying life like an ordinary teenager (she talks for hours on the phone, shops up a storm, and loves McDonald's french fries!).Get the 411 on this award-winning superstar and her life in front of the camera, in back of the microphone--and behind the scenes.Find out:

-How she landed her gig as the star of UPN's top-rated sitcom, Moesha
-About her part alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt in the movie I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
-How she feels about her year-and-a-half-long relationship and break-up with Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris
-About her album, Never Say Never, and how she lives by these words
-How she feels about her mom/manager Sonja Norwood
-What the future holds for Brandy, how she manages to "keep it real," and much, much more!

With 8 pages of Fabulous Photos! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

brandy I enjoy your music
5 stars brandy I enjoy your musi

Brandy is THE BOMB!!
I LOVED the book,Brandy:Sittin'On Top Of The World. It was really informative, and since I AM Brandy's #1 fan, it was fun to read. It was great reading about all what Brandy had to do and her determination to reach were she is right now, which IS on top of the world!

It's neat and it gives a lot of info on Brandy.
It's cool and it gives a lot of information about it

brandy is the best!
I loved this book! It is great!I wont really say i am her #1 fan because i know there are alot of other people who really like her like me so i guess we are all her #1 FANS.Brandy is a really cool person and i hope to follow in her footsteps. Well thats all for now. I LOVE YOU! Love, Yomary

brandy
It was a wonderful book to read I could not even put it down.I think that you should go out and buy it. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

one of the most fascinating books
O.k I'll admit it...Jennifer Aniston is a big inspiration to me. I think that she fascinates most people and has great empathy. So being the fan I am, I was dying to read this book. In here Nancy goes into her own childhood pains and the inner feelings of her divorce from John Aniston, and of course what it was like to raise Jennifer. No doubt she loves her daughter to death but if your smart enough you'll catch certain things that make you stop and think, What did she just say?? Initally she sees Jennifer as a pure extension of herself and her whole entire life. Who can live with that? She robbed Jennifer of her own idenity growing up, and had a lot of anger and cruelness that she took out on her. But surprisingly towards the end she shows a good amount of insight and understanding that Jennifer is separate person. She even quotes that our children come through you and are not of you- she has an unexpected depth to her and I think that she is trying very hard to overcome and heal and let go of Jen. I think this separation was good for her, and she even states that. She is a flawed person and a flawed mother and caused Jennifer a lot of pain, but I think that her strength is that, similar to her daughter, she has a huge amount of sensitivity and desire to grow as a person.
This book gives you so much compassion for Jennifer which makes her even more beautiful, knowing what she went through, and the pain of the relationship with her mother. It's obvious her mom was worse to Jennifer then she admits in the book, and that she had no clue what was happening inside of her daughter or what she was doing to her. But it's also obvious that now she is beginning to understand and change which can't help but to evoke some compassion. I know what this kind of relationship is like, it's the most brutal in the world and anyone who can over come will have gone through hell and back but in the end it will be worth it. I hope one day they can reconcile. But I hope this time it will be a HEALTHY relationship!!!!! God bless! Some interesting tid bits:

* Jennifer and Nancy had a day together in 1999 when they caught up on eachothers lives and touched base, but Nancy says Jennifer ended contact again after this breif encoutner.
* Jennifer learned how to drive in crazy traffic infested Manhattan and even got her drivers license there
* Jennifer tried to run away once when she was 16 and planned to meet a friend on a corner to help her, but the friend never showed up and Nancy didn't learn about this until after Jen was famous and this was published in an article.

an overpaid tv star, who must believe her own publicity
I just finished this book, and I can't believe the reviews I've seen here. Did I read the same book as the rest of you? It seemed to me to be a thoughtful, sincere effort to understand the sad estrangement from her only daughter. One television interview warrants 8YEARS OF SILENCE? Give me a break!!! While the actors on Friends are certainly talented, no one deserves that kind of money! Her mother did without all those years, supported her, emotionally and otherwise, and this is how she is treated? I don't think the mother is self-centered, egotistical or borderline, at all. It sounds to me more like you're describing her daughter. I'm a firm believer of "Karma", and I really believe this will come back around to haunt Jennifer. I would give anything to have my wonderful mother here to talk to. I think Nancy Aniston has done a courageous job of "getting on with her life". I totally recommend this book. Karol Santiago

in need of a talented therapist..
The book should have been titled, "me, me ,me"...I can only hope that Jennifer Aniston continues to nurture and be nurtured by her relationships with the people in her life that love her..I found the book to be very sad and in a sense, a cry for help..

Dialectical behavior therapy would be invaluable here
I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer who stated that Nancy Aniston fits the profile of someone with borderline personality disorder (BPD). At the very least, she is narcissistic. My mother has BPD, and I too finally separated from her in my late 20s. Even stronger than a parent's unwavering love for her child is a child's willingness to repeatedly overlook parental transgressions, to keep coming back in the hope of "getting it right this time," trying to find a way to make Mom happy, or at least a little less terrifying. I applaud Jennifer for finally putting her foot down. In typical borderline fashion, Nancy Aniston has found a way to make everything about HER, and has used her daughter to do so. This book constitutes an egregious violation of Jennifer's boundaries. I sincerely hope both of them are able to find peace -- Nancy through dialectical behavior therapy (an effective therapeutic course for BPD), and poor, manipulated Jennifer through continued connection with more emotionally healthy adults.

A waste of time and money...
This book has nothing to do with Jennifer Aniston really. Her self-absorbed neurotic mother is simply making a sad attempt to capitalize on her fame. And if that werent bad enough, it's BORING, shallow, poorly written, and completely transparent. The time I spent foolishly reading this book is regretfully several hours of my life I can never get back. Don't bother. ... Read more

Book Description

A fascinating look at the life and career of Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The title of Ted Koppel's memoir, Off Camera: Private Thoughts Made Public, promises opinions that its author wouldn't deliver on camera, where he's been the anchor of ABC's popular Nightline program since 1980. And, indeed, he's blistering at times in this book, which is essentially a daily journal from 1999. That year began between President Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives and his trial in the Senate. Here's Koppel delivering his prognosis of the situation: "Whichever way it goes, it will leave a nasty aftertaste. The President and First Lady will speak piously of national reconciliation, while their loyalists ram the rockets' red glare up the tailpipes of the right-wing fanatics, who have confused low morals with high crimes." Koppel's comments are not always so interesting, but he's reliably candid. He mentions that Jordan's late King Hussein "had his share of adulterous relationships," that Dan Quayle "is not stupid. He is also likable. But you would feel uncomfortable serving under him in a platoon," and that Henry Hyde once informed him privately that "he was incontinent following his prostate surgery."

There's no particular theme to the book; these pages simply collect the thoughts of an important newsman during the course of a year (whose noteworthy events included not just the Clinton trial but also NATO's war with Serbia). Sometimes they're pompous: "I'm off for a meeting with Bill Bradley. It's at his request, which is a clear signal that he's running for the presidency." Sometimes they're funny: "Let's combine all the awards ceremonies for the communications and entertainment industries and name that one event after the single piece of equipment used by all of us--the microphone. I suggest calling the occasion 'the Phonies.'" Koppel is occasionally offbeat, as when he compares George W. Bush to Vanna White, and often informative, as when he's recommending books like Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (which he once gave as a gift to Clinton). Off Camera is an eclectic package of thoughts and diversions that will by turns intrigue, frustrate, and entertain readers. --John J. Miller ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Ignore the bad reviews!
Ted Koppel's Off Camera is a caring and informative view into just that, his thoughts and daily activities off camera. Mr Koppel provides us daily journal entries from the year 1999. From Monica to the strains of reporting from Kosovo. I loved reading this book.

Diary copied over into book with no editing.
My first thought in his first couple entries was that he was trying a little to hard to be funny ala Dennis Miller or Jay Leno. However, then I realized that he wasn't, he was just blurting out his thoughts from each day (and almost every day).

I feel there was not much cohesion throughout the book. He spends a lot of time on the war in Kosovo, as that was a big event during that year. However, he puts in little tidbits about his growing up and his new house or something irrelevant. Even though it was meant to be his personal thoughts on various topics, I felt he should have organized the material a little bit.

On the good side, it was interesting hearing about the difficulties of being a reporter during the war, and getting some of that insider information. Similarly, it was interesting hearing his perspective from having been around for a while in the journalism business.

Overall, I made it through the whole book, but every once in a while while listening to it (Audio CD version), I would think, "Now why did he include that?" I feel this work could have been improved through some editting and some thoughtful exclusions or reorganization of the material.

Is this the best you can do, Ted?
...The dust cover should be a clue that this book is trivial.Here is Koppel, wearing a leather jacket and holding a stick. If that photo interests you, you will love this book. It is filled with self-indulgent information about Koppel and his grandchildren. It would have been a better book, perhaps, had Koppel chosen to write about the leather jacket and the stick.
Readers who are able to overlook Koppel's arrogance will find little insight into international events. First, these events are quite dated.Kosovo, Monica and Viagra are not fresh, riveting subjects.Secondly, Koppel doesn't have the time to give us thoughtful insight.He appears to be jotting down a few bedtime thoughts about his day. And so often his predictions and views of current events prove wrong.
What I came away with is the realization that much of our daily news stories are fleeting, insignificant events. ...

America Held Hostage: Day 254
Ted Koppel. That voice, the music, the graphics. I grew into television news with Ted-- though I called him Mr. Koppel in our private, if fictional, chats about world events. From that stage, I somehow expected a giant to emerge from the pages of "Off Camera", and that giant of a man should know all and tell all because, who could do it better? This is not that sort of book. It does not gossip; it does not lie. It is Mr. Koppel, though, and he's got a great deal to let us in on.

What works in this diarist's format is the jangling juxtapositions between waitng for the caller I.D. guy and musing over, "Oh, incidentally, Boris Yeltsin threatened NATO with nuclear war yesterday, if it doesn't stop bombing Yugoslavia. Everybody assumes he's kidding" (92). This sort of mingling of the mundane and the geopolitical reminds us that we cannot wholly escape either world-- it is as reckless to ignore the din of geopolitics as it is to ignore the phone bill. He's saying, "Hey! I, Mr. Big Shot Nightline Guy, have to deal with the daily dumb stuff. Why don't YOU try reading a newspaper?" And yes, he's a little testy on this. And no, he doesn't hold out much hope for what Americans have become. ....

"Off Camera" is the voice of Ted Koppel: wry, commanding, knowing. There are spurts of dark humor (the moments of a life stolen while exchanging 32 cent stamps), anger, wonderment, acceptance and love. It is the writing of a journalist and the musings of a man whose sorted out his own mortality. He's a Mr. Koppel who doesn't much like President Clinton either (he'd be dishonest to say otherwise and his reasoning is solid--even though I think he's wrong). In the end, it's Ted Koppel and there are lessons to be learned. Though not a great book, this is one worth owning.

Ted Gets Ornery
The strangest myth of journalism is that in order to strive for objectivity, journalists purge themselves (or should purge themselves) of all opinions.Anyone whose ever read an article or seen a news broadcast knows that journalists have opinions, and they express them in all sorts of ways.The way Ted Koppel does in OFF CAMERA is not one of the more typical ways.Here he comments in a journal on the events of 1999, holding little back and stripping his opinions from some of the constraints and codes of his profession.

All that isn't striking.What is is the degree to which Koppel is cynical about almost everything.Just about anything of public importance that catches his attention enough to make it into this journal is worthy of disparagement.Take his thoughts on the Kosovo War.At first he disparages the US's motives for getting involved, while later he seems to lament the extent to which problems there came to be ignored.He concludes before thew air war was fought that the NATO could not win that way and that a ground war was inevitable, then forgets to mention that it worked.And so on.

But this is interesting.It is interesting to hear someone (Koppel's voice adds to the experience of listening to the audio book version) whose job it is to cover the news, speak with such disdain and even despair about the news.While bleak, Koppel's opinions are also interesting.He has a journalist's flair for putting a story together.I would happily read more of his commentary should he chose to write more.

OFF CAMERA is not inspirational - it isn't meant to be.But it is worth hearing (or reading). ... Read more

Reviews (103)

A KEEPER!! DIDN"T WANT IT TO END!! WONDERFUL!!
Donny Osmond was my first teen idol, when I was a mere 13 year old over 23 years ago. I stayed in touched with his career off and on since then. This book really opened my eyes to the real Donny. I laughed and cried reading this book. I couldn't put it down. It took me 2 days to read it. Sadly, I somewhat neglected my poor husband and children.They knew I was so engrossed in the book. But they understood.. ;-) I'm planning to read it again. IT"S SO GREAT!! I LOVED IT!!! If you are a fan of his or any of the Osmonds, this is a MUST READ. Even if you aren't a fan, I'm sure you will enjoy this revelating and touching autobiography. THANK YOU DONNY!!!

Even If You Aren't A Fan, You Should Read This Book !
Donny Osmond finally speaks candidly and honestly about his life growing up in showbuisiness , being one of the top teenage idols in the 1970s, and rebounding, albeit through many obstacles, to forge an adult career. Even when the industry cooled towards him, Donny never gave up, and that tenacity paid off with his five year stint as "Joseph" in the wonderful Andrew Lloyd Webber production and now with his sister Marie, hitting the air once again with thier successful talk show, "Donny And Marie". Even if you aren't a fan, I recommend reading this book. You'll come away with a new respect for this talented and gifted man. It's good to see him back so strongly!

Best Autobiography ever
As much as I followed the Osmond Family careers, I read this hoping to find all the rumors to be false. It opened my eyes to how it really was for him in the limelight.
Glad to have the MAN back......the little boy grew up.

Very Spiritual, inspiring.
You do not need to be a Donny Osmond fan, or an Osmond fan for that matter to appreciate the message in this book.
Read this book, and learn about the Osmond's strength in their spiritual beliefs; learn about Donny's severe social anxiety dissorder, and how he copes with it.

I strongly recomend this book!!

Not an Osmond fan but loved the book
...While I will probably never be a fan of the music I really enjoyed the book. I think there are some important lessons here regarding raising children in the entertainment industry. Lesson #1 - Don't do it! Frankly I am a bit surprised that he did not end up another casualty of child celebrity or head into dark places like his friend Michael Jackson. I was most impressed with Osmond's honesty and candor. His handling of his devastating career collapse as well as his social phobia really make for good reading. Somehow I suspect we haven't seen the end of Donny Osmond. Even if you run screaming whenever "Puppy Soldier of Love" comes on you may still enjoy the book. I certainly did. ... Read more

Book Description

"Only Marcia Wallace could write this book because, first, it is autobiographical, and second because only Marcia has the wit, humor and heart to keep you laughing while laying bare all the details of her amazingly rich life.It is impossible to read this book without feeling that Marcia Wallace is a dear and trusted friend.In fact, she is such a hero to me now I want to BE Marcia Wallace, except probably with different clothes."

W. Bruce Cameron, Author of 8 Simple Rules

For Dating my Teenage

Daughter ... Read more

Reviews (17)

It's like she wrote it just for me to read!
At two o'clock in the morning, five hours after starting the book, I still couldn't put it down. I felt like a dear friend was talking right to me. She says things no one else seems to be able to say, and you love her for it.

I laughed out loud again and again! And sometimes I had to put the book down when I was suddenly moved to tears.

Her story is remarkable, but it's impossible not to identify with her. I think it's because Marcia Wallace's honesty is breathtaking, and her words ring true. This is what it's like to be a spiritual being having a very human experience. This is how we REALLY feel when we experience loss and everything else that comes in life. She's the funniest writer around, and the best part it that it's all from the heart so you have to recognize yourself in her words.

It will inspire you and change your perspective on your life and your loved ones. I think everyone would feel like she wrote this book just for them. I've found myself telling everybody I see that THIS is the book they need to read RIGHT NOW!

TERRIFIC! 5 STARS! LAUGH AND CRY OUT LOUD ENTERTAINMENT
From start to finish Marcia Wallace has your heart in the palm of her hand. I am not an easy audience and I was hooked from the Title to the ending. Her Christmas letters sprinkled through the book are the spine of the book, they chronicle her life. She takes us on a rollicking and hysterical journey through a rough childhood, her battle of the bulge, her breakdown, the meeting and marrying her "one true love", Denny. She is brutally and hysterically honest about everything!!! I wonder if I would be so brave...she lets it all hang out. This includes the pain in her childhood to the devistating loss of her "one true love" Denny to pancreatic cancer, her house burning down and the tales of her wonderful, bright, funny, son, Mikey growing up before her eyes, the perverbial apple does not fall far from the tree.
She openly shares her own personal battles with so many actual stories that many of us only fantasize about and some we couldn't even dream up. The book is so rich with life, laughter, heartbreak and joy.

Wow, I stayed up until 3:30 AM reading this book to the wonderfully, hopeful, finish. Marcia's story and the way she writes really entertains you, touches you, makes you laugh and cry out loud, often at the same time, and finally her tenacity, hope and sheer guts bring her to this wonderful point in her life, her brilliantly written, thoroughly entertaining autobiography. I say RUN don't walk to buy this book and ....don't look back we're not going that way.

Growing Up in the 1950's
The authors story of growing up in Creston, Iowa in the 1950's and early 60's alone is worth the price of this book. Her story is a stinging indictment of parenting, religion, employers, doctors, etc. as they existed and were accepted at that time. One gets the impression that Ms. Wallace's experiences were quite normal for that time period. This part of the book is a great argument for anyone who doesen't think some things (a lot of things) have gotten better over the last forty or fifty years.

It's honest, hysterical, touching and delightful!
I thought that I knew Marcia - from college, her work on the Newhart show and with the Simpsons. But this book clearly shows us a side of Marcia that has endured some of the greatest tragedies in life. But in her quest for life, she once again comes out on top. Her honest approach to life, fantastic sense of humor and her ability to embrace life, no matter what obstacles stand in her way, show us a woman that is to be admired and respected for her upbeat lease on life.
Thanks for writing it, Marcia! This book is definitely a must read!

I laughed, I cried, I ate like a pig!
Marcia Wallace's book is a magnificent telling of a life that has had a multitude of grief thrown it's way and survived. Not only survived, but survived intact and better for the experiences. If you read the book, you will be better for having read it. Touching, hilarious and real. This book neither sugarcoats or side steps anything painful or uncomfortable. Storytelling is an artform and Ms. Wallace is an artist. Her Midwestern roots bring her both strength in the storytelling department and strength in the survival department. Her ability to bring you along on this amazing journey is undoubtably one of her strengths as a person.
She makes you FEEL everything. It is pure Marcia. She admits that it is scattered and skips around topic-wise, but that makes it all the more endearing. Grab some snacks, hunker down and read this book. Don't forget the tissues. You'll be wiping away tears from both laughing and crying. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

Good, but writer...
This book is a good and even thrilling description of the first gulf war and how CNN reporters reported from Baghdad. That being said, this writer couldn't be more self-adoring and congratulatory, or obnoxious. At the end of the book, he compares Bush's intelligence to that of his pet cat. Whether you are a Bush-lover or hater, that is a disgraceful, horrible thing to say about the president of our nation and it reflects Wiener's generally high portrayal of himself and low portrayal of others.

Dull from Baghdad
I found this book and thought it would be interesting to see what happened to the press during the war. Unfortunately for me all this author talked about was bureaucratic problems and drinking and smoking. I kept reading thinking that once the war started the book would pick up and at page 275 the war started but the book remained dull. I am assuming that the author is a much better TV producer then author or there is no way he would have a job with CNN.

The book was dull, there is no way around it. The author kept focusing on his drinking and the issues with this ministry and that ministry - not the most exciting. I wanted more detail on what it was like in Baghdad leading up to and during the war - - all the author gave us was what it was like for him in his hotel. Overall I would skip the book and watch the movie.

A portrait of cooperation, luck, and determination
Live From Baghdad is one of those books that you just cannot put down. Giving the details of the struggle to get the story out before and during the Gulf War, this book is a tremendous personal account of what it takes to succeed in impossible circumstances. Robert Wiener and his crew made extreme personal sacrifices, sometimes in life-threatening circumstances, to get the story out and beat the competition. A great textbook example on how to negotiate what you need through respect and patience, being rewarded with sucess and a place in history. Great anecdotes about life behind the scenes make this a truly enjoyable read. ... Read more

Book Description

Lost Black Sheep chronicles the wartime exploits of Marine Corps ace Chris Magee, former member of the famous Black Sheep Squadron, his improbable postwar odyssey, and the surprising developments of his later years.

Magee was the leading ace under the Black Sheep’s flamboyant leader, Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington. A free-spirited intellectual with the heart of a warrior and the soul of a poet, Magee grew up on Chicago’s rambunctious South Side dreaming of the day when he could fly fighter planes into combat. His dream came true when, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he transferred from the Royal Canadian Air Force to the U.S. Marine Corps and received training as a fighter pilot. He was sent to the South Pacific where his bravery and piloting skills earned him the Navy Cross and the title of “Ace.”

When the war ended, Magee refused to pursue a conventional lifestyle or take advantage of the fame that awaited him back home, choosing instead to seek new adventures. During the next twelve years he walked the razor’s edge: black marketeer, bootlegger, volunteer fighter pilot for the fledgling nation of Israel, courier for a covert group of U.S. “businessmen” involved in Latin American politics, and, eventually, bank robber.

Then, one day, Magee found an envelope slipped under his front door with a note inside that ultimately changed his life, causing him to revisit parts of his past he thought were forever forgotten. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Excellent
If you are a fan of WW II VMF-214, "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Once They Were Eagles", this is a must read. Two stories in one. That of "Bandanna Maggie" before, during and after WW II. Also, a determined author's quest about a Marine hero he did not know until too long. Follow the trail of a Marine I'm sure Gregory Boyington admired as a great fellow warrior after the "big one" and his attepts to find himself in war and peace. (Success, or failure? Yes? No? You decide.) A remarkable book for those who are interested in the men of 214. As I said, if you liked the two first books mentioned, you will love this one written by the one man who would have done it.

Excellent Biography with an interesting twist
If, like me, you read Baa Baa Blacksheep and Once They Were Eagles, this is for you. The mysterious life and whereabouts of Chris Magee almost haunted me after reading Frank Walton's Once They Were Eagles. The information about Chris Magee in Walton's book and the fascinating letter it contains left many questions about Magee that begged for answers. I knew this would be an interesting book before I read it and I was not let down. I did not know it would be emotionally provocative. I won't spoil the surprises. Don't read too many reviews lest you not get the full effect. Pick it up soon.

A fascinating, superbly written biography
In Lost Black Sheep: The Search For WWII Ace Chris Magee, Robert Reed reveals saga of an extraordinary man in a real-life story of war and peace, crime and punishment. Chris Magee was one of the legendary Black Sheep Squadron under "Pappy" Boyington's command. He grew up with stories of World War I aviation heroes and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Chris transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps and went to the South Pacific where his personal bravery and skills as a combat flier earned him the Navy Cross and the respect of his peers. After the war ended Chris spent the next twelve years as a black marketeer, bootlegger, volunteer fighter pilot for Israel, courier for a covert American group involved in Latin American politics, and finally a bank robber. In his middle years he turned his life around and became a respected journalist. By age 70 he was living in retirement in a rustic apartment on Chicago's North Side. Then Chris found an envelope slipped under his front door with a note that compelled him to revisit parts of his past he thought long buried. Several of Magee's letters, poetry, and other writings are woven into the text (including a short story titled "Keep Moving". Lost Black Sheep is a fascinating, superbly written biography of a very unusual American unusal life.

Hits home
I received my copy of Bob's book two weeks after I had scheduled a trip to Waterbury Connecticut to the 56th reunion of my own father's WWII military group. My father passed away last year after a long battle with alzheimers, and I too was on a quest of sorts. I was never able to get my father to open up about his war experiences on the beaches of Normandy and beyond, and know now that their generation was truly the "great generation" of our time. This book really hit home. The content was interesting enough that I read the book at one sitting, and it provoked questions of a very personal nature to me. For those of us who are members of the "baby boom" generation I hope we all start asking our Fathers, Mothers, Uncles, Aunts - anyone with personal experiences about this remarkable time in our history to share their stories with us while they are able. We should also give them a sincere Thank You for their sacrifices.

A Different Kind Of War Story
The Lost Black Sheep is a war story with a uniquely personal twist. Author Bob Reed does an excellent job of weaving the tale. A must read (and a great gift) for anybody who liked "Once They Were Eagles". ... Read more

Book Description

Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball is an entertaining, informative, scholarly, and fascinating biography of one of the most revered actresses in television history. Moving beyond the typical celebrity bio, author Kathleen Brady separates the actress from Lucy Ricardo, the antic, enduring character she created on I Love Lucy.

Brady is the only biographer to have spent extensive time in Jamestown, New York, Lucille Ball's hometown, where she interviewed Ball's childhood friends. Other interviews for the book included family, employees, Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Milton Berle, Maureen O'Hara, Maxine Andrews of the Andrews Sisters, and the late chairman of CBS Bill Paley. Kathleen Brady's definitive biography presents a human Lucille Ball the fans have never known: the would-be showgirl in New York, fired almost as soon as she was hired because she was too flat-chested and mousy; her great love for Desi Arnaz, their tempestuous marriage, the day she thought she had killed him with a hammer, and the incident that ended their marriage; Lucille as head of Desilu Studios, overriding the advice of her most trusted executives and agreeing to green light the pilots of Star Trek and Mission Impossible; and her run-in with the House on Un-American Activities Committee and fears of being black-listed.

Brady reveals that Lucille Ball's life was a roller coaster, going from disaster to victory and triumph to tragedy. As a young woman, Ball believed that she had to work had to make people like and appreciate her. As a star, she felt she had to work hard to maintain her popularity, and was also conscious that what her fans wanted from her was not herself, but Lucy Ricardo.

Of the first edition of this book, published by Hyperion in 1994, critic Molly Haskell wrote: "It's a beautiful portrait of someone with enormous talent as an entertainer and heartbreaking fragility as a woman. In giving Lucille Ball the serious appraisal she deserves, Kathleen Brady has really gotten behind the scenes and the cameras to provide an invaluable chronicle of several areas and eras of show business."

New to this edition of Lucille is an introductory essay focusing on the place of the character of Lucy Ricardo in the history of comedy, going back to the traditions of the Italian commedia dell'arte and forward to the end of the 20th century. In this essay, Lucille Ball is compared to other key female figures in comedy like Mabel Normand, Mae West, Frannie Brice, Gilda Radner, and Fran Drescher. As the author writes, "Lucille Ball was a revolutionary figure because Lucy Ricardo was the first female character to combine the knock-about physical comedy of vaudeville and music halls (and 15th century carnivals) while being beautiful, feminine, and sweetly appealing." This edition also includes many new photographs from various sources. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Best Bio (and I've read them all)
There are some minor factual errors with regard to some of the TV series indicating that the author--an obvious admirer--was not a fan per se. This actually helps in terms of objectivity. The book is unflinching but warm, and is the sole book to really go in depth about Lucille's childhood and teen/young adult years. "Ball of Fire" and many others are shockingly un-new in their stoties and historical references. No one can really know "Lucille" after the fact but this book, and "Desilu" come as close as you canget.

My favorite book about my favorite commedienne
When I was ten and heard that Lucy and Desi were divorcing, I was devastated. No one in my little village had ever divorced, and I did not know anyone who knew anyone who had. So, Lucy and Ricky, who were interchangeable in my mind with Lucy and Desi, were the first people I "knew" who took that drastic step. I couldn't figure out how they could be so happy on TV and still want to split.

A few years later, when Lucy returned to television, along with Ethel, rechristened as Vivian, I kept longing for DesiRicky to show up. Of course he didn't. Later, I saw some of her early movies and became one of the three people in the US who loved her on the screen as Mame. Even though I appreciated her skill and talent, for me, she was always Lucy Riccardo. Somewhere along the line, though, I realized that Lucille Ball was more complex than her TV counterpart.

Of the half-dozen books I've read about Lucy, which include the newly-released "Ball of Fire", a couple of the books about the series, and Vance's biography, Kathleen Brady's is my favorite. She comes closest to cracking the code, finding what drove Lucille Ball to the top of her profession.

Brady treats her subject tenderly, but does whitewash the harder side of her character. Rather, she tries to bring the apparently incompatible parts of her personality together into one whole, very understandable person. As much as is possible, she succeeds.

Where she is sure of details, she gives them. Where she is not, she offers alternate possibilities, for example, the unknown cause of Ball's paralysis that sent her home from NY and to bed for months or, on the more humorous side, exactly what happened the night that Tallulah Bankhead decided to disrobe during a production meeting of the LucyDesi Comedy Hour.

Well-researched and well-written, this is mandatory reading for any die-hard Lucy fan and an excellent choice for anyone who intends reading only one book about America's most famous comedienne.

Loving Lucy, but not the book...
The Lucille Ball in Kathleen Brady's book, "Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball" is a study of contradictions. Partly an homage to a star she clearly adores, partly an expose on Lucy's dark side, this book paints an incomplete and unsatisfying picture of America's premiere television comedianne.

The Lucy in this book comes across both as a scrappy fighter early in her career, and a hardened soul at the end of it, which may very well be true, or not. It was difficult to discover the viewpoint of Lucy that the author was trying to take. At times, it was clearly injected with personal opinions and commentaries not warranted in the biography of someone else's life, both glowing and scandalous. And whereas the majority of the book takes up the years of Desilu's powerhold on the television industry, from I Love Lucy to Star Trek, it shortchanges both her early career and later career, almost as insignificant bookends to her highest pinnacle in the 1950's. Certainly, Lucy had a full, complete life, only some of which is shown here.

However, there were some parts I did enjoy. Lucy's less-than-impressive movie career which eventually gave birth to her TV persona was interesting, as you root for her to make the transition earlier. Her undying devotion to Desi in the early years, despite mutual fits of jealousy and rage, made for a deepening look at their marriage. And the occasional parts that show her softer, kinder side were warm to read.

Which leads to this thought. Clearly Lucy is loved country wide; were we ready to learn some negative things about the woman we cherished? Certainly not unknown, nor surprising to anyone who's read other things. The issue perhaps comes in balancing all viewpoints to present a clearer one, rather than being all over the board haphazardly.

As for Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr.'s objections to the book were clear to me as I read through to the end. Kathleen Brady seemed to have a personal vendetta against these two, as she paints them very unfavorably as spoiled Hollywood rich kids. Nary a kind word was said about these two, which leads me to think they offered no assistance in creating this book, so a price was paid for their silence.

In the end, I did not feel closer to Lucy than I had before reading this. I may suggest grabbing a bowl of popcorn, putting up your feet, and watching some classic episodes of I Love Lucy, to remember Lucy the way she wanted us to remember her, with a smile and a laugh.

Watch Out
watch out for false starements in this book. many good pics except for the one ... that doesn't even look like lucy. so beware if you love lucy watch what you believe--Steph

The Best Book i read
This book was the best, becouse of many things, she was not only in the T.V show I LOVE LUCY and not only in movies, but she was a great landy that helped and cared for many people around the world. So i am telling you to read this book. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

What????? No Siberian Husky photos?????
I bought this thinking it was a life account of Guiliglon Anderson, famous Yukon dog sledder....Who is this chick anyway?

The coolest person
I think she is the coolest, smartest, prittyest person.
I love the show and want to meet her!
Gillian sounds very intelegent.

Reading this book makes you feel like you know Gillian A.
Reading this book makes you actually think you know Gillian Anderson in person! It gives you the same amount of info on Gillian as it does X-Files. It also has many photos of Gillian. I recommend this book to all X-file fans!

A must have for any X-Files fan!
This book is great for those fans of the show who like both the character Scully and the actress who plays her (Gillian Anderson)! This book give a wonderful background of her life and of her work on the X-Files. A must read for any fan!

A great book
I already knew a lot about Gillian Anderson before I read this book, but it really made some of the information I knew more clear. I enjoyed it very much and would suggest it to any fan of Ms. Anderson. She's truly an amazing person! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fantastic
I thought this book was absolutely fantastic. I mean it was like KICK ASS!

A collection of magazine articles...
This was okay, but I got it as a gift and would not purchase it myself. It is basically a collection of magazine articles and gets pretty redundant. It isn't authorized or endorsed by Oprah or her company, and looks to be a shallow collection of reiterations of the same things. If you love Oprah, you already know everything in this book :-). ... Read more

Amazon.com

In his earlier books, TV news anchor Tom Brokaw has leaned heavily on the experiences of others to remember and define what he calls "the Greatest Generation"--those who came of age during World War II and its aftermath. In A Long Way Home Brokaw turns inward to focus on his own experiences growing up in South Dakota, his early years a broadcaster working in a then-novel medium, and his still-deep connection to the Midwestern people, places, and values that shaped him. In this bluntly effective and homespun memoir, Brokaw argues that, no matter how far one may travel--say, to New York and through five decades of a successful broadcast journalism career--it's possible to remain a true creature of the heartlands. It's a message that is likely to resonate most emphatically with those of Brokaw's generation, though its basic premise can be applied more universally as well. --David Bombeck ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A Long Way From Home
Review of Tom Brokaw's A Long Way From Home

Tom Brokaw's A Long Way From Home: Growing up in the American Heartland provides a fascinating look into the roots of one of America's most beloved television newsmen. Brokaw's story about his humble begins in rural South Dakota and the life lessons learned during his childhood delivers a theme of how the formative years will impact the rest of people's lives--no matter how far from home life takes them. Brokaw narrates how dependent all his life's successes have been on the values taught to him by his upbringing in the American heartland.
Brokaw begins his novel by telling the story of the evolution of his family since they settled in the South Dakota. He tells of great-grandfather's role in shaping the town of Bristol, SD and of his father's day's delivering coal and ice to support himself at age 10. The Great Depression's impact on both his father's and mother's lives is explained and is never forgotten, as it is a familiar theme throughout Brokaw's childhood.
The novel then moves on to the various stops in Brokaw's South Dakota childhood. From Igloo, the site of his first Public speaking performance, to Yankton where he graduated high school and landed his first broadcasting job. Along the way, Brokaw tells of childhood mischief and misadventures with his younger brothers and childhood friends in the great outdoors. Brokaw openly and honestly reveals his struggles with failure as young man after high school and the rocky relationship that developed into a marriage to the love of his life, Meredith Auld.
The issue of race and the importance of his mother also warrant entire chapters in the book. Brokaw explains his view of Native Americans as a child and of his realization the injustices done against them in his home state. Brokaw's mother, Jean Conely Brokaw, had the greatest influence on Tom's life. Her work ethic and even her political consciousness and news acquiring habits were passed on to her eldest son. Brokaw beautifully illustrates her role in his family and in his life.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Brokaw's memoirs. I was expecting a soppy, romanticized version of his life, but it was definitely not that. The book is a page-turning, relatable collection of funny stories and life lessons.

Integrity
I've always sought out Tom Brokaw's reporting through the long list of high quality news anchors. At an early point, if asked, I could point to the fact that Brokaw was just a touch more honest or unbiased, just a bit more believable in his reporting.
Brokaw and his family's circumstances weren't that much different than others. But, it was how his family was able to handle the hardships through hard work, ingenuity, and integrity that stuck with Brokaw and what made him successful and more importantly happy in life. An important lesson for today's families.
This book is a great view of what made America and the family of that generation important. This is an articulate, uplifting book about an American icon's childhood.

The young life of Tom Brokaw.
I can relate to this book. My parents lived through the Depression and raised their children in the prosperous sixties and seventies. They live in northern Wisconsin where most of the population was white. The similarites with Brokaw's South Dakota is basically the same. As a product of the Midwest, Brokaw is more similar to me than Rather (Texas) or Jennings (Canada).
I enjoyed this simple story. Tom relates how he made it in televison journalism and New York. Despite where he lives now, he considers himself at home in South Dakota rather than New York. Tom chronicles his early life and relates how and where he was raised even now determine his outlook on life. I feel the same way and that is why this book struck home. I would rather tramp the forests of northern Wisconsin than see the lights of Chicago. People make their way in life in some measure because of who they were born to and where they lived. Tom's rural life and his parents survival of the Depression determined a lot of what Tom eventually turned out to be. A great story.

Superficial
Tom Brokaw may have always been a chatterbox, too bad he didn't have much to say. This book basically skims the surface of a child of the fifties. There are not many amusing anecdotes, not much detail, and no depth of feeling, and as a result not much to relate to. A disappointment because it could have been so much better, if the author would have dug a little deeper.

Boring
This book was written for simpletons by a simpleton. Reading from a teleprompter is not exactly brain surgery. But if you want to hear more from a self-important blowhard, then read this intriguing book about an egomaniac who pretends he doesn't have one. Seriously, there couldn't be a worse book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Bill Zehme's biography of comic actor/performance artist Andy Kaufman (subject of the feature film Man in the Moon) is a meticulously researched, eminently readable, and very strange book--this last being perhaps no surprise given its subject. Written over a six-year period, Lost in the Funhouse is crammed with details gleaned from interviews with the actor's family, friends, teachers, coworkers, and unwitting participants in Kaufman's pranks. In particular, the book provides great insight into Kaufman's early life in Great Neck, NY, his relationship with transcendental meditation, and his first forays into nightclubs in the early '70s. Zehme, author of The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin', weaves together multiple narratives from varying perspectives, including passages in which the author appears to have entered his subject's brain. Zehme did have access to unpublished letters and manuscripts (which fans would certainly like to see published on their own one day), but the only person who could legitimately verify the accuracy of these passages is no longer with us.

At its best, the book approaches that apex of artful celebrity bi-fiction, Nick Tosches's Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. The transitions from one perspective to the next are a bit jarring at first, but once the reader gives in to Zehmes's collage of multiple personalities, one is considerably closer to understanding the book's subject. Kaufman was nothing if not a collection of various intense personalities: the young boy continually mourning his grandfather's death; the likable and naive Foreign Man; the talentless and irascible lounge singer Tony Clifton; the bliss-seeking student of TM; the devoted and loving son who never had anything to do with his own child; and world champion of inter-gender wrestling. Lost in the Funhouse is the one Kaufman tome that will please neophytes as well as those with their own Andy Kaufman Web sites. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (58)

Best Read on Kaufman, Beats "Revealed" by Far
Between, Lost in the Funhouse, and, Andy Kaufman Revealed, this is by far the superior book. It has far more info about Andy. Even though footnotes and sources are nonexistent, when differences in stories occur between the books, Funhouse comes across as far more believable. Unlike Bob Zmuda's, Revealed, Funhouse does not try to dazzle you with the brilliance of Zmuda or the Zmuda /Kaufman team.

Some people found the writing style annoying and at times it is. There were some sentences I read 3 or 4 times yet never did understand. But if I only read writers whose style I liked I'd do very little reading.

This book painted a somewhat unflattering picture of Kaufman and so ultimately did Zmuda's although in the latter it may not have been intentional. Both books led me to believe Andy was not a very nice person. But I'll never know the truth and for those of us who only knew him through TV the question is irrelavent. What is relavent is that he was and remains - interesting.

The North Star
I've read this book and it is a gem. Having kept the flame of Andy's legacy alive on the World Wide Web for the past four years, I must say that I read this book with a little more of a critical eye than your average Andy Kaufman fan. Bill Zehme did not let me down and I am happy to have a copy of this fine book in my possession. Bill's biography is fascinating and sheer poetry.

I know that Andy's family loves the book because I've spoken to them and they've told me so. I don't think a writer can receive higher praise than to receive it from the immediate family of the subject.

This biography will stand the test of time and years from now will surely serve as the only comprehensive biography of Andy Kaufman. Zehme is the guiding light, the North Star when it comes to the life and times of Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman.

Thanks Bill, I wish the movie "Man on the Moon" would have had half the content, spirit and meaning of your fine tome.

Andy Kaufman a "Stand Up Guy"
What a great comedian and "thespian" A man of many faces moods and contrasts. I never will forget his "Saturday Night Live" debut. Great book I highly recommend.

An excellent look at Andy Kaufman
Better than Zemuda's book. I would recommend this book even if you are not a fan of Kaufman. The story of a very unique man, gain insight as to just what was going on in his mind as he managed to confuse most everyone who saw him.

Kaufman defined
Zehme is given a seemingly impossible task: get into the mind of Andy Kaufman and interpret his life in a popular biography. The approach here--switching narrative styles and stream of consiousness in a standard celebrity profile format--may alienate some readers but stick with it. Given the dada nature of Kaufman's work and the multifaceted world that was Andy Kaufman Zehme's take on the material is right on the money. While he never quite gets under Kaufman's skin (and who could?) Zehme tells a compelling story of a man who lived life to extremes. Kaufman's genius comes through, as does his ying-yang nature, his childlike qualities, and his savvy assault on show biz cliches.

This book is well worth the ride. Zmuda's book is a fun read, but Lost in the Funhouse comes much closer to answering the question: "who was Andy Kaufman?" ... Read more

Amazon.com

Alistair Cooke writes in the preface to this collection of 23 biographical sketches, "Most of these pieces tend to find, and rejoice in, what is best about their subjects." That is not to say that the distinguished British print and broadcast journalist (resident for many years in America) is starry-eyed about the men and women he profiles: George Bernard Shaw was a crank; Frank Lloyd Wright a prima donna; General George Marshall an appalling public speaker. Yet Cooke's smooth prose and keen insights explore the larger issues his subjects' stories raise and invite readers to appreciate the people who have made a difference. Franklin Roosevelt's visionary leadership was possible because of a gentleman's agreement with the press inconceivable today: they never printed a single photo of him in his wheelchair. FDR's vice president, John Nance Garner, was a Southern politico who understood only power and back-scratching: "There is one man left who is like him," Cooke wrote in 1967, "Lyndon Johnson"--cogently and simultaneously nailing LBJ's strength and weakness. Politicians and statesmen preponderate here (Cooke's Winston Churchill portrait is justly famous), but the author covers writers (P.G. Wodehouse, Robert Frost), performers (Gary Cooper, Duke Ellington), and columnists (James Reston, Erma Bombeck) with equal shrewdness. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Good Read
Prior to buying this volume of Alistair Cooke's writings, I knew him only as the former host of Masterpiece Theater, with his career as a journalist being only something I had heard about. The essays collected here are from various periods of Mr. Cooke writing career (1957 through 1999) and include a diverse group of people, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Irma Bombeck, Gary Cooper, Barry Goldwater and Eleanor Roosevelt . Each essay is rather short, averaging about ten pages. I read a comment by a reviewer that Mr. Cooke was excellent at creating a "portrait" of his subjects. While this is probably true, "Memoirs of the Great and Good" aims more at anecdotes and episodes, that Mr. Cooke elaborates upon, rather than having the detail and depth of a short biography. Many were written upon the death of the subject, so they are valedictory in tone. The essay about FDR relates an occurrence that happened to Mr. Cooke when he encountered the President as he was arriving to give a speech at Harvard. The last piece is a book review of "The Last Lion" by William Manchester, a biography of Winston Churchill, that gives us an insightful look into the early years of Churchill.

In sum, I found these essays to be thoughtfully written and compulsive to read. It was surprising to realize how quickly I went through the book.

A Partial Review
"Memories of the Great and the Good" is a collection of essays that, as much as introducing the more casual and less public sides of nearly two dozen luminaries, reveals the evolution of America and of Alistair Cooke. The pieces stretch from 1951 through 1999 and the most useful advice, repeated both in discussing Churchill's love of war and hatred of the idea of women's suffrage, and in dismissing the alleged racism of golfer Bobby Jones, is to beware the "shame of seeing a man out of his time." One reporter recently dubbed Cooke the Dorian Gray of journalism, perhaps both for having been silver-haired and apparently the same age for as many decades as not, and because it is difficult to tell to what time the man himself belongs.

Even though he is my grandfather, I can be no help on that score; in recent years I have seen the replacement of a knee and an angioplasty (both of which he has mentioned in his weekly BBC "Letter from America") leave him as sprightly as I have ever known him.

Each essay reflects the time of its creation, whether that was 1967 or 1999. The 1974 piece on Duke Ellington mentions a visit to the bandleader's flat "on the swagger side of Harlem," and comments, "There is such a place," the Duke being at the top of "the hierarchy of Negro social status." Yet the 1999 piece on FDR is most memorable for an account of the unexpected, unseen, and contemporarily unpublishable view of the president being carried out of a car and limping, assisted, into a giant hall. By urging the reader to look at his subjects in their times, he sometimes implicitly admonishes himself for failing to do so. "Wodehouse at Eighty," for one, shows the father of Jeeves unquestionably out of his time, an anachronism as viewed--and, to be honest, caricatured--by Cooke, in his early fifties at the time. In other essays he steps almost too much into the times and shoes of his subjects, for example when mirroring the outlook of Erma Bombeck, whose career "was that of her generation--brace yourselves!--mother and housewife." While many of the pieces attempt and succeed at portraying the individuals 'in their time,' a large number of the pieces were written far after 'their times' as obituaries, which should not be surprising as Cooke shares with every nonogenarian the fact of having seen an extraordinary number of players both step onto the stage and then take their bows and make their exits some time later.

Combined with this historical span, what is truly worthy about this book is that, like his earlier "Six Men," it displays the extraordinary degree of access which he, as a foreign correspondent par excellence, enjoyed with a dizzying array of figures. George Bernard Shaw is in a behind-the-scenes committee discussing the pronunciation of proper "BBC English." "The General"--Eisenhower-- sits on his back porch, commenting on his golf and waiting for Cooke's t.v. crew to reposition themselves. And Duke Ellington is in his boxers and a towel, devouring breakfast at two p.m. These are the kind of stories that I've heard come out over drinks in his study, or on Christmas afternoon in Vermont, as if they were the most pedestrian, ordinary experiences.

On October 2, 1999, a fascinating sixteen-minute interview about the book was broadcast on Weekend All Things Considered, recorded in that self-same study in New York. NPR's finest have come to call, just as Cooke did on Wodehouse or Ike; as Cooke thus becomes a living museum of the twentieth century, I wonder if his plea is partly that he himself not be viewed out of his time. In the interview, he posits that America and Americans have, in asserting our 'rights,' lost track of the collective societal duties to which they correspond. With this I must respectfully disagree; we must recognize that these courtesies, if they existed, were only accorded to a small, privileged establishment. Thus, I far prefer a society where anyone can enforce his rights, to one that relies on a collective sense of duty from which many could never benefit. In any case, "Memories of the Great and the Good" offers a rare look, at Cooke (long an icon of Britain to Americans and in icon of America to Britain) and at many of the most important actors on the stage of the twentieth century. I truly hope you will enjoy it.

Alistair Cooke's Insights on Renown Figures
I purchased this book for my 13 year old son for Christmas, and took the liberty of reading it. I read Cooke's sections on George C. Marshall, Winston Churchill,Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Bobby Jones because I was familiar with all of them from other works. Cooke writes in a breezy style, butI believe he captures the noble, transcendent charateristics of each man.I enjoyed each sketch thorougly. His vignettes are all perceptive. I hope that this might spark my son's interest in reading more about these figures. Overall an excellent, quick read. ... Read more

Book Description

Host of the Discovery Channel's hit "The Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin and his wife Terri reveal how their love for animals inspired them to build one of Australia's largest private animal refugees. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Entertaining, but too darned short!
To millions around the world, Steve Irwin is known as "the Crocodile Hunter," thanks to his wildly popular series on Animal Planet. To millions more, he's known as "that crazy Australian guy." THE CROCODILE HUNTER, a book by Steve and Terri Irwin, won't change anyone's mind about Steve's sanity, nor will it provide new insight into the man and his adventures for those already intimately familiar with his television exploits. THE CROCODILE HUNTER will, however, provide a few hours of distraction from the tube and more leisurely exploration of Steve and Terri's usual talking points about wildlife conservation.

THE CROCODILE HUNTER is a thin book, weighing in at 202 pages with largish print and a lot of white space. But Steve Irwin has always been about feeding the audience easy-to-digest material, so the book's content-light character shouldn't come as a surprise. The intent here is to deliver a text version of the television show, THE CROCODILE HUNTER, and to this