3 comments about The Passions of Howard Hughes.

1. I liked this book. Yes, Howard Hughes did some great things and they are mentioned in the book. But he also had a human side which was also shown in the book. A real page turner and well written.



2. After suffering through this book, I am questioning the credibility of the Author's claim to be married to Howard Hughes. It was not a poignant story of a wife about her husband as I thought it should have been. Instead, it was a sordid expose of his sexual conquests mixed in with his last days on this earth. Although Hughes made many problems, I felt that this book gave a low blow to our memory of the man. In addition, a question kept repeating over and over in my head?
   
   How would she know all of this stuff? She wasn't even there.



3. OK, I didn't read the real book. I got the abridged cassette out of the library because I thought it might be fun. Who isn't interested in learning more about the "real" Howard Hughes, he of the legendary germ phobia and foot long fingernails. His ex-wife, Terry Moore, has teamed up with Jerry Rivers,more than likely a reject from The Star or National Enquirer, to come up with a trashy expose that belongs in the annals of the truly tasteless. Do we really need to hear repeatedly about Howard's throbbing member (I'm using these words because I don't know if reviewers are allowed to use the slang vulgarities used by Moore routinely), or starlets doing things to him that Monica did to Bill behind closed White House doors. Not to mention how she describes the wiles Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn employed to keep Hughes interested. Thank God Davis is gone, and Hepburn too old to care. All of this squalor is delivered by Moore in a peppy (and loud) harangue reminiscent of a high school cheerleader. What was anyone thinking when they released this lemon? And how does Moore know enough about what went on behind closed doors to quote dialogue? Was she in Bette Davis' bathroom when the great Davis emerged from the bath like Venus on the half shell to unbuckle Hughes pants and ...? You get the idea. Save your money and cling to your own image of Howard Hughes. It has to be less demeaning than the one presented here.

No comments about Esther (Radio Collection).

5 comments about Natural Blonde: A Memoir.

1. This is a very entertaining book, full of interesting anecdotes about a wide range of people. Liz Smith is known as the gossip columnist who doesn't sling mud, and what a relief that is! In this age of tell-all tabloid journalism, she has remained a cut above and is all the more fascinating because of it. This is perfect reading that delivers one from the harsh realities of everyday life, but which is not at all escapist. Liz Smith has the gift of being in the right place at the right time with the right people and writing about it with graceful humor.



2. Oddly dull, considering the author makes her living by writing and that her writing is on gossip.
   
   I was surprised at how many times I thought to myself, "I guess you had to be there," in response to her narration of an allegedly wild and crazy party.
   
   I was amused when she noted how something or another she wrote created a "sensation." Perhaps they created a sensation among certain cliques in Manhattan or the Hamptons, but they didn't hit my radar screen. Just goes to show how each of us is the center of our own universe.
   
   Possibly the most irksome feature in the book was when she'd refer to "my friend so-and-so" [insert extremely interesting person's name here]in passing, without offering up any information about that person. Instead, she squandered many pages on the likes of the Trumps and others of that ilk.
   
   She kept my interest most when she described her childhood and young adulthood.



3. Liz Smith was gossip columnist par excellence but, no, she wasn't a natural blonde. The book is full of photos (half her life, she had dark hair) with the famous and infamous. She was the ultimate party girl in the early fifties in New York.
   
   She had a lovely mother but her two grandmothers looked like mine in Tennessee. Age was not good for women in the thirties, forties, and fifties unless they were rich and, though her father owned a farm and horses, they were not on the upper scale. She liked Tom Mix, the cowboy and never got over her desire to be a real cowgirl; kept his picture even through two marriages.
   
   Growing up in Texas, she had a lot of LBJ's 'bigger-than-thou' bravado. Seems to me I remember her at one of his press conferences but she claims the closest she got to doing a piece on the Johnson daughters for Cosmopolitan was a clandestine meeting at the St. Regis Hotel with Homer Busby, an aide to the president. She'd known him at the University of Texas where she was a journalism student. She says she was in her 'tart' dressing at the time, min-skirt and all.
   
   The photo display shows her with a plethora of important people always partying. She is shown with a young Barbara Walters, who describes her as "provacative without being vicious." She was not impressed with Sonny and Cher, put them down; guess they weren't "classy" enough. Sonny went on to become a Mayor.
   
   There are photos of her with Liberace, Truman Copote, and Bill Clinton. She had an active social life and was the Joan Rivers of her time. In 1976, she wrote a column for New York Daily News.
   
   A memoir is just that, memories we want people to know about us, and she furnishes a full plate. She sought a campy, bohemian life and had a ball fulfilling it on a large scale.



4. After reading this autobio, I feel I know little more about Liz than I would have from reading her resume. She chronologically recounts the passage of her life without revealing much about herself personally or emotionally. She gushes over most people. Most seem to like her too, but aside from her generous charity work, it's hard to understand why, since we don't learn much about her as a person. She conveniently elects not to reveal the names of those she wishes to protect, while having no qualms about publishing gossip about those she doesn't. The last portion of the book is marginally more interesting than the first.



5. Go. Go now and get this book. Lots of lovely yummy tidbits from a sweet-spirited, good writer. I'm not usually keen on memoirs, but not one page of the book bored me. A fabulous read and a great gift--for yourself.

5 comments about The SEDUCTION OF HILLARY RODHAM CASSETTE.

1. At the time of its hardcover release - 1996 - David Brock was the top-gun reporter for The American Spectator, writing several exposes on Anita Hill & Bill Clinton and penning a best-selling 1993 book, The Real Anita Hill.
   
   With a dour photo of Hillary Rodham gracing the front cover of the hardcover edition - a la Hill's picture on the less-than-flattering biography - it appeared at first glance that Brock was positioned to attack the then First Lady through new revelations and late-breaking angles.
   
   In this case, the picture is quite deceptive, as Brock writes a straight-forward unauthorized biography of Rodham, where journalism pushes sensationalism into the gutter, with a focus on the core values which led her into the political arena before her marriage to Bill Clinton.
   
   Brock depicts Rodham coming of age in the 1960s, growing up in a conservatative suburb of Chicago, Illinois, having an early education in Republican politics. Her political conversion can be summed up in a line from her 1969 Wellesley College commencement address: "And the challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible."
   
   What appeared to be a fast-track to a career in politics - after a stint as a staffer on the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate investigation - Rodham abandons this quest, marries Clinton and moves to Arkansas. Brock meticulously moves through this period of professional triumph, setbacks and personal anguish within a rocky partnership caused by Clnton's peccadilloes.
   
   By striding past banner headlines and finger-pointing accusations, Brock shows a profile in courage due to following the whims of the heart, which is a timeless tale.



2. David Brock's Seduction is a great read, and it will be curious to see this work rise on AMAZON's sales list now that Hillary has lifted her skirts for a run to the White House (watch those cankles!).
   
   Brock's Seduction of Hillary Rodham will satisfy no one on the tails of the normal distribution of those with an opinion of Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRM HRC).
   
   Which makes it a surprisingly honest book, but one that mostly lays the blame of her political development on the round heals of her opportunistic and amoral husband.
   
   Still, Brock's prose packs a punch, and his journalism alternates between thorough and tedious to sloppy and careworn. Errors a plenty, but about evenly divided into the camp of ones that hurt HRC and ones that help her, so no prize on elevating one error over the other to prove an ideological point on the one-upmanship game.
   
   This book was originally commissioned by The American Spectator and offered as a subscription renewal premium, so it would be fair to anticipate that there might be a slant or agenda attached. Yet delivery of Seduction was delayed for a good while, both from Brock's missing deadlines, and the ultimate lukewarm conclusion the book comes to about HRC: she's not the devil incarnate, nor particularly great, nor hopelessly Lady Macbeth, but rather an intelligent ambitious pol of the old entitlement school of rule and divide spoils. The editors of The AmSpec were probably not amused, but by then articles were appearing about Brock's private life and journalistic techniques in The Washington Post. The book disappointed everyone, and eventually Brock was given the heave-ho from AmSpec (deserved) but well remembered and thanked for his great book The Real Anita Hill (also deserved).
   
   The two weakest areas are Hilary's handling of Federally subpoenaed documents for the Whitewater investigation (she hid and suppressed them is about the only logical conclusion you could come to) and her amazing 10 sigma event of earning 1000% returns on cattle futures glancing at headlines in the Wall Street Journal (I have a bridge to sell you, comes with the Eiffel Tower). But neither Hilary haters nor Hilary defenders (she doesn't need them) will be happy with this book.



3. David Brock's Seduction is a great read, and it will be curious to see this work rise on AMAZON's sales list now that Hillary has lifted her skirts for a run to the White House (watch those cankles!).
   
   Brock's Seduction of Hillary Rodham will satisfy no one on the tails of the normal distribution of those with an opinion of Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRM HRC).
   
   Which makes it a surprisingly honest book, but one that mostly lays the blame of her political development on the round heals of her opportunistic and amoral husband.
   
   Still, Brock's prose packs a punch, and his journalism alternates between thorough and tedious to sloppy and careworn. Errors a plenty, but about evenly divided into the camp of ones that hurt HRC and ones that help her, so no prize on elevating one error over the other to prove an ideological point on the one-upmanship game.
   
   This book was originally commissioned by The American Spectator and offered as a subscription renewal premium, so it would be fair to anticipate that there might be a slant or agenda attached. Yet delivery of Seduction was delayed for a good while, both from Brock's missing deadlines, and the ultimate lukewarm conclusion the book comes to about HRC: she's not the devil incarnate, nor particularly great, nor hopelessly Lady Macbeth, but rather an intelligent ambitious pol of the old entitlement school of rule and divide spoils. The editors of The AmSpec were probably not amused, but by then articles were appearing about Brock's private life and journalistic techniques in The Washington Post. The book disappointed everyone, and eventually Brock was given the heave-ho from AmSpec (deserved) but well remembered and thanked for his great book The Real Anita Hill (also deserved).
   
   The two weakest areas are Hilary's handling of Federally subpoenaed documents for the Whitewater investigation (she hid and suppressed them is about the only logical conclusion you could come to) and her amazing 10 sigma event of earning 1000% returns on cattle futures glancing at headlines in the Wall Street Journal (I have a bridge to sell you, comes with the Eiffel Tower). But neither Hilary haters nor Hilary defenders (she doesn't need them) will be happy with this book.



4. Almost ten years have passed since the publication of this book. From before then and until recently, David Brock has appeared now and again on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," during which time he moved from the right to the left on the political spectrum, eventuating in his disavowal of the right-wing attack machine in which he had played such an important part. Compelled by a sudden interest in Hillary Rodham because of her possible run for president, I selected THIS book to educate myself on her because it was during the research and writing of it that Brock turned away from the dark side of the force. Something about her inspired him to take a political one-eighty, so one would assume that he shared in this book something of what it was that brought him to such illumination. I remember when it was released, right wingers were furious to learn that their heretofore reliable hitman hadn't delivered the magic bullet that would put an end to the Clintons, and Hillary in particular. Instead, Brock presented a detailed account of the influences that drive Hillary Rodham, and to a liberal's delight and a right winger's disdain, she's basically a deeply spiritual person, with her ideology steeped in Christianity, the type known as social gospel activism. It's hard to take the moral high ground in opposing her after these submissions, and you'll have to find something else to hate her for besides your affected righteous indignation.
   
   The book focuses primarily on her moral influences, and shows how they consistently affected her. She had always been personally conservative, despite the influences of the campuses she attended in the 60s, shunning the libertinism, refraining from drugs, and remaining relatively chaste; politically she rejected the destructive anti-establishment revolutionary thinking preached by the harder activists. Her activism lay in the belief in making change within the system by altering how the law is viewed. It was all very fascinating stuff, and the reader will learn to split a hair or two.
   
   What some readers in some of these reviews possibly objected to was the way Brock mentioned some of the rumors -- gossip, mostly from her detractors, alleging lesbianism or an affair with Vince Foster; the gossipers should make up their minds -- but these stories had to be discussed if the book was to have any credibility at all. Brock inserted some incredulity into the comments by putting them in the context of hardball politics played by her husband's political enemies, jealous backbiters, and sometimes just plain old Arkansas male chauvinism. When Hillary moved with Bill back to his home state, she didn't deal graciously with a male-dominated political system that resented strong women. Some of Bill's closest friends panned her. Her strenghts made them feel weak. From what I gleaned, she was committed to intelligence itself as a tool, as a gift, and as such, regarded it as an asset she was sure principled people would appreciate. This was not the case, as most people's agendas were less noble than her own. Eventually, she learned to play the political game, to take on APPEARANCES, using tactics every politician on Capital Hill uses every day, and, as in everything else she sets her mind to, she excelled in it. Lacking her practicality and her commitment to her long-range goals, some people were harshly critical of her, accused her of selling out. The truth is, she detested the political games even as she played them -- preferring instead entreaties to reason -- but she brushed aside her objections for what she felt was a greater good, the use of her gifts to make positive changes in society.
   
   More instructional to the reader is the detailed accounting of the scandals that had eclipsed everything and anything else about the Clintons. The tableu that had played out via hundreds of insinuating soundbites was revealed as just a shadow play. The financial scandals were too complicated to be appreciated through snatches of news, and Brock here lays them out in detail, connects the dots, forming a cohesive story, and you realize that a lot was made of nothing, that the whole fiasco resulted from machinations of a partisan political system, polemics gone wild. He doesn't explicitly say so here in this book, as he does in a later one, but that is indeed the case.
   
   Overall, it's a good read. Only one part was boring, an interminably long description of how people were selected for President Clinton's cabinet, a tedious detailing of the relationships Hillary relied upon to establish control. This is only a minor point. Most of the time, he moves along. Brock's criticisms were always accompanied with a mitigating point, describing Hillary in the context of a political food chain. And while Brock's criticisms seemed harsher toward the end of the book, the rest of it betrays his very high regard for her.
   
   And why wouldn't he have a high regard? She possesses a moral conviction to advance society for everyone's benefit, and a superior intelligence at her disposal to aid her in accomplishing it, qualities that would add up to greatness in any other politician. Brock's main detraction is how Hillary dealt with a hostile poltical environment, that her education and her values inhered in her a more principled approach, one based on moral arguments she might deliver in a courtroom, and this worked to her detriment in the final analysis. But she's unable to set the rules, and thereby forced to play by them as they are. That's a small detraction in my estimation. By the time I had turned the last page, I had come to see her in an entirely new light, as one fine human being with only minor character flaws. I recommend this book to anyone interested in a clearer picture of her.
   
   On the other hand, to the rabid Clinton bashers, I say this: Don't bother, as YOU won't get much out of it; it is simply not spiteful enough.



5. In page after page of "facts" based on assumptions, presumptions, and lies, he produces a tale of flimsy accusations of improperity against a woman who is much brighter, quicker, and kinder than her male counterparts. It was easily apparent that he manufactured much of the "facts."

5 comments about Game and the Glory, The.

1. Michelle Akers is the example of what persitence can do for you in any area of your life. We are taken into her world and shown what the career of an athlete entails. I was presently surprise to not be hit over the head with a sermon of why I should be Christian. In this book metaphors can be drawn and you can take her inspiriation to apply it to your daily life. An easy read and you don't have to believe in Jesus to love this book!!
   I reccommend this book!!!



2. I play select and I alway enjoy reading books on awsome soccer players. When my friend told me about this book I jumped at the oppertunity to read yet another soccer book. I read it and couldnt put it down. As a Catholic I diffently could relate and found it pretty cool we share the same faith.
   It was a very good and inspiring book! IM GONNA BE THE NEXT MICHELLE AKERS SO WATCH OUT AMERICA CUZ HERE I COME!!!



3. Michelle Akers writes a truly inspirational story. As you read The Game and the Glory you feel as if you know Michelle personally. The book is easy to relate to because she tells her story on such a personal level. We see Michelle grow through her relationships, her spirituality, her CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and of course soccer.
   Michelle is honest about the carefree wonders of childhood. She tells about two of her childhood dreams: One of being the next Mean Joe Green of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the other dream of being an Olympian. Although, for Michelle, childhood is not always carefree dreams. When she is only in the sixth grade, she struggles to understand the reason behind her parents' divorce. Ironically, even Michelle herself cannot believe when she goes through her own divorce. Michelle, with the guidance of a few friends and through her struggles, finds a relationship that will help her cope with all of her problems.
   As a child Michelle always found mass to be boring and going to church on Sunday was never something to look forward to. It is not until Michelle is in high school, with the guidance of a teacher, that she truly finds a relationship with God. However, she gets distracted from this newfound relationship quite soon. After her divorce, Michelle realizes that there is something missing from her life: God. She turns to God at this point in her life, and this time she holds on to what she has found. Michelle promotes her Christianity in a way that no one else has ever done. She founds an organization called the Soccer Outreach International. An organization to promote Christianity in sports especially soccer. Michelle did not only turn to God for answers about relationships and soccer, but also about her CFIDS.
   Not long after her World Cup experience in 1991, Michelle begins to suffer from CFIDS. However, Michelle is not diagnosed with CFIDS until 1994. From 1991 to 1994 she did not know exactly what was causing her to feel always fatigued and never well. Michelle has done what no other athlete that competes at the level she competes at has done. She played while suffering with CFIDS. This truly shows her unstoppable compassion for the game.
   Michelle played many sports as a child, but soccer was her first true love. When she was only nine years old she attended a soccer camp. During the soccer camp she competed in a juggling contest to see who could juggle for the longest. Michelle stayed out at the field juggling for hours without once loosing control of her ball. The camp director stayed and counted her 5,392 touches, which shattered the previous record set by boy who went on to play collegiate soccer at Duke. This is only one of the amazing stories about Michelle and soccer. Through soccer Michelle has traveled to many countries around the world and established lifelong friendships. She is an original member of the first United States Women's National Soccer Team of 1985. With the National Team she has won many individual awards and is a 1991 World Cup Champion, a 1996 Olympic Gold Medallist, and 1999 World Cup Champion. Michelle admits that God has carried her through it all and without Him she would have never accomplished everything that she has.
   It is amazing to think of how great a person she is and how truly human she is. Michelle has accomplished so much for women's soccer. She opened up a new door for girls around the U.S. by using her position as the best women's soccer player to promote the sport. She is one of the reasons that women's soccer become an official Olympic sport. Michelle is a role model to many not only as a world class soccer player but also through her display of Christianity in her every action. In reading her story I have learned that sometimes you just have to "show up" and let God take care of the rest.



4. I know I would love this book even if the writing sucked, which it doesn't...it's beatiful. Still, I'm bias. Michelle has been my role model as a soccer player for years, and I've always her respected her deep faith in Jesus Christ. I'm Catholic. I think Michelle's faith is wonderful, after all she has been through. And the fact that she is grateful for her suffering makes her, in my eyes, a true follower of Jesus.

   You will enjoy the thoughts of this excellent (tough as nails) soccer player, and Christian who inspires many others who share her faith. Go USA!

   PS. Since this book was written, Michelle has retired.




5. This is a great book for a young girl because it feels like Michelle is talking to you. I felt like I was her best friend, because I could relate to her family situation, and like her, I'm a tomboy. I don't care for soccer, but now I have a giant Michelle Akers poster hanging in my room, and I feel like I know her well even though I've never seen her play. I recommend this to any girl, ages 8-15.

5 comments about A Prison Diary.

1. Prison Diary is, by far, one of the most interesting books I have ever read. While some believe that Archer is egocentric (he does talk about himself quite a bit), I believe this adds importance to the story. Archer was part of the political system, yet he had no idea how horribly the prisons were run. He is now experiencing day to day life in the highest security prison in England. For a first-time offender, that has to be extremely overwhelming! He may complain about his conditions and the ordeals of his daily life, but wouldn't you if you were given a four year sentence for something that should have only gotten community service? His stories of the drug dealings, the prisoners inside the "lifers" wing, and the problems the guards face bring a new insight into prison life. Because Archer was not the "typical" con, everyone felt as if they could talk to him, thus, making this a well-rounded novel on the system. Overall, this is a well-written novel sure to shake things up a bit.



2. What a shock to the system,but what a good read this was as well.To go from the very top to the bottom in one easy lesson!
   Loryn Potroz



3. I actually originally read Volume III Heaven before finding a copy of Volume I Hell and have to say I think Heaven was a lot higher in quality than this book. Heaven is also a lot thicker with a lot more pages. In Volume I Archer shows more of himself through his writing than in the final volume which to be honest makes him a little bit less likeable and harder to relate to. In Heaven you assume he is an average guy (I mean you know he is a rich author and politician) but in Hell he portrays his upper class upbringing and lifestyle and comes across rather snobby at times when talking about his fellow inmates backgrounds or describing his conditions. He will only drink bottled water, can't eat the everyday prison food served at meal times even though there's a menu of three alternatives, had never even heard of let alone eaten Coco Pops (these as the same as Coco Puffs for North Americans) before getting them in a multipack of cereal, and in his opinion they weren't as good as Cornflakes. How he was amazed that drugs can get smuggled in obviously means he had never watched normal TV before in his life.
   
   I found that the empathy I had for Archer in Volume III Heaven I just did not have reading Volume I Hell. Surely he also got some of his friends into trouble and a loss of their privileges or another 28 days added onto their sentences by revealing stuff like one of them who worked in the canteen stole him a bottle of water and passed it through the wire. Even if he uses fake names it is not going to be that hard for prison authorities to work out who it was from the dates in his diary. I'm glad he also got rid of the cricket score updates by the trilogy finale as these were pretty boring.
   
   Saying all that though I still found the first volume of the Prison Diaries an entertaining read and an insightful look into the Class A prisons of Britain which I imagine would have many similarities to ones in Australia, North America and elsewhere. I'm just glad that he improved the diaries by the third volume and I will definitely be checking out Volume II Purgatory.



4. Incredible writing, totally expected of Jeffrey Archer.
   He brings his artisary in fiction into this non-fiction giving you great insight in the lives of prisoners who we all love to think of as bad guys.
   At the end of the book, the inmates are no longer bad guys but regular people who just want to get by with their lives living it as best as they can.
   A definite must read for all lovers of a good book.



5. Absolute drivel, poorly written by an angry ego driven con. The only thing that does come out of this is the state of our prison system, Kudos to our Lordship for at least using his celebratory status to raise this issue. However, come on, if you are going to write about being in prison at least let us know that you were scared to death. He never really talks about what was running through his mind all those hours in lock up. If any of these men, including Fletch, had sat next to him at the theatre he would have called security.

5 comments about Where Did I Go Right?: You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead.

1. Because we're so star-struck in America, we tend to be overly impressed with ShowBiz and the people who inhabit that world. But as charming, determined and persistent a personality Mr. Brillstein may be, he's essentially just a salesman - NOT the creator, but a "dealmaker" of the ShowBiz Old School - and after almost 400 pages, I found he'd worn thin his welcome! However dramatic it may have been FOR HIM to accompany John Belushi's body back East, or "duke it out" with the Big Boys in corporate takeovers while at Lorimar, the emotions are thinly drawn and shallow in this book. Brillstein made me less than intrigued with his machinations, unimpressed by his self-aggrandizing spin on events and ultimately unsympathetic to his life challenges. (His obvious misogyny doesn't help, either - he has no use for women outside of the sack, it appears.) Here's another absurdly fortunate, rich powerful older man feeling sorry for himself because time changes everything? I'd have hoped he'd have learned to adjust better to the slings and arrows of life by the time he got to his 60s and 70s!

   This book was distressing to me because I REALLY WANTED to LIKE the guy - but I found I couldn't. He's kinda ordinary, and once you remove the "famous" names and large amounts of money, his anecdotes are kinda ordinary! He's not terribly brilliant, sage or extraordinary in any other way than being sublimely LUCKY! I gave the book 3 stars, because it's certainly not dreck, but for inspiration or insight, I'd advise looking elsewhere!




2. I'm not sure what drove me to buy the Brillstein book. I had heard of him of years, but wasn't sure that a managers tale was all that interesting. Oh, but is! This book is filled with humor, honesty, and and ego. Bernie seems like a terrific guy and he tells fantastic stories. Some are filled with love: Belushi, Radner, etc. Others venom (and these are the most fun, he pulls no punches): Ovitz, Shandling (more would have better on this), etc. You learn about the inside story of Hee Haw, The Muppets, SNL, and Lorimar. My favorite stuff was about Jim Henson, rarely have I seen so much great stuff written about one of my heroes.

   While this may not be a roast, I raise my glass to Big Bernie and the wonderful life he has led. Thanks for sharing.




3. I found myself unexpectedly touched by this autobiography. Having read it, I consider Bernie Brillstein a friend. With no self-praise, Brillstein shows himself to be a man of decency, of compassion, of empathy. He began in his profession as an agent at William Morris, dreaming of representing mid-Century comics such as Jackie Gleason and Jackie Gale. When he left William Morris, he became a personal manager, starting the careers of dozens of entertainers who have become household names. The stories Bernie has to tell! He survived--there's no other word--until the end of the century, representing Jim Henson, Lorne Michaels, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and, as the saying goes, a cast of thousands along the way. He created HEE HAW and greenlighted THE SOPRANOS, headed a movie studio for a short time, got fired, picked himself up and started again. His very life has been the personification of the entertainment business; there are few who exceeded his success. And he is the one having the last laugh: He's still here! But along with the chronological report of his professional experience, what he was thinking, how he pulled it off, there is this man, this basically sweet and decent man, and that's what shines through his book. I enjoyed reading about Bernie's fascinating life.



4. A passably interesting look into life of an "old school" agent/manager with some real insights into his client's lives and the behind-the-scenes machinations of Hollywood. WARNING: You'll have to wade through a considerable amount of self-aggrandizment that I found tremendously off-putting toward the end. It's a rare occasion when I don't finish a book but I found myself skipping through the last third and ultimately bailed out with just a few chapters to go.



5. There's really no good insider showbiz tips or amazing gossip here. I found the book to be readable -- meaning I kept on reading once I picked it up but at any time I could have stopped and not felt like I was going to be missing a golden nugget.

   It's a show biz biography of a manager. Did we really expect it to be an essential read?

No comments about Dear Tom (Radio Collection).

No comments about The North Pole (Library Edition).

1 comments about Producer.

1. Working through all the cd's of the audiobook was a marathon, but surprisingly addicting. I came away most impressed with David Wolper's determination. He has the courage to see things through even when facing tremendous obstacles. I found that inspiring.