5 comments about James Stewart.

1. I wanted a full life biography of James Stewart, the great, quintessentially American actor. I found it in Donald Dewey tome, 512 pages worth. It was available in the unabridged audio version. Mr. Dewey spends quite a bit of time on Stewart hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania. It is rather unremarkable except as the birthplace of Stewart & Mr. Dewey spends too much time on it & the townsfolk. Stewart himself rarely returned after he left. Stewart was the product of a middle class family in small town America. Unlike most celebrities,his upbringing was entirely normal & perhaps even boring. He idolized his father & the love was returned. They were always close & His father remained the most important influence on Stewart's life. That life was tightly controlled by his father with apparently little opposition until he set out on his own after Princeton. The book chronicles every movie Stewart made. His career is clearly divided into two distinct chapters: before & after World WarII. Before the war he was already a major star. After many supporting roles, he broke through with one of the defining roles of his career, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It raised a political firestorm & was condemned by many in government who wanted it banned. It spoke of corruption in government & the corrosive influence of power on elected officials & their unelected cronies put into positions of power. Other lighter fare Such as Destry, Shop Around the Corner & The Philadelphia Story were made in 1939-40. He was the all American boy, single, good looking & as was said in Hollywood, "a good catch". There was very little scandal attached to Stewart but he certainly was not a monk. The war changed everything. He grew up. He had enlisted early & was a decorated bomber pilot seeing considerable action. He did very little movie making aside from PSA's for the military, of which he was very fond. He hated the word hero, feeling it was overused then as it certainly is now. It has lost most of its value. He rarely talked about the war & did very few movies about it. The tone of his movies now became a bit darker as did movies in general post war. One his favorite movies was Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life & Mr. Dewey spends some time taking about this, possibly Capra's as well as Stewart,s most well known movie. I think Stewart's personal favorite was Harvey from 1950. The story about an invisible rabbit that only Stewart's character could see. He did the movie, & performed it several different times on stage & also a tv version. Mr. Dewey ponders long & hard on why this was. There are so many great movies. He was such a good hardworking professional actor. He didn't particularly care about the movie-star part but was always repectful to fans, never forgeting who got him there. He liked doing biographies. He insisted on doing The Spirit of St. Louis. He was playing Charles Lindberg at 25 when he was actually twice that age. Not bad, but it is maybe one movie that could use a remake. His conservative politics started to show in movies such as the propaganda pieces, The FBI Story & Strategic Air Command. Both are good entertaining movies for their time. By 1965 his best acting days were gone & his politics hardening more along the way. The author teases us with the possibility that he not Ronald Reagon could have run for govenor of California. They were great friends & Stewart had helped Reagan out with guest appearences on several of Reagan's tv shows in the early 60's. Most interesting was the lifelong friendship Stewart had with Henry Fonda. Two more politically opposite men you could not find. A right wing reactionary vs a left wing-nut. Apparently they didn't discuss politics but were friend from their days as struggling actors in the 1930's. Stewart was with Fonda in the middle of filming
   The Cheyenne Social Club in 1970 when the greatest tragedy of his life occurred: The death of his son in Vietnam. It tore him apart given his strong support of that war. He seldom spoke of him again. A great source of strength was his wife Gloria. He married rather later in life & when she died before him, I think he felt his life was over. The charges he was a racist are a little hard. Prejudiced, perhaps, inability or unwiilingness to change, definitely. We need to have big biographies on important figures of the 20th century & in the field of cinema, James Stewart is a giant. This biography is okay, but could have used a little more pi-zazz.



2. Being a huge fan of both classic movies and Jimmy Stewart, I was thrilled to come across this book in my public library. However, some of my enthusiasm died off when I actually attempted to read the book, which began with a lengthy and uninteresting account of the building of the Jimmy Stewart museum.
   
   I decided, however, to skip over these pages and give the book another try, but I really should not have bothered. This book reads like dry, witless highschool essay and offers no insight into the real Jimmy Stewart. With most biographies, I am able to put them down once I have read them and say, "I now know a little more about the true essence of this person". Not so for this book. It bored me to tears, I skipped over at least ten chapters and I didn't bother to read the last chapter.
   
   I do not reccomend this book to anyone. I found myself less interested in Jimmy as the book wore on, which is not a good thing. If any of you should come across this book in YOUR local library, do yourselves a favour and DON'T check it out.



3. I do not know why, but I have always liked "classic films" especially those of Cary Grant, Janes Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor and Dorothy Dandrige....I was very young when I first read this book-I think about 15 yrs old a few years after it first came out-and you would not believe my shock when about three quarters of the way through the book I find out that Stewart was pissed at the changing movie business, because apparently African American's were "taking over" the business.....now, was this Jimmy on a bad day? Or the real Jimmy coming out to play?
   
   Ever since then, whenever I look at a Stewart film, I appreciate the acting, but the whole "I am nice boy from a small town" schtick is just a Hollywood facade that of which he actively participated in.
   
   When I knew nothing of Stewarts's career, this book provided the "basic" info I needed but based on that comment made towards the 1970's decade of his career, I am glad that I don't know more.



4. I thought this was supposed to be a biography about Jimmy Stewart. I learned so little about him that I quit reading the book. The author, Donald Dewey, spent a vast amount of time on the town of Indiana, PA's quarrel over a museum. Mr. Dewey also spent more time writing about other people. I forgot who the book was about. I am so glad there are other biographies about Jimmy Stewart. His movies are such great entertainment, it would be a shame if this were the only biography to read.



5. I have read many books about the life of Jimmy Stewart and found that this one is the most thorough and balanced. Mr. Dewey details Jimmy Stewart's life from all angles but never resorts to smarmy or tabloid-like tactics. While he does not sugar coat Stewart, he doesn't blast him either; he leaves the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. This is the book I would recommend to anyone who wished to find out as much as possible about one of the greatest actors and intriguing personalities of the 20th century.

4 comments about Long Life.

1. Nigel Nicolson MBE OBE was an incredible man. He wrote lovingly about his parents' unconventional marriage but he also writes about his own life in this book. He writes about growing up with nannies and privilege that people like me won't get to experience. His experiences during World War II earned him an MBE which he plays down. He loved both his parents and brother Benedict as well. He writes about his marriage and children. He writes lovingly about America as well. He also is very open and honest about his divorce and failed marriage. I think people who would be interested to know Nigel Nicolson who wasn't the son of parents who engaged in homosexual relationships. His mother was a lover of Virgnia Woolfe and Violet Keppel Trefusis. He is still a man who fought in World War II for his country and became both a politician and an author and editor of Virginia Woolfe's diaries as well. He writes lovingly about the home of Sissinghurst Castle where his parents devoted so much time in restoration and where he lived until his death as well.



2. I bought this book because I long ago read and admired Mr Nicolson's articles in The Spectator, in a column named Long Life. I enjoyed this book very much, not only because Mr Nicolson is a fine writer, but also because he has led such an interesting and well-balanced life. He has been an author, a publisher, a soldier and a politician. This book is important also because it relates events about people like Virginia Woolf and Nabokov which one will not find in scholarly tomes about them. Mr Nicolson has been in the thick of some of the more famous controversies of 20th century cultural history, such as the publication in Britain of the novel Lolita and the letters of Mrs Woolf.
   Wonderful read.



3. Much of Long Life will be familiar to regular readers of The Spectator, but Nicolson's book is delightful nonetheless. From his father he inherited the ability to write well, and utterly without pretension; from his mother he learned how to make words and phrases sing. Nicolson does not shed his English reserve, but we learn just enough of him and his life to want to know much more. Somehow it is reassuring to think of him sitting in the gazebo at Sissinghurst, gazing out over the flower-ringed moat in the summertime. To Nigel: an even longer life!



4. Very pretentious. Nicolson comes from the upper middle class in England and writes as if the reader should be familiar with the mores and values of his class. His continuous name-dropping (2/3 of whom I have never heard of), the occasional French phrase and references to places, ideas and times in an idiom that puzzles the reader who does not mix in the same circles shows that Nicolson has written his book for the insider. NOT RECOMMENDED.

5 comments about Undercurrents: A Therapist's Reckoning With Her Own Depression.

1. This book was difficult to read but I recognized so much of my own experience in Dr Manning's writing. She gives and incredible insight into the suffering of depression. I feel like giving this book to all my family members and friends to read so that I can stop hearing annoying "just snap out of it" type of advices.
   It is impossible to appreciate what suffering from manic depression means unless you've been there, a fact that you can see when reading some of the reviews posted here.



2. Having dealt with depression, I found this book (true story) very insightful. Those who haven't dealth with it personally, or those who have someone going through depression should really read this book. It's inside the mind of an older women with severe depression. Interesting, informative, and truthful. A must read!



3. This is a journey through the major depression that takes hold of a therapist and professor. In this book, Manning shares her insightful, painfully honest and often humorous journal entries and provides a powerful and personal look at depression. (This is also a great book for anyone who is interested in hearing a positive perspective on ECT.)



4. I bought this book several years ago and have read it about five times by now. This time I read it after suffering through the self-indulgent whining of Elizabeth Wurtzel in Prozac Nation. Reading Undercurrents right afterwards really showed me - once again - the merits of this book. Martha Manning write honestly, she reveals how much she suffers from her depression without ever descending into self-pity. This alone is a remarkable achievement. In addition, she manages to combine the sad passages with some wry humor which is never out of place, but enriches the reading experience. This book is a wonderful and informative account of depression and also helps to shows the background of ECT - while ECT was a horrifying experience for Ms. Manning, she shows how much the treatment helped her. This is a book I highly recommend to anyone suffering from depression or wanting to know more about depression. It is definitely the best first-hand account about this illness that I ever read.



5. Margaret does an incredible job in this book of truly expressing just how it really feels and the true thoughts of someone who has been depressed for a fairly long period of time. She writes in a way that is true, honest, and humorous.

4 comments about Celia SPA: Mi Vida.

1. I received this book in very good conditions.
   And its very interesting read the live of Celia Cruz.



2. Yo buscaba una Biografía en la que sintiera que ella me está contando su vida, con sus palabras y su forma de ser. No quería que fuera escrita por otra persona y esta reunió esas condiciones, me divierte mucho, me hace pensar y conocerla mas aún. Tuvo una vida increible, fue un ejemplo de vida, y creo que este libro reúne esos pequeños y grandes momentos relatados por ella.



3. This is my second review of this book which I re-read (I don't know why Amazon lost the first review). The book is a good read and very well descriptive of La Reina de Guanguanco ("Queen of Guanguanco"). Celia spoke of many points in her life which we all can relate to. She also spoke highly about her wishes to return to her homeland. I'm glad we have her in the USA! She is worthy of her success as a human being and a fine negra-latina. Bravo!



4. This book was truly written by Celia Cruz. You can almost see her speaking to you as you read her words. If you are lucky enough to be bilingual get the Spanish version. You'll love it!!! Celia's kindness and honesty is refreshing and inspiring. I had admired Celia Cruz for a long time, this book made me realize why I had found her so likable. Celia was a great human being and a great inspiration to us all, not just as a great entertainer but a wonderful person. I will always treasure this book.

3 comments about The Salesman of the Century: Inventing, Marketing, and Selling on TV : How I Did It and How You Can Too!.

1. As a fan of inventors and salesmanship, Ron Popeil was at the top of his game for decades... this book demystifies some of the qualities, tenancity, and cleverness that someone needs to succeed in the world of marketing ones self and their products. The first half of this book is phenomenal because it reveals some of the secrets of Ron's success - although it would hard to emulate or recreate exactly what Ron did to start his amazing career... it illustrates that you don't have to wait for opportunity to knock, you need to create your own path, using your own talents and ingenuity. The second half is a like taking a course in basic tv marketing 101 and is a must read for those harboring fantasies of seeing their product in a infomercial or on the home shopping networks.
   I highly recommend this read for anyone looking to market their own product via television.... and as someone who has hosted more than 75 infomercials myself, I put my stamp of approval on this tome!
   forbes riley



2. If the rather egotistical title of this book doesn't put you off, you'll find a fascinating story that's really two books in one. Ron Popeil's infomercials are the stuff of pop culture legend; if you never got a chance to see them during the '60s, '70s or '80s, you surely have seen their parodies. But what's the deal behind Popeil and his "as seen on TV" success?

   The first part of this book is Popeil's inspiring autobiography. Surviving a childhood filled with abuse and neglect, he discovered his gift as a salesman as a young man and went on to make a fortune. At the dawn of the television age, he saw TV's potential as an unparalleled marketing tool and grew his marketing empire even further. Ron Popeil's great contribution to retail, therefore, wasn't the myriad of gadgets he sold, but his style of selling on TV -- namely the infomercial.

   The second part of the book is essentially a how-to guide for starting a business similar to Popeil's. Even if you have no intention of starting a retail business, the details of how such a business works are fascinating. Topics as arcane as patent protection, TV time buying, negotiating with retail stores for shelf space and financing (which forced Popeil into bankruptcy at one point) are all covered.




3. Ron's book gives one a good overall insight into what it takes to get a product to market. His insights into selling to retail chains..., Infomercials, and getting a product on QVC are invaluable.

   It's a great read with many pictures and short stories about his past hit products like The Pocketfisherman, Mr. Microphone, and GLH9 etc.

   It also includes a great overview of his early life going through the school of hard knocks.

No comments about The Long Walk: Library Edition.

No comments about David Livingstone: A Concise Biography (Pocket Biographies).

No comments about Great Trials Oscar Wilde.

5 comments about The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton.

1. Joe Klein takes a detailed, dispassionate look at the Clinton Presidency. He takes great pains to put it in perspective, both generational (Baby Boomers take over from the WWII Generation) and international (pre-9/11). He acknowledges that it took Clinton a while to get a handle on being President, and bemoans how much was opportunity was squandered because of the President's own failings. Yes, Klein opines (and I agree) that Bill Clinton is one of the most staggeringly bright and naturally gifted men to ever hold the White House. But he also nails Clinton on character issues, even beyond Monica Lewinsky (once referring to the President as "a bimbo when he comes to flattery"). When you're done with the book, you appreciate all the nuanced things Clinton accomplished, but you're heartbroken over what he could have done, if not for the inexcusable distractions.



2. This short, fast-moving book on Bill Clinton forsakes a historian's detailed and measured treatment to get at the essence of this man's presidency. Because it's more like a magazine article than a doorstop, you're likely to actually read it, maybe in one sitting.
   
   The book has become timely again, in light of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. The "Hillaryland" liberal faction split the White House of her husband, elected as a "Third Way" moderate. Her premature insistence on addressing health care was the most grievous policy error of her husband's presidency. And Hillary's unbelievably complicated proposal, concocted in secret, showed no political sense. Aides described how Hillary could drive Bill, with a phone call, from a good mood to a staff-chastising tantrum, and how they distinguish those tantrums by the tone of his shouting.
   
   She comes across as the more conspiratorial and paranoid of the two, an uncompromising liberal true-believer pursuing a scorched-earth policy against enemies. Sort of like, uh, that president she helped impeach, Richard Nixon. You wonder how she, and this country, would fare with her in the Oval Office.
   
   Klein does not see this as a sham marriage, though. While ever aware they might be playing him, he sees them as devoted to each other.
   
   One of his best chapters describes how Washington's culture of political warfare began with Watergate, intensified through the endless Iran-Contra investigations and the attack-ad era and culminated in the Gingrich speakership and the relentless Whitewater, Paula Jones and Lewinsky investigations.
   
   Clinton failed his potential for several reasons. The placid Nineties were too tame for a truly great presidency. After the healthcare miscalculation, he never seized another opportunity to remake major domestic policy. And the impeachment scandal fatally distracted him in 1998 when he had the budget surplus and standing with Congress to make a real mark by fixing Social Security.
   
   Like a charcoal sketcher, Klein has a fine eye for quick but telling detail. He sees Clinton as needy of praise and human contact. He'd keep dazed listeners awake into the wee hours, talking more and more intensely, unwilling to let the moment go.
   
   Klein describes bowling with him one midnight just before the New Hampshire primary, after the candidate enters but finds the emptied-out joint devoid of hands to shake. Klein, awaiting his turn in the lane, would find Clinton standing so close he pressed up against him, seeming to crave human contact. Clinton's intense but flawed humanity is what makes him interesting, and endlessly so.



3. The book shows that a journalist wrote it. That wasn't meant to be as backhanded as it seems. The stories about Clinton et al are those we can recall, this isn't a back room exposé full of conspiracy theory.
   A good journalist (at least) writes as if he has something to tell you. Only in the last chapter does Klein really subject the reader to an opinion piece.
   If you were alive at all for the eight years of Clinton's presidency then...no, none of this is really "new" or "insightful" but I, for one, found it none the less interesting.



4. I have to admit that Klein's book about the Clinton presidency is one of the most objective accounts of Clinton I have ever seen. Although friendly with the ex-prez, Klein pulls no punches and presents Clinton's presidency warts and all. In the end we all know what Clinton did, but Klein gives us more insight as to the "whys" of his actions. Is Clinton the greatest president of all time? No. Is he the worst? Not even close. If all books on presidents were written as objectively as this one, we would all have a better understanding of what makes these men tick.
   Is Clinton a better president than W? You tell me: peace and prosperity vs. war, a declining stock market, and skyrocketing gas prices.



5. I got the impression that Mr. Klein just threw together a bunch of odds & ends he had left over from another book and notes -- the way they made the movie "Midway" out of edit-outs from "Tora, Tora, Tora!"

5 comments about My Life As a 10-year-old Boy.

1. OK, it wasn't written well. And there are times where the girl power emphasis, the "way cool"s and such do get a bit tedious, but hey - that is how ms. Cartwright talks. And in that one gets a key piece of info - she is Bart! Literally. We have here the do-what-you-feel boy. Its a fairly open account of her early career on up to Bart, containing therein something which I have found lacking in all other Simpsons books or commentaries. This is the only place I have found anyone involved in the Simpsons discuss the death of the great Phil Hartman. It just annoys me honestly in the DVD commentaries or in books when he is solely referred to as "the late Phil Hartman" in a 4 word quickie statement that then passes to the next Citizen Kane parody. Not that I mean going into any morbid, tabloid details, but acknowledging that one day he was at work and one he wasn't, saying how tragic it was and what a loss to television and those that knew him personally. A cute book for those that like the show, and far better than others (avoid Planet Simpson like the razor Os in frosted Krusty flakes) in terms of anecdotes of the show's early years.



2. I had to read this book. I consider The Simpsons to be one of, if not the, greatest TV sitcom ever, and the chance at a behind the scenes look into the show was not something I could refuse. Indeed the cover proclaims it as a look "Behind the Scenes at The Simpsons." Sadly, however, there is very little of this. What this book really is, instead, is a memoir by a would-be celebrity who seems to be shouting the words "recognize me" over and over for 270 pages.
   
   Not that Ms. Cartwright has trouble recognizing herself. This book is, essentially, nothing more than the relating of her life, a bland and boring story that plods along without really anything to pique the reader's interest. She writes poorly, makes use of irritating phrases like "so way cool," shifts tenses several times in a paragraph, and uses quotation marks with reckless abandon. She also presents her life as flat and with a sort of one-sided idealism. Everything goes right-there is never any doubt, no failures or second guesses to cloud this fairy tale. Nancy seems to want everyone to see her life as perfect in every way.
   
   The "behind the scenes" aspect of the work is actually a slew of anecdotes which ranges from stories of people applauding and extolling her greatness to star struck accounts of her own run-ins with celebrity, which almost invariably end with some star validating her inflated opinion of herself by acknowledging her existence. There is a random spattering of the "process" as she, someone who isn't actually involved in the animation process, sees it. If, like me, you're looking for real meat, for actual looks behind the scenes and into the inner workings of Springfield you'll be, again like me, sorely disappointed.
   
   At times it's annoying that Nancy sees herself as a celebrity. At other times its humorous or just plain sad. I actually burst out laughing when she compares Kelsey Grammer's appearances as Sideshow Bob to her own minor role as a forgettable extra in an episode of Cheers. That she has the audacity to refer to herself in that sitcom (years before the Simpsons) as a "guest star" overcame my efforts of keeping a straight face. She seems to be craving respect and recognition, throwing around names of people and stars she's worked with (or who she spent 5 minutes at the mic with during their guest appearances) as if by rubbing shoulders (or, better yet, having shook hands) with celebrities she is, by definition, one herself. As she narrates tales of Kirk Douglas, Mel Gibson, and others she patronizes them by condescendingly taking it upon herself to fantasize what they might be thinking and imagining that they're actually nervous. She has some twisted sense that they have to prove themselves to the Simpsons cast, as if the stars of Spartacus and Braveheart are concerned with what she thinks. Indeed it seems a twisted form of hero worship when she ponders if this or that Hollywood great can, as she puts it, "measure up."
   
   In all fairness Nancy is a very talented voice over artist and certainly deserves respect. It's no stretch of the imagination, however, to remember that she's only one part of Bart Simpson. Taking into account that Homer more or less stole the spotlight from Bart in the first few seasons anyway it's surprising that she has to wonder why she's not constantly mobbed by fans. She ponders why they refused to announce her arrival at a Screen Actors Guild awards ceremony. That she doesn't recognize the limit of her celebrity is, indeed, sad. That her name has to be qualified with the phrase "Voice of Bart Simpson" on the cover should, one would think, provide a hint.
   
   I picked this book up hoping for an in-depth look at both The Simpsons and the development and evolution of Bart Simpson's voice. Sadly, I feel I was let down from start to finish. My respect for Nancy Cartwright as the voice of Bart will continue, but I just can't buy into the celebrity status she's afforded herself. And I'll always remember that several talents on that show eclipse her own, and that there are people on the show who do upwards of 12 or more voices but don't feel the need to write a book about it. You don't see James Earl Jones trying to validate his whole career as the voice of Darth Vader (a voice infinitely more memorable that Bart's), and there's a reason for that. Shameless self-promotion or not, I think Nancy Cartwright said it best herself when she realized she was a "celebrity that nobody knew."



3. [...]
   Although not as detailed as I would have liked, Nancy still offers a unique insider's perspective on the creation of each Simpsons episode. From the writers and storyboard artists' conceptions to the final product, the book takes the reader through the entire process of what it's like to produce an animated television show.
   
   Nancy also gives a brief account of her journey through the business of voice-over artist. She starts with her humble beginnings in school plays and speech competitions through working with her mentor, Daws Butler (Huckleberry Hound, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, etc.).
   
   In short, this was a very interesting and informative book even if it was, at times, a little "self-serving." But then again, what else do you expect from an autobiography?
   
   ]...]



4. Having read Nancy Cartwright's book, My Life As A Ten Year Old Boy (5 cds, 6 hours, unabridged) which was not a great book or a great tell all. On the printed page, the book was slow and boring. So, I was very leary of an audio version. Well, I was wrong...The audio version sparkles.
   
   Cartwright seems to do a one woman show in narrating her book. Okay, she doesn't fully get her co-stars voice patterns (like Julie Kavner's Marge or the late great Phil Hartman) perfect, but you will know who she is talking about. She is a masterful talent behind a mic, which makes this insiders version of the Simpson family rock.
   
   So, DONT HAVE A COW, MAN over some of her crazy vocal detours Nancy tries. Cartwright's tell all is NOT an audio copy of Nimoy's I am NOT Spock. She is happy in the skin of Bart and it shows. What impresses me more is her humble beginning and her excitement in this reading. It overwhelms the listener. For most Overwhelming is bad, for this it is VERY good. Cartwright is a fan along with all of us ! She still had the awe with the rest of us!
   
   So If you a Simpson fan, Animation fan, Love Saturday Morning Cartoons (or Cartton Network) or a fan of a life in Hollywood stories... this no nonsense, humorous recanting on the history of a cartoon series is great fun...and if you don't like this audio...well to quote Bart Simpson, in his immortal words, "EAT MY SHORTS!"--Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD



5. Ugh, I haven't "struggled" through a book like this since high school. I'm a huge Simpsons fan and although I don't care much about Nancy Cartwright, I saw the "Behind the scenes at the Simpsons" sticker on the front cover...so I had to have it.
   
   I know this sounds kinda silly but while reading the book I kept thinking to myself, "Who the heck cares about Nancy Cartwright"?!? She's just a voice, she's in no way interesting. She's also not funny, not even accidently funny. The only laughs I got from the book was about how bad it was.
   
   In addition, she's a poor writer. She should have hired one of these ghost-writers to write her memoirs. I also got the impression from the book that she's an egotistical maniac. Without even reading the book you could probably figure this out, she makes something like $300,000 per episode, so she made off of one episode than off her entire book.
   
   Please please please, stay away from this!!