5 comments about Bare Blass.

1. If you're looking for insight into the creativity of Bill Blass, this book isn't going to work for you. It's much more a namedropper's delight, particularly if you are interested in the high society bitchiness of New York City in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

   I liked that he came clean about many issues... his attraction to men, his Yves Saint-Laurent knock-offs and his penchant for glamour but I was really hoping to find out more about his clothes.

   It left me wondering how exactly he had contributed to advancing American fashion and why he was so popular.




2. Blass was a true genius and an enigma -- the genius might be gone, and though this book does shed light onto his inner workings, he will always, by his own design, remain an enigma.

   A pioneer in the American fashion scene, and true to the American spirit of self invention, we finally get a chance to learn about him on a more personal basis... and true to form, he only reveals what he's comfortable revealing... making it just as telling for what he doesn't address as what he does.

   This isn't as closed a volume as one might expect -- he's quite candid when it comes to elusive subjects of personal relationships and his unconventional sexuality (which is sure to confuse some who need things to fit into neat categories), and he's disarmingly self effacing in almost all areas -- including professionally.

   The book is a fun read, with beautiful photos -- dispensing with the traditional autobiography format to embrace a looser, to-and-fro free-association timeline that suits the tone of a wonderful dining companion with a lifetime of charming stories.




3. I think it would be correct to say that this posthumously published memoir by a legend in the Fashion Industry was a little superficial. This is not a bad thing, but one could only hope that Blass would have opened up more about his personal life. He was a very handsome man, who happened to be gay, and not much of this part of his life is mentioned. This is understandable for his generation and the time. Another reason perhaps is because of the part he played in New York Society, and the people who surrounded him and admired him his entire life. He wanted to be a class act, looked-up to, and a proper gentleman and he will always be remembered as just that. Blass practiced style, lived and breathed it. He was an iron disciplinary, style & work came first, laughter and fun later.

   This book is like an encyclopedia of encounters with the rich and famous, and well-dressed people of the world. He loved being photographed with the Reagan's, Buckley's, Kissinger's, and Vanderbilt's. His contribution to fashion, the beautiful fabrics, and well-designed clothes are legendary. Over the years, his designs stood above all the rest in New York. This book is a great introduction to the world that Bill Blass wanted to show us, a world he loved, created and played a big part in. A giant in the fashion industry that will be truly remembered, and a man of class. A perfect gentleman!

   Joe Hanssen




4. My only regret from reading this book is that I will never get to meet Mr. Blass. What a really swell guy he must have been. Many situations he describes are laugh-out-loud funny--particularly his encounter with the mysterious "Ms. Fitzgerald" at Bonwit's. And just to set the record straight--my mother grew up in McMinnville TN and knew Miss Sedberry of the Sedberry Hotel--it wasn't a brothel!!



5. Bare Blass written by Bill Blass and completed by Cathy Horyn soon after his death earlier this year is a lovely memoir. Bill Blass is and always will be the epitome of the modern American Gentleman: handsome, witty, charming and above all else, a unique talent in the world of fashion.

   Mr. Blass is quite frank speaking about his personal life up to a point. At the outset of the book, he is very upfront about his views on sexuality and relationships. While he doesn't declare himself a homosexual, he doesn't declare himself bisexual either. He leaves that designation ambiguous: in any case does it really matter in our times?

   What does matter is the legacy he leaves us from a long and illustrious career in the fashion industry. His influence can be seen in many of today's young designers: Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Nicole Miller to name a few. His love of color and pattern is probably inspired most by the work of Yves Saint Laurent for color/pattern, and Claire McCardell, the American doyenne of modern sportswear.

   Blass has a good time telling a story and reading them is a real treat. He's not above criticism of himself and others, a refreshingly candid attitude in today's climate of political correctness and PR maneuvering.

   If you enjoy reading memoirs or reading about fashion design, BARE BLASS is well worth your time.

   You will be missed, Mr. Blass.

5 comments about Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death.

1. This book was a dreadful read, confusing, bias and with no cited sources to back up startling allegations. I was disappointed and turned off!



2. If you are a Anna Nicole Smith fan this is a book for you. I read the book in one sitting. This is a book that you can't put down. You will definitely enjoy it. It's worth the money



3. I am a firm believer that Larry Birkhead is a good Dad to this baby.
   I somehow have doubts in the "sex act" that supposedly took place with Larry and Howard. The obvious disdain that the two men have/had for one another make this unbelievable.
   I believe it to be true that Howard is sneaky, dangerous man who liked to control and manipulate, and not to be trusted. He very well could have been the one to take the lives of Daniel and Ana Nichole. Sad for this baby who now has no Mother to grow up with, nor Brother.
   Sad Book, Too bad they could not have had the intervention that they needed to save their lives.
   I think Rita did a good job writing this book. It does hold the readers interest, and moves pretty smoothly and quickly.



4. Excellent condition, everything you say is true. I will be purchasing more. Prompt and courteous service. Thanks :) Jan



5. You know I really don't follow any of the tabloids or the television shows devoted to celebrity culture, but when I saw Rita Crosby interviewed on Fox I thought I'd give Blond Ambition a leafing. Somewhat comically, the anchor said to Crosby during the segment, "I saw the title and thought it was about you." In a way he was right because this is a most subjective account of Anna Nicole Smith and her death. I usually don't mention much about an author's style as I'm no Hemingway myself, but I found the writing here to be quite poor. It was a brief text but I kept putting it down due to how ponderous it was. I don't see Smith as having been a bad person so much as I consider her as an individual who could not control her impulses. Oh, I do think that charade with Mr. Marshall was reprehensible but I would never expect honor from a Hollywood star.
   
   The narrator seems to have a high amount of respect for Smith which amazed me. The corresponding vilification of Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead also made no sense. Personally, I would not want to associate with either of those two guys, but they strike me as being no different in their qualities from Smith. They are scammers and societal free-riders who associate who other scammers and societal free-riders. Isn't this to be anticipated? Should this discombobulate us? Further, Crosby's take on her subject's addictions was absurd. She blamed Stern for the drugs Smith did which is fallacious. Smith was an independent, autonomous human being who was responsible for her own actions. Even if Stern obtained them for her (and whether he did or not I have no way of knowing) she still had a choice before taking them. Being addicted to a substance is both debilitating and a challenge, but even low will-power fellows like me managed to quit smoking. It was not easy but preserving your life is worth the suffering it entails. Of course, survival was a priority for me, but, as we see here, it isn't for everyone. The thing that puzzles me most is why anybody admires celebrities in the first place. I'd be no more likely to look up to them than I would a grouper or a mockingbird. I'll never comprehend the allure these rich folks have but this book will not add to anyone else's collective understanding of that phenomenon either.

5 comments about Oh the Glory of It All.

1. Just when you think this memoir thing has played out...Sean Wilsey comes along and jazzes it up several notches. Almost as much fun as actually hurling fruit bombs off the penthouse deck at passing cars (a scene of Wilsey's veritable mispent youth), and as rousing as a song & dance number from Pippin, this book is relentlessly funny/poignant in the way that it takes no prisoners and puts everyone, especially Wilsey, under the psychic microscope. Like an imaginary blend of Salman Rushdie, Philip Roth and Tobias Wolf, this book kept me up several nights in a row just to see how Wilsey would get through the awful emotional pin-ball game of his youth. If for no other reason, I had to see if he might actually realize his fantasy of following in his father's footsteps, and bedding the villainous step-mom Dede -- the new gold-standard for narcissism and cruelty. I won't tell you what happens. Just buy the damn thing! Read it! Have a blast! This one will be hard to top.



2. Like Sean Wilsey's life, this book is full of ups and downs. The book moves in waves, and at the risk of being too metaphorical, it literally is like the ocean. The chapters crescendo, hitting the reader hard. This book brought forth so many emotions for me. I laughed, I almost cried (like some of the main characters, I was medicated during my reading), I was angered, I was annoyed. The author does not present his life story in order for the reader to judge him or his family/acquaintances. Therefore, it is unfair to review this book for its character development. Wilsey presents the characters warts and all, including himself. I do not think he wants the reader to feel sorry for him. I didn't. As he says throughout the book, this was just the way his life is and he was doing his best to get through it, year by year. Going back to the wave metaphor, this book definitely has its low tide moments. There are certain passages and in fact whole chapters I wanted to be over. However, he strikes back right away to keep you moving through the book. Other reviewers of this book have complained about its length and its need for substantive edits. I disagree. It is not the readers place to suggest edits for one's memoir. The reader needs to invest in Wilsey's writing by trusting him to convey his story at his own pace. I did. It was worth it. Sean Wilsey's memoir is a great read, brilliantly put together, and the best memoir I have read. If you are willing to trust the author and set aside a few weeks to get through it, "Oh the Glory of it All" is a fantastically, engaging book.



3. I did not actually read the book but I listened to it in the CD version. Being a New Yorker, I must be a bit insulated because I have never heard of the Wilsey family. As such, I spent the first 75% of the listening time thinking it was fictional. Spoke to a friend in San Fran to suggest the book and he made me realize these were real people.
   
   My first reaction was shock and rage at Dede who is Sean's step mother for the horrible things she said to Sean as a child during some very tender years. I saw it as a cruel form of abuse and if it were physical, she would have been put in jail. What a horrible woman. When she dies, she will surely occupy one of the warmer parts of hell.
   
   I found the book itself to be great. A wonderful story that made me cringe. They say the rich are different. Perhaps that is right but at the bottom line, I would not have traded my life of street pizza and stick ball in Brooklyn for one day of Sean's money or childhood.
   
   Read this book. I highly recommended it. You will not be sorry that you read this book. As far as Sean is concerned, I think he is well and living in NYC. I hope he has put it behind him and is enjoying life in that most magical city.



4. I have always wanted to become filthy rich. Like many, I have succeeeded on occasion in the former but never in the latter. Sean Wilsey, author of "Oh the Glory of It All," wants to become filthy rich too, and he has a much better shot at it than I do. In fact, the life he desires is so close, so within his reach, that it is happening mere blocks from his home and is being lived by his father (along with Dad's new wife and his two Stepford stepsons) while Sean and his mother fester and scheme in their duplex penthouse atop Russian Hill.
   
   In the wake of her apparently well-plotted abandonment, Sean's mom -- Pat Montandon -- wants him to commit suicide with her, or maybe she'll just die of cancer. Pat's not sure but methods of revenge are discussed. The means of manipulation she employs are not lost on Sean. They frighten and enlighten him. Al Wilsey has left Pat, a society columnist, for, well, society. And Sean is left out. (In the movie version, Pat Montandon should be played by Sharon Stone. She'd be perfect. I can see her now rapping with the Black Panthers at one of her post-divorce roundtable discussions in the '70s.)
   
   DeDe, Sean's new stepmom, is a real piece of, uh, work. DeDe holds the key to admittance into the charmed life Sean's father is now leading without him. Sean fawns over DeDe on the rare occasions he sees her, fantasizes about her in his bedroom, but he can't break in, until he breaks in literally, ripping the door off his father's mansion and stealing some of his possessions. He makes his point. But he doesn't stop there. When his aggressive, angry nature surfaces, the reader doesn't see it coming. He has portrayed himself, up to this point, as a passive personality.
   
   Something must be done before Sean kills someone. (He has taken to tossing fruit off the penthouse balcony, barely missing pedestrians 800 feet below.) Sean's a druggie drinker with a skateboard and no use for studying. This is his long-aborning cry for help, but it leaves his family confused. Now both his mother and father are fed up with him. Instead of acknowledging his intelligence and creativity, Dad sends him to various "lock-down schools," as DeDe calls them, even escorting him to a couple.
   
   We don't understand the disconnect between father and son. Mirror images, we see they love each other. They have a touching closeness, literally and figuratively. Is it just the appearance of DeDe in their lives, or is it Sean? Probably a combo deal - Dad's got a cute little heiress, and even though he's rich, she's richer and he'll do just about anything she says to keep her. She'd prefer not to have a reminder of the woman she stabbed in the back to get her husband. Bye bye Sean.
   
   Unfortunately, the book lags as we follow Sean on his revolving-door boarding school escapades. This is not good because it takes us away from DeDe. Just like Sean, we want DeDe also. But we want her in a different way. Her malevolent presence enlivens the narrative of this book. Without her, we don't care as much. Without DeDe, this book is just another memoir about a teenager finding himself. Take a walk past any high school and you'll see the same story played out right there in your neighborhood. In fact, I'd venture a guess that many of these neighborhood memoirists might have a better tale to tell.
   
   Of course the props are better in "Oh the Glory of It All." Sean can name them all, and does, lustily. He has taken early to the glimpse of wealth he was raised with and furious when it is taken away. At the end, he even mentions the hearse carrying Dad to his final rest is a "late model." (Like his dad?)
   
   We already know that there's no money for Sean or his siblings in the will, and one suspects this is why he wrote the book. He blames DeDe when he realizes the money is all going to charity, and that he will not have a hand in the charity selected.
   
   DeDe knows that Al Wilsey wants his name on something in San Francisco, and she knows how to do it. Wilsey Court is the first thing you see at the DeYoung Museum.
   
   If you have ever lived with an especially toxic stepparent, you will ache for Sean Wilsey as he tries to find himself and connect with his father. Al Wilsey, though, can't help but like women better than he likes his own offspring. He doesn't care if they're rich or poor as long as they're hot. When Sean is bringing his father to life, he does a great job.
   
   As another reviewer says, "[Wilsey] often seems to be writing with an open heart, and out of an open wound. If only a fraction of the stories he relates are true--he tells us that Dede routinely berated him for being a "faggot" when he was a boy--you will want to give him a hug."
   
   And maybe suggest he get a job. Ahhh, but apparently he doesn't have to. While he is not as rich rich as Dad was, he's well-off himself, even without having written the hit job on his folks. You won't find this in the book, however.
   
   Three stars. Great read.



5. Mr. Wilsey has written a funny, ribald and brutally honest story of growing up with a less-than-stellar stepmother and detached parents. The extremely rich do seem to have a higher percentage of self-absorbed prima donnas. Though Mr. Wilsey certainly isn't the first author to focus on and ridicule the idiosyncratic nature of the wealthy, he does it with quite a bit of flair. His self-deprecating style and willingness to divulge very intimate aspects about himself is not only courageous but also quite shocking. Unless you are of a delicate or puritanical constitution, it is well worth reading.

5 comments about Thing of Beauty.

1. Stephen Fried delivers a thoroughly researched, well-written and very well-rounded picture of Gia's tragically short life. He manages to present the factors that contributed to her meteoric rise to supermodel status and equally rapid fall from the fashion world's grace fairly and without oversimplification. Along the way, we get a glimpse into the hard realities of an industry that manages to look wonderfully glamorous on the surface but behind the scenes grinds down and then discards all but the toughest. We are given a heart-rending portrait of a young woman who struggled to deal with a multitude of inner demons including early abandonment by her mother and the social unacceptability of her sexual orientation by developing a tough exterior that ultimately could not contain her pain. And we get a genuinely chilling look into the self-deceptive thought processes of denial and rationalization employed by a seriously narcissistic mother who was deeply enmeshed with her daughter but was never really capable of putting Gia's best interests first or of loving her unconditionally. Fascinating stuff and a good read as well.



2. the only book i have ever, and WILL ever cry over. okay maybe not cry, but i def teared up while reading the last few pages. her life was just so incredibly sad. this book is written beautifully, and was very hard to put down. i defy anyone to not fall in love with Gia during this book, and have heartache when it's over. towards the end is a "where are they now" but it's about 15 yrs old. i wish steven would do an updated version!!



3. Here is what I liked about this book: This book was well written and loaded with great information. Information, not only about Gia but anything you wanted to know about the modeling industry in the late 70's and early 80's, the culture of that time, New York and the bar scene. The author even had some comments about the politics of the time with some typically left-wing media type comments about Ronald Reagan. Here is what I didn't like: I thought I was reading a book about Gia Carangi and her life. Instead, I got more than I bargained for. If you want an education on the modeling industry during the time, this is the book for you. Me, I was never interested in this industry, even as a teenager. The author's attempt to provide detail of the modeling industry was like reading a textbook or maybe it was an explanation of one more thing to blame on Gia's demise. It might have escalated the downward spiral but the real source behind Gia's addiction was her childhood. There is no doubt in my mind, after reading this book, the the sole source for Gia's addiction was her dysfunctional family. The author's attempt to use the modeling industry, the culture of that time period, Reagan cutting funding for public drug rehab, did not convince me otherwise. Yes, this is a very sad story and I am very glad I read it. I have been surfing the web to see the collection of covers and pictures of this incredibly beautiful person. It definitely left an impression on me. I just think this story could have been told in a more personal, more concise way.



4. If a woman was in need of Love it was not GIA. She had so many people that she hurt and destroyed because of her drug abuse. She was a little girl that needed t o grow up. However, we will never know who she will become because of AIDs. She was a druggie and a Lesbian prostitute who never got to shine her bright beautiful light.



5. One of the saddest books I have ever read. Gia seemed to have it all, looks, photographed great,travel, money etc...everything but the love and stability you yearned for.She died destitute, and people from the modeling world still did not know of her death until months afterwards.Friendships are fast and fleeting in the modeling world. The super models who came through unscathed seemed to be those with very close family ties such as Christie Brinkley and Cindy Crawford. They had genuine friendships outside the modeling world. I think her mother was protecting her from the awful world of the tabloids. What a picture the beautiful Gia, dying of aids. It would have been all over the world.A good read for any aspiring model and her family to read.She died because people just didn't care enough, as long as that perfect shot came through.

5 comments about The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band.

1. I am a die hard Motley Crue and Nikki Sixx fan so anything pertaining to either one I'm gonna love.. This book was awesome! I learned so much about the Band and each member that was a part of it including John Carobi who took over vocals when Vince Neil quit/or was fired from the Crue. It's honest & raw and I loved it. You get a taste of where how it all started and came together. They were so young yet so driven to succeed at what they wanted and they did making some of the best music ever. GET THE BOOK!!! You'll love it!!



2. This book is far better executed than anyone could have expected. Every major player in the band is given his space to freely say what he felt about the time he spent in this band. Told in chronological order by those involved this is the summation of a very rowdy group of men coming of age, so to speak, in a decadent generation.
   I was both amazed an delighted with the general candor the band tells it's story in this book. I have read that their have been efforts made to film this and that Nikki is hell bent to keep Hollywood from messing it up. If he can succeed in that as well as he has succeeded in bringing this book to the public he should surely have more to offer his fans than they should expect.
   Film or no film this book is an enjoyable read and is one of the fewer rock'n'roll autobiographies that is a true representation of it's subject.
   I read this book in one sitting when a friend gave me a copy for christmas, and I immediately read it again just as one listens to an album by this band repeatedly when it first comes into your possession.
   I recommend this book to anyone as a good read even if they aren't fans, simply because there is such a great humor to this book you would think that Sam Kinison was hanging around guiding their very pens as they wrote.



3. I grew up to Motley Crue. In fact, Shout At The Devil was the first LP that I bought. Believe it or not, it sold for $6.66 at Galaxy of Sound in '83. I followed this band up until Girls,Girls,Girls (which was an absolute joke of a record). They had 2 good albums - Too Fast For Love and Shout At The Devil. Theatre Of Pain was so-so.
   I got The Dirt to read about the behind the scenes of the music industry from a musician's point of view. I knew what I knew about Motley Crue through the rock magazines over the years. An interview is different than a tell-all from the band themselves.
   This book was definitely entertaining....like a car crash. Although I found myself disgusted many times while reading, I couldn't put it down either. It is your typical sex, drugs, and a little rock n roll. Cliche and boring really.
   They were a self-absorbed, excessive band that clearly had no respect for themselves or anyone else. Although I am a believer in freedom, one has to have some type of code of conduct. They didn't which made me lose whatever respect I had left for them.
   I am a firm believer in honesty no matter how brutal so my hat goes off to them for that, but sometimes things are better left unsaid. I mean, really, I never thought they were great musicians (except for Tommy) to begin with, but after reading this book - they weren't much as human beings either.
   Of course, the blame game begins where that is concerned, too. Bottom line is we all make our own choices and must own up to and live with those choices. Grow up, boys. You were rock stars because you got lucky.
   You were not larger than life. In fact, you were overrated wastes of human lives.



4. I have been a Motley fan since shout at the Devil. I used to borrow my brothers album and listen it to it non-stop. I have heard great things about this book, but never bought it until now.
   
   Great Read, Fast Furious, eye opening, everything you could ever want from a Rock n Roll Band. Even if you aren't a motley fan, go ahead and pick this up, you will NOT be able to put it down!



5. I always wanted to know more of the details of the Crue's story. Great read! Fast, provacative, entertaining(as the Crue always are.)

5 comments about What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love.

1. I just finished this book and I loved it. i love carole Radzwill's story telling style, loved it! Her stories are poignant and honest. There is much humor here also. She loves information and she gives it out to others who want it too. I hope she will continue to write.



2. Charlie Rose interviewed Carole and I remember thinking, "My, he's so dismissive of her." I can see why now. She never makes any of these people come to life.
   
   That's the tragedy of the whole thing...you never get to know any of these folks. I mean Carolyn forgets her toothbrush when she stays in the house that all of them share. So? I mean that is about as deep as she is going to get into this woman.
   
   At the end of Charlie Rose's interview with Carole Radziwill he left her feeling so miffed that SHE had to tell HIM that people thought she told her story well. He just shrugged. He was right.



3. The author made you feel a part of life and was truly able to make you understand the challenges she faced without ever making you "pity" her. The story is so beautifully written and taught me so much about life.



4. If you are like me, you are a hopeless romantic at heart. Therefore, when you pick up a book that is based on a marriage between a real life prince and a working-class woman, you hope for a "happily-ever-after" ending for the couple. But in the case of What Remains, I knew from the start that this was no "happily-ever-after" story. I knew the ending before I knew the beginning. I knew that I probably should have a box of kleenex nearby as I read. And I knew that I had to read the book despite all of that.
   
   Because of the never-ending interest in the "American royal family"--the Kennedys, I picked this book up to read about the friend of the wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. What I didn't realize was that in reading Radziwill's account of deep friendships, love and loss, I would find validation for some very real thoughts and feelings of my own.
   
   At the age of nineteen, Carole DiFalcoe left her small town existance in Connecticut to head to New York City in the hopes of a new life in journalism. A volunteer position at ABC News eventually turned into a career and the opportunity to meet a colleague who would later become her husband, Anthony Radziwill. Anthony was a member of a Polish royal family--a real life prince. He was also the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Without the pretenses of his royal background, Radziwill worked in the news industry and was on assignment when he met Carole DiFalcoe.
   
   In fairy tales, the handsome prince marries the commoner, and they live an idyllic life. In the case of Anthony and Carole, the handsome prince is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer before they marry, and the woman who would be a princess is catapulted into a life of emotional upheaval, uncertainty, and constant fear of loss. Their marriage is a life of doctor visits, surgeries, follow-up cancer screening tests, and escapes to vacation spots to celebrate a temporary cancer-free state. They live their life in the landscape of "If we can just get through this next hurdle, we will be fine."
   
   One of the constants in their life is their friendship with JFK Jr and his wife, Carolyn Bessette. John and Anthony were friends above and beyond their family ties. Carolyn was Carole's closest friend. Together they faced the emotional and physical ups and downs of Anthony's disease. Together they weathered the constant barrage of photographers and journalists hungry for a glimpse of or a story about John and Carolyn. Life was anything but normal for either of the young couples. It held so much promise for one of the couples and so much heartache for the other couple. Together they were there for one another no matter what the emotional temperature of the moment. As Carole was coming to grips with the fact that her husband was dying from the unstoppable metastatic fibrosarcoma, John and Carolyn were there by her side. But her whole life unraveled when John and Carolyn's plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Planning for her husband's death and memorial service was hard enough to comprehend. Dealing with the unexpected loss and grief of her family and friends to the sea in such a violent manner was beyond comprehension.
   
   What Remains is the story of friends and family, of life and love, and of overwhelming grief and loss. It is told in gut-wrenching honesty with a sensitivity that can only come from one who has known the highs and lows of such a life firsthand. The book is a gift to all who read it. It is a haunting and touching tribute to those whom Carole loves and misses deeply. What Remains gives credence to the fears and constant longings of those battling cancer and wishing for a reprieve from the uncertainty, wishing for the ability to look to the future without trepidation. As one who lives daily with these same fears and concerns, the poignancy of their personal and emotional struggles rang true and touched my heart deeply. It is one of those books that must be read and then savored for the beauty even in the sadness of the story. It is one of those books that, even though you know the ending before you read the first line, you will never forget the beautiful way in which the author chose to tell her story.
   
   by Lee Ambrose
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



5. I bought this book and loved it. I couldn't put it down! Carole Radziwill tells a delightful yet tragic story of friendship, love and loss where you actually feel you are right there along with her. Very honest in her feelings of some of the Kennedy's and her and Anthony's close relationship with John and Carolyn and dealing with Anthony's terminal cancer. A very sas ending, to lose 3 people so close to you in a matter of 3 weeks is heart wrenching! I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it. Sheryl

5 comments about The House of Rothschild: Volume 1: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848.

1. What has Ferguson not told about the Rothschilds in his seemingly exhaustive two volume set?
   
   He all too facilely dismisses Victor Rothschild's being the fifth man in the World War II Soviet spy ring of Blunt, Burgess, et. al. He does not bring up the 1776 Masonic Illuminati order of Adam Weishaupt with alleged connections to Mayer Amschel. And he dosen't discuss the Rothschilds' connection with Freemasonry at the highest level, and their gift to Israel of the Supreme Court building, a New World Order artifact, heavily laden architecturally with Freemasonry symbolism. Likewise, glaringly absent from note are 19th, 20th, and 21st century Illuminati activities, which the family has been widely thought to be involved with. History Professor Ferguson could fill in his blanks on some vital but shady Rothschild history from Henry Makow, a researcher and writer--and a Jew.
   
   According to an article on Ferguson in Harvard Magazine (May/June '07), he is about to take on biographical writing of Henry Kissinger, at Kissinger's request. This should generate caution. Could Kissinger's "papers" be entirely relied on? Kissinger probably saw what sheen Ferguson could put on the Rothschild's archives as raw material, ignoring or minimising important but dark concerns.
   
   Same question on the Warburg's family papers that he is availing himself of. What will Ferguson tell us about Paul Warburg's role in establishing the egregious Federal Reserve, and Max Warburg financing the Bolshevik revolution?
   
   Let's hope that Ferguson can either put this and other allegations to rest once and for all or illuminate them if true--but now that he's shown his colors with the Rothschilds, I doubt that he will, either way.
   
   It seems that sympathetic academic interest in these elitist families and individuals is inevitable in part because that is where the big bucks for research and publishing would be, especially for a scholar who professes to have, as he says in the Harvard Magazine article, "become a thorough philo-Semite".
   
   Is there a whiff of opportunism here at the expense of objectivity?



2. the book had some good pictures, however prof Ferguson not once, but on numerous occasions, claims to refute the story of how Nathan brilliantly deceived the London Stock Exchange players after the battle of Waterloo, earning $40 billion (2007 prices) in one day. A bit jealous I suppose.
   
   Verdict: Ignore the anti-semitic propaganda and the book is worth a look.



3. [Also see: Fritz Springmeier's Bloodlines of the
   Illuminati]. Ferguson, who teaches at a Northea-
   stern University in the US, did yeoman work here
   on at least defusing some of conspiracy talk about
   how fools like Bernard Piper-Collins claim Roths-
   childs alledgedly control ALL things.The Rothschilds
   never ran the bank of England, the gentile Baring
   Bros. did. They are however a very corrupt family.
   Author Ferguson did excellent work here.



4. I have to start out by saying overall I enjoyed the book but I would only rate it as an average book. It is a little too detailed and didn't keep my interest from one chapter to the next. It would have been better if it left out 150 pages or so. I found myself doing a lot of skiming over what I would say was boring filler in the book. You can learn a lot about the type of business that that Rothschilds were in but not a lot of how they went about doing it.
   
   After reading this it seems that the Rothschilds were in the business of making large loans to governments and then packaging these loans as bonds and selling them to the public. They were as much bond and commodity traders as they were bankers, which I found interesting. There are numerous quotes from letters written back and forth between family members that will give you a sense of their personalities. The family history is very detailed so if this is the kind of thing you are interested in then you will probably enjoy the book more then I did.



5. Those who already know Niall Ferguson do not need any praise for the books he writes: a few years ago I chanced to read his excellent "The Cash Nexus" and this led me to "The Pity of War" and finally to "The House of Rothschild".
   
   Ferguson is a scholar who loves challenges: not just challenging arguments, but also challenges in the sheer volume of sources and research, and finally challenges to the reader in presenting controversial theses (I think specially of those advanced brilliantly, and contentiously, in "The Pity of War" - see my review if interested).
   
   This last effort is mainly an attempt to unveil the Rothschild mythology, restoring an historically accurate perspective both of the family saga and of the banking and financial European history from 1798 to 1848.
   
   The book is a masterpiece for many reasons: not just story of a family (circumscribed to the male members), not just story of a great banking institution in the past two centuries, but also comprehensive financial history of the first half of XIX century... "a rich and nuanced portrait" as the book leaflet reads - that reveals and hides, but also creates an appealing and fascinated image of those turbulent years.
   So, it can appeal the history buff, and all those readers interested in financial history (and speculative bubbles) as well as those interested in biography and cultural history.
   
   The essay definitely has also - obviously maybe - a literary dimension: because in describing the five brothers Ferguson uses those same "colors" used by contemporaries, a literary dimension that cannot but appeal and enrich the more serious economic investigation: for Nathan the "meteoric" larger than life Napoleon-like image (passion for risk, high stakes on the table and the ruthlessness of a general), for James that richly colored literary portrait (full of mid-tones) we have been used by writers like Balzac, Zola and Stendhal (the mix of secretiveness and candid frankness, detachment and savoir vivre), for the others three brothers the age-old mythologies of Midas and the wandering Jew (specially in the portrait of the German and Austrian branch: they seem consciously prisoners of the Jewish stereotype in their inability to enjoy life and relax).
   
   Every reader interested in the story of the House of Rothschild want to know the why and how a middle class Jewish family confined in the Frankfurt ghetto was able in just one generation to become the richest family in the world.
   Ferguson's study is very good in the pars destruens, that is in taking down and unveiling the old mythologies (like the Waterloo myth, or the Hesse Kassel myth), less good in the pars construens that is substituting a coherent explanation. The surviving accounts are of course too tiny to cast light, and the accounting techniques used by the family in the early days too backward to be critically useful.
   So the impression is that of an unending race over speed limits, a sheer willingness to accept often uncalculated risks and to play for the highest stakes and at the same time an impressive luck (or God's favor) that stuck contemporaries (always expecting the meteoric rise of Nathan to end like the parallel story of Napoleon).
   So was their preeminence produced only by chance?
   Yes and no. Chance - according to Ferguson - played a striking role in the early stages - the building up, but consolidation and enlargement were due to specific attitudes of the family: solidarity between brothers, their informative network, their ability in cultivating diplomacy and - not least - to the fact that the family systematically reinvested in the business about 96percent of the net income produced (unlike - say - the Barings brothers, that in 1816 had almost the same size)
   
   The book will be also hugely helpful to readers interested in European history, casting a different - unusual to most readers - light in the inner mechanism of the early XIX century European politics.
   As for the nature of the Restoration, often liquidated by historians as a narrow and backward attempt to turn back the clock to pre-revolutionary times, Ferguson shows how different in reality was this period from the Ancien Regime and how the seeds of modernity were well present and working: the sheer preference of the banking institution for financing representative-backed monarchies, the consolidation in Jewish emancipation all over Europe, but also the frailty of arch-conservative governments (not just the case of Spain, but also of the Holy Alliance) compared to more pragmatic approaches.
   A rather under-developed theme is the rise of modern anti-Semitism: Ferguson - unlike most scholars - indicates the first traces in France well before the Affaire Dreyfus and hints how the irresistible rise of the Rothschild family (with their devotion to Judaism) was very instrumental in consolidating anti-Jewish mythologies (out of a sense of envy but also perceived in France especially as a alien "evil" power).
   
   As a reader interested also in financial themes, I was truly fascinated by those chapters dedicated to the bond and stock markets, particularly those regarding the default of Spanish and Portuguese consols.
   The Rothschild were the first bankers to export the financial facilities, long enjoyed in Great Britain, to Continental Europe and were decisive in creating a retail market for bonds and stocks.
   But the most interesting part is the one dealing with financial speculation, bubbles and defaults. Most remarkable is the feeling of a déjà vue: if you substitute Spain and Portugal with Argentina, you will observe striking similarities both in price, negotiations and very likely in the final outcome. Nihil sub sole novi, or at least it seems so.
   
   This is a book I greatly enjoyed.
   I cannot but recommend it to every reader interested in serious history.
   That is not to say that it is perfect: I was - as many other reviewers - incensed by the lack of bibliography (shame on Penguin), but on the average it is an outstanding achievement.
   
   Likewise, if you happen to be interested in the argument, you may be interested in other works I chanced to read about the same themes:
   - Muhlstein, Anhka - "James de Rothschild", this is a book I read long time ago, but it was more a biography in the classical way and as far as I remember, I found it rather inconsequential
   - Chancellor, Edward - "The Devil Takes the Hindmost" - a colorful and well-informed essay focusing specially on the XIX century. There are chapters dedicated to defaulting bonds in the XIX century as well as to the railway stocks bubble in the United Kingdom.
   - Conor Cruise O'Brien - "The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism". I have many works dedicated to Sionism and Judaism, but this is the most concise and clear exposition of the birth of anti-Semitism in Western Europe in late XIX century.
   
   You are most welcome if you can suggest other readings or just share ideas and comments!
   Thanks for reading.

3 comments about Let Me In!.

1. This was a hard book to find. But, like anything you have to wait for, it's worth it once you get it! It is gorgeous! From the moment I took it out of the box, I didn't move. I even took it to my best friends house the next day and shared it with her. I love photography and especially photos of my favorite celebrities. I highly recommend this book. It's also a good-looking book on your coffee table.



2. Beautiful photos of celebrities in their more casual moments. Though some of the photos are posed, they are all stunning and vivid. A great gift for the movie fan/celebrity watcher in your family.



3. First of all, let me tell you I may be a little biased with my review, because I love Mario Testino's work as it is. His photos of beautiful glamorous worlds and people living in them are always sleek, suave and well-polished, and they display, to my taste, a delicate sensitivity within image, reality and make-belief. You know: the whole smoke and mirror thing, but it is obvious his mirrors and smoke have some magic in them. All the celebrities, models etc, or let's say his subjects, look like a million bucks, especially in this carefully edited book. Not that any of them are not gorgeous in real life, but they seem extra sublime, and believe it or not, still human. By risking to sound superficial, and shallow even, I daresay I love it. I appreciate to see so-called 'glamor' handled and manufactured in a way this sophisticated and tasteful.
   
   'Let Me In' is a wonderful piece of high profile celebrity photo collection, which tends to catch its subjects in parties, social gatherings, or behind the scenes at fashion shoots or editorials. It is rough, time-to-time feels out of focus as a collection: more like a photo album of a photographer's 'work in proogress' pile. Some photos I had seen before, but some are fresh from the oven. It may seem obviously celebrity obsessed to look at the photos of these actors and models that only display their general celebrity magnetism and magnificence, and one may ask what the difference is between this book and let's say a junk like People magazine. And it is this: these photos do take joy in their pop culture value in a tongue-in-cheek way. It has no excuses for it other than it's title: LET ME IN! It is a naughty, almost forbidden, and intimate collection.
   
   I love it. I love the roughness of the photos, how generous Testino is, and how wonderfully generic most of the photos look. It does not mean to say anything special. It is what Testino does best: beautiful people, a lot of skin and a surprising sense of intimacy. I highly recommend the book for anyone who appreciates the perception of a high fashion photographer on celebrity and the slight obsession that we are all in.

5 comments about The House of Rothschild: Volume 2: The World's Banker: 1849-1999.

1. What has Ferguson not told about the Rothschilds in this second volume of his seemingly exhaustive two volume set?
   
   He all too facilely dismisses Victor Rothschild's being the fifth man in the World War II Soviet spy ring of Blunt, Burgess, et. al. He dosen't discuss the Rothschilds' connection with Freemasonry at the highest level, and their gift to Israel of the Supreme Court building, a New World Order artifact, heavily laden architecturally with Freemasonry symbolism. Likewise, glaringly absent from note are Illuminati activities, which the family has been widely thought to be involved with. History Professor Ferguson could fill in his blanks on some vital but shady Rothschild history from Henry Makow, a researcher and writer--and a Jew.
   
   According to an article on Ferguson in Harvard Magazine (May/June '07), he is about to take on biographical writing of Henry Kissinger, at Kissinger's request. This should generate caution. Could Kissinger's "papers" be entirely relied on? Kissinger probably saw what sheen Ferguson could put on the Rothschild's archives as raw material, ignoring or minimising important but dark concerns.
   
   Same question on the Warburg's family papers that he is availing himself of. What will Ferguson tell us about Paul Warburg's role in establishing the egregious Federal Reserve, and Max Warburg financing the Bolshevik revolution?
   
   Let's hope that Ferguson can either put this and other allegations to rest once and for all or illuminate them if true--but now that he's shown his colors with the Rothschilds, I doubt that he will, either way.
   
   It seems that sympathetic academic interest in these elitist families and individuals is inevitable in part because that is where the big bucks for research and publishing would be, especially for a scholar who professes to have, as he says in the Harvard Magazine article, "become a thorough philo-Semite".
   
   Is there a whiff of opportunism here at the expense of objectivity?



2. A very complete book, a mine of facts but the author was unable to sort what is important from miscellaneous. The mix of general european history, business history and family events is by moments as indigestible as porridge por a non-scot.



3. This book was just way too detailed for me. It contains lots of facts and figures about biz transactions but it is just too much. It was to the point of who cares? Niall Ferguson really did his home work as far as that is concerned but it made the book boring. To me it felt like it was written by an accountant. It is the story behind the facts and figures and how they came about which make for interesting reading. But I have to give him credit for the time he spent putting this book together is unimaginable.
   
   Having said that I would have enjoyed it more if it had some stories where they made 1.2 million on this deal or lost 500,000 on that deal but it wasn't there. Just an accounting at the end of the year saying this was what they had at the end. No exciting stories like the robber barons trying to take over a railroad or JP Morgan putting together large trust deals in the US. Although chapter 11, which tells of the Rothschild involvement with mining and Cecil Rohdes and De Beers was very interesting and by far the the best chapter in the book, although it was not enough for me to give it a better rating. But that chapter for me made the book.
   
   I skimmed more of this book then I did the first one. There are a few more interesting stories in here but not enough to really keep you interested. If you like well written interesting biographies this is probably not for you.



4. I agree with one of the critics that the book had many facts and details that broke up the pace of the book for me. Ferguson presumes that the reader knows a fair amount about bonds, consuls and other financial mechanisms. He would have done well to slow down a bit and explain a few of the terms and concepts. And I think that Ferguson tells an utterly superficial and innocuous history of the Family. Long awkward sentences make for labored reading. That having been said, this was no doubt a delicate and ambitious undertaking.



5. Ferguson insults the purchaser of the Penguin Paperback by omitting the bibliography and only providing sketchy footnotes. "Serious scholars" who desire these items are advised to buy the Harcover edition. Other than that, it is a good read

5 comments about American Jennie: The Remarkable Life of Lady Randolph Churchill.

1. to me jennie churchill was a selfish ,pleasure seeking woman who only cared about herself.she couldn't wait to get nannies taking care her sons are puting them in abusive boarding schools.she as a wife was a marriage were she couldn't stay faithful or not keeping her husband in debit.to me why winston feeling of love for her i just don't get.his nanny was more a mother to him than jennie.



2. American Jennie in the US, and Jennie Churchill in the UK - the mother of Winston Churchill - the title says it all. Anne Sebba has created a character who had to triumph in two countries. The method is simplistic, almost from a 1950s children's comic. The goodie is Jennie nee Jerome, from an American, and therefore liberated background. The baddie is her husband, Lord Randolph Churchill, from an English, aristocratic background. His supposedly becoming infected with syphilis early on in the marriage increases his badness. It gets worse when his career as a Conservative politician develops and he spends long hours in the House of Commons. Beautiful, well-dressed, extravagant, piano-playing Jennie is justified in taking a lover and triumphs as the heroine.
   
   Jennie is promoted as the engineer of Winston's success as a politician and world leader during the Second World War. Yet she died in 1921, when he was still in disgrace over the failed attempt to capture Gallipoli in 1915, which plan he had masterminded. It would be another 20 years before Winston, by then in his mid-60s, would become British Wartime Prime Minister. One would have thought that his wife, Clementine nee Hozier (Clemmie), who he married in 1908, would have warranted more credit by Anne Sebba for her role in his success.
   
   And what of Winston's younger brother John (Jack) Churchill? Ignored by Winston in his writings, as though he didn't exist he died in 1947 in relative obscurity. Anne Sebba has written Jack out of her biography in a single line. He was the illegitimate son of 7th Viscount (`Star') Falmouth. In other words he wasn't really a Churchill so neither Jennie nor Winston could be expected to take any responsibility for him. Winston and Jack are as alike as two peas in a pod, both Churchillian, both grandsons of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Jack's two other children were John (Johnny) a well-known artist, and Clarissa, Countess of Avon, wife of the former Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden. Now in her 88th year, Clarissa has just written a very interesting book Memoir, published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Clarissa and her two siblings were in no doubt that their grandfather was Lord Randolph Churchill, even though Anne Sebba paints him as a mad syphilitic. What rot!
   
   I have it on good authority that one of the major copyright owners of the Churchill papers is so disgusted with Mrs Sebba's book that they have withdrawn permission of copyright. From the point of view of an historian, a true biography of Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill, has still to be written. In fact, Elizabeth Kehoe's book, Fortunes Daughters, the story of the three Jerome sisters, Clara, Jennie, and Leonie, is a far better read having been more carefully researched. Also, while not perfect, look at Dark Lady, the biography of Jennie Churchill by Charles Higham, for a more balanced and historically accurate portrayal.



3. Great new book on a wonderful and timeless life. We own and have read the two volumn work by Martin on Jennie, but this is a fresh and well researched look at the times and people who shaped her son Winston's life. If this work interests the reader there is in Jennie's own hand her book, The Reminiscences of Lady Randolph Churchill. While not in print, it can be found on the used books websites.



4. American Jennie by Anne Sebba is the story of the incredible life of Lady Randolph Churchill. American Jennie Jerome fell in love with Brit Randolph Churchill in a whirlwind courtship. After overcoming parental objections on both sides of the match, the couple wed and quickly produced son Winston. But the romance faded soon, and both engaged in affairs. They pulled together to get Randolph into the House of Commons, but for most of the rest of their lives, they lived apart. Sebba digs through newspaper accounts, family records, diaries, and letters to produce this well put together biography of an unusual woman. Jennie was well known for her beauty and her indiscretions in a time when women were still considered a husband's property. She produced a literary magazine, helped get both her husband and son seats in the House, traveled extensively, and cared for her husband at the end of his life. Randolph, who suffered from syphilis, was a difficult man, capricious even before the disease attacked his mind. Sebba tries to defend and protect Jennie where possible, but even in the best of lights, Jennie was an atrocious mother who ignored her children. In the end, the picture that emerges of Jennie is of a woman determined to live life on her own terms. She produced children, but that didn't make her a mother. She was married, but was a better wife to her lovers. She lived very much in the moment, always in debt and buying Worth gowns. Sebba does her best to make Jennie likeable, and to an extent, she succeeds. Jennie would be a wonderful addition to a dinner party, but not someone you could count on as a friend. A couple of complaints: there are not nearly enough photos of Jennie. For such a famous woman, I'm sure there are many more out there that would have shown her recognized beauty to better advantage. Also, Jennie and her sisters spoke French, so they peppered their letters to each other with French phrases. Sebba also throws several in her writing. I don't know French, so I often felt a bit left out. Sebba easily could have included translations in brackets, because the meaning was usually not easily gleaned from the rest of the passage.



5. When I say this is not a flattering portrait, it is only because, at the end of the day, I don't think Jennie Churchill was a particularly good person. She was a bad mother--even by the standards of the day; she was an unfaithful wife; she was a spendthrift; and she was, in my opinion, rather clueless as to the real world.
   
   Any portrait of Jennie could not be flattering; she's famous for being infamous.
   
   Now, beyond the topic of the "real" Jennie, my major criticism is that this book is not well written. It's just not an easy read. The thoughts seem scattered and not in depth, the deeper nuances of Jennie's character and motivations were not explored, and overall, the book does not flow.
   
   I think the subject of this book is not to make Jennie look good. It's to shed insight on why she was the way she was. In that manner, I think by the somewhat disorganized storytelling, this book misses the mark.