No comments about Elvis: The King Revealed (The Docubook Series).

1 comments about Reach For The Ground: The Downhill Struggle of Jeffrey Bernard (Duckbacks) (Duckbacks).

1. As asways you get hooked when you read the smaltalks of the dayly life of the great Jeffrey Bernard.

5 comments about Madison Avenue Maxi.

1. Having a dog is no easy task. They require a lot of work and personal interaction -- talking, walking, bathing, grooming, and just plain old loving -- dogs need their people as much as people need their dogs. I always considered myself a cat person. I grew up with Mittens, our family tabby who died at the old age of 12, and since then have adopted several cats that I watched get old and finally leave the mortal coil. When we moved to Turks & Caicos I brought three cats with me from the states.
   
   So when my husband, who moved a few months before me, started talking about this stray potcake who kept following him home smiling all the way, my first response was, "Please just don't feed it!" We had a disastrous dog adoption experience once and I did not want to repeat that ever again. Long story short, suffice it to say that Smiley's picture graces my Blackberry, we keep a supply of treats on the kitchen counter, and I now understand the "dog thing".
   
   Elke & Ben Gazzara happened into their lovely Maxi in a similar way. Elke's daughter adopted a dog and then couldn't keep her. Ben did not want a dog in the house, and as a working actor with much traveling a dog was not convenient. But that little dachsund Maxi wormed her way into their house and then into nearly every high end restaurant, hotel, boutique, party, hospital, and several film sets along the way.
   
   But Madison Avenue Maxi is not only about a dog, but about her people. We see Ben & Elke in good times and bad, going through health crises, career changes, unexpected travel, but always with Maxi by their sides (or under the table in a bag). It is a book that speaks to the common bonds and life experiences of pets and their humans, and while sappy at times appeals to the best in human (and canine) nature, a highly enjoyable read.



2. In Madison Avenue Maxi, the wife of a movie star provides an inherently fascinating and engagingly personal memoir of the life and times of the family dog, a miniature dachshund she and her husband adopted, and offers up whimsical, fun anecdotes on how to dog became a part of their fast-paced, globe-trotting lifestyle. Any general-interest library strong in books about pets and stars will find it a fun leisure choice indeed.



3. This book is a perfect gem! It is a warm, transformative story about how Maxi, a charming dog, captures the hearts and affection of a busy couple.
   
   This beautifully designed book would make a perfect gift for anyone and certainly for animal lovers.
   
   But readers of all kinds will love this book as it is also a fine piece of debut non-fiction writing.



4. For every parent who ends up raising their child's unwanted pet. Enjoy how Maxi the dog, captivates his grandparents and becomes an indispensable part of their home.



5. What a delight! In this already hectic holiday season, Maxi was a breath of fresh air. For all dog lovers and anyone who wants an escape that is both heart-warming and fun.

5 comments about Not That Man Anymore: (A Message From Michael).

1. Michael Zaslow was one of the finest actors on daytime or anywhere. He delivered a performance on par with the greatest actors today in regards to his role as the devlish Roger Thorpe on Guiding Light and the charming spy David Renaldi on One Life to Live. I was watching One Life to Live as a kid when he was on and he was just incredible despite the crazy storylines. When he returned to Guiding Light, I began watching the show on July 4, 1991 because my grandfather only had one television channel and it was CBS. Roger Thorpe and Alexandra Spaulding's marriage had come apart. More, Alexandra had fought back vigorously and humiliated him at the Springfield Country Club that night. Despite the fact that he was on crutches because of a surgery, Michael Zaslow delivered one of the most complex performances imaginable against Beverlee McKinsey. I was shocked and saddened to learn that they didn't get along or weren't friends since they had so much in common. Offscreen, Michael was devoted to his wife, writer, actress, and psychologist Susan Hufford Zaslow who just died. They adopted their daughters, Marika and Helena, from Korea. They split their time on New York's West Side apartment and a home in Roxbury, Connecticut. For Michael, life was not only good but great with a loving wife and two beautiful daughters. His illness disrupted Roger Thorpe's character on Guiding Light. He could no longer play the role because the soap couldn't have Roger Thorpe as a helpless character anymore. It saddened the cast and crew of his illness, the treatment by the soap powers, and his eventual death. During his time with Lou Gehrig's disease, Michael was never braver or couragous in showing how the disease had robbed him of his wonderful voice but not of his bravery and dignity. Michael was beloved by fans like myself who never got the opportunity to meet him in person and I deeply regret that because his performance as Roger Thorpe on Guiding Light got me through difficult personal circumstances. As Michael Zaslow, he was charming, brilliant, talented, and could have done anything. When I think of Michael Zaslow, I think he was on par with the greatest American actors of our generation like Pacino, DeNiro, and Nicholson. Yes, he's a soap actor but his role of Roger Thorpe and his performance still sends shivers down my spine. Roger's complicated relationship with Holly, his true love, was amazing tour de force performance level. They had such an intensity. Onscreen, they melted together when they were not arguing with each other. One critic described their arguments like rolls royces colliding with each other. Their onscreen performances as Roger and Holly was just amazing and the best love story on daytime. Forget Luke and Laura! Roger and Holly was complicated and sizzling to the viewers. With Roger also gone on the show, Guiding Light has not been the same without him. Despite the evil behavior of his character at times, Michael Zaslow was the Guiding Light. He was taken too soon from his fans and his family.



2. This book is so so sad. I was a fan of Michael Zaslow as Roger Thorpe on Guiding Light for years. He and Maureen Garrett (Holly) had one of the most complex, fascinating and fun relationships on daytime television. And then he got sick. I remember that Proctor & Gamble, the company which owns Guiding Light, treated him terribly when he first became ill with what was then his undiagnosed ALS. Their heartless behavior still infuriates me; if they could coldly kick to the curb a 25 year famous employee who made them LOTS of money, God help their anonymous everyday workers. From that time on, I've avoided P & G products, on that principle. In the book I came to feel like I knew his wife Susan, who was so very honest about how hard this illness was for the whole family. Learning that she died of cancer last year felt like a personal loss, and the death of the younger daughter Helena, at age 19 (in 2004) who was a cute and feisty 12 year old in the book is just heartwrenching. Yet, I couldn't stop reading about this brave and likable star-crossed family. I wish they'd had the happy ending they deserved. I also wish the only surviving member of the family, the oldest daughter Marika, all the luck and happiness in the world. I was deeply affected by this book and recommend it because ALS needs to be known and conquered. Michael Zaslow puts a human face on what it just an unimaginable horror but keeps his humanity. I'm heading to the website to make a contribution in the fight against ALS.



3. A required read for any "Roger" fans. A unique look into a horrible disease that could touch any of us and rob us of our bodies in a short amount of time.



4. I have wanted to read Michael's story for a long time. I loved his portrayal of Roger Thorpe on The Guiding Light for so many years. After reading this book I think the medical community should be ashamed that it participated in the disgrace of Michael's so called medical care. That being said, I found this book difficult to read. It's written by both Michael and Susan Huffard, his wife. Michael's words are in italics and Susan's in regular type. But this book really seems to be more about her anger and attitude about everything then it is about Michael. There were times I had to put it down because I found her anger was so pervasive. I do not blame her for it -- I would have been full of rage also at the frustration of their first finding a diagnosis and then finding a treatment. But I thought this book was about Michael but alas Susan seemed to play the bigger and in my opinion, the lesser role. Susan seemed to run out of time because Michael died before she had completed venting her rage. If you want to read a book about how incredibly frustrating their journey was (more Susan's then his) then you will enjoy this book. But I found by the end of the book I wanted to slap her. She needed therapy and I hope she got it.



5. Not that Man Anymore has been in my pile of "waiting-to-be-read" books since I met Susan recently in Studio City. I was feeling guilty that it hadn't risen to the top of my list earlier but the universe has a way of taking care of its inhabitants. My husband has been ill and this story--Michael and Susan's story--was just what I needed in this moment. Pure inspiration.
   
   My husband and I will be exploring ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) ourselves in the coming weeks.
   
   Carolyn Howard-Johnson
   Award-winning author of THIS IS THE PLACE, HARKENING, TRACINGS: A CHAPBOOK OF POETRY and BPSC's Irwin Award winner, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T

4 comments about The Amazing Tom Mix: The Most Famous Cowboy of the Movies.

1. "The Amazing Tom Mix" reads like a novel but it's a biography, which to me made it all the more enjoyable. I only knew a little about Tom Mix but my parents remembered him, so I read it and then gave it to them to read. All of us agreed that the book was fascinating. There is so much detail in the book, but you don't get bogged down in it. It's just a great book.



2. This is one of the most thoroughly researched film biographies I have ever seen. This book relates the life story of Tom Mix, the silent movie star who dominated Hollywood in its early years. Jensen has provided extensive documentation of all the information contained in this work, including material from original sources stored in the back rooms of libraries and museums. Due to the research and reliance on original documents (personal letters, court records, etc.), there is a considerable amount of material contained in this book that has never been published before now. This book is a true tribute to Tom Mix, and will serve as the definitive biography of his life and career for many years to come.



3. One of the better books on Tom Mix.I really enjoyed this one,it
   tells the Mix story warts & all.Apart from spelling errors & some incorrect facts Mix fans will go for this one.A good proof
   reader would have helped!!!
   John,"B" Western fan.



4. I loved this book and agree with these two reviews that were on the back cover:
   
   "Here is Tom Mix as he really was ... captivating ... enchanting ... a splendid book."
   - Richard S. Wheeler, five-time Spur Award winning author of "Trouble In Tombstone."
   
   "...the most complete biography of Mix's life of trials, tribulations and victories."
   - John Duncklee, author of "Bull By The Tale."

No comments about Charles Lindbergh - Lucky Lindy (Biography).

5 comments about Red Carpet Diaries: Confessions of a Glamour Boy.

1. More times than not, I found "Cojo" more interesting than some of the celebs he dished some info out on, because a lot of them turned out to be the way I suspected. Although I was quite pleased that he declared oft creepy Hugh Grant to be a "wanker," I was more interested in the fashionista himself--the reason I picked up the book in the first place. It was hard to put it down once I began reading.
   
   Cojo is fun, witty, and seems to be a genuinely nice, honest guy. When I first saw the king of campy on the Today Show, I was positively blown away by his individuality and fearlessness of being true to himself. That's what I really got out of his book; the fact that I share a long history of being regarded as a social freak and how he didn't let anybody stop him from becoming a success in his own right. He also confesses that celebrities are chislers and not often as great to meet as a lot of people think--in other words, they're just like everyone else with the exception of PR and far more money than they often deserve. I'm looking forward to his next book, which is the reason I only gave this one 4 stars. Here's to hoping it's even better.



2. Steven is hillarious and I just love him. If you've ever seen him on the Today show, his personality and his mood is infectious. He's really quick and sharp. I love the adjectives he uses in here for people. He never fails to make me laugh and he seems to be quite down to earth and an overall nice guy. Read this book. There's almost something in it for everyone and you won't regret buying this. It's certainly not a deep and meaningful book but it's never been portrayed as such, so forget the negative reviews.



3. About what this guy has to say about fashion, or anything else for that matter? How this guy gets 15 minutes of anything is beyond me and a sad commentary on our celeb driven society. I personally could care less about any celebrity except Hasselhoff. Hoff is the sun when it comes to the hollywood galaxy. There would be no entertainment industry without him. Oh my goodness, brad and Jen split, who the heck gives a badger's butt? I really don't care what celebrities wear, who they're dating and how much their home(s) cost. VH1 now has become E!, so my garbage intake can double. We actually sit and watch shows that rub how much celebs spend in our faces. We eat it up. You know what celebrities are? They are people with a different job than us that some are really good at. They just make gobs of money and many are really pretty after their $800/hr makeup artist gets through with them. This culture of ours cares way too much about them and worships them as if they are godlike figures. This cojo goof has a career because there are enough losers that will actually care about what Lindsey Lohan wears to an awards show. She could wear a firesuit and a ten gallon hat and I wouldn't care at all. Ok, I'm done.



4. I love Hollywood gossip books. This was the biggest waste of paper ever (and mind you, without the added highlighted quotes taking up most of the page ...) Really no inside scoop on anyone or anything, much less the author himself. A series of "aren't I cute" quotes that made me feel quite empty at the end. One of the most shallow people I have ever read about, used to like his appearances, now he makes my skin crawl.



5. I love Cojo's sassy commentary on tv and in People. This book lives up to his honesty on the red carpet. He always tells it like it is and this book is no exception. It's not brain science, but it's fun and fluffy, and he never claims to be doing much more than having a good time. I spent a very satisfying afternoon immersed in the glam world of celebrities and Cojo.

5 comments about The Unsinkable Heather Mills: The Unauthorized Biography of the Great Pretender.

1. This really isn't an objective look at Miss Mill's life. It's more of a defense of her life and the author seems bent on painting her in the most positive light. I'm aware that Heather Mills has been an advocate for many hurting people. I'm also aware that she often seems about ready to explode.



2. If this is 'unauthorized' Mr.Simpson is the best researcher and ghost-writer since Andrew Morton. Or and this explanation makes more sense and closer to the truth-this was written with an all too real [ and no doubt unnerving ] awareness that Mills is the most litigious, infamous person the public and press have seen in a very long time. Mills had a hard life growing up. A horrific accident at age 25. That she overcame all this is admirable. That she sees fit to exacerbate the truth or even justify a lot of unsavory things - stealing from a jewelry store where she worked; 'Love Manual'photos; 'parties' at The Dorchester, etc.-in her life that've recently came back to haunt her. She shows a lack of empathy and the complete absence of a moral compass. It's chilling at best. Give Neil Simpson credit: he did the best he could in that particular area but had very little to work with. The shoplifting, stealing are blamed on someone else. Sells the stolen jewelry then she's befuddled of "why didn't anyone ask why someone this young was doing with this much jewelry?" Mills makes it sound as though she were an apple cheeked 15 yr.old. Actually, this is probably the closest in the book she comes to admitting she felt bad about what happened. That it very nearly put the store owner out of business: wreaked havoc within his store: with other longtime employees and the subsequent fall-out from it is not gone into at any length. In almost everything else, she's allegedly blameless. Being a kept woman by a married man while in Paris; running off with a ski-instructor in the former Yugoslavia while married to Alfie Karmal-all in the name of the greater good one could allege. Money can't buy her ENOUGH 'things.' She is even QUOTED as saying she learned early on, money was power. No duh. Love makes the world go 'round but money is the gravitational pull keeping it on its' axis. There have been plenty of women born, raised in difficult circumstances who know that. Women who made something of themselves without using their bodies in 'Love Photos,' drinking watered down champagne, getting paid for it. The book sings one too many hallelujah choruses about her " excellent, professional abilities as a terrific business woman " over and over. Then again allegedly appealing to the lowest common denominator, perhaps not ENOUGH choruses were sung.



3. To be honest, I had no idea who Heather Mills was before "Dancing with the Stars." And even then, she was just the skinny blonde girl with a prosthetic leg. Now I know who she is and, although I may not agree with every choice she's made for herself in life, I'm glad this book was published.
   
   Some reviewers on this site are upset that Heather Mills' biography isn't full of the same digs at her character that the Sun tabloid ran about her in England: hooker, liar, porn star....
   
   Well, this book is much better than that, showing the full 360 of Heather's long and winding road (to borrow a phrase.)
   
   Having read numerous biographies of the Beatles (AND their lovers, including Miss Pattie Boyd) "The Unsinkable Heather Mills" was a natural addition to my library.
   
   Informative--and interesting!--this book is perfect for anyone who is a fan of Paul McCartney or just a fan of pop culture in general. Buy it-- you won't be disappointed!



4. I wouldn't be surprised if she penned this book herself for the money. She'll do just about anything for the money, including giving our beloved Paul such heartache and worry that we may lose him sooner than we would have otherwise. For that I shall absolutely NEVER be swayed by anything she has to say. She's a liar, and doesn't seem to get it that no matter what she would have to say about Paul, it doesn't matter one ioda. She doesn't understand just how immensely he is just purely loved by the world that he's made to be a happier place for being in it.



5. I read this book's promotion in one of Cindy Adams' columns this past November. I read the "book" was going to be an expose of that vile woman, Heather Mills. Imagine my surprise when "it" arrived and I started reading the drivel. What it is, folks (and make no mistake about it) is a Paid in Full manuscript for money received. Heather Mills used her husband's money to finance a whitewash of her sorry life. She used his money to make her appear as another Mother Theresa. I have never thrown away a book in my life. Let this be the first to smell the inside of my garbage container!

No comments about Confesiones de un chef/ Kitchen Confidential.

4 comments about Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi Occupied Hungary.

1. This book has it all: drama, humor, philosophy, and history. The author is an unprepossessing, very clever, unsung hero, who makes humane, practical, difficult decisions daily and keeps his nerve under the Nazi occupation of Hungary. The number of lives he saves can never be properly tallied. You will find yourself alternately holding your breath and then cheering.



2. I lived in Budapest for several years and became fascinated by the stories of those brave souls who survived there through the trials of the last century. This recently translated memoire is one of the best. Mr. Soros is able to convey convincingly his experiences in Budapest during the last years of WWII. Like the best memoires, it offers a window into the mind and thoughts of the author in a way which rings true and resonates with the reader. For those who are interested by the human experience in this period of history, this is a must read.



3. "Life is beautiful - and full of variety and adventure. But luck must be on your side." So begins a remarkable memoir of Jewish life under the Nazis in Hungary, _Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-Occupied Hungary_ (Arcade) by Tivadar Soros. Soros was a thoroughly remarkable man who certainly had variety and adventure in his life, and his share of luck. There are many accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust, and Soros certainly does not minimize the death and terror that he witnessed. Unlike many such accounts, however, this is a story of optimism and triumph. Soros and all his family survived.

   His memoir begins in 1944 when the Nazis occupied Germany. Soros realized that "Since we can't stand up to Hitler's fury, we must hide from it." He and his family hid, but since they had to be seen in order to take care of daily needs, they took on the aspects of Christians. This involved his forming close relationships with a series of forgers, and once he took care of his immediate family's documents, he took care of other relatives, and then friends, and clients. "If anyone asked for my help, one of my principles in life was never to say no - if only to avoid diminishing their faith in human beings." Amidst narrow escapes and harrowing close calls, Soros kept a sense of humor which frequently emerges on these pages. As a "Christian," Soros was able to obtain cigarettes when those were denied to Jews, and since he didn't smoke, he would leave them at a watchmaker's, so that people with stars could get some. He went to the watchmaker to get his watch fixed, and asked the price. "How can you ask such a thing? It's on the house," the watchmaker said, and then whispered to the woman working beside him, "This is the Christian gentleman who brings us the cigarettes, you know." Soros says, "At least the Jews got to see that there were still a few decent Christians." Much of the humor is tinged with humane sadness; according to one of his sons, Soros used to say, "It is amazing how well people can bear the suffering of others."

   This wonderful memoir has been in print before. Soros, that practical idealist, as an Esperantist wrote the original in Esperanto in 1965, three years before his death. In libraries of Esperantists the book has been an outstanding volume from the literature the planned language has produced. It is here translated by Humphrey Tonkin, a linguist whose name is familiar to all American Esperantists. It includes brief, loving memoirs by his sons, one of whom, George, has become one of the world's richest and most influential people. If there is room on your shelves for history with hope, written by a thoroughly humane and lovable man, this book is perfect.




4. This book will add another view of the Holocaust that few have seen before. When I told my wife I was reading the book, she said, "Isn't it depressing?" Naturally, any book that comes close to so much unnecessary loss of life will make the reader sad, and that is appropriate. On balance, though, this book will probably leave you feeling more optimistic than you were about what can be accomplished by well-meaning people.

   Tivadar Soros was a Jewish lawyer in Budapest when the second world war began. Hungary had been an ally of Austria, so the Nazis did not occupy the country until March 19, 1944 as they began to fear betrayal behind their retreating forces in the Soviet Union and the Balkens. The country was liberated by the Soviets in January 1945. Unfortunately, the Nazis used this ten-month period to murder as many Hungarian Jews as possible.

   But Mr. Soros also had had an unusual experience earlier. He had been a prison of war in Siberia during World War I. From that experience, he had learned that those who are prominent are in danger from totalitarianism, after seeing the prisoners' represenative shot to terrify the prisoners. Mr. Soros had been offered that "honor" just recently and had declined. He soon escaped from the prison camp, and had a most difficult time getting back to Hungary through the midst of the Russian Revolution. Where he had been idealistic and vocal before World War I, he came back determined to enjoy each day as though it might be his last. This exasperated his wife, who knew he could accomplish more.

   This perspective served him well when the Nazi occupation arrived. As in other countries, the Nazis relied on Jews to follow orders. There was a Jewish Council whose families were exempt from the deportations who helped organize others into the death camps and ghettos. Many people voluntarily wore the yellow star. Wanting to cut off the potential leaders, one of the first groups being rounded up were lawyers. This was being done in alphabetical order, so Mr. Soros had a little time to prepare. Rather than complying (as did over 600 Jewish lawyers from Budapest who were killed in the Holocaust), Mr. Soros decided to resist. He quickly justified this on the moral grounds of self-defense.

   Deprived of his livelihood and his property, Mr. Soros decided to use camouflage to protect his family (wife, two sons, and mother-in-law) by pretending to be Christians under assumed names. Although he knew nothing about how to undertake such a deception, he soon learned to acquire forged and real papers. He also shared what he learned with anyone who asked for his help. Those who were wealthy, he charged as much as he could. Everyone else, he either charged nothing or only what forged documents cost him.

   To be safest, the family continually lived apart from one another, meeting occasionally for coffee or a swim, and moved frequently. He helped them learn their "cover stories" and helped them practice how to react if braced by Nazis.

   There are many surprises in the book. Mr. Soros occasionally called on "Christians" for help who turned out to be other Jews using false papers. Some actual Christians took up wearing the yellow star, and the Nazis left them alone. While many people would not help, few turned Jews in to the Nazis. Some people would help for either profit or humanitarian reasons. You just had to keep looking until you found them. Most lost their nerve eventually and were either caught or stopped helping.

   Mr. Soros estimates that about 5 percent of all Jews in Budapest eventually obtained false papers. He also describes what happened to those who tried other ways out, like bribing Nazis such as Eichmann.

   The book is far more compelling than any spy novel I have ever read. It is also more inspiring because it shows what a committed "victim" of an evil regime can do. While other books portray Jews as being tough in concentration camps or in the Warsaw Ghetto, secretly hiding out in attics owned by friends, and being slaughtered, this one shows the side of a vigilent self-defense operating from an immediate defiance of the illegitimate authorities. This model needs to be well understood by everyone.

   Contemporary readers will also be fascinated to read about the rest of Mr. Soros's family, which includes the then 14-year-old George, who is now one of the world's richest men and famed fighter against totalitarian regimes. What an incredible family! The book also contains introductory comments by both sons, which will interest you as they recount the remarkable father they knew whom you will meet in this amazing book.

   The book was originally written in Esperanto, and was only recently translated into English for the first time.

   Everyone who wants to prevent future Holocausts must read this book!

   After you finish reading it, think about what you could do today to help someone else retain or gain their freedom and safety from injustice.

   Be prepared to save yourself . . . when all else fails! Saving someone else today increases your allies for tomorrow!