5 comments about Angel on My Shoulder: An Autobiography.

1. I am not (at least I wasn't until recently) a big Natalie Cole fan. Never seen an interview or a concert, only owned one album. But a few months ago I listened to her Love Songs CD at the book store and was so moved by those old songs that I bought it and then strangely, I found I couldn't take it off my cd player in the car. I listened to it over and over, just magnetized by the sweet girlish vulnerability under the power of her voice. There is a mysterious quality about her singing----it's happy, and upbeat, but underneath it, there is a.... longing, and it's not in the melody, or the words, it's in her essence. I've been going through a hard time (in love) and I decided to google her and see if she had written a book that might give me some clues as to the strong sense of connection I was getting from this CD; this book came up and I ordered it. I can't say it's the absolute most stellar literary endeavor I have ever set my eyes upon but I can say this: I found a life-long friend in the pages of that book. I found an allie. A kindred soul who had the guts to reach out and say, I hope you can understand me and my words touch you in some way so you don't feel as alone as I have. (my analysis) I found someone who's willingness to strip down bare-naked and tell her story, including her lonliness that went all the way back to childhood, not ever feeling mothered or loved the way she needed to be, of never feeling that she really mattered or that anyone saw her or had time for her, of losing the most profound relationships of her life before she was 35, of sitting in the car in her garage weeping from a deep desire to belong to someone and have someone belong to her. I was brought to tears over and over. I can so relate. And you know what? Natalie if you're reading this, you are NOT alone. There are so many powerful, smart, educated, talented, spiritual women who have "made it" AND who still, and will always long for the love we never got and so badly needed at the most tender stage of life----and yet, brave on day in and day out anyway, often wondering "What does God even want me down here for?" Don't EVER think you're alone in that.
   
   I am so grateful that she wrote this book because listeneing to her music, I always assumed she was one of the lucky ones in love, singing all about how she found the greatest love and it's going to last forever and all that... that music just tears your heart right out of your chest cavity when you don't got nobody---especially when you feel like you don't NEVER got nobody and you suspect you never will. When the right person never seems to show up, year after year and you fall in love with the wrong ones who never stay anyway. There is an advertisement for E-Harmony, a popular dating site that runs their commercial 4 times a damn hour with "everlasting love" in the background and although it's one of my favorite songs, it about killed me everytime that commercial aired because it seemed like that was the anthem for all the straight, happy people in the world who had found everlasting love---a private club that I will never belong to. But after reading this book, I LOVE that commerical because now I know it's just B.S. We ALL hurt that way. If SHE can feel alone and sing THAT song the way she she sings that song---hell we ALL feel alone. Now I listen to all her songs and I understand the attraction I have to her voice---this is not a woman celebrating the abundance or romantic love in her life. This is the story of a woman who sings about what she wants the world to be. A place of fulfillemnt and forgivness and gentleness and hope and being home in another's arms----for all of us. Tell ya the truth, I read her book in 4 days and it was like being with someone, who "got" me. I looked forward to opening those pages and just being with her. May sound weird but I think we've all had the experience of falling in love with a character in a book, and I fell a little bit in love with the girl and woman in those pages. Only problem is, I miss her in my life now.



2. I saw the TV movie of Ms. Cole's life a few years ago and found it interesting. I was looking for something to read and came across this book on Amazon. It is GREAT, even better than the movie! I love the writing style, it seems like she's sitting across from you telling you her life story. At the end, I felt that I knew and liked her. She has been through alot, but did not try to place the blame on anyone else. The story is very candid and I found myself laughing like all hell on the train while reading this book. I would say its probably one of the most even handed non-fiction books I've ever read (and thats saying alot because its an autobiography).



3. What can I say. This book is one of those that you can't put down. Very frank and honest account from the daughter of one of the greatest singing legends. Natalie, (I call her by her Christian name because having read this book, I feel I know her well, which I find important when reading someones autobiography) has had some difficult times and gone from riches to rags, and back to riches, with some life altering experiences along the way. The 'Unforgettable with love' album is also amazing. I'm off to buy 'Ask a woman who knows' concert. READ THIS BOOK!



4. Natalie shares with astounding truth, humbleness, and shows us all how much she has been through, and how she - with the Divine help in her life - has triumphed from the darkest days. This book is an astounding beacon of hope for anyone who has been through both the highs and lows of life, and wants to genuinely rise from within.
   Natalie shares much about her childhood, her relationship with her relatives, and so much about her own life, and how many times she thought it was all over for her, only to see that she can rise again - no matter what she has been through.

   On a personal note, in 1995 I had dinner with Natalie, her candor and honesty took me back so much that I wrote about her with deep respect in my own book, `Individual Power'. She is a true soul, and I have the utmost respect for her, the courage she has shown, and how she is a beacon of hope for others.

   If you want to read a book about one incredible woman, who humbly and candidly shows how no matter what you go through, you CAN triumph, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is a gift that will touch you because of its authenticity.

   Thank you Natalie for being a beacon of Light and Hope for so many. Keep Going Girl - You are One Awesome Gem!




5. Natalie shares with astounding truth, humbleness, and shows us all how much she has been through, and how she - with the Divine help in her life - has triumphed from the darkest days. This book is an astounding beacon of hope for anyone who has been through both the highs and lows of life, and wants to genuinely rise from within.
   Natalie shares much about her childhood, her relationship with her relatives, and so much about her own life, and how many times she thought it was all over for her, only to see that she can rise again - no matter what she has been through.

   On a personal note, in 1995 I had dinner with Natalie, her candor and honesty took me back so much that I wrote about her with deep respect in my own book, `Individual Power'. She is a true soul, and I have the utmost respect for her, the courage she has shown, and how she is a beacon of hope for others.

   If you want to read a book about one incredible woman, who humbly and candidly shows how no matter what you go through, you CAN triumph, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is a gift that will touch you because of its authenticity.

   Thank you Natalie for being a beacon of Light and Hope for so many. Keep Going Girl - You are One Awesome Gem!

1 comments about Justin Berfield (Blue Banner Biographies) (Blue Banner Biographies).

1. This book talks about Justin's life. It contains much about his acting career--like how it started and how he progressed into being the successful actor/producer he is today. It includes personal quotes from him, his filmograpy, and great, full-colored pictures. It also tells of how Justin contributes to communities all throughout the US through the Ronald McDonald House Charity. I recommend this book to any Justin fan. It's quite a catch.

5 comments about The Diaries, 1898-1902.

1. Is it true that Alma claimed she was for decades the main authority of Mahler's works, values, character and his day-to-day actions and movements?
   Is it true that, initially, and for many years, her various publications quickly became the central source of information and references for Mahler scholars and music-lovers alike?
   Now we can know why, later, her accounts have been treated as unreliable, false, misleading and often impaired soundness? It is a fact that these imperfect accounts have nevertheless had a great influence upon several generations of music-lovers, hence the legend: " Alma's Problem""
   How about what she wrote in her two books (memoirs) and their impact on Mahler studies'. (Why did she write two memoirs? - My Life, My Loves, and My Diaries 1898-1902) - Alma was a graceful, well-connected and influential woman who outlived her first husband by more than 50 years. (This reminds me of Cosima and Wagner. Cosima outlived Wagner by 47 years). How trustworthy is any story laid by women who outlive their notorious husbands for so long? Shouldn't they be given credence, though there may not have been full and final grain of truth in it?) - The greatest difficulty in writing one's memoirs is to keep a certain detachment at a time when passions were running high. True in her old age Alma wouldn't admit that her apprehensions with the past `'husband and wife"" days had been influenced with the benefit of hindsight when she now perceived the significance of events after they have occurred. Within 50 years Alma's reminiscences of past events couldn't pass without nostalgia or without an urging wistful desire to return, at least in written thoughts (modified and garbled), to a former time in one's life when young - I saw her picture, indeed she was very beautiful. Alma claims that Mahler 'feared women' and that their relationship was never really without danger, arguing that he had almost no sexual intercourse right up to his forties (he was 41 when they met). In fact, Mahler's long record of prior love affairs-- including a lengthy one with Anna von Mildenburg -- suggests that this was not the case. Whereas Alma's flirtation and first kiss was in her teens - as she boastfully said so. ".In her memoirs she must have been looking for an edge over Mahler. True?
   Alma Mahler (then Schindler) played piano from childhood and in her memoirs reports that she first attempted composing at age 9. Was that false or true??(She knew that Mahler's parents had arranged piano lessons for him when he was six)
   After Mahler's death, Alma did not immediately resume contact with the young architect Gropius. Between 1912 and 1914 she had a highly agitated affair with the artist Oskar Kokoschka, ((who created many works inspired by his relationship with Alma, including his famous painting: Bride of the Wind.)) Strangely enough, I read something like this: "" After Alma's departure from his life, Oskar Kokoschka notoriously ordered a custom life-size doll resembling her in details. Rumors say that he was seen at a local theater in Vienna holding the doll as his companion"" Could this have been true? Was he mentally insane? Was it plausible that Alma has had love affair with a mentally sick man that she did not recognize his flaws from the very beginning? Oscar must have been a most difficult partner, impetuous and mentally unbalanced. Such rumor must have made him the laughingstock for the intellectuals. How could Alma have been `attracted"" by such character? Gustav vs. Oscar (quite the opposite, yet she could sustain the dissimilarities! - Was she so eccentric?)
   During the emotional instability in their marriage after Mahler's discovery of the affair (Alma's infatuation with Walter Gropius 1883-1969 - a German architect and founder of Bauhaus and is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of "modern" architecture) Mahler took a sincere interest in Alma's musical compositions; completely regretting his earlier attitude when he dropped her talents out. (Was Mahler a capricious person - dictating his authority - as when he dropped Alma's talents in the past?) (Controversial-no doubt!)
   Upon Mahler's endeavoring, and under his coaching and assistance, Alma prepared five of her songs for publication (they were issued in 1910, by Mahler's own publisher, Universal Edition). During this time, Mahler had one and unique consultation with Dr. Sigmund Freud. Why? Backlog of hard feelings I believe; they had watched with apprehension the gradual encirclement of the Jews or was it the curse of the ninth - Mahler knew he would not live long after his composition of the Ninth symphony that he completed in 1908 (perhaps!) If it were to seek guidance from Freud on Mahler's unsatisfactory relationship with his wife, this would sound absurd to me. Okay, but what was the outcome of such consultation?? Did they discuss the behaviors of Mahler's wife' or the anti-Semitic backlog of hard feelings? (Mahler was Jewish, so was Freud- Sigmund Freud knew his compatriots only too well - they give in to moral pressure) At the Opera, Mahler stubbornness in artistic perfection had created enemies, and he was subject to perpetual attacks from anti-Semitic circles in the press. His resignation from the Opera, 1907, was hardly unexpected. (Incidentally: Dreyfus affair divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s and its repercussion continued until well after WWI)
   The hard feelings of anti-Semitism must have adversely impacted his marital relationship with Alma? Initially, under Austro-Hungarian laws, no imperial posts were to be filled by Jews!!! Hence, in 1897 when he was 37, Mahler could not occupy the Directorship post at the Vienna Opera.
   Something else, Mahler has had a clash with Brahms (Didn't he?) While at the university, he worked as a music teacher and made his first major attempt at composition with the cantata Das klagende Lied. The work was entered in a competition where the jury was headed by Johannes Brahms, but failed to win a prize. (Did he feel the brunt of Jewish curse?? It could be!!)
   (In later years, however, Brahms was greatly impressed by Mahler's conducting of Don Giovanni.)



2. Biographies can easily become subjective, as they rely upon the person telling the story. With diaries, we have almost a first-hand look at what the writer was thinking.
   
   These diaries of Alma Mahler reveal the usual thoughts and feelings of a teenage girl and young woman. Alma desperately wishes to "be somebody," but she's not sure of how to achieve it. She spends years studying music, and practicing composition, but her works are simply fair or good, but not remarkable.
   
   Then, she finds out what she's really outstanding at: attracting brilliant artists from all fields. This includes men such as Gustav Mahler, the composer, Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus architect, Franz Werfel, the novelist, Alexander von Zemlinsky, the composer, Gustav Klimt, the painter, Oskar Kokoschka, another painter, and many others.
   
   Although her own art never achieved for her the fame she would have liked, perhaps she inspired all these other greats to go beyond what might have been their own limitations. There is a tendency, as you will see from photographs of Alma, to believe that men were attracted to her because of her spectacular beauty. But as you will see from these diaries, her personality must have also played a large role. She is coquettish, yet honest, and vacillates between between overestimating her successes, yet feeling humble about how much more she wishes she could be.
   
   But what I believe you will find the best feature of this book, is seeing geniuses like Gustav Mahler and Walter Gropius, through the eyes of a young woman, who saw them up-close, as real, live men. It's like traveling back in time, for a close-up, personal look at these famous artists.



3. As a long-term diary writer myself I was interested in Mahler-Werfel's diary and the manner in which the voice of the nineteen-year old woman is expressed (and the next two years of her life). Often when I reread my own writings I cringe at my ideas and philosophies when I was young and it takes some time for me to empathise with myself and regain a feeling for the person I was. One of the great features of these diaries is that they truly express the voice of the nineteen-year old, they have not been edited to provide a more sophisticated voice. Perhaps Mahler-Werfel cringed a bit at herself in the way I do, perhaps that is why she never published these diaries during her lifetime, although we do know she gave it some consideration. But I think it is important that we heed the voice expressed in youthful writings because it reassociates us with the people we once were, and hopefully gives us greater empathy with the youth of today.
   The most challenging aspect of these diaries is Mahler-Werfel's revelations of her growing sexual awareness with its contradictions, rapid changes of view, hesitancies, self criticism, and intemperate admissions. This is emotional and at times erotic writing. While we can allow Mahler-Werfel the licence to say what she wants about herself, it is less readily acceptable that she describes the behaviour of her partners - some of them quite historic figures. But this is the voice of youth going through very tumultuous personal times. Most people move through these times with varying degrees of ease and distress. Mahler-Werfel's writing reminded me of Wedekind's play `Springtime Awakening'. The awakening is not satisfactory for all - and is sometimes disastrous. For Mahler-Werfel we can only speculate.
   Mahler-Werfel associated with many great artistic figures - in the times of these diaries there are Gustav Klimt, Alexander Zemlinsky and Gustav Mahler. Her reflections on these figures make them more alive than many histories. For her, they were living pulsing human beings and we see them in that way.
   But was Mahler-Werfel extraordinary herself? I find it hard to decide. She obviously was not your average woman of the time, and yet it is possible to see her as just a spoilt rich girl who happened to have a pretty face. In her diaries she speaks of writing a song (lied) in a day, playing the whole of Tristan on the piano in an evening. And yet her musical examples noted in the diary are so poorly notated and often so inaccurate that it is hard not to think she had little genuine talent. Perhaps someone else completed the lieder from her tenuous musical ideas. But equally possible is that she was a real talent and, as popular history tells us, was suppressed by Mahler in their marriage. To me, however, there is another reading in that marriage to Mahler enabled her to renounce her musical ambitions, which she knew would never match those of Mahler no matter how hard she worked. To be fair about her musical notation however, we need to remember that all her writings border on the unreadable (perhaps that was deliberate - a sort of code?) although the single-minded line drawings she included are quite fine in a limited way (are they all of pretty Alma herself?).
   Another way to judge her musical astuteness is her reviews and critiques of the many concerts she attended. At first look they seem to match the views of the day - wildly supportive of Wagner, dismissive of Bach, Saint-Saens and even Mozart. Was she just copying the view of the day? But then there are the changes of view - suddenly the opinion on Mozart changes, she starts to see some flat spots in Wagner. This does seem to suggest self-awareness in her musical views and even if it is selective acceptance of different critical opinion she shows a capability to make the change. There is one final thought that came to me as I read the diaries - perhaps her influence was so great (it certainly wasn't trivial) that she went some way to actually forming the critical view of the day.
   I was immensely fascinated by these writings. If you are interested in human development and artistic creativity I recommend you do not overlook them. One thing is certain - Mahler-Werfel was an impassioned writer as a young woman.



4. Alma Schindler - the goddess, the muse, the center of attention ... How did she manage that? How did she become an obsession of so many genial men, a thing of admiration of the Secessionist Vienna? But simply - she was a remarkable woman. And also, happened to be pretty and at the right place at the right time, born into an artistic family. It was said that she had a hearing defect. She would move closer to her companion in order to hear better. Men found that irresistible.

   One would expect her to be vain and conceited. Through her diary, we entered her mind - she is none of that. At least, not more than any of us. She is an insecure girl. She has fears, doubts about herself, she loves passionately... Alas, her anti-Semitic feelings are shocking. At first, she is quite tolerant and objects anti-Semitic sentiments. Then she changes. One can only find the reason in propaganda being already pretty aggressive. She lives among Jewish families, loves Jewish men and marries two of them. Why then? And how did it happen that she married Mahler so quickly?

   "Please God, give me some great mission, give me something great to do!" She could have been quite a good artist. Her drawings show certain talent that could have been developed into something much more. She could have taken drawing classes and maybe, her mission would have been even greater. But she pursued music even though it
   seemed that she lacked the talent - not one of her opera impressions on the notepaper correspond to the real score. She never composed a great opera she dreamed of. But she left her mark in the history of arts and love.

   This book is a great document. The correspondence between the authors just adds to the value. I only wish there were more photos of Alma as well as letters that she received. It would have been nice to read passionate words of her admirers. At the end, instead of an epilogue, there should have been a short biography. And a word of two about her sisters and mother would have been valuable. What happened to her sister Maria? I guess I need to start searching.




5. Alma Mahler was a fascinating woman and this diary gives an unique insight into her personality and those she knew. Her growing years, developing both emotionally and in personality come through as does her determination and zest for life. Her time with Gustav Mahler is fascinating and sheds an interesting light into his character and fears at this time. A fascinating read.

No comments about Indiana's Favorite Sons, 1840-1940.

1 comments about Gettyrama: Little known facts about J. Paul Getty and more.

1. This book is full of boring gossip. The author did not even meet Mr Getty, so the stories are all second hand. It is has many typos.
   
   The authored who worked for Mr Getty did not have much respect for him. I would recommend My Life As I See it, by J. Paul Getty this book is full of humor and insight.

No comments about The Beauty Of Diana: The Story of a Princess.

5 comments about Audrey Hepburn: A Biography.

1. 
   She looked like a princess; she deported herself regally. Her life followed the fairy tale plot of rags to riches. Regrettably, it did not often have the requisite happy ending.
   
   Sent to boarding school in England, Audrey Hepburn rejoined her family in Holland prior to the German occupation in World War II. Along with her fellow countrymen, she suffered greatly. Virtual starvation permanently affected her health.
   
   How impossible it would have seemed to her during those war torn years that she would some day become a sought after movie star, sharing the screen with Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, and William Holden. A lucky break - she was seen by Colette in a hotel lobby - took her to the Broadway stage as "Gigi." Another lucky break won her the lead in "Roman Holiday."
   
   Although family was more important than career to Miss Hepburn, her two marriages failed. She found solace in motherhood, her friends and, in later life, through her untiring labors for UNICEF.
   
   Audrey Hepburn forever changed America's view of glamour. As a New York Times reporter wrote at the time of her death: "What a burden she lifted from women! Here was proof that looking good need not be synonymous with looking bimbo."
   
   This biography offers a wide-screen view of one of our favorite actresses.
   
   - Gail Cooke



2. With a face that still resonates over the McCarthy era of Hollywood, Audrey Hepburn was an elegant image of purity in a corrupt world. Unlike Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey's image never tanished and she a backseat only to Marilyn Monroe as Hollywood's most famous leading lady.

   Audrey's life is mostly public facts: she married a second rate actor, Mel Ferrer; won an Academy Award for her first film, Roman Holiday, and a Tony for Ondine; earned five Oscar nominations; had two sons and obsessed over her career and family; and remarried an Italian playboy. But only an Audrey insider like Harris can go beyond the well-known myth making and draw a complete picture.

   Previously it has only been the subject of major speculation, but Harris confirms that Hepburn had several affairs with her leading men such as William Holden. The biography isn't all gossip though. Harris covers the later movies and Andrey's work with UNICEF. Although this prjects her Mother Teresa side, what is really interesting about Audrey is not her war experiences, her rise to fame, or her post-Wait Until Dark family life, but the period between 1952 and 1967 when she made fifteen great films including Charade and Two For The Road.

   Harris recognizes Hepburn's peak in the 1960s and uses the bulk of the book to detail this period of her life, but his knowledge doesn't protect him from the obvious shortcomings in his own work. He does tend to be repetitive. He's not much of a prose stylist. Beyond that, there is another major gripe to raise: there are only sixteen pages of Audrey photos in this book, and they don't go far beyond the standard postcard set. Obviously, anyone reading a Hepburn biography craves that classic look and an illustration of the movement from film to film.




3. Warren G. Harris's biography on Audrey Hepburn is an unbiased, straight-ahead account that details her ups and downs, from her childhood in the war-torn Netherlands, her first starts at stardom in England, her breakthrough in Roman Holiday, marriages to Mel Ferrer and Andrea Dotti, to her declining movie career from the late 1970's onward, and to her work as UNICEF spokesperson.

   The initial quotes from Billy Wilder, Cecil Beaton, Hubert Givenchy, and Stanley Donen give what made Hepburn a star. Wilder says that God kissed her with that gift of stardom. True enough: that 5'7" height, slender birdlike figure, prominent eyebrows, squared off chin, princess-like elegance and beauty that continued in her fifties, a wistful fragility, and soft voice that spoke perfect English and ended a sentence in a girlish query. And that European sophistication she exuded no doubt came from a multinational heritage that included British, Dutch, Austrian, Hungarian, French, Scotch, and Irish. And she is very distantly related to Katherine Hepburn, as both traced their lineage to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary Queen of Scots.

   And she was a professional actress, someone striving for perfection and a trooper when it came to her work. She took time studying her background material, whether it be reading Tolstoy's War And Peace, where she played Natasha Rostova, Kathryn Hulme's biography on her experiences as a nun, and even going to see Hulme, resulting in The Nun's Story, and her going to a college for the blind for her part as Susy Hendrix in Wait Until Dark. That's not to say Audrey was perfect. Her one vice, smoking, came from the cigarettes she saw American soldiers smoking when her homeland was liberated. She became addicted to life on them.

   Hepburn's wartime hardships in occupied Netherlands is given quite some coverage because the experiences affected her later in life. One was the closeness to her mother and brothers, one of whom, Alexander, became a "diver," people who avoided conscription by the Axis army by hiding. Second, being malnourished in the final years of war led to a metabolism that prevented her from significantly gaining weight. And finally, the suffering she went through made her empathize with the starving children in Africa when she joined up as a UNICEF spokesperson during the last years of her life. Her generosity extended to Givenchy, whom she fought to get him credit for his designs, and to William Wyler, to whom she felt indebted for Roman Holiday and thus agreed to star in The Children's Hour, which wasn't among her best movies.

   All of Hepburn's movies, from her bits parts beginning with 1948's Dutch In 7 Easy Lessons through her final performance in Always, depending on how significant the movie, is given 5 to 7 pages coverage, from a brief synopsis, recollections by Hepburn herself, the directors, and co-stars. So far, the only person who hated Hepburn was her Sabrina co-star Humphrey Bogart, who thought Audrey, Billy Wilder, and others were conspiring against him. Others, such as her Roman Holiday co-star Gregory Peck, were gentlemanly.

   Harris hits early on that actor Mel Ferrer, husband #1, was constantly being overshadowed by his wife, as he never got into the star tier and that led to a simmering resentment that finally ended their marriage.

   Harris's coverage on her career is unbiased. He gives what the critics thought of her performances and movies, even bad ones like Paris When It Sizzles and Always, where she was clearly the best thing in the film. But through it all, he makes it clear why many, myself included, grew accustomed to her face.




4. One and ½ stars.

   Tedious. Not recommended. Gossipy, but full of "facts", that do not flow. Each paragraph of this biography stops and starts alone. Though it seems well researched, it drips with small, but unmistakable unknowable ideas presented, again, as (gossipy) facts by the author. It was a pain to get through the initial pages. Page 13 - "Ella picked "Hepburn" because it wash the only noble name... [OK] That he may have also murdered Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley [she actually knew this? hmm. unsubstantiated], didn't seem to bother the Baroness when she borrowed the name". Well, she may have `shamelessly' borrowed the name, but the author clearly begins filling in supposed knowledge of the character and continues to do so with other ideas throughout the work. Page 14 - "Ruston and Ella made a strikingly and highly volatile couple.": [OK]. "Tall and handsome, he'd grown a mustache to compensate for his receding hairline." What? Is the author struggling with same? Back then a mustache was worn prominently for the display of its own sake, regardless of receding hairline - you've seen the photos. Clearly a 90's cynical filter on earlier facts gets in the way in these simple examples as it gets in the way throughout the text. The work is littered with the 90's addiction of showing us supposed belly-button lint as somehow interesting fact. This is not biography. Sadly, selection of photos here seems the real strength. Wonderful photos. But this historical reader would rather turn back to reading about settlers taking bloody hatchets, as long as truth is presented. A thought; should I reward this 2 stars for effort? No. In this day and age, anyone can muster forth the so-called facts of anyone famous. Don't let the titles, the initial script of the opening pages, and the prior works of Harris fool you, this kind of fact/gossip intertwined crud can't be polished. Sadly, there may not be an Audrey Hepburn biography that flows and captures all the interesting facts and heart of her life until the end. But there is hope




5. I didn't apprecite it. As I haven't had any information of Audrey's life, I enjoyed knowing facts of her life. But the biography misses her personal experience at all! She goes through four abortions and the writer doens't give any importance at all to those facts! He has very detals of her years in Holland and the importance of her mother, but when she becomes famous, the mother is suddently out of the picture. As I said, her personal evolution is suddently forgot. It seens as there was two Audreys, the one that grewn up in nazist Holland and the one that made fame on movies. The pictures are very poor and of low quality. I brought the book knowing nothing about Audrey, and I finish reading it knowing less. Don't bother to get that book, there are betters of her.

No comments about Whims of Fortune: The Memoirs of Guy De Rothschild.

No comments about Guess Who's Adopted?.

4 comments about Elvis As We Knew Him: Our Shared Life in a Small Town in South Memphis.

1. I found this book at my place of work, just lying around. It is awesome! Very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone.



2. I very much like this book about Elvis, as told from the perspective of one neighboring family whom Elvis looked up to from the minute he started to become successful. Anyone who wants to know about Elvis' early days and his desire to be accepted into the old money society set in Memphis should definitely read this book. Excellent.



3. Getting inside the early world of Elvis was fascinating. Sometimes sad, sometimes surprising, sometimes funny, but definitely more revealing and intimate than a lot of other books. I'm so glad I found this!



4. Even the children betray Elvis Presley for only damned money.
   Elvis always respected children and these little people sell him wholesale.