No comments about Andy Warhol - A Life of Pop Art (Biography).

5 comments about The F Word.

1. For anyone who comes from a dysfunctional family (who doesn't out there... I'd love to meet you) this book will inspire you to rise above your childhood circumstances and be a better person. Whether you were the victim of child abuse, an alcoholic or mentally deranged parent, or suffered through the pain of obesity, (all of the above in my case) this book is for you. It's not therapy, but it's almost as good. Thanks Louie!



2. Even before I picked up this book, I knew I was going to hate it. I mean look at the cover, a fat man with a depressing no-food frown. I then read the book but to no surprise it was a recipes to louie anderson's favorite meal. It wasn't even a recipe it was just "jar of lard." Then I started the book and i almost threw up. The first chapter is "how I swallowed my cat." I didn't read it for a few days then I dove back in for seconds. There wasn't even a second chapter it was just ripped and torn papers like louie was so bored of his own book he started to eat it. I guess you're wondering if this whole book is about louie's eating and misadventours while eating and the answer is yes. Louie once tried to swallow a bald guy's head because he thought it was a watermelon. How do you reddeem yourself after writing a book about that? How did this incolherent mess wind up published? Who Knows? Towards the end it talks about Louie on the "Family Feud." From his drug addictions to his submarine sandwitch cravings this chapter tells all. Sound like a book you want to read?
   
   PS: At the beginning it says "This book is deticated to my ham, my succulent, slow roasted..." I couldn't read the rests it was too wet from the drool stains.



3. I really applaud and admire the work that Anderson has given us within this book
   
   The material that Anderson shares with us includes so much of his personal guilt, regret, and sadness
   
   However, he manages to share it in a way that is constructive, humorous, and easy to digest ---- he makes it easy to see the screw-ups we've made in our own lives, and helps to suggest ways of alievation, through his own narration
   
   Reading this book is almost an exercise in forgivness yourself ---- forgiving those around you and forgiving YOURSELF
   
   And best of all - it is all told in Anderson's classic humor - making this all very easy to digest
   
   Although the book is good, I truly recommend the audio version --- Anderson's narration is a perfect complement to a well done book
   
   thank you for reading!



4. I've been a long time Louie Anderson fan and regard his first two books, "Dear Dad: Letters From an Adult child" and "Goodbye Jumbo...Hello Cruel World," two of the best books I've ever read. So I was naturally excited to hear he was writing a third book. In "The F Word," Louie tackles his relationship with his dysfunctional family, which has been strained by his fame and wealth (they resent him and/or expect him to help support them). He uses examples from his own family interactions to offer tips to others on how to deal with their dysfunctional family relationships. His advice is often too personal or oversimplified to be of good therapeutic use. However, Louie has an amazing ability to draw the reader into his life. Reading his books, I no longer feel like a fan. I feel like a friend. He does an amazing job of describing the unique personality traits of each of his 10 siblings and the problems they battle. Collectively, they have all been impacted in some way by their (deceased) alcoholic, abusive father. This book does offer some good down to earth advice and proves that everybody has problems that they struggle with and demons they battle, even celebrities. Overall, I found it to be a rewarding book, just somewhat less so than his previous books.



5. I found this book to be a very good positive approach to handling family problems. Louie emphasizes being tolerant of family members and not being mean. I've used this technique quite often and found it to be more successful than being rude and mean. I've always had the ability to see humor in the worst situation, infact I laugh quite a bit at my family dilemma, even though it's really not that funny. I remember times when others have said, "you think everything is funny," I responded, "no not really, but it's better than the negative alternative, which is right out anger and hostility. Anything is better than taking the mean hostile route, the road to disaster. I'd rather laugh it out or simply leave before my coping ability expires. Louie suggests using this technique also, if you only have an hours worth of coping ability, don't try to stay the whole three hours of an affair and end up fighting. I appreciated the humor in Louie's book as well as his advice. Everyone should read this book whether they have family problems or not.

No comments about Black Jack Bouvier: The Life and Times of Jackie O's Father.

No comments about Probable Cause: ReThinking of the JFK Plot.

5 comments about America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen.

1. A superb biography about one of America's most talented personalities. The book is a milestone in the annals of Americana. We will never see his likes again. The author has done a most splendid and complete job in his portrayal. Best bio I have read in years.
   jw
   nyc



2. I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it did a number of things well. For one it helped me to get to know Fulton J. Sheen, a name I had heard about from the past and brief mentions from my parents, but had never known except the author of one book on my shelf ("The Life of Christ"). I felt that I not only got to know who he was, but also about the times he lived in. Reeves seamlessly blends the historical reality of Sheen's time with Sheen's actions as well as his thoughts.
   I felt that Reeves had presented Sheen as entirely human, he did not try to portray him as a distant saint, nor try to deconstruct him in a voyeuristic way. He attempted to accurately present the man and his message. Based on his liberal number of interviews and sources I think he did a good job. He stated that there was simply a lack of a good biography on Archbishop Sheen and I think that he filled it.
   I appreciated Reeves working in numerous quotations from Sheen's writings and talks which sent me to Amazon.com to see if many of these books were still in print. However, many are not, which seems a shame, because Sheen seems to me (as a 26-year-old) to have much to say about the current age.



3. Fulton J. Sheen will never be canonized a saint in the Roman Catholic Church for two obvious reasons: his sins are bright scarlet and we know them too well. Sheen established a television intimacy with the American public in the 1950's that only a few individuals have achieved-Walter Cronkite and Johnny Carson come to mind-through his apostolic use of that explosive new video medium. I was a lad in Catholic elementary school when Sheen delivered his prime time homilies from 1952 through 1957. While I remember little of the content of those shows, I was captivated by the style. Sheen, I noticed, paused to let the audience think. None of my local priests did that, nor did they have Skippy the angel to erase the blackboard.
   
   Thomas Reeves is to be commended for the manner in which he tells the truth, the whole truth, about Sheen without defacing the Bishop's many good works and his positive influence upon a wide and diverse American public. Sheen's life was indeed a message "written with crooked lines" and one is reminded of Christ's words to the penitent woman, "her sins, many as they are, will be forgiven because of her great love." Though haunted by the pride and ambition that would seem to stalk nearly all television evangelists who followed, in the final analysis Sheen did love his God, though he himself ran a close second.
   
   Born in 1895 on a farm in rural Illinois, the youthful Peter John Sheen was devout, smart, and disdainful of manual labor and farming. He was hardly the first country boy to see the cloth as a step up from shoveling manure. We forget that he was originally a priest of the Peoria, Illinois, diocese, possibly because of his distinguished academic record at the Louvain.
   
   There is an air of mystery about Sheen's academic status, though. Desperate to escape a life in Peoria, Sheen joined the philosophy faculty of Catholic University in 1926 but never became "one of the boys" of the staff. In fact, tenure was denied him for some years, in part because the young priest was away from the campus three days a week for his growing number of speaking engagements. [In 1928 he hired a clipping service to track his press notices.] Catholic University itself was in academic, political, and organizational disarray. The school was frankly under-funded and underachieving. Perhaps to ease himself out of the philosophy department and into theology, Sheen invented for himself a second doctorate, an S.T.D. that suddenly appeared after his name in 1928 and which remained on his letterhead as late as 1966. Reeves speculates that Sheen got away with this massive deception precisely because it was so audacious and no one would have expected it of him.
   
   Reeves wonders if Sheen is under-appreciated today as a scholastic. Although brilliant and prolific, Sheen was not original, and added nothing of substance to twentieth century philosophy. Sheen's strength was apologetics: the presentation of Catholic faith and devotion in simple, straightforward, and yet cosmopolitan ways. For about forty years, from 1928 through 1966, Sheen was arguably the best preacher in the United States, dividing his time between public appearances, radio and television, prodigious devotional writing, and fundraising for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith [and, surprisingly, acting as an "observer" of sorts for J. Edgar Hoover, who admired his fierce anti-communism.] His work for the Society earned him the title bishop, appointed auxiliary to Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York in 1951. Reeves finds that Sheen was a holy priest who made a daily holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament and spent hours personally instructing converts, including numerous celebrities of the entertainment and publishing industries.
   
   Having said that, it cannot be denied that Sheen shocked his clerical brethren with a champagne lifestyle. While a faculty member at CU Sheen built a magnificent home in NW D.C.and entertained frequently and graciously. As a fund-raiser, millions of dollars passed through his hands, though there is no whiff of impropriety. Reeves does comment upon Sheen's total absence of fiscal management skill, his arrogance and petulance that insulated him from sound advice, his unfettered cash charity, and his pride of bestowal, so to speak. These factors, coupled with Spellman's own devils, led to an estrangement between the two that produced one of the strangest episcopal appointments of our lifetime.
   
   In October 1966 Fulton Sheen was appointed bishop of Rochester, NY. To church observers it was clear that Spellman had orchestrated the transfer for ultimate humiliation effect. In public, at least, Sheen put the best face on things, explaining that his tenure would be an experiment with the reforms of the recently concluded Vatican II. In truth, Sheen was a pre-Vatican II autocrat who alienated nearly every local constituency. His unilateral decision making cost him his priests, and his explicit criticisms of racial policies at Kodak the support of the city's largest employer. He was deeply wounded that Rochester did not recognize the celebrity in its midst, and within three years "America's best preacher" withered into retirement.
   
   If the Rochester years were his crucifixion, they also brought Sheen into communion with his best self. In retirement he publicly regretted his earlier opulence and vanity. He became less dogmatic and more open to philosophical systems other than that of St. Thomas Aquinas. Although not entirely shedding his theatrical instincts, he lived the last of his 84 years with an optimistic piety that belied the sufferings of multiple illnesses. Appropriately, he was found dead in his private chapel. Throughout this remarkable life, with its graces and glosses, Sheen's prayers were always sincere. His arrogance and sense of self-importance are perhaps the less desirable fruits of his utter certainty in the truth and goodness of God and the holiness of the Roman Catholic Church.



4. Thomas Reeves deserves kudos and credit for a very fine biography of a man much admired by millions. The high points of this book are as follows: the meticulous gathering of much information simply unknown by his admirers; the careful balancing of sanctity and human frailty of Sheen's character; the fascinating recreation of the Golden Age of Catholicism in America; the personal relationship between Cardinal Spellman and Bishop Sheen; a superb ability to synthesize and bring new insight from the wide variety of materials cited; a great bibliography and excellent notes. The weaknesses are minor: a tendency to repeat some stories, and the maddening tendency of Sheen himself to destroy and misplace correspondence or simply not document his personal life. Despite these minor drawbacks in the book, I was deeply moved by much of this biography and, indeed, brought to tears by the account of the last years of Sheen's life, his meeting with Pope John Paul II, and his funeral. Few will be disappointed in this book; it is a true accomplishment. Many thanks to Professor Reeves for this profound and necessary commentary on the life of a truly great person of the 20th century.



5. This is a book that has been ignored by the media which does not want to hear about good Catholic clergy. The media only wants to know about scandal in the church - because the Catholic Church and that which it really stands for(as contrasted with the deeds
   of the fallible priests,and lay Catholics that can be found within it) is the mortal enemy to secular humanism, sexual license, abortion and the "if it FEELS right, do it" philosopy that is held so dear by much of the media.
   The book is a great inspiration because Bishop Sheen, with all his human failings, is an inspiration to us all.

3 comments about Bluegrass Days, Neon Nights: High Rolling With Happy Chandler's Wayward Son, Dan Chandler.

1. Great stories related by chandler of the vegas high roller comp system and the clebs he incountered.Do not miss.



2. I have never submitted a review, but feel compelled to do so after reading this book. I am a huge fan of John L. Smith's writings and have purchased and read every one. This book, however is NOT, repeat - NOT - written by him! In the preface, the real author, Dan Chandler, says this book is written in his (Chandler's) own words and, clearly this book is. It is not up to the usual very high standard of Smith. It is a rambling, name dropping, everybody loves me chronicle of Chandler's relationships with known personalities and leaves the reader with a sense of how important Chandler thinks he is (or was - he's dead now). If you even think this is a biography (or autobiography) of Chandler's life you are wrong. Even though he brags about being employed by Caesers Palace seven times and working several other casinos as a casino host, there is not one sentence about how he got fired and rehired seven times. He only wants people to know how many of the rich and famous were his "best friends" or in his words "my man ..." What Smith's role in the book is unclear, except to think that he somewhat edited Chandler's words. Very disappointing book "authored" by a great writer with a biting, humorous way with words. I will still by Smith's books, but this one is a stinker!



3. In John L. Smith's latest book, Bluegrass Days Neon Nights, he travels through the life of Las Vegas casino host Dan Chandler. The son of Kentucky Governor and Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler, Dan Chandler often joked that he started at the top and spent his life working his way to the middle. His rise or descent can be argued but as a casino host in Las Vegas Chandler led a riotous life filled with the greatest celebrities of politics, sports, music and movies.

No comments about George Bernard Shaw - A Playwrights Biography.

5 comments about On Stage & In Shadows : a career memoir, Preface by Ruth Buzzi, Foreword by Jonathan Frid.

1. As other reviewers have pointed out, Marie Wallace is best known for her two years on the spooky soap opera Dark Shadows.But her career, and her life, encompass so much more.For decades, Marie Wallace was a working actress, appearing on television, and in scores of theatre productions, including eight stints on Broadway.Her credits are impressive, and she has worked with many theatre greats. In her new book, On Stage And In Shadows, she invites her readers to figuratively join her for a cup of coffee while she tells of her childhood in New York City, her early days as a model, and her wonderful adventures in show business.In sharing her memories, Marie Wallace not only regales us with stories about Ethel Merman, Jimmy Durante, Jackie Gleason, Bob Fosse, and her dear friend Ruth Buzzi, she educates us on the hard work it takes to succeed and do good work in the often cuthroat world of New York theatre.The book, like it's author, is a charming delight!On a personal note, I'd like to say that, after having met and talked to Marie Wallace at numerous Dark Shadows conventions, her charm is no act!Marie Wallace in person is every bit as warm and delightful as she is on the printed page.Bravo!!!!!!!



2. Many know Ms .Wallace from her time on the classic cult soap opera, Dark Shadows. While a fascinating and integral part of Wallace's career, Dark Shadows is simply a small thread in a very large and impressive tapestry of work and I might add, an enviable career on the stage and screen .
   
   Those hoping to read about Ms. Wallace's days in the strange and supernatural world of Collinsport, Maine won't be disappointed. The actress offers up wonderful stories of her time on the spooky soap. Even more fascinating is a look back at her time on the Great White Way working opposite and along side luminaries such as Ethel Merman, Gwen Verdon and Bert Lahr.
   
   More then anything else I love this book because it so purely conversational. Every moment is told so vividly and with such great detail, without ever once lagging or boring the reader. I honestly felt as though this lady had pulled up a chair next to me and was just shooting the breeze. The book also chronicles a Manhattan and a Broadway we'll never see again . I found one very important sentiment Marie makes through out her personal story . Something anyone in any profession or walk of life should keep in mind: take chances, keep moving on, don't be afraid to venture down a new path!
   
   Marie Wallace: Actress, Photographer, Raconteur!
   
   



3. This book was a delightful read. Written in an easy-going and friendly style, Marie keeps the reader hooked with her career progression throughout the years. She shows how a positive outlook and energetic approach to life have benefitted her both her life and career.
   
   In addition, her stories about each of the shows she was in are engaging and fun to read about, from her descriptions of other actors, some well-known, some known well only in theatre, to her take on each of the characters she played. It was good to see how much she has enjoyed her career as an actor and later as a photographer.
   
   A warm and charming person herself, Marie Wallace earned with hard work the accolades she received in her shows and still receives when she encounters her fans. What a treat to get to read about her life and career.



4. "On Stage and in Shadows" is a joy from cover to cover, an invigorating experience that hits every note beautifully. If you're interested in how an actor/actress "makes it" against seemingly insurmountable odds, then Marie's book is for you. She candidly chronicles her truly remarkable life and career(s), from cradle to today--all the while pulling no punches and sparing no detail. I was particularly interested in "On Stage" because of my connection with "Dark Shadows," the infamous gothic soap opera that featured Marie as "Eve," "Crazy Jenny Collins," and "Megan Todd." Her fan club was the first one I joined, way back in 1969, and our eventual meeting at Hampton Playhouse on July 29th of that same year has remained a clear and nostalgic memory for me. She is both a fascinating individual and a strong-willed survivor, as you, too, will discover in "On Stage and in Shadows." Profusely illustrated, written in a personal, conversational tone, this book is one for the ages. Highest rating!



5. Theater and TV lovers will enjoy this career memoir of actress and photographer Marie Wallace even if unfamiliar with her work. I happen to be familiar with her stage and TV career so I loved the book all the more. Ms. Wallace has worked with many performers and directors, some of the better known performers being Jackie Gleason, Ruth Buzzi, Ethel Merman, Gwen Vernon just to name a few and her insights into the business itself is as interesting to read as her recollections of the cast and productions.
   
   As an actor and acting teacher, I recommend this book for those new to the business as Ms. Wallace offers advice and opinions about how things were done when she first started out and how they work now. Ms. Wallace's memoir is a fascinating read for anyone who loves the business and fun of showbusiness.

No comments about Sex and Money: How I Lived, Breathed, Read, Wrote, Loved, Hated, Slept, Dreamed and Drank Men's Magazines.

No comments about Adventures of a Polyglot: My Life in Two Worlds.