Book Description
In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand.
You've either done it or know someone who has: the one-night stand, the familiar outcome of a night spent at a bar, sometimes the sole payoff for your friend's irritating wedding, or the only relief from a disastrous vacation. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool.
Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won't be ashamed to talk about in the morning.
Customer Reviews:
Just ok...not side splitting funny........2007-10-13
From reading most of the reviews, you would think that this was a drop dead hilarious book but, in my opinion it really isn't that funny. I thought it took awhile to get going and even then it had it's slow parts. But, I must admit the last three chapters do make up for the rest of the book!
If you are looking for a book you can spend a day reading curled up on the couch and be somewhat entertained then this is the book for you. Afrer all, it is a very quick read. If you are looking for a book with side splitting laughs, you might want to look somewhere else.
TOO FUNNY!!!.......2007-10-01
So I noticed a lot of people bashing this book for Chelsea being a pill-poppin tramp who only loves vodka and sex... and she WAS, but I found this book hilarious!!! I am in my late 20's and found this book to be extremely funny, witty and courageous (because Lord knows I wouldn't write about my past sex life for all my family and friends to read!)
I laughed nearly the entire book - especially about the S&M guy who wanted to be "smacked". HAHA!
Good job Chelsea! You continue to make me laugh and I'll def pick up another one of your books! See you on E!
Hilarious, fast read.......2007-09-20
One of the funniest, laugh out loud books ive ever read. It's become a favorite gift to give to my girlfriends!
The title really IS misleading.......2007-09-06
This book really is about Chelsea's "near misses". Instead of gloriously detailed sex-capades, her writings were more about her trying to weasel out of sex related situations. Reading it, I had a hard time believing that her character was even having sex at all. There was all this fluff concerning wild and crazy conversations/situations that would ultimately lead up to the 'come back to my room?' moment, which would then be quickly followed with her chickening out and having to find a less than tactful means of escape. I was left thinking that her character would be the type to walk around shouting 'I'm a slut! Come on boys!', when in reality all she would do is kiss. Not very promiscuous. The entire book was impersonal and, at times, had struggled to remain witty. It was surprising to find that by the last five or six pages, Chelsea actually began to write in a more biographical style where you began to feel some sort of raw emotion from her, which had been refreshing after two-hundred pages of emptiness. I don't regret having read it, I'm just a little sad with the money wasted purchasing it.
Let's here it for Chelsea Handler!.......2007-08-30
While I am a fan of Chelsea's stand up I found reading it and hearing it in the voice of hers I'm familiar with even more entertaining. Not all the jokes I've heard live on her show have the kind of punch that the material in this laugh out loud book does. It's a great book if you want to have a really good time and also have the freedom to put it down after each chapter/story. You can use this book as your light pick me up reading between deeper, darker, heavier reading.
Just so we're clear this book will teach you nothing about sex. It is in no way "erotic". Chelsea is merely offering up her sex life as comic material that is truly unique!
Book Description
In classic Hollywood tradition, Farley Granger, a high school senior, was discovered by Sam Goldwyn's casting director in an off-Hollywood Boulevard play. Granger describes how he learned his craft as he went on to star in a number of films, giving an insider's view of working with Hitchcock on Strangers on a Train and Rope, Luchino Visconti on Senso, and Nick Ray on They Live by Night.
He is eloquent about his bisexuality and tells of affairs with Patricia Neal, Arthur Laurents, Shelley Winters, Leonard Bernstein and Ava Gardner and his involvement with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, and Tyrone Power.
Granger recreates his legendary struggle to break his contract with Goldwyn. He had to buy his way out to work on Broadway. He describes the early days of live television and working with Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Helen Hayes, and Claire Bloom. He captures the thrill of acting on the stage with Janice Rule, June Havoc, Larry Hagman, Barbara Cook, and the National Repertory Theatre, where his determination paid off with an OBIE for his work in Tally & Son.
Granger's delightful and elegant memoir captures the extravangance of Hollywood's Golden Age-and provides colorful portraits of many of its major players.
Customer Reviews:
GOSSIP, GAYS AND THE GLORY DAZE OF YESTERYEAR.......2007-07-28
There's an aging celebrity in Sondheim's musical Follies whose anthem is "I'm Still Here." Well, Farley Granger is one of those stars who we all thought left the party, but he, too, is still here, and he has a new autobiography---more of a series of reminiscences---called Include Me Out to prove it. Written with his long-time partner, Robert Calhoun, the title refers to a Goldwynism, that is, a malapropism created by the legendary movie producer. In Granger's situation, it refers to a decision to get off the Hollywood merry-go-round and go after life, and a level of happiness, that was simply impossible in his day and age in Tinseltown. Although there may be a degree of ingeniousness here (and a major error recounting Boston history), the book is long on charm, anecdotes and fuzzy warmth. And, frankly, there is such a list of sexual congress with such a variety of genders, that one wonders where he found the time for acting. Two minor masterpieces in America (both directed by Hitchcock), Rope and Strangers on a Train, and the truly magnificent Luchino Visconti's Senso, in Italy, should make for the foundation of a spectacular career. Granger was tall, dark and handsome, groomed by several studios, yet he suggests he walked away from it all. His sexuality at the time may well have been a problem, as after his initial explosion of successes, his career dwindled to some truly rotten films in Europe, a fair amount of television guest shots, a couple of less than successful runs at Broadway, and finally, in the soap As the World Turns. There are great anecdotes here, lovingly told, about the likes of Shelley Winters, Ava Gardner, Count Visconti, Danny Kaye, Sam Goldwyn, Eva Le Gallienne (with whom Granger did two national tours) and our own, Julie Harris. Some of the stories ring truer than others, yet the love he has for Calhoun seems genuine, and his long and eventful life makes for fascinating reading of another time and another place.
Mildly entertaining.......2007-07-01
In ORIGINAL STORY Arthur Laurents describes his homosexual relationship with Farley Granger in a way that indicates that Granger was important to him, but that Granger was very concerned about his public image and was not really willing to live an openly gay life with him. He describes Shelley Winters as Granger's "beard." A decade later, Granger has written his own memoir, but it is a very different kind of book than Laurents's. I suppose that's to be expected since Laurents is a fairly major American playwright of the 20th Century and Granger is a fairly minor movie star of the same period. Granger's book is a rather typical actor's memoir, trying to put a positive spin on a career that must have been frustrating to actually experience. The good thing about Granger's book is that it demonstrates the basic passivity of an actor's life. He never really DOES anything. Things just sort of happen. He starts his career as a movie star in major films like NORTH STAR, ROPE and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and slowly slides to Broadway flops, foreign movies, touring in repertory theatre, episodic television, soap operas and off-Broadway. He has very little control over which direction his career goes. He claims to have had affairs with several screen goddesses along the way, including Ava Gardner, but none of them is alive to refute him. The way he tells it, Shelley Winters was no mere "beard," but a genuinely serious romantic interest who was also a friend. Whatever is true, she comes across as quite a character and I enjoyed all the parts about her. He does mention his affair with Laurents, although his version is somewhat different. He claims that they broke up because he caught Laurents being more than friendly with a delivery boy. I think Laurents's version has more credibility. He also mentions other homosexual relationships, including a fling with Leonard Bernstein. But my feeling here was that there were a lot of omissions and half-truths, not that it really matters. The parts of the book I found most interesting were the sections dealing with making the movie SENSO in Italy with Luchino Visconti and the out-of-town tryout of the ill-fated musical, FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Overall, this is a mildly entertaining memoir and not a bad book for the beach or a long airplane flight.
Rather dull.......2007-06-27
After reading many celebrity bios, this one needed work. He makes rather stupid blunders in his bio. For instance, he mentions movies and stars at the Fox studio when he arrived and what were being being filmed at the time. Some of these titles were filmed at MGM !! When he descibes how much he started to love show music he mentions CAROSEUL in the early 40's. The play and album were done in the late 40'S. A few other errors in time are also noted. Since he is in his 80's, perhaps his memory is failing. I never thought he was all that talented. His ego seems bigger than the talent. He really just skirts his sexual life and one never really knows what his exact relationship is with his so-called partner. He never mentions his parents or what happened to them after he leaves them. Are they still living? Probably not, but he didn't even mention their death. After all, good or bad, they WERE his parents and deserve some kind of note as to their fate. Good thing he turned down THE EGYPTIAN as he would have really made it more of a bore than it was. What I did enjoy were some of his slants on the people he worked with and why and why not he liked them. He states that certain actors/actresses were difficult to work with. Perhaps they could have said the same about him!! There are TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY.
Totally enjoyable.......2007-06-05
This "tell all" book from a truly talented guy is fun, interesting and a really good read. Farley reveals some of the truths of being a star in the 40's and 50's and his rejection of the mainstream for someting more creative.
excellent.......2007-05-26
it was great to read this book,as i have always wanted to know where farley granger went to as all off a sudden he was on broadway
Book Description
A fascinating memoir featuring never-before-told stories from Beatles recording engineer Geoff Emerick—the industry legend who made music history by crafting the groundbreaking sound of the group's most famous records, including Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and Abbey Road
Geoff Emerick was only fifteen years old when he began working with the Beatles as assistant engineer for their early classics “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You.” Incredibly, at the age of nineteen, he was promoted to full engineer, taking the helm for the group's groundbreaking album Revolver. Ten months later, he joined forces with the Beatles for the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, hailed by Rolling Stone as the greatest album ever made. In their constant quest for experimentation and new sounds—and despite the technical limitations of the pre-digital age—Emerick developed a slew of innovative recording techniques, many of which are still in use today.
In Here, There and Everywhere, Emerick tells his story for the first time, taking the reader through the hallowed (though somewhat dingy) corridors of Abbey Road Studios to give rare insights into the Beatles' unique creative processes and personalities and provide a behind-the- scenes look at how the greatest band of all time made their greatest records. As Emerick describes the Beatles' transformation from wide-eyed Liverpool teenagers into tour-savvy professionals, he provides a startling picture of the Fab Four. Fascinating and moving, Here, There and Everywhere illuminates the creative tensions within the band that fueled their early success, but would ultimately lead them to record in separate studios while the partnership was disintegrating.
“We all owe some debt to Geoff Emerick's self-effacing work as an engineer and producer . . . there is very little that any group of scruffy musicians can throw at him that he cannot put into some kind of good sonic order. I feel fortunate to have worked with him.”
—Elvis Costello
Customer Reviews:
The co-producer of Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's!!!.......2007-10-10
If you're the kind of Beatle fan that love discussing not only about their lives and accomplishments, but also getting down to the technical aspects involved in the creation of their revolutionary music, this is A MUST ONE to have.
Reading it is a very enjoyable experience, especially when it comes down to the explanation of the tricks they had to do in the then pre-historic technology (but still, great) Abbey Road studio to generate and record the very special sonic wishes of the Beatles.
The book itself made me realize (this time for sure) that Geoff Emerick is, really, the co-producer of Revolver and Pepper. And that means a lot!
Vitally Important Perspective.......2007-10-09
I am about 50 pages from finishing this book, but one thing I want to point out is that Geoff Emerick does not fawn all over Paul at the expense of the other Beatles, as has been stated in previous reviews. Most people I know have their favorite Beatle, and Mr. Emerick is no exception. He makes it clear that Paul was always the most friendly and diplomatic of the four, and this coincides with what we already knew. Whereas the other Beatles may have had a tendency to put up buffers around themselves, Paul tended to be the outgoing and friendly one, and I'm sure that was a comfort to Emerick, who was trying to fit in with the world's most popular pop recording group. Just the same, and as proof of his objectivity, Emerick also points to the contributions made by Paul toward the overall friction that developed and led to the break-up of the Beatles. Emerick also eventually has very positive things to say about Lennon and Harrison, and illustrates the bridges and appreciations that developed between him and them. So, don't be put off by those reviews that criticize Emerick for being unduly biased. If you have listened intently to Beatles recordings, many of your conclusions will be confirmed by what Geoff Emerick has to say in this book. I think he did an amazing job, and if you are into uncovering new and interesting detail about the Beatles and how they worked in the studio, don't pass this one by.
He should know; he was there.......2007-09-28
Few accounts of history are more accurate than the first-hand kind, and that is what we have with Mr. Emerick's outstanding book. To his credit, this thoroughly British gentleman focuses on what he actually saw versus what is commonly known about the Beatles. His tone is respectful, but he does not shy away from saying what he thinks based on what he saw and how he was treated. Mr. Emerick went on to engineer and produce some great acts, which I hope are the subjects of a future book. And consider this: When I was 19, I was just learning to tie my shoes. He was engineering the "Revolver" album!
Class Act.......2007-09-17
I couldn't put this book down....what a fascinating first hand account of one of the most infuential musical experiences in modern history. I think you will find it particularly interesting if you write and record music, as Geoff's recollections are incredibly detailed and specific. It's truly unbelievable that he could remember so much of what happened in such picture perfect detail, and it is a lasting testament to critical and often unsung heroics of the worlds best audio engineers. Howard Massey did an excellent job helping Geoff make this material completely accessible to the lay person and fan as well. When I proposed to my wife in 2002 I wrote a symphonic piece and surprised her at Capitol Records in Studio A, where we recorded it live (I proposed afterwards). While they were mixing the music we took a tour of Capitol Records, and when we returned there was a gentleman in the studio playing the most beautiful music on the grand piano. We listened for awhile, then entered to studio and spoke with him for almost half an hour. What a lovely man, and what great music. That was Geoff Emerick. Perhaps someday we will hear you on the other side of the glass young man:)
Thanks so much for sharing your amazing life with us Geoff. As I sit at my grand piano in Maui I can't thank you enough for the inspiration. Warmest aloha from Maui, Tim & Michele Heile
Here, There and Everywhere.......2007-09-03
Geoff Emerick was there for the creation of the Beatle sound. It is well written with enjoyable person information.
Average customer rating:
- A wonderful book to read on Easter
- A personal "scrapbook" of memories told through art
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Memories Of My Life In A Polish Village, 1930-1949
Toby Fluek
Manufacturer: Knopf
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0394586174
Release Date: 1990-10-10 |
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book to read on Easter.......2007-04-10
Toby Knobel Fluek book is beautifully illustrated. In a simple way, Toby brings the reader into Jewish culture and Sabbath day preparation, Password celebration, and the foods and clothing of these celebrations. Toby focuses on the excitement of kitchen and food preparation: baking bread for the week, preparing Challah, important cooking pots for the passover, subtle humor, eggs, chicken, the potato and its many dishes, and potato pancake. Toby sister was a dress maker for rich patrons. Toby's uncle Mordche bought local eggs and sold them in the city and trudged through the mud all day. Ironing was a laborous task which included filling the iron with ambers from the fire and occassionally rekindling the ambers by waving the iron around about her head. Sabbath candles and pots were given as marriage gifts. The community had men of various religious roles. One role was the reader of the Talmud. The Charoes remind the Jews of their captivity and the milling of cement for bricks. Sedar reminded them of the haste they left their capativity, lying on their side as they recite prayers and sing songs. The clothes and shoes had to be cleaned and polished for the Sabbath. Everyone was dressed clean and proper for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was celebrated with a wonderful feast of delicious food prepared the prior day. On passover, a place for Elijah set, facing East, and the door opened. The Elijah stories excited the imagination of the children. The did not go without candles and pototes were used to hold the candles for those that could not afford an Minohora. Women washed and carried water, plucked chicken feathers in exchange for delcious food. Aaron must wait to marry his love until her older sister marries.The family is imprisoned in a Polish Ghetto. Gentiles sell food to the Jews through the fence at exorbit prices. The polices beat people selling at the fence. Food rationing increases starvation. 10s of thousands of Jews die before concentration camp and survivors eventually deported to the camps. Toby and her mother escape, march behind retreating Russians. The scene reminds me of Ruth and Naomi of the old testament bravely walking as tracers whistle over their heads. Toby and her mother escapes concentration camp and are certain other family members did not survive. PK provides a place for clothes, a hot meal, and sense of civilization. A wonderful book to read at Easter. An amazing story of human courage, determination, and faith in their God. A history of incredible contrasts: joy and sorrow, marriage and death, and faith and despair.
A personal "scrapbook" of memories told through art.......2005-08-09
This little book is a real gem of Jewish history, told through one woman's art. The paintings and sketches are arranged in chronological order, with personal explanations of each work. The result is like a scrapbook. Whereas most people today would have an album of photographs, Toby Fluek lost everything in the Holocaust, and was forced to carry her memories in her mind. Years later, she committed them to paper and canvas and now shares them in this book.
Interestingly, her family lived on a farm. One does not usually think of Eastern European Jews as farmers, but, in fact, there were Jews who worked the land. (One of my gentile Polish neighbors here in Minnesota told me that the Jews in his village always had the best vegetables!) While it is true that there were restrictions against Jews owning land, it is also true that there were exceptions to the rules. Toby's father's family had been on this farm for generations. It was this aspect that led me to purchase the book, because I, too, live and work on the land.
"We led a primitive life," she writes, "but we were a close-knit family." The "primitive" side of life is illustrated in her excellent still lifes, which portray arrangements of the common objects used for the Sabbath, festivals, and everyday activities. A basket of eggs for Passover, candles for the Sabbath, a prayer shawl on the table. Meat was served only on the Sabbath or when her father had an animal slaughtered. (Even then, he sold the best cuts of meat.) On weekdays they ate lots of potatoes, beans, and vegetables -- all beautifully painted here. Pots and dishes were passed down from mother to daughter, and nothing was ever discarded. One still life shows a well-worn set of Passover pots stored in a niche in the wall. Another painting is of her mother working in the farmhouse kitchen. She in kneading a week's worth of bread dough in a large wooden tub.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Toby eventually lost everything to the Nazi occupation. This, too, is illustrated through her paintings and drawings. The style here is darker, more ominous. Not something I would hang on my wall (the burning hospital, with the people still in it, is utterly horrifying in its simplicity) but essential to the telling of her story. She shows us Yom Kippur in the forest, hiding outdoors in the rain, crouching in a cellar and hanging her bread on a string to keep the mice from eating it at night. Her father was shot by the Nazis, her brother captured and taken away, presumably to his death. Through it all, her will to live was strong and she survived.
The collection of paintings (94 in all) continues through the liberation of Poland, being a displaced person begging for food, finding a job in a Russian military bakery (where the soldiers looked the other way so she could steal bread to take home). In 1949 she was married and moved to New York, where she lives today. The world she once knew is gone, but the memory lives on in her artwork. The last painting, "Am Yisrael Chai" (The People of Israel Live! shows Jews parying at the Western Wall in freedom.
Amazon.com
One of the most recognizable women of our time, America knows Jane Fonda as actress, activist, feminist, wife, and workout guru. In her extraordinary memoir, Fonda divides her life into three acts: her childhood, early films, and first marriage make up act one; her growing career in film, marriage to Ted Turner, and involvement in the Vietnam War belong to act two; and the third act belongs to the future, in which she hopes to "begin living consciously," and inspire others who can learn from her experiences. Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths that she hopes "can provide a lens through which others can see their lives and how they can live them a little differently."
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Book Description
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood’s elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths that she hopes “can provide a lens through which others can see their lives and how they can live them a little differently.”
Fonda divides her “life so far” into three “acts,” writing about her childhood, first films, and marriage to Roger Vadim in Act One. At once a picture emerges: a child born to the acting legend Henry Fonda and the glamorous society princess Frances Seymour. But these early years are also marked by profound sadness: her mother’s mental illness and suicide when Jane is twelve years old, her father’s emotional distance, and her personal struggle to find her way in the world as a young woman.
By her second act, Fonda lays the foundation for her activism, even as her career takes flight. She highlights her struggle to live consciously and authentically while remaining in the public eye as she recounts her marriages to Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, and examines her controversial and defining involvement with the Vietnam War. As her film career grows, Fonda learns to incorporate her roles into a larger vision of what matters most in her life–and in the process she wins two Academy Awards, for Klute and for Coming Home.
In Fonda’s third act, she is prepared to do the work of a lifetime–to begin living consciously in a way that might inspire others who can learn from her experiences. Surprising, candid, and wonderfully written, Jane Fonda’s
My Life So Far is filled with universal insights into the personal struggles of women living full and engaged lives.
Download Description
JANE FONDA was born in New York City in 1937. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and Vassar College. Fonda later studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York. Her subsequent work on stage and screen earned numerous honors, including two Best Actress Academy Awards–Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978)–and an Emmy Award for her performance in The Dollmaker. Fonda was also a successful producer, whose credits include The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, On Golden Pond, and The Morning After.
Fonda revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda’s Workout in 1982, which remains the top-grossing home video of all time. She then produced twenty-three home exercise videos, thirteen audio recordings, and five bestselling books. She now focuses her time on activism and philanthropy, in such areas as adolescent reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, school reform through arts, and building resiliency in girls and boys by addressing destructive gender stereotypes. In 1995 she founded the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP), which she chairs. In 2002, she opened the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at Emory University's School of Medicine. She lives in Atlanta.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Hands down...one of the BEST EVER.......2007-08-15
This is one of the best-ever show biz (but any biz!) autobiographies I've ever read. Ms. Fonda has delivered her readers a real treat -- a thorough re-telling of her already familiar story with wit, pathos and a real desire to get to the truth and share them with her readers.
If life is a journey, she's taken a hell of a trip and it's to her credit that she pushes on and continues to fight the good fight.
She doesn't skirt around the controversy or try to shirk away her actions or culpability for any mistakes she made. She confronts it all -- head-on without fear or denial. She's to be commended for her honesty and for her uniquely American life and the truth she's pursued relentlessly all these years.
Many people are still mad about Vietnam (and but for her moment in the gun turret, wasn't she right about the whole sad affair?) but those are the same folks who think we're doing right by Iraq right now, so there's no winning that crowd over. They'll simply stay mad forever, even though she's the one who really shows her love for this country by trying to make it better and to hold its leaders accountable to the people who give them their power.
She's a remarkable human being and she can be extremely proud of this book.
I love Jane Fonda.......2007-08-11
This book is exceptional and explains in detail the life of Jane Fonda. Any fan of hers must have this book. A wonderful DVD is also included in the paperback edition.
WOW!.......2007-07-25
WOW! Sometimes, that's the only word that comes to mind when one's jaw drops.
I've watched a dozen of Jane Fonda's movies over the years (I was born in 1964) and a number of her father Henry's and brother Peter's and niece Bridget's films as well. But I never really took much interest in her beyond that - didn't know much about her personal life.
However, an interview in the L.A. Weekly recently in connection with the release of her latest film "Georgia Rule" (which I haven't yet seen) made me interested in her as a person. I then remembered that she had a autobiography out and I checked it out from the library this month and began reading it yesterday.
579 pages, with many b/w photos, most of which I had never seen before. Her developement can clearly be seen in these pictures: she went from tomboy to bombshell - talk about a late bloomer! The text is divided into three chapters/acts: a clever idea.
An important note: Fonda did not write this with someone else - she wrote it herself, which is rare these days for stars of her caliber. She is an excellent writer and very personal - it felt like she was talking to me directly. She reveals aspects and incidents in her life that few would have guessed, but she does it with grace. It is one of the most moving and fascinating autobios I have read, right up there with "Cash" by Johnny Cash, another big favorite autobio.
Her psychological insight is remarkable, her wit a joy, and her pain very real. Her story is proof that wealth and fame is no guard against misery, but unlike Paris Hilton and the likes, who are sadly famous for just being famous, the reader will care deeply about Jane Fonda.
She doesn't hate and has immense compassion and understanding for her family, for her three famous ex-husbands and even for her critics. She loves her now-grown kids and is doing much to help other kids with self-esteem issues. This book is a real eye opener - I had always viewed Jane Fonda as a strong and capable woman with no skeletons in the closet. I now know that she is indeed a strong woman - precisely because she has dealt with the skeletons and has overcome her troubles. This book is stunning and so is Jane by the way - she turns 70 on December 21. (She looks like Henry Fonda in drag, but in a good way, - the resemblance is uncanny!)
I'm on page 113 and I can't wait to get back to the rest of it. (the audio book version sounds fantastic - gotta get my little paws on that too).
Pardon my gushing, but thank you for writing this book, Jane - only you could have done the job so well. You state that you hope that by telling your story, you can help others. In that you have succeeded.
This book should be a Oprah's Bookclub pick so that it can reach even more people - especially women.
Good Read.......2007-06-09
After reading this book, I have an even stronger regard for Jane Fonda. I love that she has constantly evolved through her life and how she takes responsibility for her choices. I bet I would like her very much if I ever truly knew her.
The only thing about the book is that I wish there had been more in-depth information on the making of her films. She glosses over most of her films, and that was disappointing. But still very much a worthwhile read.
Jane Fonda's life is an open book.......2007-05-11
I always liked Jane Fonda, but after reading her autobiography, I now have a deep and sincere appreciation for her and her body of work, including her activism. I loved the brutal honesty she infused in the book. My Life So Far allowed the reader into some of the deepest corners of her life, which resulted in Jane allowing herself to heal. An added benefit was that the reader had the chance to learn some valuable lessons from Jane's experiences. Her life is a lesson for girls and women dealing with parental issues, sexual issues, relationship issues, career issues, motherhood issues, aging issues and more. Jane was able to capture her life so far in such an unapologetic and matter-of-fact manner that she became human and much less iconic. Great read. I highly recommend it.
Book Description
With the nation at war in the 1940s, twenty-two-year-old Jack Valenti flew fifty-one combat missions as the pilot of a B-25 attack bomber with the 12th Air Force based in Italy. In the 1960s, with the nation reeling from the assassination of a beloved president and becoming embroiled in a far different kind of war in Vietnam, he was in that fateful Dallas motorcade in 1963, flew back to Washington with the new president, and for three years worked in the inner circle of the White House as special assistant to President Lyndon Johnson. Then, for the next thirty-eight years, with American society and popular culture undergoing a revolutionary transformation, Valenti was the public face of Hollywood in his capacity as head of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Been there, done that, indeed. Texas-born and Harvard-educated, Valenti has led several lives, any one of which could have provided ample material for an unforgettable memoir. As it is, This Time, This Place is the gripping story of a man who saw the terrible face of war while fighting with skill and bravery for his country; who was in the room, listening, participating, and remembering, as political decisions were made that would benefit or devastate countless lives in this country and on the other side of the world; and who championed the interest of the vast and globally influential movie industry with tenacity and vision. The list of boldface names whom Valenti knew and with whom he worked is as varied as it is astonishing in number. Aside
from LBJ, there were Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Robert McNamara, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Julia Roberts, Cary Grant, Lew Wasserman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Warren Beatty, and Bill Clinton, to begin a very long list.
The life of a man who earned both the Distinguished Flying Cross and his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is inherently intriguing, but Valenti’s warm, sometimes rueful, always engaging account gives this memoir a depth of humanity and a taste of life’s unpredictability that will linger long after you turn the final page. From growing up poor but largely oblivious to that fact in a hardscrabble neighborhood of Greek and Italian immigrants in Houston to rising to the highest summits both of national government and Hollywood, This Time, This Place is a candid and clear-eyed reflection of the joys and sorrows, ambitions and disappointments, of a life fully recognizable in its extraordinary variety. It is also a sweeping and important historical record, written by a brilliantly successful man who helped to shape politics and entertainment in the second half of the twentieth century, and who always found himself in the center of the current storm.
Customer Reviews:
I respect, don't necessarily agree with, his defense of LBJ .......2007-10-19
Yes, his descriptions of his childhood and family life as an Italian-American in Houston were interesting, especially after Valenti flashed back from Nov. 22, 1963 and shortly thereafter. Certainly, his remembrances of pilot service in Europe also were compelling. That said, and don't anyone take this wrong, neither of the above were particularly unique reading experiences. As much as I acknowlege our appreciation of our WWII veterans was long delayed and overdue, and I eat up those sort of memoirs, I had read similar recollections before. But as a backdrop and a context to his service with LBJ, it all was appropriate. That's the part I found fascinating, because as near as I can tell, Mr. Valenti's political leanings are the same as mine, and I tend to go along with the conensus -- that LBJ's unfortunate decisions to deepen our involvement in Vietnam outweighed all the good he did with the Great Society, because much of that involved ideas whose times were coming...sooner or later. LBJ deserves marks for courage and skill in pushing them through when he did, and we all should salute him. But it was going to happen at some point. I am open-eyed enough to take Mr. Valenti's defenses of LBJ's overall record with grains of salt, but I admire them. In describing the meetings in 1965, Valenti makes it clear, as others have, that Mike Mansfield and George Ball were the lone wolves in saying we should get out instead of get in deeper. Valenti runs down the roster of the LBJ advisers whose views turned out to be woefully off-target. Darn it, great leaders sense and see through misguided and bad advice, so I'm not letting LBJ off the hook, and Valenti did that a little too easily. I would have been interested, too, to know more about what he was thinking as he heard all these exchanges he describes. And he describes them in such depth -- virtual transcripts -- he either had a tape recorder, took great notes, or is taking some license in the reconstruction. But all that said, I did find that portion of the book fascinating. And if an obviously good man, such as Valenti, could be so passionately loyal to LBJ, who often has been treated unfairly (e.g., Caro), it gives me a bit of pause for thought. The rest of the book is interesting and as an overall work, I recommend it. It's funny, though, I got the sense he pulled the most punches in the movie portion.
And why do people quote from the book jacket here? I would rather read what people think of the book, and why.
Saint Jack.......2007-09-21
One must be a very dedicated movie or Jack Valenti watcher to plough all the way through this tome. Apart from the timing which cannot be faulted - he died shortly after the book was published: the book is more a diary than a literary work. Except for the opening chapter on the assassination of JFK, which is good and compelling writing, the remainder stretched incredulity a little too far.
If we are to believe what Mr Valenti tells us about himself, we should not be surprised that at the books completion, the Almighty whisked him off to heaven to be at his right hand. A more Saintly man never lived beyond the Vatican.
We learn that he started life very poor - not even any shoes. We also learn that his close relatives were very rich. That confused me. I thought these old Sicilian families stuck together. Or is that only in the Mafia? One of these relatives who did not feel able to buy little Jack any shoes, did give him a job however. The salary was not sufficient for the future $1.3 million a year boss of MPAA, so he lied to take the time off to solicit work at Humble Oil which was successful. Little Jack clearly had a talent for ingratiating himself into the affections of those who could help him. First it was the HR lady who gave him his first job at Humble. Then it was the head of the advertising department who put him to work there. Work: I use the word loosely as he seems to have spent his time travelling around the country keeping his boss from being lonely. He must have been a very seductive little chap.
Then the war intervened. Now I thought, this is where it gets interesting. He reminds us frequently that he was a war hero, so I was very keen to learn more. Unfortunately modesty prevented him from sharing with us any daring-do that he was involved in. Other than telling us that the Luftwaffe fighters held no terrors for him - indeed, he actually says that they were no problem to him. Well that's a first. I must have more than 30 books on WWII aerial combat, and I never read that before. Could it be that all the others were spoofing? We do learn at great length his mile by mile journey back to America from Italy. The war was over by this time, but low cloud and rain was more formidable than the Luftwaffe it seems.
Once back to civilian life, he takes advantage of the GI Bill and goes to Harvard. If he goes on about his time at Harvard to his everyday listeners as he does in his book, there can be few American who don't know that Jack Valenti went to Harvard. Upon completion of his course he goes back to Humble Oil. This is the second time they have him back. He learns as much as he can from them, sets up a company with a partner and promptly leaves Humble Oil. Using what he learnt from Humble he solicits business from Humble competitors. This is a life long habit of Jack's. He ingratiates himself with people until they are of no more value; then he drops them. He did that with President Johnson after he learnt that Johnson was not going to seek re-election. He would have done it to MPAA and gone to Columbia Pictures, but his devoted wife of God knows how many years wouldn't go to Los Angeles with him. Washington was more important than Jack it seems. She did offer to let him commute once a week from DC to LA.
It is at this point in the book that one loses the will to live. It becomes a page after page catalogue of the rich and famous who Jack loved deeply, and they him. Pick at random any Name from the A List, and they - and of course their gorgeous spouses, were close personal friends of the Valenti's. There is not an enemy in sight - he even had a good word for the Luftwaffe! But then this is a work more interesting for what it doesn't say than for what it does. He never mentions that he lead a crusade to prevent VCRs being introduced into America. He takes full credit for the `original' introduction of a film rating system. He expects the readers not to notice that the British Board of Film Censors has been rating movies since 1912. It is also interesting that Jack never ever mentions the British film industry. He mentions, and praises British actors and directors, but never identifies them as such. He does every other country that has a film industry. Perhaps under the overcast skies of grey old London lurk a few skeletons that Jack would prefer to keep in the cupboard.
After one has waded through pages and pages of Hollywood's `Who's Who', the book is completed with the unsurprising information that all of his three children are `...movie star beautiful, and they are all outstandingly successful.' No kidding. He even tells us that his grandchildren are perfect.
Jack Valent's life story could have been an enthralling read had it been an `unauthorised version' by Kitty Kelly or similar. Instead, it is a very boring exercise in self aggrandisement. It is said that before one writes a book, one should identify your audience. The only audience for this book is the Hollywood Hoorays who will enjoy what is written about themselves, and think kindly about Jack - and of course his children.
Well done Jack. Not so much a book, more an advertising brochure for the Valenti dynasty.
Good Read but Lacks Bite .......2007-07-15
In a sense this is two books in one. Valenti (apart from his war years) had two very different careers - as a valued aide to President Lyndon Johnson and latterly as President Motion Picture Association of America. He did sterling work in both roles.
Almost anything written about Johnson is fascinating and Valenti keeps that legend going. The author never fails to see good in people and like other Johnson aides such as Joe Califano, seemed to have a genuine love for the towering Texan.
Valenti's opening chapter on the dreadful events of November 22nd 1963 is compelling reading. The author also writes well on the meetings and decision processes that encouraged LBJ to enlarge the war in Vietnam. For those with rose tinted glasses who believe JFK would have taken the US out of Vietnam before it became a quagmire, Valenti makes it quite clear that the bulk of LBJ's Vietnam advisors were Kennedy people. Overall the section on Johnson and the White House years is enjoyable reading. The same can not be said for his MPAA memoir.
Part of the problem is that Valenti is so gushing in his praise of everyone. The number of "radiantly beautiful" or "dazzling" wives he met with adorable offspring is mind-blowing. This man would have something good to say about the devil! He alludes very gingerly to the excesses of and infatuation with Hollywood, but never provides any depth.
Valenti - who wrote a book on communication - is a wonderful writer with a flowing style that is a joy to read. It is a pity that he did not bring greater depth and I think honesty to his MPAA career.
A Truly American Story.......2007-07-05
Jack Valenti's memoir "This Time, This Place: My Life in War, The White House, and Hollywood" tells an authentically American story. Valenti, the grandson of a Sicilian immigrant, rises from his working class roots to:
* win the Distinguished Flying Cross (WWII)
* attend Harvard Business School (Veterans Bill)
* start his own successful business
* become the aide de camp to a US President (Lyndon Johnson)
* and, become the chief lobbyist and defender of the motion picture industry for four decades.
Valenti's book opens with a flashback to Dallas, Texas on November 23, 1963 as he rode in the fateful Presidential motorcade that passed the Texas Book Depository with Lee Oswald's rifle pointed at President John Kennedy. Before the day was over, he was THE confident and consigliore to a new US President, Lyndon Johnson, overseeing the president's speeches, decided whom he would see and where he would go to speak. His chronicle of his White House years reads like a fast-paced novel and has plenty of detail to satisfy historians.
"This Time, This Place" provides important events in Valenti's early formation which were the underpinnings of a remarkable life. As a working class kid from Houston, he watched his grocer grandfather practice local politics and made his own first speech at the age of 10, advocating the reelection of the Sheriff. He worked as movie usher during high school, and got himself elected class president as a night student at the University of Houston.
In 1943, he joined the Army Air Corps, taking his first solo flight only after nine hours of instruction. He piloted 51 bombing missions over Europe in a B25 winning the Distinguished Flying Cross. His descriptions of these years are among the most vivid in this book. His prose throbs with memories of an experience that was simultaneously exhilarating, terrifying and "brutal."
The section on the Hollywood years is looser. Valenti's good-old-boy Texas story-telling comes out. He is more willing to tell tales, poking fun at some of the pompous behavior and trappings of the Motion Picture Industry's celebrities.
"This Time,This Place" is told straightforwardly, acknowledging debts, sketching people he knew and giving a not entirely flattering view of himself. His self-portrait is one of restlessness, and a strong commitment to advancement.
This is a man that senators, congressman and presidents readily took calls from. His formula was simple, "It is rooted in the ability to engage in courtship, to cosset talent, to understand the human condition and to make decisions fast." He exuded charm and was able to establish relationships by being everyone's pal but he never left empty-handed.
Jack Valenti died two years after his retirement from the Motion Picture Association of America in April, 2007.
Outstanding.......2007-07-04
Jack Valenti was both a witness to, and an instrument of, history and his autobiography presents the fascinating elements of his life and all those that he came across. Written in a very easy to read, yet eloquent, style (you can hear Valenti speaking these words)the book should be read by anyone interested in the Washington, the Great Society, and movie industry scenes.
Book Description
A consummate insider as the girlfriend of Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist, Carol Ann Harris leads fans into the very heart of the band’s storms between 1976 and 1984. From interactions between the band and other stars—Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, and Dennis Wilson—to the chaotic animosity between band members, this memoir combines the sensational account of some of the world’s most famous musicians with a thrilling love story. Illustrated with never-before-seen photographs, the parties, fights, drug use, shenanigans, and sex lives of Fleetwood Mac are presented in intimate detail. With the exception of one brief interview, Carol Ann Harris has never before spoken about her time with Fleetwood Mac.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing and hilarious!.......2007-10-19
well, it starts out how she, the author, meets the famous lindsey buckingham and all the rest of the "gang". How she puts every person in such creative {and hilarious!] detail is so fun and i think more authors who write biographies and stories about famous people should do that more often
Storms.......2007-10-19
If your interested in the other side of the Rock Life, this is a must read. I was and still am into Fleetwood Mac but Carol gave us a inside look at normal people who got projected into stardom and did the best they could.
Pollyanna Meets Maczilla.......2007-10-17
I read the book BEFORE I read any reviews, as I wanted to approach the story with an open mind. I agree with the reviewers who believe the author portrays herself as a lamb among wolves. I will say I found Carol Ann Harris' story to be an easy, fast-paced read. I also think it is largely factual. It is not out of the realm of possibility to believe intense artistic types are moody, brooding and even ultimately abusive. However, with each incident of abusive behavior, she states she never saw it coming nor understood what provoked it. As the reader, even I did. Coupled with substance abuse, it was a recipe for disaster. A little more honesty and a lot less denial would have made for a much more credible account of her life with Lindsey Buckingham.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.......2007-10-12
It's rare for me to find a book that I can honestly say I loved. This is one of those books. It is very well written and gives an honest look at life with a superstar band, Fleetwood Mac. I found it honest, moving and articulate. Bravo to Ms. Carol Ann Harris for the bravery and honesty that she shows in the telling of her life with the members of Fleetwood Mac. It's a great book.
Ghastly.......2007-10-12
I have to admit that I'm not particularly a Fleetwood Mac fan but I thought that it might make an interesting read. Boy, was I wrong. Even though the subjects of the book are probably fascinating people in their own right, Ms. Harris' account is insipid, cloying, probably exaggerated and undoubtedly the most badly written book I have read in a long time. Her excerpts of dialogue are laughable and hopefully, for the subjects' case, completely fabricated. I suppose Ms. Harris was going for dramatic affect when beginning to write this book, but it ends up to be a comic and juvenile display of what is supposed to pass for high drama. Ms. Harris should get over herself and maybe write a book that would be an honest and down to earth revelation of how a band interacts with each other and the people around them instead of this joke of a book. Good thing I only borrowed it from my local library. If I would have paid money for this thing, I would be even more disgusted if that was possible.
Book Description
Stephen Baldwin explains why he compares his new life of faith to jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, and calls on you to take the plunge.When Stephen Baldwin was riding the wave of fame from his most successful movie, The Usual Suspects, he thought he was in his glory. Hot in Hollywood--whatever Stephen wanted, Stephen got. Years later, happily married and living his life far from Hollywood, Stephen happened upon Christianity via a most unusual conversion. Now Stephen takes us behind the scenes and tells the stories we've yet to hear--of celebrity fun, curious family, and hardcore faith. He takes an in-depth look at the church's current role in society and the extreme faith movement. It's obvious Stephen has identified his new role in life--that of a Christian--a role more radical than anything in Hollywood.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome!!.......2007-10-05
I couldn't put this book down! Steven Baldwin is funny, humble, real, inspiring and contagious concerning his faith! I will recommend this to everyone!
typical.......2007-09-25
I started this book with an intense curiosity to see just what type of faith this man would be talking about. Certainly we can see that Mr. Baldwin is living a much better life since he adopted Christianity! There is no doubt about that.
But where he falls short is when he starts trying to preach and convert others. His claim that only his God is the right one, and his belief in a literal interpretation of the Bible point to the fact that he can only address the lower ends of the belief spectrum: the Stage ones (see my blog: BeliefStagesandGrowth.com for explanation) who are as yet totally unprincipled and need to adopt that type of religion to make their lives work and the Stage Twos who have already adopted his same type of Christianity and are happy to find their own beliefs substantiated by his.
Certainly, Mr. Baldwin's ministry is of great benefit to the Stage Ones of the world. I wish him much luck in converting all of them! But I do wish there were more understanding in the world that other forms of belief (including that held by many more advanced Christians - Stage Fours) that hold validity as well. Mr. Baldwin makes the mistake of assuming all the world either follows his religion, (called Stage twos on my blog: BeliefStagesandGrowth.com) or lives a totally unprincipled life filled with the chaos of his own pre-Christian experience. (called Stage one on my blog) He seems to try to refute the objections some of the upper level believers might offer (i.e. a God of love would never send anyone to hell,) but he does so in a typically Stage two way - with short, pat answers that come from the bible and are based simply on blind faith.
The only trouble with promoting this simplistic belief system as being the final word is that it discourages the possiblity of questioning and growth to one of the more mature forms (http://beliefstagesandgrowth.com/blog/2007/07/29/walter-clarks-criteria-for-a-mature-religion/)that people might be able to achieve, were the less mature form not being touted in such a pat way by people like Mr. Baldwin.
Couldn't make it past the first paragraph.......2007-09-24
I decided to check this book out because I had heard some great things about the upcoming movie "Midnight Clear". As I read the first paragraph, I was troubled by the comment he made about Barney- ??? - Rubble. What is that about? We all now what that's a euphemism for. It was a red flag for me. I'm not judging the guy. I just don't want to read that.
Stevie B has a great Holy Spirit directed book.......2007-08-30
Stevie B's book I truely believe is inspired by God HIMSELF. What the Lord is doing in the Livin it Ministries is great. You can really see the power of God in Unusual Suspect and with the wonderful stories and teaching to the Young and old, married and unmarried alike. God is AWESOME!! I really pray that the Lord Jesus does a great and mighty work with this book and the Ministry to bring many into HIS KINGDOM.
can't help but love this guy!.......2007-07-28
can't help but love this guy! Pray for him as he ministers to his family...pray for his family too!
Keys to Third Heaven...Using Third Heaven Revelation to Impact a World
Seers Handbook
Book Description
TOP FIVE MUSICAL THINGS I HOPE HAPPEN NOW THAT THE ORIGINAL LINEUPS OF THE PIXIES AND DINOSAUR JR. HAVE REUNITED
1. Ian Curtis is resurrected.
2. The Smiths reunite for a private party at my favorite bar.
3. There is a new My Bloody Valentine album.
4. A new Nirvana comes along to blow away all of those fey Duran Duran emulators.
5. Radiohead stops listening to Pink Floyd and starts listening to Black Sabbath.
If you've ever made, or conceived of, a list like this, then look no further for your next book purchase. You have it. In your hands. Please consider it as your next book purchase.
In Perfect From Now On, John Sellers has written a fan's memoir overflowing with humor, self-deprecation, encyclopedic knowledge of musical minutiae, and "you should have been there" personal anecdotes. Despite vowing never to get caught up in music due to the nuttiness of a Dylan-obsessed father and playground taunts about his preference for Top 40 trash, he found himself powerless to resist the allure of indie rock, the genre that begat the likes of Sonic Youth, Pavement, Built to Spill, and Modest Mouse. When his favorite band, Guided By Voices, called it quits in 2004, Sellers examined his own listening habits, caught a few mind-blowing shows, got drunk with his heroes, and wrote this book -- one that is sure to resonate with anybody who has ever obsessed over good music.
Customer Reviews:
Less than perfect.......2007-09-09
I ordered this book because I could relate to the title, unfortunately. "Indie rock" (or what I would call alternative rock...where did this new term, indie rock, come from anyway?) probably did save my life. When I suffered from depression as a young adult, music was my therapy. It provided me with the words or the emotions that I could not express myself. It was an outlet, an escape, a friend. Being a huge fan of 90's music, I was disappointed that Sellers dismissed grunge and only mentioned it in passing. He seemed to be moved more by British bands than American ones, which is okay, but was something I couldn't identify with. The biggest downside to the book was the infinite number of footnotes, which I eventually stopped reading all together because I found them distracting. I think a better writer could have included the material from the footnotes within the text to provide a better flow, or not included them at all (as some of the notes were so idiosyncratic...i.e., who cares?).
Sellers rocks!.......2007-08-28
I bought a signed copy of this book during a visit to Powell's Books in Portland, OR, completely on the basis of liking what the book jacket said about music and Donkey Kong. Maybe you need to have grown up during the '80s and to appreciate college/indie music to get it? Not sure, but I identified with a lot of the scenarios, loved the titling of chapters from song lyrics, got the emotions behind listening to different kinds of music at different points in your life, and ... well, liked John Sellers. It's good stuff that made me laugh out loud many times.
Guided by Indie Rock.......2007-08-20
John Sellers is a music/pop culture writer who's gotten the opportunity to transform his blog (google "Angry John Sellers") into a book that's a kind of musical autobiography--that is, he charts his musical maturation over the years, from young Duran Duran fan to modern day indie rock obsessive. Consider this, then, a non-fiction version of Nick Hornby's seminal High Fidelity: A Novel. One important difference is that where HF's protagonist views his music in terms of his love life, for Sellers the music IS his love life. Sure, he's had relationships with women, but his chief interest in them lies in their ability to turn him on to new bands. Therefore, hie relationships with his favorite bands is what drives this book, and it helps to enjoy it if you share his passions, mainly regular-guy alt rockers such as the Pixies, Pavement and Built To Spill (whose album Perfect From Now On had an obvious influence). He will endlessly listen to and mull over the career of Joy Division/New Order and the lyrics of The Smiths. In fact, he'll even travel to Manchester for a New Order reuniion show and impromptu pilgramage. Far less time-consuming are the numerous lists (you can't be a true music obsessive without them) the lengthy appendix to the book: everything from "My Top Ten Favorite Albums" (#1: The Queen is Dead by The Smiths) to "Top Five musical things I hope happen now that the original lineups of the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. have reunited" (#5: "Radiohead stops listening to Pink Floyd and starts listening to Black Sabbath"). Meanwhile, the main body of the book is frequently interrupted by long, digressive footnotes, some going on for as long as ten pages (Sellers admits he got the idea from Nicholson Baker, but he could just as easily been channeling David Foster Wallace).
The last few chapters, however, are devoted mainly to one subject: Guided By Voices. This Ohio band has gathered a freakishly obsessive cult following, and Sellers has clearly not only drunk the Kool Aid (or Miller High Life, as the case may be), but mixed it as well. He describes how his addiction grew from just being a fan to finally spinning in their orbit. His status as hanger-on might have helped get him the book deal, but it also garnered him brief ignominy on GBV message boards. Naturally, he covers this incident at length, and in fact continues to apologize for any misunderstanding. Therefore, his fawning over GBV frontman Robert Pollard gets pretty grating after awhile, especially if you don't share Sellers' love of the band (I myself could have written a book about my devotion to Sonic Youth, but of course I digress). Actually, you'll find the whole book annoying if you cna't connect your own obsesseions (be they sports, shoes or heroin) with the author's, and even then it helps greatly to know a bit about what he's talking about. Still, Sellers' writing style is self aware (in that uniquely Gen-X way), witty and often flat out hilarious. Taken for what it is, this is definitely a worthwhile read for music fans, even if, alas, it won't save your life.
Disappointing...........2007-08-01
To any true music fan, there is often times as much joy in debating the relative merit of one artist against another as listening to the music itself. I suspect that is true with most things (sports talk radio comes to mind). That is why I was excited to read this book. Going in, you understand there you are not getting anything that is plot driven or even has a point. What you expect is that the author will lay out arguement as to why he loves a certain band/genre of music and you can silently juxstapose those against your own biases. I am willing to concede almost any point in these debates when I engage in them with friends, with the understanding that they are nothing if not totally arbitrary, so long as there seems to be a sense the opposing viewpoint has a heartfelt conviction about the subject matter. That is why I was hugely dissapointed with this book.
While there is no doubt that the author seems to have a sincere conviction that indie music is a superior medium, it seems borne out of a sense of what he thinks is cool rather than what indie artists produce. For example, if The Pixies has acheived the same level of commercial sucess as Pearl Jam, there is no doubt in my mind the author would dismiss them with the same contempt he holds for Journey. It becomes exhausting to read the contempt he has for anything that exists outside the very obscure or how a band he loved at one point he now regrads with a sneer simply because they eventually achieved broad acceptance.
Another point of contention I have with the overall tone of the book is that Sellers comes off as fairly spineless. A large chunk of the narrative is devoted to him getting to meet Bob Pollard from Guided By Voices. I was willing to overlook the fawning tone toward Pollard as his whole point was to draw a picture of how he is more slavishly devoted at various points in his life to artists than just about anyone so he can gain an upper hand when congregating with like minded obsessives (and if you don't believe his motivations are this shallow, read the book). However, he mentions something in passing (a footnote actually, one of the several thousand he includes in the book) that made me lose all respect for him as a man and thus tainted the whole book. Seller is a University of Michigan grad while Pollard is an OSU fan. Anyone with even a passing knowledge about the sport of college football knows that this is one of the most storied rivalries in all of college sports and the two sides hate each other. Anyway, he ends up cheering for OSU in front of his idol as they watch the game because he so badly wants Pollard to like him. I know nothing about Pollard personally but I bet it wouldn't be far from the truth to speculate that he would have had much more respect for Sellers if he would have grown a pair and had his own opinion about the game rather than adopting one based on being accepted. And that right there pretty much sums up the whole book.
Perfect indeed.......2007-05-24
You know how, every now and then, you come upon someone's music mix, and you instantly think, this person is completely in sync with me, yet simultaneously infinitely cooler?
It's like that.
When it comes it to music, Sellers is insightful, funny as hell, and scarily knowledgeable. He's the guy you want filling your iPod for a long drive, and the guy you'd want in the car, telling great stories along the journey. Anyone's who's ever had that feeling of a song speaking for the state of their lives, anyone who's ever thought of a band as THEIR band, will love it.
Amazon.com
The sparkling personality, sense of humor, and charm familiar to Jacques Pépin's television audiences carries over to the page in the superstar chef's humbly titled memoir, The Apprentice.
A clever, mischievous, and very likable boy, Pépin's earliest food memories are hungry ones from his childhood in war-torn France. After World War II, his first restaurant job was peeling potatoes for his mother at her restaurant, and he became an apprentice in a hotel kitchen at age 13. In this delightful tale he works hard, plays fair, is kind to others and good to his family, and his efforts take him to Paris, and then New York. Except for the terrible car accident that required him to reinvent himself as a teacher and television personality, he seems to have always been in the right place at the right time. He cooked for Prime Minister Gaillard and then General Charles de Gaulle, met Pierre Franey, Craig Claiborne, and Julia Child, and turned down a job cooking for JFK to accept one with Howard Johnson. But just as entertaining and enjoyable to read about are his tender memories and thoughts about his relationships with his parents and brothers, and with his wife and daughter.
We all wish we could cook like Pepin (and every chapter ends with one of Pépin's favorite recipes), but this enchanting tale will make you wish you knew him. The clear, simple way he expresses himself and the honesty with which he tells his story will bring you to tears, and make you laugh out loud. --Leora Y. Bloom
Book Description
From the moment of its publication, The Apprentice established itself as an "instant classic" (Anthony Bourdain). With sparkling wit and occasional pathos, the man whom Julia Child has called "the best chef in America" tells the captivating story of his rise from a terrified thirteen-year-old toiling in an Old World French kitchen to an American superstar who ad-libbed and demonstrated culinary wizardry as the cameras rolled and changed American tastes. The Apprentice is an engrossing tale of the modern cooking scene and how it came to be, told from an engaging personal perspective. The story begins in prewar France, with young Jacques cutting his teeth in his mother's small restaurants. Moving to Paris, it offers tantalizing glimpses of Sartre and Genet. In his role as Charles de Gaulle's personal chef, Jacques witnesses history being made from behind the swinging door of the kitchen. In America, he rejects an offer to be chef in the Kennedy White House, choosing instead to work at Howard Johnson's. He then proceeds to make some history of his own, creating a revolution with a band of fellow food lovers: Julia Child, James Beard, and Craig Claiborne. Culinary high jinks and revealing portraits ensue. The Apprentice also includes well-loved recipes, from Maman's Cheese Souffl to Chicken Salad la Danny Kaye.
Customer Reviews:
An Inspiration to Cooks and a Great Companion Piece to the United States of Arugula.......2007-07-29
What a lovely book -- elegant, flavorful, delightful! My compliments to the chef. Jacques Pepin accomplishes much with a few key ingredients. I aspire to do the same with my review. As I read the book, I couldn't help thinking that I was reading first-hand source material for the book, The United States of Arugula, a fascinating, if breezy, history of food tastes in the U.S.
puts current food 'celebs' to shame........2007-07-11
A fascinating book. His experiences in real French kitchens, post WW2, when the apprentice system was still in place are truly amazing. This man worked harder than a dog (as do all real chefs!) to learn about food. I especially enjoyed the early part of the book where he reminisces about his family's life in German occupied France. He doesn't talk about solders mind you, he talks about it from the point of view of what they ate!
They really don't make them like this anymore. If you enjoy cooking at all you will enjoy this book. I mean, the man read Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in manuscript form! He was there at the awakening of the US to its modern culinary tradition, and he has some stories to tell. He also includes quite a few quirky recipes such as for his mother's deviled eggs. Jacques Pepin's story puts 99% of the current crop of cooking `celebs' to shame in terms of training and real food experience. Rachel Ray worked, where, in a fine food store in Lake George NY for a couple of years? Be serious. JP spent more time learning how to prep vegetables. I loved every word. If you enjoy a well prepared meal and are at all interested in how it got to your plate you will love this book too.
Add Chives!.......2007-07-09
I became a fan of Pepin after seeing his show on PBS...I believe it aired Thursdays or Fridays before I had to go into my restaurant job as a bartender. I have worked in restaurants for most of my life, and I was delighted to hear about his life and encounters with food and people!
His voice is SPLENDID! The recounting of first tastes and lifelong allies including: his mother, father, brothers, wife Gloria, best friend Jean-Claude, contemporaries Julia Child, Helen McCully, James Beard, Craig Claiborne, The Kennedys, the HoJo Family, and Danny Kaye is a marvel and testament to his cooking and attitude.
For anyone who is a fan of food and life, this is your book!
Gastronimic Senses - A Classic Story.......2007-06-19
The audio version of this book, beautifully written by Jacques Pepin and read by Michel Chevalier, (with an animated, French accent perfect for this writing), is great fun. It's a perfect listen for the car or while walking/hiking/commuting.
Pepin tells his life story thru gastronomic senses in which he paints stories of his life against his culinary education . Pepin was obviously born to cook and to write. His chaper/stories capture a great sense of time and place, with insights, humor, self-deprecation and a real joy of life.
To borrow a description from Pepin's fellow chef and author Anthony Bourdain from his own reader comments, this book is an 'instant classic'.
Charming and Funny.......2007-05-08
This autobiography of a chef who moves from France to America is fun and fill of French charm.
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