Book Description
“'You will do foolish things' said the great writer Colette, 'but do them with enthusiasm!' And that, my darlings, I have done! So put your feet up, relax, and let me take you on one woman's journey through the beguiling, bewildering wilderness of romantic encounters, replete with puppy love, Latin love, smoldering lust, stardust, obsession, high comedy, high camp, and all manner of peccadilloes and misadventures. A rollicking, madcap ride through the wide-open countryside of love. Just watch out for land mines.”
--From My First Five Husbands . . . And the Ones Who Got Away
People always ask me if I'm like Blanche. And I say, 'Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta -- and I'm not from Atlanta!’” -- Rue McClanahan
Who can forget Rue McClanahan as the sexy Southern vixen, Blanche Devereaux, on the Emmy-award winning series The Golden Girls? With her breezy sex appeal and sharp comedic timing, Rue infused her character with a sassy joie de vivre that captured the hearts of audiences around the world. Now, the actress behind the magic reveals her life in and out of the spotlight in a laugh-out-loud funny memoir about love, marriage, men, and getting older that is every bit as colorful as the characters she plays.
Raised in small-town Oklahoma in a house “thirteen telephone poles past the standpipe north of town,” Rue developed her two great passions—theater and men—at an early age. She arrived in New York City in 1957 with two-weeks worth of money in her pocket, hustled her way into a class with the legendary Uta Hagen, and began working her way up in the acting world against the vibrant, free-spirited backdrop of the sixties. That’s when she met and married Husband #1—a handsome rogue of an aspiring actor who quickly left her with a young son. Still, she was determined to make it on the stage and screen—and in the years that followed, rose to the top of the entertainment world with a host of adventures (and husbands) along the way.
From her roles on Broadway opposite Dustin Hoffman and Brad Davis, to her first television appearances on Maude and All in the Family, to the Golden Girls era and beyond, My First Five Husbands is the irresistible story of one woman’s quest to find herself. Now happily married to Husband #6, Rue is proof that many things can and do get better with age—and that with tenacity, talent, and a little help from Saint Dymphna, even a small-town girl can make it big.
Told with Rue’s saucy wit and Southern charm, My First Five husbands is a deliciously entertaining take on life and love from an irrepressible star.
Customer Reviews:
Light hearted reading.......2007-08-23
I love Rue McClanahan and couldn't wait to get her book. It was a fun read and I did enjoy it but don't look for too much depth.
"Frippery combined with fierceness".......2007-07-14
I love "The Golden Girls" and couldn't wait to read Rue McClanahan's autobiography. She writes in a manically bubbly style, gushing over the highs and lows of a long show-biz career and a love-life so hot it would make even Blanche Devereaux blush.
Eddie Rue McClanahan was born into a conservative Oklahoma family during the Depression, and from an early age wanted desperately to be popular. Popular, to Rue, meant being loved and adored by men, and she was always falling in love too easily. She was a struggling stage actress in New York with two quick marriages and divorces under her belt when she met Norman Lear who began casting her in TV sitcoms. Two more divorces later, she landed the role of the man-hungry Blanche on "Golden Girls," The Golden Girls" The Golden Girls - The Complete First Season and world-wide fame. Breast cancer and husband number 5 bring her story up to date.
I was fascinated with Rue's unfailing optimism, her gritty determination to succeed as an actress, and her abysmally poor decisions when it came to men. I gave up counting how many affairs she had, and was appalled at how quickly she married and then lost interest in her husbands. Some were physically and emotionally abusive and some were just weird. Now in her seventies, Rue is still the ageless coquette, the belle of the ball. She names names and doesn't pull any punches in this book; Rue's fans won't be able to put it down.
Delightful.......2007-07-05
Excellent book to read for fun. I found this book very enlightening and couldn't wait to read in the evenings. Ms. McClanahan writes a totally honest and unbiased book and I'm amazed at all the twists and turns that she experienced in her career and person life. She tells the story like a true Golden Girl would tell it. However, she must have been busy constantly because 'The Golden Girls' show is only a small part of her career.
So much to love!.......2007-06-13
As someone who is 21 years old, I'm sure a lot of people are wondering why I'd be interested this book, but I absolutely adore Rue McClanahan and always have since I was little girl watching Golden Girls. This was a wonderful book. I enjoyed hearing about all of her experiences and revelations. She has a brilliant writing style and as someone mentioned before it is definitely like listening to great girl talk from one of your girlfriends! This was such a fun read and I'm sad I finished it in two days. I wish there was more to read!!! It deserves more than 5 stars. Thanks Rue for making me laugh for the past 18 years of my life!
Five Husbands and She Kept trying!.......2007-06-12
I am happy for Rue McClanahan who finally found happiness with number six, Morrow Wilson. They are happily living in New York City with their cat, Bianca. Rue's autobiography is touching as revealing. I never cared for Blanche as much as I cared for Vivan on Maude and Aunt Frances Crowley on Mama's Family. The book explained that Rue was having health problems which explained her absence from Mama's Family. Lucky for millions of others, they got to see her in the role of a lifetime playing Blanche Deveraux for eight seasons on the golden hit, The Golden Girls. It brought her international fame. It's a popular show around the world especially in England where even British sitcom stars like the late John Inman and Frank Thornton sing it's praises. I love Rue's almost tell-it-like it is biography. Her love for Brad Davis and many other lovers as well as the gay following of the Golden Girls which I didn't know there was until I read the book. She writes about her difficult labor with her only child, Mark, who she writes fondly and dedicates the book too. She doesn't mention Wicked on Broadway. She does not slight or offend any of her co-stars of the past. I wished there was a photo of her as Aunt Fran and Vivian on Maude. To me, she'll always be one or the other. I have seen Golden Girls enough and while I admire it's writing, acting, and the sensation that it caused on television. I still think Rue rather as Aunt Fran, the old maid journalist and aspiring writer. If Mama's Family hadn't been cancelled, Rue would still be playing Aunt Fran to Betty White's Ellen but I think the funniest thing was when Vicki Lawrence sent a male stripper to her hospital room when she was recovering as a present. It was something more of Blanche than of Aunt Fran.
Book Description
Five years ago, Natalie Coughlins promising swimming career was all but extinguished when a devastating shoulder injury ended her dreams for the 2000 Olympics. After becoming, at age 15, the first person ever to qualify for all 14 womens events at the U.S. Nationals, she seemed destined to follow the path of so many other young swimming starsdevoured by an oppressive training schedule. In Golden Girl, Sports Illustrateds Michael Silvercoauthor of many bestselling sports memoirsincluding Dennis Rodmans, Kurt Warners, and Jerry Ricestells the story of Natalies remarkable journey back from the brink. With complete access to her family, friends, coaches, teammates, and adversaries, Silver details how she made the crucial choice to train with University of California coach Teri McKeever. Together the two, star and coach, have defied long-standing training methods, forcing the swimming community to rethink the ways in which it treats its talent. An inspirational story of a complex and courageous young athlete, Golden Girl is also a fascinating portrait of the fractious world of competitive swimming.
Customer Reviews:
Piqued my interest in alternative training techniques.......2007-02-01
Based on the other comments, I thought this book would be a litany of complaints by Natalie. I assumed she would really bash her old coach. Instead, he is mentioned mostly in the context of the difference between his training philosophy and that of Teri McKeever. Ray Mitchell occupies part of a chapter. This leads me to believe that those who are outraged must not have taken the time to read the book.
That being said, I thought the book was more about the Cal swim season with a focus on Natalie and McKeever. It was a fascinating look at a different approach to swimming - focus on technique, workout variety and team building. As one of the many burned out former age groupers who swam lot of 10K+ workouts, I think the whole swimming world should celebrate that coaches such as McKeever and Salo are willing to try something new. Natalie and the Cal swim program are proof that there is more to swim training than piling up yardage. This is really inspiring. I used to worry about whether I was doing the right thing by introducing my children to this sport. This book has helped to re-ignite my love for competitive swimming.
The Negative Book about Swimming.......2006-12-08
I have read the book and I am shocked of the way
she talks about her coaches and some of her teammates. Negative, selfish!
It is sad how a champion of her caliber can write a book like this one.
I do not recommend this book to children or any person who might want
to get a view of swimming.
Do not waste your money on this book. Find other books who will
give you a positive inside of the sport of swimming like the Michael
Phelps' book or Summer Sanders' book.
I would like to give O starts to this book.
For swimmers of ALL ages!.......2006-11-10
What a great book! A great read for 12+ swimmers and a MUST READ for all swim parents! This book really helped me gain perspective on my children's swimming and my own!
A motivational read about Natalie.......2006-09-01
I found this book to be a great read about a swimmer who overcame issues to win 5 Olympic medals. As the mom of two swimmers on a less serious, more recreational, swim team, I can still understand all the pressures she felt.
It appears the negative reviews are from Terrapin families, because I did not find Natalie to be self-absorbed, whiny, or any of the other negative attributes given to her by the one star reviewers.
Natalie took time out of her busy schedule three years ago to spend an afternoon at our swim club to motivate our swimmers before their biggest meet. I plan to have my 14 year old and 11 year old read "Golden Girl" to learn how she became an Olympic star.
A unique insite into ultra-competitive swimming.......2006-07-20
As a former collegiate All-American swimmer, I found Silver's book to be illuminating in many ways. While the writing style is a bit forced at times (for drama's sake), it is overall an interesting read and an honest look into the inner workings of competitive swimming.
I found the willingness to criticize established swimming tenets (and people) refreshingly honest, and to the Silver's and Coughlin's credit, they never try to pass of any of the asseratations as fact but always as opinion. Certainly, this has irked many online reviewers who are naturally protective of their coach and/or training style, but this is one of the few books which actually say publically what many of us in the sport have felt for decades -- we are overtraining and burning out our swimmers, particularly our sprinters.
Will this be an interesting book to a non-swimmer? Probably so, and mostly for the controversy mentioned above.
In particular, I find the Natalie-bashers' strategy confusing. If you disagree with her opinions, fine. If you feel it's so off-based, then why worry about it?
Book Description
It's the classic TV sitcom-now finding a new generation of fans in reruns on Lifetime. Go behind the scenes with
Q Guides to find out just what it is about Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sofia that so attracts both gay and young hetero fans.
Customer Reviews:
Not exactly what we were looking for.......2007-08-16
Bought this book for my wife. She said there was more info in it about the actresses themselves than the characters or the show. Depends on what you are looking for I guess, my wife is more into the show than the real lives of the actors.
I really didnt like the book.......2007-08-15
It wasnt what I expected and it was really boring me and I am a BIG Golden girls fan!!
Girls are back (they have never went away)!.......2007-01-16
Nice book for all true fans of the Golden Girls. Concentrates though too much on the "Girls" meaning in gay culture etc. trivial information. But even I as a devoted fan got a lot new information about the history and especially the creation of the show.
GREAT BOOK FOR ALL FANS!.......2007-01-06
I love the Golden Girls so when I heard about this book, I knew I had to have it! It's informative,fun, and a lot of laughs! I love this book!
Re-tread fan.......2006-11-28
I used to watch "The Golden Girls" along with several other sitcoms. I really hadn't watched it in a while, but after reading this book, I am an energized fan! I loved all the trivia, backgrounds and insights on the characters, writing and the development of the show itself. This is a fun book to pick up and re-read. It is extremely well-written and layed out with lots of interesting sections and surprises. I highly recommend this one!
Average customer rating:
- the golden country
- Gabby
- Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl
- Dreams in the Golden Country, But is it really golden?
- Molly's Review for Dreams in the Golden Country
|
Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America)
Kathryn Lasky
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
1900s | Fiction | United States | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Other | Multicultural Stories | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Fiction | City Life | Where We Live | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Dear America | Historical | Series | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Lasky, Kathryn | ( L ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0590029738 |
Customer Reviews:
the golden country.......2007-03-06
I thought the book was awsome. I couldn't put it down there was no part that was boring. I recccomend this book to every one. i read it so fast and i want to read it again
Gabby.......2006-11-08
Have you ever wondered how long and painful a trip across the Atlantic, would be? Leaving your home, your customs, your whole life, all left in the waves. In the book, Dreams in a Golden Country by Kathryn Lasky, a girl named Zipporah Feldman, mostly known as Zippy struggles to adjust to the American way of life. Zippy would not even have had to come to America, but in her small town in Russia Jews were being persecuted. Zippy has a father who decided to come to America first, who is becoming more American everyday. Zippy has a mother who refuses to leave her old ways, and two sisters, one named Tovah who is obsessed with politics, and the other, Miriam who falls in love with a Catholic firefighter. Zippy has to start in 1st grade, since she had never gone to an American school before, but she eventually gets to the grade she should be in. Zippy is the only family member who was allowed to go to school. I like this book because you get to see the easy and difficult times in an immigrant girl's life during the 1800's. I recommend this book to someone who like stories in diary entry form.
Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl.......2006-03-08
Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl
Zipporah Feldman (Zippy) comes to America with her Jewish family. They came from Zarichka. This book was the diary of Zipporah. After coming to America they all have found some sort of dream in this new country. What was it about America that makes you like this, having big hopes and dreams. Her beloved sister has gone away with the guy she loves, who is not a Jewish boy. Mama gets mad ands pretends top mourn over her daughter like she is dead. The family has fallen apart. Zippy is sad. Something happened to one of her friends. She wants to fly an airplane like the first two brothers did. Or be an actress. She had dreams to look up to.
I really liked this book. Because it was a diary. It was interesting and I liked it a lot. Because she wrote in it almost all the time, it was like a story of her life. Another good diary book that I enjoyed was The Diary of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. I like diary books because they are like a life story and very interesting. These books are different diary's and people. But both are excellent books to read!
Dreams in the Golden Country, But is it really golden?.......2006-03-08
Zippoah is a jewish girl coming to America to meet her Father in New York City. They come to New York City from A small village in Russia. They come for a new life away from all the attacks that are going on in Russia. Zipporah starts a diary of what is going on in the new country she is in. SHe Starts school, Makes firends, and new ideas come to her family that they would have never dreamed of thinking about in Russia. Some thoughts are good & some are bad & some frighten her mother. Her mother is a person who likes to stick to old customs but she starts to add some new ones once she is more comfortable with the New country she is in.
Her father is a very nice man who played the violin very well and was a photographer. Zipporah has two sisters Meriam & Tovah. Tovah is a more seriouse and political person she is also the oldest of the three. Mariam is a very romantic girl, she is the middle child. Mariam ends up falling in love with a cathlic boy and her mother is furious when she finds out that they got secretly married.In Zipporah, or Zippy as her firends call her, has to learn how to read & write in english. At School Zipporah recites poems and learns many new things at school. Zippora's life gets better at some points and bad at some points. But let me ask you how would you feel in her shoes?
Molly's Review for Dreams in the Golden Country.......2005-05-10
Dreams of the Golden Country
By Kathryn Lasky
(Publication: 1998 by Scholastic Inc.) (188 pages) (Genre: Historical fiction)
In summary the book Dreams in the Golden Country was an extremely good book. The book takes place in New York City, 1903. In the book there is a Yetish Jewish family and they live in Russia. The dad of the Feldman family immigrated into the United to States to earn money and buy a place for the family when they came. He worked in a sweatshop factory and had bought an apartment that was shared with an elderly border. When the family immigrated over months later they found that the "papa" they knew and loved had changed. He had cut off this side locks, stopped playing the violin, and did not celebrate any Jewish holidays anymore. Sara, the mom was very upset along with the three children, Zipporah, the youngest, Miriam, the middle child and Tovah the oldest. They were not all impressed with the small unlit apartment either but they had to deal with. As the book went on Zipporah who is keeping the journal is going through school and working hard to learn English along with the rest of the family. The times are pretty smooth until they start to fall apart when Miriam runs away and gets married to a non Jew and the family pretends she's dead. Then more problems come as mama is pregnant and a close friend dies. Times eventually get smooth again and the family resolves their problems and starts their "real" life in America.
I was attracted to this book by the part of the title "Golden Country" it made me wonder what the author was talking about, also the fact that is was a diary.
The main character of the book is Zipporah who is the writer of the journal. Her two friends Blu and Yitzy are immigrant also that have been in America longer than Zippy and her family. The Feldman family, papa, mama, Tovah, and Miriam. The conflict in the book is how the family has to manage being in a new country and not knowing the language there.
My opinion about this book is that the author made a real situation interesting. She made it seem like you were in the book. Very descriptive and hard to put down. I believe the author achieved the purpose of writing this book. The book was powerful, strong, and good and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a truly amazing story. I would rate this book as a pretty easy read.
The lesson that is taught in this book is that even though life's journey is the most difficult ride you'll ever be on you have to be yourself and stay true to your friends, family and the true you. You also need to appreciate what you have and not take anything for granted.
Book Description
The climax to the second Girl Genius story-arc. The Wulfenbachs discover that Agatha is still alive and come to get her. Things are complicated by the fact that Agatha is currently possessed by the evil mastermind responsible for the Long War.
Customer Reviews:
Agatha Comes Full Circle.......2007-10-10
Girl Genius 6: Agatha Heterodyne and The Golden Trilobite is a wonderful book for children of all ages, or at least ten to *harumph* years old. In This Volume, Agatha resolves several of the dangling threads of the previous five and unleashes her bent but funny genius.
The production values are high, the binding excellent, and the print clear and readable, and the inking and coloring crisp and well balanced, letting the distinctive Foglio style shine. The writing is funny and not, I think, too reliant on knowing a lot about previous stories, although a working knowledge of #5 would help as it is a direct continuation of the plot.
Buy it and show it to your friends! Show Them ALL!
Nothing Compares.......2007-09-27
It is difficult for me to express how much I love this series. Mastery of artwork, plot, humor, and any other element of the comic book medium is defined by Girl Genius. It is an absolute masterpiece.
Product Description
Take four amazing and talented actresses, add clever writing, loads of sex talk and a box of delicious cheese cake and what do you get? Why, The Golden Girls, of course. Test your Golden Girl's knowledge and see how big a fan you truly are! Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book is a loving tribute to one of the funniest and most popular sitcoms of all time and a must for any fan of the long-running television show!
Customer Reviews:
Golden Girls Trivia Book.......2007-09-01
Who doesn't love the Golden Girls? I have loved this show from the first time my Mom and I watched it together. This show is definitely a classic. I purchased this trivia book to take on vacation with my Mom and my Aunts, and we are all ready for some Golden Girls trivia.
Great collection of questions!!
Great trivia book for the real fans!.........2006-11-07
It is witty, smart, entertaining, fun and sweet. It is a must have.
Golden Girls Book.......2006-11-04
I love the Golden Girls so I knew I would love this book - and I do!
What a waste..........2006-09-01
This is literally only a trivia book, with trivia questions. Nothing else.
113 pages of trivia and answers. No "behind the scenes," no viewing guide, no synopsis--nothing but questions and answers.
I received this item today, and was so disappointed I am not going to hesitate in returning it in the morning.
You're not just good, you're Golden!.......2006-06-26
The definitive collection of Golden Girls trivia. I didn't even think such a book existed, but alas, the entire free world can now enjoy reliveing all of their favorite Golden Girls moments. It's all that an a box of depends!
Book Description
The extraordinary saga of the mysterious life of Kurban Said was told in amazing detail in a recent New Yorker article. One of the most beguiling mysteries it uncovered was the existence of another magical novel— The Girl From the Golden Horn. It is being published in English now for the first time.
It is 1928 and Asiadeh Anbara and her father, members of the Turkish royal court, find themselves in exile in Berlin after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Years ago she had been promised to a Turkish prince but now, under the spell of the West, the nineteen-year-old Muslim girl falls in love and marries a Viennese doctor, an "unbeliever." But when she again meets the prince—now a screenwriter living in exile in New York—and he decide he wants her as his wife, she is torn between the marriage she made in good faith and her promised duty made long ago.
The Girl From the Golden Horn is a novel of the clash of cultures and values—of prewar Istanbul and decadent postwar Berlin. And, of course, Muslims and Christians. But it is also about the clash within Asiadeh herself, and the tension between duty and desire. The Girl From the Golden Horn is an insinuatingly and strikingly beautiful novel—suspenseful and exotic—and Kurban Said is, once again, in full control of his power to entertain and enthrall.
Translated by Jenia Graman.
Customer Reviews:
Bodice-ripper for intellectuals.......2007-06-17
After reading THE ORIENTALIST I was interested in reading some of Kurban Said's fiction. ALI AND NINO was not available, so I picked up THE GIRL FROM THE GOLDEN HORN. This is a very peculiar book, I think. The heroine is an intelligent young female member of the exiled Turkish royal family studying Oriental languages in Weimar Berlin. She attracts the attention of a recently divorced young doctor who woos her. I was appalled when she writes a letter to the missing prince she was betrothed to stating that she wants nothing more than to be his slave and wash his feet, but if she does not hear from him, she will marry the doctor. I just don't understand this sensibility. But as I continued reading I felt that I gained some insight into the mentality of the Muslim woman. The novel is at its best when it depicts the woman navigating her way through an alien culture that is extremely decadent in comparison to her upbringing. Although I could not identify with her, I did understand her sense of displacement and did empathize with her during a painful chapter when she feels that she is a complete outsider at a social engagement. I think we've all been there at one time or another. Said captured the experience quite well. I guess the novel would best be described as a romance novel for intellectuals. It has many elements of a romance novel: a mysterious playboy prince, a rich and handsome young doctor, exotic locations in Europe, North Africa and Asia, costume balls, posh resorts and an attempted rape. But the heroine is an intellectual able to discuss religion, philosophy, history, anthropology and medicine in numerous languages. This is not the usual milieu of the romance genre. As a novel, it is far too dependent upon coincidence to be considered a first-rate work, but I nonetheless found it an interesting and insightful reading experience.
Love and the clash of cultures in pre-war Vienna.......2004-03-25
"The Girl from the Golden Horn" is an insightful novel about two mismatched but well-meaning people. Asiadeh, an upper class Turkish girl living in European exile meets a Hasa, a Viennese doctor. They fall in love, marry, and try to overcome the cultural differences between them, He cannot comprehend her "wild" Turkish nature, and she cannot understand his "modern" outlook, let alone the behavior of his friends. Always in the background are Asiadeh's sense of duty to the Ottoman prince to whom she was betrothed as a child and and Hasa's memories of his unfaithful ex-wife. Although Said wrote the book specifically about expatriate Muslims in a Christian Europe, there is much about the loss of the past and the longing for home that transcends the specific characters and situations. The story is told with wit and lyricism and is a good read for anyone trying to understand the dislocations of losing one's homeland and culture.
Book Description
Hollywood Blondes: Golden Girls of the Silver Screen examines the lives and careers of Tinseltown's most memorable blonde bombshells. Twenty-two classic actresses are profiled including Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlow, Carole Landis, Betty Grable, Marie McDonald, Thelma Todd, Lana Turner, Jayne Mansfield, Barbara Payton, Veronica Lake, Grace Kelly, Alice Faye, Mae West, Carole Lombard, and Judy Holliday. Each chapter has a complete filmography. There are more than one hundred rare photographs featured throughout the book.
Customer Reviews:
Great news for the Marie McDonald fans.......2007-09-28
I was beyond thrilled when someone told me there was a chapter about Marie McDonald in this book. I have been a huge Marie fan ever since I saw her in Promises Promises but there is not a lot of information about her out there. Thank goodness for Hollywood Blondes! This has to be the most detailed and accurate look at Marie's turbulent life. I thought they picked some stunning photos of Marie too. I wasn't surprised when I learned the authors started MarieMcDonald.org
I also like the other chapters in Hollywood Blondes. It was a good mix of bombshells from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
A True Winner.......2007-09-25
I didn't like this book - I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!! If you think the stars today live crazy lives you should see the messes these classic stars got themselves into. I like to consider myself a classic film expert and I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I learned. There is a lot of information packed into this book. There are tons of quotes sprinkled throughout the book which made you feel like you were hearing the actresses tell their own story. Adding a detailed filmography at the end of every chapter was a great idea too. Also most books like this give you one or two pictures of each actress but this one is filled with dozens of great photos (some were a little dark). The best part for me was discovering actresses like Carole Landis and Barbara Payton who I didn't think much about before.
You can tell the authors have a lot of respect for these actresses because they are all written about in a mostly positive way. I hate books that treat the stars like they were saints but Hollywood Blondes doesn't do that. It gives you all the real dirt about their bad marriages, their drug problems, and their sad endings. Fanatics probably won't like seeing their idols exposed but you have to face the fact that celebrities are human beings. These blondes may have been gorgeous and talented but they were also very flawed women. After reading it you really feel sorry for them yet you still want to run out and rent their films.
I did find some factual errors but that is true with every book. There are definitely not as many errors as some of these other reviewers claim. The Jayne Mansfield and Jean Harlow chapters were actually two of my favorites. I am looking forward to Michelle Vogel and Liz Nocera's next book!
Michelle Vogel Hits Another Mark.......2007-08-16
This book is sensational. From the gorgeous cover to the well written text. Vogel andher co-author, I do not know but am now a fan of, have really been great in their work. This book went into why Hollywood Blondes lived such tortured lives. Sure there are things in here, that some reviewers can and will disagree with. But it's unfair and tasteless to claim facts are wrong and you (the reviewer) knows more about a star like Jean Harlowe than the writer. Maybe the writer got information from someone other than you. Maybe if you are such a Jean Harlowe nut, you should write a book yourself. I found this book to be more than 99% accurate, sometimes writers have their own way of doing things and finding research and you shouldn't assume they didn't do their homework. These authors most certainly DID do their homework and the book is written brilliantly! I enjoyed the Lana Turner chapter most of all. The way Vogel writes it, gives you the feeling of almost being in the room as an observer in many dramatic and shattering scenes played out in this blonde beauty's life. Great job, Ms. Michelle Vogel. Looking forward to your next book.
Young Kid Who Appreciates Old Films.......2007-06-26
My mom and I have been reading one chapter of this book each night. Now that I'm on vacation from school we watch a movie from the actress we read about the night before the following day. My mom has always talked about these actresses and I've enjoyed knowing more about their personal lives. It gives me a better understanding of their acting when I know who they were in real life.
All the famous ones are covered in "Hollywood Blondes" - My favorites are Marilyn Monroe, Judy Holliday, Betty Grable and Jean Harlow. The detailed filmographies have helped us track down which movies we want to see too. It's a real bonus to have the filmographies of each actress after their chapter.
Not all of the movies are available anymore but old movies are being found and restored all the time so hopefully some of the lost films will become available in the future. If you're a fan of the blonde actresses from many years ago, whatever your age, this is a really fun and enjoyable book to read :) :)
If you think famous people of today like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Nicole Ritchie have their problems, after reading this book, it seems that old Hollywood celebs had the same pressures, addictions and problems. Many of the women in this book were addicted to drugs and alcohol. They had so many marriages and men in their lives, I found it hard to keep up and there were even some murders! I also found it interesting that as beautiful as they all were, their self esteem was very low. Probably the reason why they used drugs and alcohol to feel better about themselves.
Well, that's it. I just really liked this book and wanted to let you all know about it. Thanks!!!!!
Hollywood Blondes Doesn't Deliver The Goods.......2007-06-11
Hollywood Blondes is the title of a new but highly superficial and unoriginal book on the flaxen actresses of the silver screen by Michelle Vogel and Liz Nocera. Weaving the reader in from silly hair color commercial catchphrases, to the history of how blonde hair was revered throughout the ages, (throughout the centuries women have use horse dung, horse urine, and saffron to lighten their hair) to the introduction, these two self-proclaimed "film historians" do themselves in and let the reader know what they are in for....which certainly is NOT knowledge of famous blonde actresses.
From telling the readers about the psychological effects that blondes are supposed to be lovelier, and that only a few percentage of the world's population are naturally blonde, one gets the idea that they are over-wording just to use up more space in the book.
I will limit myself discuss the Jean Harlow chapter and add a couple of notes here on other actresses I am familiar with, so others can write their reviews on other stars they know more about.
While Jean Harlow's hair did become damage from over-bleaching, it wasn't true that, "She had no other choice but to wear a platinum blonde wig in her last seven films." In fact, Harlow was not a platinum blonde since 1935. She opted for a platinum colored wig in 1935's China Seas, as she was letting her own hair grow in. The only two films that she wore wigs after that were in Riffraff----the movie that introduced Harlow to the world as a "brownette"in 1936, and in Wife vs. Secretary. Harlow wore her own natural hair color of honey blonde hair in her other films from 1935 on, including Saratoga, her last film in 1937.
Here are some mistakes about Jean Harlow that were written on this book.
--Jean Harlow was not born in St. Louis, Missouri. It was Kansas City Missouri. Betty Grable was the one born in St. Louis.
--Harlow's mother was never referred to as "Mama Jean"; she was known as "Mother Jean."
--Jean's grandfather, Skip Harlow, was not an architect; he was a real estate broker.
--Clara Bow did not make a film called The Love Parade with Harlow. It was The Saturday Night Kid, in which Jean had a minor part.
--Charles McGrew did want Jean to have their child at the time she was pregnant.
--Howard Hughes was never "infatuated" with Jean; he was never interested and neither was she. There was no romance between the two.
--Canine star Rin Tin Tin did not die "cradled in her (Jean''s) arms." That is just a myth added to the Harlow legend.
--MGM Mogul Louis B. Mayer was not "obsessed" with Harlow; he never offered her a mink coat to have sex with her. That is a tall tale fabricated by novelist, Irving Shulman, who wrote an unaccountable, undocumented, un-researched, and false account on her life.
--Paul Bern, Jean Harlow's second husband, did not buy Jean "a mansion on Easton Dr, in Benedict Canyon." after they got married. That house was already his.
--Jean was never suspected of "being the killer" in Paul Bern's death; that is a plot from one of Jean''s movies.
--Jean did not "witnessed" Dorothy Millete killing Paul Bern. Jean was at her mother's house where she had spent the night.
--It was not "one of the biggest mistakes" for Jean to turn down King Kong, as we know it Fay Wray did nothing but scream and scream in it since the star of the picture was and will ever be: Kong!
--The character of Lola Burns in Bombshell is not patented after Jean Harlow, as the writers claim, but after Clara Bow. However, this was Jean's favorite role.
--While John Barrymore was in Dinner at Eight where Harlow was featured, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford were not. The authors were thinking of Grand Hotel, in which Jean never appeared.
--Jean did not buy" a big mansion." She purchased the lot and her mother build it. It was called the ``White Palace," not "the big white house."
--MGM never tried to "destroy all copies" of Harlow's novel Today is Tonight. Mother Jean sold MGM the book after Jean''s death. MGM bought it help out Mother Jean economically.
--Reckless was not "loosely based on Jean and Paul Bern's real story." It was a script patented after Broadway star Libby Holman, whose husband, Zachary Smith Reynolds, had killed himself the same year that Bern did.
--Jean and her mother did not move in "a modest bungalow on North Palm Drive." It was a beautiful, Spanish styled, two-storied large home in Beverly Hills.
--Jean did not "collapsed into his (Clark Gable''s) arms" on May 24. The time was May 29 and the actor was Walter Pidgeon.
--Gable did not call "William Powell who took Jean home." She was driven in a limo back to her house by herself.
--William Powell died in 1984 not "1980."
--Mary Dees was not Jean's "long-time stand-in." Dees was hired to complete Saratoga. She never met Jean Harlow.
--Mother Jean did not die in "the same room at Good Samaritan Hospital," and she did not die on June 7th either; Mother Jean died of a massive heart attack on June 11, 1958.
As for Marilyn Monroe, the authors inform us that, "Without a doubt, Marilyn Monroe's persona was a creation of men, for men." That's part of the Monroe legend but it isn't true. By taking on Harlow's favorite color of white dresses to Lana Turner's hair styles, and Betty Grable's make up, Monroe presented her own version of the dumb blonde in the 1950's.
The misquote attributed to director Billy Wilder, where Marilyn said she was the only blonde in the films, didn't happen in Some Like It Hot (1959). The incident to what the writers are recalling was from Something's Got To Give (1962), Monroe's last and uncompleted film, and the director was George Cukor. If people watch Some Like It Hot, they can see that Monroe was in an all-blonde-girls-band. Another misquote attributed to Colombia Pictures' mogul Harry Cohn; he never said "Get me another blonde!," when he heard that Monroe had died in 1962. Monroe made only one film at Columbia when she was a starlet in 1948. She was never a contract player at Columbia; they had their own bombshell in Kim Novak. Any Monroe fan knows that she attained stardom at 20th Century Fox Films with the release Niagara in 1953, and had been that studio's contract player from 1951 till 1962.
According to the authors, Jayne Mansfield was "the poor man's Marilyn Monroe." In all my years of researching the library's microchips newspapers on Mansfield I never read that she was referred to that way. Mansfield was a Broadway star, given a highly-paid contract by Fox. Mansfield was that studio's premiere blonde star of the late 1950's. The only two films Monroe made at Fox, after her departure, were Bus Stop in 1956, and her last, Something''s Got To Give. Jayne''s market value at 20th Century Fox was twenty million dollars in late 1950's and early 60's money, which is about one hundred million in today''s money.
In a grave error the authors state that Lana Turner's Cheryl Crane "...shot and killed her (Turner's) gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato..." and then telling us that "Cheryl stabbed him with the knife" in the Lana Turner chapter. At this rate one wonders, who did this book's editing? I found most of the chapters that I read to be careless, rehashed stuff from similar and equally badly written books. The authors use unverified websites as reference, quote sensationalist books, and worse, misquote a lot and resort to tabloid-trash writing. I would advise any reader to skip this book at all costs, not even for the photographs, which are studio-standard photos that any fan is probably familiar with. The writers just didn't care or know about reporting fresh, insightful, and true accounts of these stars' lives.
Book Description
During Color War, Natalie buddies up to the sixth division girls and ditches her fifth division friends, who couldn't be more immature. Then Nat inadvertently catches the attention of a sixth division boy, and without so much as a blink of an eye, she's kicked out of the sixth division circle flat on her fifth division butt. Will Nat's friends take her back? Sure, but first she'll have to own up to a lot of immaturity on her part.
Customer Reviews:
Hugh sets the record straight.......2007-07-09
As a long time Stranglers fan, I was overjoyed when I found this book - and I was not disappointed. Not surprisingly, Hugh Cornwell turns out to to be a more than decent writer, with effortlessly flowing prose and acute, often hilarious observations. Being a Stranglers fan, the period in the band was the most interesting to me, but others may find other parts equally interesting.
There was always a feeling that Cornwell was the brains of the Stranglers (especially when listening to the band's post-Cornwell output). This is corroborated by his (albeit biased) account of the band's story (as part of his own). Unlike the remains of the band, Cornwell bears no rancor after the split, and seems honestly puzzled by the others' attitude.
A must for any hard-core Stranglers/Hugh Cornwell fan.
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