5 comments about Into the Void... with Ace Frehley.

1. It was good, if your an Ace Frehley fan.
   
   Wendy Moore on the other hand seemed like a complete air head and too easily influenced and that is why she went from Cocaine to Heroin. Ace is a pig and revolting but that shouldnt surprise anyone, Wendy is revolting too.
   
   The comments made about Paul Stanley I do wonder about and dont trust because Wendy made a comment such as.." The things I was told about Paul I would never write about,as its too personal." Something of that nature perhaps not the correct wording I dont have the book in front of me right now.
   
   However, I did wonder if she didnt write about that because its too personal then why write about Ace Frehley as all of that was personal.
   
   I did believe the comments about Gene Simmons though, its only obvious with him as he portrays him self that way in public.
   
   Good book, if you like reading about rock stars who are angry, womanizers, drug addicted and the dumb women who want to be around them.



2. This book is so awfully prejudiced that it ultimately provides nil insight into Ace's personality, from someone who claims to have known him well. Rather it is a spiteful backstab which, given the obvious character assassination attempt, badly misfires to make Wendy Moore look two faced, backstabbing, self serving, sexist, ignorant, using and very very desperate. [...]



3. I read this book in one day. I have always been an Ace fan myself. Nothing in the book is really surprising. Obviously Moore wrote this book to cash in on the experience. The sad thing I got from this is that all characters, Gene, Paul, Wendy, everybody involved was doing these things for financial gain. There is no human element of friendship, loyalty, or anything like that between any of the KISS people, wives, girlfriends- None of these people like each other at all. SAD.Otherwise, Moore's prejudices (she doesn't like short haired, short people) etc seem a little shallow and annoying, and she has no repect for any of them.



4. I grew up loving KISS. Were it not for that band, I would have never had gotten the idea to play guitar, and start performing in bands. They changed my life, and Ace was my hero. So I couldn't pass up this book, as I wanted to know what the more "recent" Ace was like.
   
   The timeline in this book takes place as Ace is preparing for for the original reunion tour in the late '90's. The author finnagles her way into his life and becomes his personal assitant/girlfriend. She spins tales of massive drug abuse, by her and Ace, as well as shares stories of general Ace wackiness. None of her stories surprised me, as I know what band life, and band guys, can be like. And when you add the massive scale of the KISS machine, and it's finances behind it all, it gets even more crazy. Ace claims to be sober these days, and I hope it's true. I hope he's around for a LONG time.
   
   This is a great book for serious KISS fans who want to know all there is to know about the band. It's certainly not a "how to" on being in a band per se, but it is full of great stories, and a lot of crazy laughs.
   
   I highly recommend this book to hardcore KISS fans looking for all there is to know about them, and the internal workings of the band, and of Ace.



5. If you like to read about rock stars and and the people they hang with this is a book for you. The author did a good job of describing what it was like to work, eat, sleep, and do drugs & drink with Ace of KISS. Do I think that she was placed into the Void by ACE? No. What a person chooses or not chooses it solely up to the individual. Over all it was a good read.

3 comments about Rupert: Just Being Me.

1. Rupert: Just Being Me is the memoir of celebrity figure Rupert Boneham, founder of the Rupert's Kids organization to provide mentoring and educational programming to troubled youth, as told to author Lester Thomas Shane. Chapters tell of the shock of learning the woman he had lived with had legally and surreptitiously become his common-law wife - then divorced him and used the courts to drain him of money; the founding of the Rupert's Kids organization; his television debut; the difficulty of letting go of metaphorical demons and ghosts; and much more. A handful of color photographs and numerous black-and-white photographs illustrate this one-of-a-kind behind-the-scenes memoir of a truly charitable man.



2. I'm a huge fan of the television show SURVIVOR. In fact, over the years I've only missed seeing one episode. There have been many contestants from the show that I've enjoyed watching play the game and have thought to myself, "I'd really like to know them better." One of these is Rupert Boneham. Rupert is one the most memorable contestants to play the game and is also one of the fan's all-time favorites. Like many people, I really related to Rupert and watching him on the show it seemed to me that he was just a regular guy. Therefore, I guess it's apt that his book is titled RUPERT: JUST BEING ME.
   
   I'll be the first to admit that initially, there might not be a great deal of appeal for RUPERT: JUST BEING ME outside of the SURVIVOR fan base. It's been a few years since Rupert was last on the show and the instant celebrity he attained from it has died down. For instance, last spring when talking with people about the latest season of the show and making a comparison to some of the people to Rupert, I was asked, "Rupert, who's that?" However, even though his celebrity status might have dissolved, Rupert has a lot to offer people. The book is written in a very simple, straight-forward manner. Reading the book I often felt I was just listening to Rupert talking instead of reading something that someone else had written out for him.
   
   I was shocked at how rough a childhood Rupert had. He had a very difficult time with very little family support. He went through some even more difficult times as an adult. Yet, he was able to overcome those trials and started an organization, Rupert's Kids, that is helping troubled kids around the country.
   
   Rupert talks a lot about his life in RUPERT: JUST BEING ME. Having grown up outdoors and worked with animals, I especially like reading about how Rupert came to love nature and started collecting snakes. He also talks about his drug and alcohol problems, his failed relationships, and the different jobs he has worked and places he has lived. Despite these details, he skips the part of his life that most people would probably want to know the most about: his time on SURVIVOR and how that changed him. He devotes a chapter to it entitled "Fame" but the opening page only says, "Maybe, one day I'll be able to tell you about this part of my life...," and each page after that reads, "These pages left intentionally blank." I hope that Rupert will one day write another book and tell us about that.
   
   Reading RUPERT: JUST BEING ME, I was once again reminded of how life truly is a journey and how precious it is. We all have stories to tell and if we are given an opportunity to tell those stories, we can touch other people.
   
   I recommend RUPERT: JUST BEING ME for any fan of SURVIVOR or Rupert. I also highly recommend it for people who work with troubled youth or a young person who is living through difficult times right now. It might just be the encouragement you need.



3. Rupert Boneham is one of the few bonafide celebrities to have come from the "Survivor" television show. Rupert tells about his difficult family life growing up in Kokomo, Indiana, his difficulties as a young man struggling with alcohol, drugs, tricky female relationships and his own desire for an instant family. However, through it all that big heart of his shines through and the reader is rooting for him to find his way.
   
   Despite his gruff and bearlike appearance, this book confirms that the attribute that we loved him for on Survivor was no act this man is a Teddy Bear with a heart as big as all outdoors.
   
   Most enjoyable is Rupert's discussion of helping troubled teens. Even at his lowest, Rupert helped out kids - often his program was their last chance to stay out of jail. Rupert proudly details some of his successes and acknowledges that some kids need "a thousand strikes" before they get it figured out.
   
   You know how people say that if they won a million dollars they'd help out this charity or do something to help make things better. Mostly that's wishful thinking. But, Rupert is a guy that followed through and he proudly talks about his Rupert's Kids program in the last half of the book. He also includes addresses, websites and e-mails for his organization. As an Indianapolis resident I can assure you that Rupert still is quite active in the community and still attracts a crowd around here. His image and name are used with a number of good programs around town, and that's one of the reasons we love him.
   
   Unfortunately, due to contractual obligations with the TV show, Rupert is not allowed to discuss "Survivor" at all in his book. In fact the word "Survivor" is not even in the text, only in a legal disclaimer page inside the front cover. Too bad, but it is still a strong read.

5 comments about The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963.

1. I read The Kennedy Women a few years ago and found it to be one of the most impressive biographical works that I had ever encountered. I was most impressed with Leamer's ability to fully chart the lives of so many diverdse characters.

   I eagerly awaited the Kennedy Men. If I had not read his previous work, this probably would have seemed better. I felt that the Kennedy Women had a broader scope dealing with a longer (and earlier!) time frame and more individuals. This started, really with Joe Kennedy and didn't focus on too many others. A very minor complaint, is that the Kennedy women had a comrehensive time line in the beginning. It would have been useful to include one here as well.

   Otherwise, this is an extaordinarily well rearched volume. What I enjoyed most was the conversational approach taken by Leamer. It is a pleasure to read. I wish that the final chapter "Requiem for a President" was slightly more detailed, but this was a chance to learn not about invididuals, but about complex family relationships and bonds.

   I am glad that I read it and look forward to volume 2!




2. I've read 64 biographys and it's one of the worse.
   There are a few photos.
   some informations are odd, because the author invents them.
   buy not this book, but buy better book like a common good, the thirteen days, the kennedys and the fitzgerald, robert kennedy and his time...



3. In the years since John F Kennedy was elected President two kinds of "Kennedy Myths" have developed. The positive one portrays John, Robert and Ted Kennedy as liberal "saints" committed to a progressive revolution in America. The negative one shows the Kennedys to be rapacious libertines who throw off all social conventions in their personal and political lives. Leamer's book transcends these over-simplistic views and covers the lives of patriarch Joseph P Kennedy and his four sons, bringing out the complexity of this unique group of people.

   Those who hold a negative view of the Kennedys will find much material to confirm their beliefs. In truth, Joe Kennedy seems to be a man with almost no redeeming virtues, a virulent anti-Semite and pro-Nazi, greedy and miserly, manipulative man. The second generation of Kennedys learned not to ask where the family's money came from. Yet Joe Kennedy went on to implement needed reforms in the Security and Exchange commission to which he was appointed, supported the progressive FDR and became the most powerful Catholic in the US.

   Similarly, JFK went on to be an incredibly reckless philanderer who possibly compromised the very security of the US with liasons with women involved with organized crime and possibly even East German intelligence, but at the same time, he inspired young people to volunteer for the Peace Corps and set American on course to landing on the Moon. RFK goes to work for family friend Senator Joe McCarthy and works with the Mafia in order to destablize Castro's regime in Cuba, but then also works vigorously against the same Mafia and institutionalized racial discrimination (and somehow escapes the taint of his association with McCarthy).

   Leamer show that JFK and RFK were definitely not "soft liberals". JFK was the best friend the "military-industrial complex" ever had, pouring unprecedented amounts of money into defense and space projects. They supported a very tough anti-Communist policy in Cuba and Vietnam which almost led to nuclear war and did lead to the quagmire in Southeast Asia. One important point about the book is that Leamer does not demonize various "bad guys" from the positive Kennedy Myth, such as General Curtis Lemay and other military men from the Cuban Missile Crisis, FBI Director J Edgar Hoover who was friendly for many years with Joe Kennedy and showed great forebearance with the many indiscretions of his sons and had good reason to be concerned with JFK's behavior and finally Lyndon Johnson who loyally served the Kennedy Administration and yet was treated with contempt by RFK and many of JFK's advisors (although not by JFK himself).

   Finally, the author has come to the same conclusion that other investigators have arrived at regarding JFK's assassination, namely, that it is very likely that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald was motivated, either with or without the knowledge of agents of Fidel Castro, to kill Kennedy in revenge for the Kennedys' attempt to kill him.

   It is not easy to cover the lives of five different men in a singel book, and much had to be left out, but as an introduction to this remarkable tribe of American aristocracy, this book is indispensable.




4. I give this book a borderline 3 - 4 stars. It isn't bad - it explored all of the Kennedy men adequately but none very extensively. Leamer does do a great job of explaining the relationships among the Kennedy men, especially the complicated relationship that Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. had with all of his children.

   The author offers up stunning and excruciating details about Joe Kennedy Jr's. death, as well as Kathleen's death. These instances were painful to read, but very insightful about the patriarch's emotions.

   I feel Leamer did concentrate a bit too much on JFK's sexual trysts, but that is a topic that no book on the Kennedys will neglect, so it's not really a complaint.

   It would have been nice had the book ended in 1968 and not 1963. Another 100 pages would have given the reader much more great reading on RFK following the president's death and also his run for the presidency in 1968.

   All in all, this is a good book for diehard Kennedy aficionados.




5. Didn't like it. Basically refers to President Kennedy and his time in office. Too boring.

5 comments about King of Clubs: Grow Rich in More Than Money.

1. The lives of every person who reads this book will be enriched regardless of their age!!!!! The book is informative, interesting and entertaining! Great gift for anyone in your life! If flows as you read it and you won't want to put it down! Treat yourself to a wonderful experience!!!!!



2. This book is a wildly self-indulgent extension of every cliche in other people's books. It's truly banal. I agree, however, with the reviewer who said it could be worthwhile "for those who do not read a lot."



3. Miss DeLoach truly got into the head of a truly remarkable man! The book has everything, facts, figures, sad and happy times - all laced with humor. Couldn't put it down!



4. The book was bought for my son-in-law, but I couldn't resist reading it first. I am truly glad that I did as it is sure to improve my skills with dealing with people as it will yours when you read it!



5. Reading this captivating book was a pleasure!!!!! I feel as though I personally know this wonderful man now. SUCH AN AUTHOR to capture him!!!!!

1 comments about Ann Landers in Her Own Words: Personal Letters to Her Daughter.

1. I loved this book. Given to me as a present, I had no idea what to expect and began reading it with a sense of uncertainty. But within a dozen pages I was completely held and involved. It is poignant, funny, wise and deeply engrossing, and full of practical advice on love, marriage, divorce, motherhood, and growing older. At times I got the guilty (but delicious) feeling that I was reading a good friend's private correspondence - it is that intimate and that honest. Some say that letter writing is a dead art, a form of communication that was killed off by the telephone and, more recently, the brutal abruptness of e-mail. But here it is resurrected in all its former glory. Full of good gossip and insights about famous names in show business, politics, the media and literature. there were moments when I laughed out loud and, occasionally, wanted to weep. I was honestly sad when I reached the end - so I started all over again. Happily, as one does in all good letters, I still found new things to surprise me. Margo Howard tells us that "letters were my mother's art form," and this book confirms that gloriously. Ms. Howard is no slouch at letter writing either, answering her mother's missives with equal wit, insights, and humanity. Those for whom this will be their first taste of the wit and wisdom of Ann Landers - or Margo Howard, who has followed in her mother's footsteps as an agony aunt - have a treat in store.

1 comments about Paris Hilton: Life on the Edge.

1. I think paris rocks! I think she learned a big lesson and im proud of her . of course theres nothing worng with partying once and a while though. or thousand of times lol. but my point is about the whole jail thing really made her stronger. and im proud 2 say vote paris for president lol im also proud 2 say im paris 1 fan. oh and support paris and buy her new line of shoes at macys any fans of paris.

5 comments about You Will Make Money in Your Sleep: The Story of Dana Giacchetto, Financial Adviser to the Stars.

1. I always wondered what happened when the dudes at subpop started rolling in cash after Nirvana broke. When you are so NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, and suddenly you are wallowing in it. I had no idea that the indie execs were sucked into a larger scam by a fame-obsessed scammer to the stars. Great storytelling and great stripped down prose. Keeps you from getting too nostalgic.



2. This book talks about a Medford, MA that I never knew. Dana's house was not a depressing place in a depressing city. It was fun for a kid. A pool, a pond and lots of fun chasing "Ceasar" and the other geese around the back yard and fishing in the pond. Drugs were not everywhere. Dana found them because he was looking for them. He had a 3 man band that played some good music. Over 20 years later I remember two songs they played a lot...Edge of a Cliff and Right Angle. Seems like Dana was dancing on a cliff and looking for the right angle in life. Medford was/is a great place. Dana always was eccentric and it was best for him to get out of the quiet family based community that was Medford. Like many of my friends and neighbors I also graduated from Medford High School and went on to college despite how terrible a place it seemed to be from Emily's description. I know you had to sell books but much like Dana...it is pretty laughable. His parents were always kind and generous and his younger brother Russell, my friend, was a good kid with a lot of energy...I would have liked to have read more of the truth about Medford and what a welcoming place 39 Winford Way was for me and Russell's other friends...I wish the entire family well.



3. The author (who lost what was a substantial sum of money relative to her not-so-large net worth) of this book is too close to the subject for it to be considered even remotely objective. Throughout the book, there were continual reminders that this book was written with too much passion and not enough solid research. The book demonstrated only the most elementary understanding of investments, risks, and returns - and, while focusing on one player (Giacchetto) who was probably a bad apple, did not explore the supporting cast of advisors, lawyers, and banks that enabled him to be successful. Instead, the author chose an extended exploration of the flaws of Giacchetto's family - certainly somewhat relevant in explaining his actions but not deserving of the degree of focus and emotion it received.



4. This is not the sort of book I would typically read. I had never heard of Dana Giacchetto and could care less about his world of decadent wealth and "A-list" people. But I do know the author and her husband and some of the people mentioned in the story, so for that reason it interested me and I ended up reading the whole thing in a weekend. (It also resonated with my own family history; my grandfather was a charming, lovable sociopath who went to prison for fraud.)
   
   One reviewer here criticizes the book for not being objective, but the author's direct personal involvement is precisely what pulled me into the story and held me there. White's first-hand experience guides the reader into a world that most of us will never know, making both the excitement and the anxiety palpable. She was at once friend and victim of her subject, and the tension between those two poles - her efforts to reconcile her positive feelings for him against her negative experience - kept me engaged. I found her ability to tell the story with both compassion and anger remarkable, the thing that takes this beyond being just another true crime exposé or scathing portrait of a greedy jerk. There is genuine feeling behind the facts, and for me this is far more compelling than (supposedly) "objective" reportage.
   
   Another reviewer complained that the book paints a negative portrait of Medford and of Giacchetto's family. As someone outside of that community, I did not feel the town was portrayed in a particularly bad light, and in fact some of the neighborhood "fun" of suburbia in the 60s comes through. But as David Lynch has shown us, the 'burbs have their dark side and White was right to acknowledge that. She clearly cares about the family and appreciates their eccentricities without denying their problems. Some of their essentially harmless quirks - the father's grandiosity and embellishment of reality, the mother's love of gambling and deal-making, their occasional reckless spending in order to impress others - resurface in their son in a more sinister form. And I was fascinated by the good boy/bad boy contrast between the golden boy Dana and his petty criminal brother that is woven throughout the book. It's a reminder that people are far more complex and multi-layered than we realize, that outward appearances tell only a small part of their story.
   
   It's easy to look back on such scenarios or to read about them second-hand and see all the red flags, to wonder how these otherwise intelligent people were taken in by someone so obviously not trustworthy. But real life isn't that simple. There are all kinds of factors that color our perception of any given situation or person, and plenty of delusion to go around. It takes a certain amount of guts to not only admit you were taken in, but to also make all of the gory details public, and to do so with a fair amount of sympathy and humor. I admire White's courage in telling her/Giacchetto's story without demonizing her subject or spinning it as a simplistic tale of Bad Person/Poor Victims.



5. Pros:
   
   * It's good to hear a story from people who fail at first and succeed big time in the end.
   
   Cons:
   
   * All you will be reading is the story of Dana.
   * I don't quite get it, how can I make money while sleeping.
   * Not worth your money. Sorry Emily.

5 comments about TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald.

1. After reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Trump's own The Art of the Deal I went in search for more on the captivating man known as "The Donald." I leafed through the pages of TrumpNation and was excited to see a bit about Trump's personal life, so I bought it. Although the book was written by a professional writer, it was not as easy a read (i.e. entertaining) as The Art of the Deal. The author came across as full of himself as his claims of Trump being. I found it rather juvenile and boring that O'Brien often repeated phrases he obviously felt were clever throughout his book. On the whole, here was an author writing a book on a magical personality but completely failed to capture any of it. Instead, he overanalyzed the person behind the aura and seemed surprised to find, in fact, an actual person. Person or persona, O'Brien came off as envious of both. In my opinion, TrumpNation was a disservice to anyone that is a fan of Trump and therefore, the author should not be capitalizing off those who are. I will be returning my book for "spite."



2. The book isn't bad but is mainly a rewrite
   of the better (***.5 out of 5 star) "The
   Art of the Deal", from 1987. O'Brien lauds
   crimnals like the Rockefellers and mentions
   AIDS infested ex-Commie-Hunter / Lawyer Roy
   Cohn as being pals with The Donald. But he
   really gets himself in a mess with his Non-
   Pro Football (non)knowledge! Here are some
   of his errors: (1) He claims the late Pete
   Rozelle (nee Alvin H. Rosencranz) came into
   the NFL right out of the (then) L.A. Rams
   front office, which isn't true. He was a
   Lawyer, like Cohn, who came to the NFL's
   Commissioner's Office after a year as the
   NFL's Legal Counsil (previous to that he
   WAS the Rams G.M., et, al...). (2) He
   claims that the old American Football Lea-
   gue "played independently from the NFL
   for six season". Actually, Timmy, it was
   10 seasons (1960-69). When the AFL-NFL ag-
   reed to merge in June 1966, they agreed to
   start playing in Jan. '67 a post AFL & NFL
   Pro Football Championship game called the
   Super Bowl [this WAS after six years of
   AFL play].(3) O'Brien says Doug Flutie
   wasn't as dynamic as Joe Namath. That's
   like comparing Coconuts to Pineapples;
   what O'Brien could have said is that the
   '85 USFL Generals weren't as good as the
   1968-69 Jets, and ended it at that. Be-
   sides, Flutie just retired as the last
   ex-USFL player (unless Sean Landeta makes
   another comeback!),after a 21-year Pro ca-
   reer and Namath bearly lasted 13 season...
   (4) O'Brien claims that even though the USFL
   kicked the overrated NFL's keester in court,
   the jury agreed that it was the USFL's poor
   Management, et, al, and moving to the fall
   that did the upstart United States Football
   League in. Bull(bleep)! O'Brien has probably
   never read the transcript of the court case
   USFL V. NFL, which I have a copy of. The jury
   found the NFL guilty ON ALL COUNTS of conspir-
   ing to Monopolize ALL of Pro Football in North
   America, not just the US. In fact, Pres. Ken-
   nedy hauled Rozelle, a slimey crook in front
   of Congress in 1962 and the arrogant khazar
   even ADMITTED he was trying to MONOPOLIZE Pro
   Football in the US THEN! (Of course it should
   be noted that AFL Boston [now N.E.] Patriots
   Owner Billy Sullivan was a close friend of
   Joe Kennedy's family. Certainly JFK favored the
   (then) upstart AFL...))And lastly, O'Brien says
   that nobody wanted to give the USFL any TV cov-
   erage if it moved to the Fall schedule. Once
   again Bull(bleep)! The USFL had a contract in
   perpetuity with the (then still new) ESPN! Tim-
   othy O'Brien further lies when he says that
   the USFL's talent level was far inferior to
   the overrated, monied NFL. Let's see; the
   USFL played a manly 18 game schedule (like the
   better CFL does) compared to the NFL's wimpy
   16 game schedule; The USFL drafted and signed
   (and played!) three straight Heisman trophy
   winning players. Compare the best NFL QBs of
   the day; Dan Marino, Phil Simms, John Elway,
   Joe Montana, Dave Krieg to the USFL starters
   of Flutie [played 21 Pro seasons, 6 CFL MVPs,
   five Grey Cups], Bobby Hebert, Jim Kelly [H-o-F],
   Steve Young [H-o-F], Cliff Stoudt [played 15 Pro
   seasons]and they are absolutely equal. In fact
   Kelly is the only QB in NFL history to take his
   team to four straight Super Bowls! Marino(1)
   didn't do it, Elway (though 5 Super Bowls) didn't
   do it, Simms (2 S.Bs) didn't do that, etc., etc.
   Mr. O'Brien, you get a C++ on the trump stuff
   which wasn't bad but you get an F+ on your Foot-
   ball Non-Knowledge! Overall, C.



3. After listening to this audiobook, I have to say it's definitely an interesting perspective on Donald Trump. Timothy O'Brien is definitely what you would call a "Negative Nancy"...he focuses on the failures of more than the accomplishments of Donald Trump. But hey, the evening news in every major city does too, as they love covering the latest murders, rapes & child kidnappings - as that negative stuff gets press & makes money. That in turn creates a distortion of reality...or a negative warped view on reality...which is what this book is. As I said, I think Timothy O'Brien is doing the same thing here...he wants to just talk primarily about the negative aspects of Donald's career. If he was more of an objective reporter, he would focus on the good and bad things. No, I'm not a die hard Trump fan, before you ask. But I have researched him quite indepthly & read many books on him, and this one is definitely one of the worst. But I'm sure some people will love it because the 'average joe' enjoys hearing negative things about successful people. So have fun reading the book or listening to the audiobook if you like such garbage.



4. I rate this book as 3½ stars.
   
   After I heard Donald Trump was suing the publisher of this book for 5 BILLION dollars, I knew I just had to read it. Perhaps that was all part of Donald's plan, but I fell for it, and I'm glad I did.
   
   I've been a big fan of Donald Trump ever since I just happened to stumble upon one of his books (I got it for free in a real estate seminar). I had a great appreciation of his business talents and, after reading what Donald had to say about himself instead of what the press had to say about him, I appreciated his attitude. This book changed that.
   
   This book changed my opinion of Trump, but neither in a positive nor negative way. Surely, this book lays out a very convincing case for Donald's net worth or business prowess to be nothing near as much as he claims. But it also gives a dimension of personality which never really came through in his own works.
   
   The stories covered and quotes are excellent - especially from Donald himself. He is TRULY a character. The author takes a balanced look at nearly all the major projects Donald mentioned in _The Art of the Deal_, and many of the details (and some not so detailed facts) are pertinent; the book also cites sources meticulously. Did you know Donald went over budget $50 million on The Plaza Hotel and had to be bailed out by his dad - what ever happened to television city - was it really smart to take on the city officials and say "this city is a cesspool of corruption and incompetence" while Donald was asking them for a ¾ billion dollar tax break?
   
   Not that the look at Trump is really "bad". His personality really shines in this book. For a rich guy, he is really anti-establishment, a cheapskate, and is very personable. You get a real feel for what he's really like. After reading this book, maybe I wouldn't want to follow his business advice blindly, but I'm more likely to want to sit down and have a beer with the guy - he sounds fun. To say Trump is a BS artist is like declaring the sky is blue - I always knew his projects were spun with his own opinions, so it's good to see a different viewpoint on his familiar projects.
   
   So why only 3½ stars? Because, despite the fact that the content of the story is great, the book is terribly written. For the author's sake, I hope there was a rush to publish because of the aforementioned lawsuit, because this has all of the organizational and journalistic talent of a high-school cheerleader writing a business memo. There's no organization, no structure, and bad jokes all over - luckily, the content of the book outweighs this otherwise unreadable mess.
   
   Bottom line is that if you've enjoyed Trump's past books, reading this book will give you a non-spin version of his business deals - and really introduce you to the man himself.



5. Took me ages to read. Sometimes a bit funny but mosly boring. I don't like Trump but the person interests me. The book is as much hype as the Trump himself.

2 comments about Mickey Rourke: High and Low.

1. After finding and reading Bart Mills' 1988 book on Mickey Rourke (which only covered up through 1987 in his career and is now out of print), I figured that that was as good as it was going to get. Wrong!!! While Christmas shopping for someone else in a local bookstore, I almost didn't check the usual sections for myself. I'm sure glad that I did. I was casually scanning the spines over in the TV/film section when something jumped out at me. I couldn't believe that I'd actually found another book devoted entirely to my favorite actor. I snatched it off the shelf and made my way to the registers knowing damn well that I'd buy it no matter what it contained. Since the line was rather long (another good reason to shop online), I had a chance to read the back cover and skim the 144 page book itself. I couldn't wait to start reading it. It covers Mickey's life from the beginning up through his upcoming work on Sin City 2 (and maybe Grindhouse). While it doesn't have as many photos as the Mills book (and are all b&w), it does contain something better. It contains interviews with Rourke himself as well as friends, family, co-stars, and directors. It also mentions the many famous roles/movies that Mickey passed on. You'll be amazed. Christopher Heard has done his homework and done it well. Minor quibbles aside (I don't agree with all of Heard's reviews of Rourke's movies and although covered earlier in the book, Eureka (1981) is left off of Mickey's filmography at the end while The Thin Red Line (1998) is included even though Rourke was edited out of it), this is currently the definitive Mickey Rourke book. Period. My advice? Eventually find a copy of the Bart Mills book for the pictures but buy this book now before it too is out of print.



2. could have delved deeper a bit weak in places will have to wait until the man himself decides to write his own autobiography.

4 comments about The Most Beautiful Man in the World: Paul Swan, from Wilde to Warhol.

1. When I read the review in the Hollywood Reporter, I figured the book was worth a look. Indeed, it was. I can't say it better than HR: The book should have screen actors guild members "turning pages with one hand and dialing their agents with the other." This is a visual book, filled with images. There is a lot of power is this crazy artist's life. --Another artist.



2. If this were fiction, it would almost be unbelievable. As a biography, it's simply fascinating to read what he did, who he knew, and how he survived during that time in history. An excellent exploration of art, sexuality, personality. You will burn through it.



3. I have had the privilege of working with Janis and Richard Londraville as an intern, and as a gift for assisting them with the exhibition of Paul Swan's works that Janis is curating at the SUNY Potsdam campus, I recieved an autographed copy of their book. I simply couldn't put it down! The authors did an amazing job of telling the story of Paul Swan, and after I'd finished the book, I felt as if I'd known the artist for years. This is a wonderful, amazing book and I'm glad I got the opportunity to work with the authors on an exhibit of Paul Swan's works. Everyone should read this book!



4. I have a feeling this book will continue to draw acclaim as the months and years go by, for it must be the standard biography for some time to come. Drawing on a wealth of material from the artist's family, Janis Londraville and Richard Londraville have managed to animate a long forgotten story, and it has made me completely interested in Paul Swan's works in all their guises. It's hard to imagine today the ease with which Paul Swan seems to have said to himself, "Well, painting is only making me this famous, I think I'll add another string to my bow and become an interpretative dancer"? How often does that happen, and how often does any arrist excel in both wildly competitive fields?
   
   Janis Londraville and Richard Londraville hint that Swan's good looks helped him along here and there. With so many photos of him spread throughout the book, a concordance of beauty begins to take shape in the reader's mind. Is he the "most beautiful man in the world" as his press agents claimed? It's a type of good looks you don't see very much today, or if you do, you see them in leading men who are just average looking--say, the Bill Pullman look. (Take a gander at the book jacket photo.) But Swan knew how to work his look, and he studied the Egyptian arts of presentation, so that his dances resembled early versions of Madonna's "Vogue" movements, with hand manipulations framing the face, the body, the long legs and the cinched in waist. He could have been a contender in the movies, but alas, he let the camera come close a little too late (he was already 40 when he played a herald in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (first version) by Cecil B. DeMille. In fact his age was always getting in his way, like a clumsy, ardent teenage boy stumbling over his erection. In old age he was still performing his "Grecian" and "classic" dances in which, apparently, he would dance off his seven veils and at the end reveal the original naked body Isadora Duncan had fondled way back in the day. In his prime, when he went to Greece, Greek newspapers claimed that their statuary had come to life and was walking in American clothes! "See him and then see our marbles! Is he not the Hermes of Praxiteles come to life again? Or is he Antinous?"
   
   He was sort of a dramatic Paul Lynde sort of queen except without a sense of humor, and not much of a dad to his two long suffering daughters. The authors luckily had his unpublished memoirs to draw on, and they are adept in art criticism to a scary extent, coming close to persuading me that Paul Swan's painting is necessary, like Thomas Hart Benton or Jackson Pollock. At any rate he is an American Rousseau, for good or bad, and I would love a companion volume with full color plates of all his surviving work, And what a shame that the authors worked hard interviewing nearly every available witness who knew the old man, and in a touching vignette they report that one, the actress Lisan Kaye, who posed as the Empress Theodora in 1944 for Swan, can't remember him at all, trapped as she is in her Alzheimer's disease. Something very Swanlike about that inability.
   
   Do the authors cheat in subtitling their book "from Wilde to Warhol," considering that Swan actually never did meet Oscar Wilde? Yes, a little, I think, but it suits the carnival barker aspect of their subject, for whom no publicity was bad publicity.