3 comments about Hollywood Undercover: Revealing the Sordid Secrets of Tinseltown.

1. What a great read! I loved all the little sorid details of this book. It kept me interested from page one, no less! I highly recommend this to anyone who loves the whole Hollywood thing! Also, I liked and would recommend Take Your Shirt Off: A Novel of Hollywood.



2. I bought this book after hearing the author interviewed on a morning radio show (The Jay Thomas Show). What intrigued me the most was that the author said he started out to do a documentary on being an aspiring actor in Hollywood and came to Scientology. During the interview, the author claimed he was hiding out in the mountains of Canada as a result of threats he'd received on the phone and he's scared for his life.
   
   Needless to say, I wanted to read all about the mysterious Scientologists.
   
   I also was interested to see how everyone in Hollywood knows certain people are gay but that it's totally unknown to the general public. The reason I gave the book 4 stars was because he chooses not to out the actors...I wish he'd name drop.



3. I was expecting a great, juicy exposé of insider news and gossip in this book and was sorely disappointed. Mr. Halperin's writing style is weak, he never mentions names when disclosing supposedly sordid secrets, and his facts are often inaccurate. In one section, he mentions how Debbie Reynolds stole Eddie Fisher away from Elizabeth Taylor, when quite the opposite is true. The information that is in this book is basically what one can read in any People magazine--and People has far better photos. The photos in this book are amateurish and feature the author in his ridiculous sequined coat and bow-tie. I hate to be mean, but this is one book that you shouldn't waste your time on. I bought it because of the two positive reviews--I was misinformed.

1 comments about Arise Sir Jamie Oliver: The Biography.

1. As a fan of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks and television shows, I was looking forward to learning more about him, his influences and background. I was disappointed by the simplistic writing style and repetition of various stories throughout the book. Even though the book just came out (maybe it was released much earlier in the UK?) it doesn't seem very up to date - of the 281 pages, the authors don't get to the year 2001 until page 253 and then they describe the recent years (the birth of his daughters, creation of Fifteen, school lunch activism, etc.) pretty quickly and not in depth at all. I'm glad I got this one from the library and didn't purchase it!

No comments about Their Gilded Cage.

5 comments about Marilyn: A Life in Pictures.

1. I have this book and it is by far one of the best. It has beautiful images of Marilyn. It also has a lot of information on events in Marilyn's life and things that happened during the filming of her movies. If you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe, this is a must-have!



2. I love Marilyn Manroe and one of my friends knew how much I loved her so she got me this book. And I loved this book it had tons of grate pictures that a marilyn lover will love or just anyone that wants to remember her in some way or another. Or just someone that collects Marilyn stuff this would me amazing to add to your collection.



3. Excellent! Loved it! Marilyn was and truly is beautiful. Every Marilyn fan should purchase this book. You won't be disappointed!



4. These are extremely high quality photos on very nice paper. It is like having a marilyn scrap book of photographs. I was very pleased.
   The paperback I have seen recently. It seems just as nice, but I bought the Hard back so nothing would get creased or bent. Favorite one so far. I am very picky.



5. This book is one of the best books on Marilyn that I have ever seen! There are so many great photos of her from the beginning of her career until the untimely end of her life. Harvey not only includes many lovely photos of Monroe, but includes little tidbits of information about Marilyn and the photos. It is written in a very eay to read manner and since the writing is mainly centered around the photos you can easily read a little bit here and there without getting completely lost. I really enjoyed this book's content and would strongly recommend it to any Marilyn fan!

5 comments about Have You Met Miss Jones?: The Life and Loves of Radio's Most Controversial Diva.

1. The two star rating I'm giving this book is even generous. Once again, the plot is the same as with most "tell all" books by these former groupies who love to coin themselves as anything but.
   
   Tarsha Jones was a simple "star effer" (pardon my french) who hoped to gain a music career from her activities. Loaded with the hope that she would be a star one day, she rode the coat tails of these men and became bitter when the plan didn't pan out as planned. In fact like Karrine Stephens author of "Confessions of a Video Vixen" Jones' account of the affairs she has with these stars seem very delusional and once sided.
   
   I'm not sure how one could have percieved love or the possibility of committment from men like Doug E. Fresh and Busta Rhymes based on their actions. Based on her side Doug E. basically swept her off her feet at one point, bought her a car, put her up in an apartment and "promised" to be with her. While he recently impregnated BOTH of his "babies mommas."
   
   I believe there was certainly more to the story and more than likely she was being kept in return for basic sexual favors and fantasies. Doug had the means and Jones had the need.
   
   The relationship with Busta sounds a bit sketchy in my opinion as well. I'm not quite sure how one could be surprised or hurt that a man who prefered to pretend he didn't know you in public wouldn't think enough of you to offer you more than just a bite of the sandwhich that he made for himself after sex. Both men discarded Jones as they pleased because the simple fact is that she was expendable. All groupies are. Is that surprising? Well...Newsflash! Here on earth where most of us reside, this is common knowledge Miss Jones :)
   
   While I found most of the book to be somewhat interesting, the material was very disorganized and seemed to jump very quickly to unrelated topics at any given moment.
   
   Her criticisms of stars such as Mary J. Blige and Monica fell on deaf ears with me. After blasting Mary for sounding "depressed" and Monica for trying to appeal to the "youngins" with her new single (Every time the beat drops).
   
   Tarsha goes on to defend her right to dislike any song she wants toward the end of the hodge podge of pages that mimick the adult version of a real novel.
   
   Frankly I believe the industry knew her singing ability was "average" at best. The music industry along with fans of R&B had the right to dislike her songs. Weak sales and constant drops from labels proves this.
   
   Throughout the book she peppers paragraphs with blame, weakly defending the reasons her music career never took off. After reading these excuses throughout the book, I decided to research the song she nearly forced down the readers throat as being a "hit." The name of the song was (Where I Want To Be Boy). While listening I took into account that the song was made in the 90's so the arrangement of the song was understandably primative compared to today's studio techniques. Even with that, Tarsha was weak and average.
   
   While I personally make no serious judgements on the life Tarsha Jones AKA "Miss Jones" has made for herself I believe she is a bitter former groupie who was lucky that someone though enough of her to open the door even a crack so she could get her foot in the door.



2. this book was a good read, read it fairly quickly. i still think she is a big loud mouth ignorant chick on the radio.



3. I was curious about the life of Tarsha Jones since she "blew up" as a morning dj on a Philly radio station. I'd never heard of her before then and had no idea that she'd been a recording artist. The book was entertaining enough - I managed to read it in one day ( a work day at that!).
   
   Her musings about her family laid an interesting foundation but then the immediate jump into her high school troubles and the drawn out stories of female beatdowns was truthful but odd in that it went on & on & on. I really enjoyed her brief recountings of going to a performing arts high school and her college experiences but the drama with her boyfriends revealed "TMI" that I found tedious & repetitious.
   
   Her music industry experiences were also interesting WHEN SHE DISCUSSED THE BUSINESS aspect. Her romances left me puzzled - I mean, I know that these female "tell-alls" feel that name-dropping is the only way to pique readers' interest but her experiences left me feeling judgemental about her and wondering WHY she kept repeating the same mistakes with different (but ultimately the same) unavailable men.
   
   I really enjoyed reading about her move into disc jockying and loved her accounts of working in Philly - she really was a breath of fresh air to morning radio for a time.
   
   I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a quick read & are curious about Miss Jones' early years & how she'd gotten to where she is today.



4. I had to force myself to finish this book. I was extremely boring. I think I skipped one chapter towards the end. I always read the customer reviews before I purchase any books. I am so glad that I checked this book out at the library. It had some facts in there about a few celebrites that I didn't know about, but it wasn't nothing to write home about. I recommend that you BORROW the book.



5. Why did I buy this book? I give her 2 stars for being so brave and open about her situations, but the book is poorly written. It just went on and on and I could go on and on about the book but I am not so there.

5 comments about Marilyn.

1. This book by Andre de Dienes is the most amazing title ever assembled on Marilyn Monore. ANY fan of Marilyn's will find this book worth every dollar. The design and reproductions are amazing! The diaries are a wonderful read! ...



2. For the Marilyn fan, this is a great book. The photographs reproduced in the large book are magnificent. The large book is difficult to read with silver ink on white paper, but it is cleaned up excerpts from the smaller facsimile typed recollections of De Dienes. It is heavy, thus a sturdy coffee table is required.



3. A truly wonderful pictorial memory of Marilyns early modelling years.The photos capture the emotion that exsisted between Marilyn and Andres and are uniquely presented in the large book.The box containing the books is truly one of a kind making the entire publication very special and authentic.



4. I've got copy 4066 of this sumptuous (and reassuringly?) expensive package and I thought this review should really detail what you'll get for your money.
   
   ONE: An oversize Kodak color film box, nineteen inches high by sixteen wide and three deep, this is a big facsimile of the box that De Dienes kept some of his Marilyn prints in. The package weighs twelve pounds and will hardly fit any bookcase. The inside has recesses for the two books and one booklet. Black silk tape allows for easy access of the contents.
   
   TWO: A large, beautifully designed and printed, 240 page book of Marilyn photos printed on thick paper. Although the printing screen is not the highest (150 dpi) the photos leap off the page, especially the full-page color ones. Many of these photos seem to be very private shots of Marilyn that De Dienes took during her career (a few show her with other people, a hairdresser and bookseller). Several at the back of the book show Marilyn's face montaged into clouds or surrounded by celestial bodies. Between the photos, printed in silver ink and in a large typewriter font, there are excepts from De Dienes memoirs. Also printed in silver are smaller photos with his hand-written captions.
   
   THREE: A booklet with twenty-four, one to a page, magazine covers featuring De Dienes photos of Marilyn. Seventeen of them are European titles. Predictably, great photos are weakened by logos, cover lines and generally poor cropping. I thought this booklet was rather disappointing in its production.
   
   FOUR: The 608 page facsimile of De Dienes manuscript and composite book. I think this is the most fascinating item in the box because of the production problems. The original pages were typed on one side of a sheet of ordinary paper and this facsimile is on similar weight stock so that the back of each page has some text showing through, as the original (There is a production problem here though, the paper rightly has text show-through but the photos do as well, on the original paper only the white back of the photo would have been visible). Although the manuscript was in black and white it has been printed in four colors to create the aged paper look and the few handwritten numbers in green and red that De Dienes wrote on the photos. You can see all of his corrections and deletions to the manuscript and read the comments he wrote about the various contact prints of Marilyn and other printed ephemera he stuck on back of each page.
   
   The original composite section has a hundred pages (it becomes two-hundred pages in this facsimile) of cut-out contact prints which De Dienes stuck on the typewriter paper, again they are reproduced in four-color black because of the occasional handwritten colored numbers, even the image of the punched file holes on each page is reproduced. Hundreds of these contacts show how he photographed Marilyn and you can see how dozens of shots were taken of which only one or two were probably published. Most of these images have never been seen before and certainly never in the form that they are presented here.
   
   Overall I think the Marilyn Box is an amazing production package. A world famous visual icon is presented in a unique way.
   
   *** FOR A LOOK INSIDE click customer images under the contents photo.



5. When I opened this box on Christmas morning, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. A recent convert to Marilyn-ism, this was one of the first books about her I owned, and I'm so glad, because I think it's important to know Norma Jeane before you know Marilyn. These huge, glorious photographs taken by Andre de Dienes capture her innocence and natural beauty at a time when she was an unknown model. De Dienes' memoirs are touching and reveal Norma Jeane as she was to him, a man who fell in love with her, as so many would in the future. After paging through these books, you are left to feel as though Norma Jeane Dougherty would never look quite as beautiful again (and of course she would, but not in the same way). Revealing Marilyn Monroe at her earliest beginnings, this limited edition package is definitely worth the money.

5 comments about The Royal House of Monaco: Dynasty of Glamour, Tragedy and Scandal.

1. For those who feel the Brits have the dysfunctional royal family from hell, this book about the Grimaldis of Monaco will be an eye-opener. It covers Grace's marriage to Rainier--an unhappy sham of a marriage contrived to boost Monaco's economy, ending with Grace's tragic death due to a stroke while driving. Roughly half of the book covers the three troubled children, Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie, who are, to put it politely, a handful. We follow the two daughters through their teenage rebellions, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, troubled marriages, and (in Stephanie's case) drug problem; one cannot help but sympathize with their troubled parents and the heartbreak they've experienced watching their daughters destroy their lives. The sole son, Albert, is the most responsible of the three siblings, but even he is still 'sowing wild oats' at an age when he should be thinking about creating an heir to the throne. It's a gossipy sort of book--not an academic tome--but readers with some familiarity with Princess Grace will be fascinated.



2. Make no mistake, this is a book by a journalist, not a historian, and it reads that way. If that's what you're looking for going in, this will most likely satisfy your curiosity.

   Although the subtitle mentions the Grimaldi 'dynasty,' 70 percent or so of the book is about the, um, 'complex' personal lives of Princesses Caroline and Stephanie and Prince Albert, the three children of Rainier and Grace. There's little effort to put the dynasty or the principality in more than the immediate historical context, and although Rainier is frequently described as an absolute monarch or even 'Europe's last dictator' (which isn't even true), matters of state take a distinct back seat to the 'glamour, tragedy, and scandal.'

   This is too bad. One of the most interesting assertions in the whole book was a comment from one of Glatt's sources to the effect that the Grimaldis were not becoming tawdry, but rather had always BEEN tawdry, and had hidden that fact behind a false front of elegance while Princess Grace was alive. I don't know if that's true or not: Glatt unfortunately lets the statement pass almost unanalyzed.

   Glatt is to be commended, at least, for the variety of his sources, including several who (at least according to Glatt himself) had never spoken on the record before. While the book frequently reads like an extended essay in People magazine, Glatt avoids the temptation of acting omniscient about his subjects' thoughts and motivations. When they act inexplicably (which is disturbingly often), he says so. Glatt's tone is respectful and polite, but he didn't pull his punches. As someone who only paid cursory attention to the Grimaldis, I think I have a better understanding (and a lower opinion) of them as a result of this book.

   A worthwhile read, all in all, for monarchy fans whose interests lie more in the personal than the political, the contemporary rather than the historical.




3. John Glatt pens a more truthful version of "The Royals," with less favoritism and more fact. Admittedly this isn't the British royal family (who have provided us with entertainment for many years) but a lesser-known (and no less juicy) dynasty, the Grimaldi's of Monaco.

   Monaco first came to attention when Prince Rainier married the film star Grace Kelly, who brought glamor and modernity to the teeny little country. Grace's past -- involving multiple love affairs -- was swept out of sight as she ascended to the glamorous -- and severely stress-inducing -- position of princess, wife and mother. Rarely happy in her long and paparazzi-studded marriage, she nevertheless gave it her darndest and died tragically and suddenly when she was starting to find fulfillment again.

   The book shifts focus after Grace's death in a car accident, to her three *ahem* spirited children: Caroline, who married one playboy after another, got pregnant out of wedlock, and once burst out of her top at a club, then had to shift into the social position that her mother left vacant. Albert, a playboy himself, who played around with one woman after another but wouldn't make even a vestige of commitment--even to one ex-girlfriend who had his baby, Tamara Rotolo. Stephanie, who shocked Monaco with her wild antics, drug use, explicit singing career and wild modelling career, bodyguard live-in boyfriend, and humiliating divorce after marrying said boyfriend.

   Sound like a tabloid? Well, that's a royal family for you. Fortunately, Glatt doesn't speculate on the inner thoughts of the Grimaldi family (said to be under a curse from a witch raped by a Grimaldi) but allows their actions to speak alone. His writing style is pleasant to read, and gives us insights that other biographers apparently didn't get. I especially enjoyed the interviews with Cassini (Grace's ex-fiancee) Robyns who wrote a steamy biography but edited it at Grace's request, excerpts from members of the Grimaldi family, and from people who knew/know them.

   This is hardly flawless. He describes Grace as a devout/militant Catholic, yet chronicles love affairs (with men married and single), an abortion, astrology beliefs, etc. Sorry, these are not the actions of a "militant" Catholic, though admittedly it is possible that she confessed these to a priest (something we will never know). He does occasionally linger on stuff that is more than we want to know, but it does give us a good look at the Grimaldis.

   Stephanie, Caroline and Albert have already been in the spotlight, tabloidwise, so I suppose Glatt felt that there was no real reason to sugarcoat things. Rainier gets away the easiest, for though he was unfaithful to Grace during their marriage, very little space is given to it (as compared to Albert's girlfriends, Stephanie's partying days, etc).

   In recent years the Grimaldis seem to have calmed down, but this book is nevertheless a heckuva read. If you liked the Royals but didn't like the made-up parts, try this book on for size.




4. While some "revelations" in this book should probably be taken with a grain of salt, overall, this is better than many Grimaldi biographies in that it is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job. Glatt doesn't portray, say, Princess Grace as a saint, nor does he portray, say, Princess Stephanie as a monster. Glatt, though he clearly feels a measure of annoyance, even disgust, for some of the antics of the Grimaldi family, he also has compassion for them. For instance, when recounting one of the most salacious scandals to plague the family -- the videotape and photographs which showed Stephanie's husband making love to a Belgian stripper -- Glatt clearly feels bad for Stephanie (despite her appalling lack of judgement in latching on to the creep in the first place); she had really loved him and was genuinely hurt and humiliated by his betrayal.
   
   Glatt also thankfully clears up allegations about Grace having a drinking problem -- allegations that surrounded her toward the end of her life because of her visible weight gain, and which another biographer, James Spada, dug up in the late 80s. Grace was, in fact, a moderate drinker, because she suffered terrible hangovers if she had more than a glass or two of champagne.
   
   Though Prince Albert has managed to steer clear of the tabloid cover stories that followed his sisters around (due, no doubt, to Grace instructing him on how to be discreet about his love affairs, an education which she never gave to either of her daughters), he too has had his share of troubles. Glatt even makes a half-convincing case for one of the more outlandish assertions: that Albert fathered a love child who is a dead ringer for Princess Grace.
   
   So all in all, a good, juicy read about fascinating and flawed people.



5. This is a very interesting book to read, what with the glitz and the glitter that the author presents.
   However, the historical accuracy is slipshod at best. There are a lot of lies published in this book that the author tries to pass off as true fact. He gets many dates and names mixed up as well.
   
   I'd like this book better if there was at least some research put into it.

5 comments about Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives.

1. Heartwarming and poignant stories told by people from all over America about their childhood homes and what the home and the family means to them.I loved this book.



2. THIS IS A LOVELY COFFEE TABLE BOOK. THE STORIES THAT ARE RELATED ARE PRICELESS AND BRING BACK CHILDHOOD MEMORIES.



3. I enjoyed reading about the family of well known people and seeing snapshots of their growing up years.



4. This is not an analysis of home, or the concept of home. It is a series of essays that reminisce on what childhood homes were like. Some of the essays are by famous people, others by less famous average people types.
   
   Although the book provides a few insights into personal meaning for each of these people, it does not approach the larger issue of Home and what it might mean to us as a people. This is a coffee table book at best, not one for reading through and through.
   
   It's not that the book is bad, it's just that I found little meaning in it apart from understanding these people's history a little better. It didn't challenge me to examine, to understand, it was listening to friends reflect on the smell of bread in the kitchen. Not a bad activity at all, but don't expect great significance to arise from such a down home exercise.
   
   If you want something that explores the subject deeply, I highly recommend "House As A Mirror of Self."



5. I am extremely pleased with the book. I had no idea it was an autographed copy so that was a huge surprise and it arrived in mint condition. Thanks.
   
   Rebecca
   Leonardtown, MD

No comments about The Playboy Interviews: The Comedians (The Playboy Interviews).

5 comments about Cybill Disobedience.

1. Some interesting comments about show business, and about some of the people she worked with, and went to bed with. The last part, about her TV show, "Cybill," would only interest a BIG fan of the show. (Who did what and who said what about the show's individual episodes isn't exactly gripping reading.) (I'm glad it's a short book.)



2. Cybill Disobedience : How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think
   by Cybill Shepherd
   
   This was an interesting read and useful as a resource since it is a first person description of the kind of life one can lead as a liberated (using the pill) female. Not only was Cybill successful, but as she says, she was "a very, very, bad girl." Cybill did what she wanted to do.
   
   Regardless of whether or not this sort of life should be recommended, it is certainly a resource that can be referred to as an example.



3. Truly the title sums up the whole of this autobiography. I wonder if Ms. Shepherd hadn't believed so deeply in her ephemeral outer beauty, maybe others wouldn't have assumed that that's all she had going for her.
   
   Conspicuously absent from her story were her relationships with her siblings, which were touched on ever-so-briefly toward the end, tellingly admitting that they had a tenuous connection at best, their sibling bonds having been sacrificed at the alter of Shepherd's career.
   
   Cybill Shepherd spent her life being promiscuous, including involvment with married men, and lays it all out for the record, no matter how it makes her look. It's amazing to me that she never came away from fling after short-term fling not feeling used or taken advantage of.
   
   The comment that rings the loudest to me, out of everything she crammed furiously into this book, was the fact that she tried to make '5 minutes feel like 5 hours' with her kids, as if that were possible. Although she does go on to admit that it is simply not possible to do it all.
   
   Contradictory to me is the fact that Ms. Shepherd found lurid tabloid stories to be embarassing and insulting to herself and her children, but she voluntarily lays bare all her personal laundry.
   
   I picked up this book because I fondly remember Moonlighting as must-see TV of my teenage years, Maddie Hayes and David Addison being the best on-screen couple of my generation. Although that was just one small part of Cybill's story, I did find the Hollywood insider stuff a fun guilty pleasure.
   
   One last criticism - the subtitle is far too long and completely unnecessary, bordering on downright silly.



4. I don't know what compelled me to check this out from the library since I didn't really know who Cybill Shepherd was, but she kept me reading with her honesty and `dang-it-it's-true' breed of self-flattery. In this autobiography, the star of the '80's TV hit Moonlighting (when she mentioned Moonlighting, I was finally like, "Oh, I know who she is...") candidly talks about the cut-throat world of Hollywood, tells about how Hef, of Playboy fame, stole images from her nude scene and improperly published them, talks about an affair with Elvis (who "charmed" her by telling her in one of his pill-popping hazes about the time a doctor gave him an injection directly into the pupil of his eye!!!!!) and throws caution to the wind and dodges claims of skankhood by talking about a seemingly unending series of affairs with scores of married and unmarried men, from her beauty queen teen years in Memphis, well into her fifties. Shepherd name-drops and that's the making of this book since it's most interesting when the focus is not on her. She tells about having Orson Welles as a long-term house guest, about how she introduced Elvis to certain amorous technique, tells of clashes with Bruce Willis, whose ego was a match for her own, and provides tell-all revelations about some of the biggest stars in the movie business during the 1970's. Shepherd is also doggedly committed to certain feminist causes and gives ink to her views on them. This book is definitely a celebrity stroking her ego, but it's not dull or preachy and since it can be read in about two hours, it's not a bad way to spend a free afternoon.



5. I wanted to read this book mainly to see what Cybill would say about Bruce Willis and Moonlighting, one of my all-time favorite shows, and although I was left wanting more, she does give a few interesting tidbits about them. But even if she hadn't this would still be a page turner.
   
   Most references to Cybill Shepherd by the media over the years have been negative. I just wanted to hear her side of her story for a change and I have no problem with this so-called 'B-list' actor making a few bucks in the process.
   
   While I don't approve of or agree with everything Cybill says she's done or believes in, this little book is a small interesting slice of history and a record of how things work behind the scenes of the modeling and acting professions. The message I got is 'proceed with extreme caution - or better yet choose another career.'
   
   Also, my belief that Hollywood culture is depraved in general remains unshaken after reading this. And you certainly can't blame it all on Cybill Shepherd.
   
   Even so, I appreciate what I believe is Cybill's candor about herself, the people she's met and her experiences which is written with a witty humor and a verbal style I appreciate.