1 comments about Requiem: Diana, Princess of Wales 1961-1997 - Memories and Tributes.

1. This is one of the few very best books on Diana. Her closest friends speak or write about her not long after her death. The Clive James piece, "No", is unforgettable, as is the late poet laureate's poem 6 September 1997. This is a keeper; should be owned by all who love or admire Diana.

No comments about Mistress of the Arts: The Passionate Life of Georgina, Duchess of Bedford.

2 comments about AC/DC: The World's Heaviest rock.

1. Angus, Brian & and the boys from the DC have spent their careers hewing pure uncompromising rock from the Mountain from whence all rock doth spew. Toiling nonstop they form the rock into blistering music that is like a blunt mallet crashing into your girating skull. This book chronicals the long careers of the lads who feel just as comfortable rocking out as hanging about in the stroh with their mates. This book will assault you like taking dope,speed,coke, two shots of bourbon and afterword you will say right I'm ready.



2. I DON'T HAVE THIS & DO NOT GET INTO BOOKS BUT, BECAUSE THEY ARE MY FAVORITE BAND I'LL GIVE IT A 5 STAR rateing

No comments about Party Lines, Pumps and Privies (Memories of Hoosier Homemakers, No. 2).

3 comments about Sophie and Me: Some of These Days.

1. An easy read that exposes the complexity of stardom even before we were obsessed with stars as we are today. Sophie Tucker was obviously a sad woman underneath her bravado. It is fortunate that the author reached deep enough in to her past to see that her mentor was as full of faults as the rest of us real people, if not more. Thorougly enjoyable.



2. I was very interested to read only the third book about the late, great Sophie Tucker. Not for nothing was she called "The First Lady of Show Business" and "The Last of the Red Hot Mammas". For those who have read the other Tucker books, there is not a lot that is new. Young-Tulin borrows heavily from Sophie's own memoir "Some of These Days", some of it used as supposed dialogue between herself and Sophie. The author also borrows from other sources such as my CD booklet notes for the CD JAZZ AGE HOT MAMA without giving credit.

   I would still urge any and all to buy this book to learn about the great lady who set the stage and made the rules for all who followed . Young-Tulin has a great deal of affection for Sophie Tucker and tells the reader some family stories that have not been in the other books. She also includes some good photographs that we have not seen. The color cover photograph taken for Sophie's 50th year in show business should be enough to sell the book.

   This book belongs on your self if you are interested in one of the greatest of all performers of world show business in the 20th century.




3. This will do nicely!
   
   This book, Sophie and Me: Some of These Days, really should be called 'Sophie, but Mostly Me.' And the subtitle should be, "But who cares about me? Not Nobody, Nohow!"
   
   I know I sound bitter, but I was deeply disappointed by this book. Even the back cover has poor grammar, and misleads readers into thinking they're going to learn about Sophie. Instead, we get 20% old information about Tucker, and 80% information about how starstruck the author still is.

1 comments about Animating History: The Biographical Pulse.

1. David H. Burton's book brings to mind the words of the poet John Donne, "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." To understand history, Dr. Burton suggests that we read biographies and the ideas of the individuals who influenced the events of particular times. A compilation of those biographies is more likely to produce a clear understanding of what really occurred, free from the prejudicial influences inherent in histories that attempt to follow theoretical grand movements.
   
   To demonstrate his view, Burton focuses on three important individuals at the turn of the twentieth century: Theodore Roosevelt, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and William Howard Taft. Burton's views of these three men are complemented by related commentaries arising from biographies of contemporaries, contemporaneous correspondence, autobiographical comments and public criticism of the actions of those persons. The short biographies include John Adams, the second president of the United States, poet Edward Arlington Robinson, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, and Mary Ritter Beard, a leader in the American suffragist movement. Correspondents included Canon Sheehan, Frederick E. Pollock and Harold J. Laski, each of whom corresponded with Justice Holmes, and Cecil Spring Rice and several other Britons who corresponded with Theodore Roosevelt. Also covered are the detailed criticisms of Justice Holmes by five Jesuits. The autobiography of William Howard Taft is the source of a portrayal of Taft during his term as Chief Justice of the United States. The book closes with a 31-page memoir of the author's experiences as a private in the army near the end of the Second World War.
   
   It is not an easy read. In some respects, the book addresses scholars, accomplished historians, and the going is tough for an average reader. Also, it is a demonstration of a technique. It takes a relatively thin slice of United States history and complements that picture with color and detail extracted from the writings of more than twenty persons.
   
   The short memoir of Private Burton is by far the most interesting part of the book. Even after the passage of 60 years, Dr. Burton still has a vivid recollection of his time in combat. "G" Company took heavy casualties - and Burton seems to remember every one of them. He also remembers "grazing fire," i.e., the discharge of weapons in terrain where the high point of the bullet trajectories does not exceed the height of a standing man. His experience was not one of "a good war." On the other hand, Holmes and Roosevelt remembered their war experiences too. Holmes would often remind his correspondents of the approach of the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. Perhaps Private Burton's experiences placed the author in a position better to understand some of the personal reactions of Holmes and Roosevelt.
   
   For a relatively short book (320 pages), Animating History presents a fairly complete snapshot of the three branches of American government and three of the individuals who exercised the power of those branches in the early twentieth century. Interestingly, Dr. Burton's personal memoir introduces the reader to a tantalizing glimpse of where that government would be in the not-too-distant future.
   
   

5 comments about The Way of the Wiseguy.

1. I must be discreet. I don't want to get "whacked."
   You know.....this guy "Pistone" must have grown up in my old neighborhood. I used to think movies influenced this stuff but after 50 years, I think this stuff could be real. This book seems like it could be a training manual for upcoming wanabe gangsters. It's pretty well written and makes numerous references to Donnie Brasco, but I guess this is what the author is famous for. If you consider the fact that this man "Pistone" was engaged in the same crimes as the men he helped incarcerate, it only makes sense to me that he is just as guilty as them. I guess taking these created criminals off the streets leaves more room for the real criminals. (Pedohiles, CEO's,Politicians.) What Pistone does and trains people to do is a sad pathetic game that ruins a lot innocent people' lives. Save your money and go to Disneyworld. Spend time with your family and love your children. Don't give people like Joe Pistone your hard earned money. He would do the same thing to you and have a clear conscience. You gotta lot of blood on your hands, Joe.



2. This is the first Donnie Brasco book I have read so I can't complain about it being repetitive. Although the book didn't have me on the edge of my seat (those I give 5 stars) I felt it was a good, quick read.
   
   Unlike most books today which have a story that could be told in twenty pages, but which are filled with 200 pages of boring ramblings just to make it a book, this book is made up of short chapters of different topics.
   
   Some chapters are a page long which I liked because they were quick and to the point. This also allows you to pick it up and read for only a few minutes at a time without having to remember where you were in the story when you last stopped reading.
   
   I almost didn't get this book based on some of the negative reviews here. To play it safe, I got it from the library so didn't have to worry if the short length made it a good value. In the end I was glad I picked it up.
   
   If you are looking for a long book that is going to take two weeks to read, this is not the one. I finished it in one day. However if you want some quick light reading to last a few hours, this is a good book.



3. you will love this book whether your a mob book lover or not. Excellent book.



4. Great fast read, full of little bits of information that was left out of Donnie Brasco. If you're looking for a book that takes you to the core of what it is to be a wiseguy, this book is for you.



5. Good book. Lays things out as they really are. No sugar coating. An inside look by an insider that makes you glad you are not affiliated.

5 comments about Bare Blass.

1. Bare Blass written by Bill Blass and completed by Cathy Horyn soon after his death earlier this year is a lovely memoir. Bill Blass is and always will be the epitome of the modern American Gentleman: handsome, witty, charming and above all else, a unique talent in the world of fashion.

   Mr. Blass is quite frank speaking about his personal life up to a point. At the outset of the book, he is very upfront about his views on sexuality and relationships. While he doesn't declare himself a homosexual, he doesn't declare himself bisexual either. He leaves that designation ambiguous: in any case does it really matter in our times?

   What does matter is the legacy he leaves us from a long and illustrious career in the fashion industry. His influence can be seen in many of today's young designers: Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Nicole Miller to name a few. His love of color and pattern is probably inspired most by the work of Yves Saint Laurent for color/pattern, and Claire McCardell, the American doyenne of modern sportswear.

   Blass has a good time telling a story and reading them is a real treat. He's not above criticism of himself and others, a refreshingly candid attitude in today's climate of political correctness and PR maneuvering.

   If you enjoy reading memoirs or reading about fashion design, BARE BLASS is well worth your time.

   You will be missed, Mr. Blass.




2. My only regret from reading this book is that I will never get to meet Mr. Blass. What a really swell guy he must have been. Many situations he describes are laugh-out-loud funny--particularly his encounter with the mysterious "Ms. Fitzgerald" at Bonwit's. And just to set the record straight--my mother grew up in McMinnville TN and knew Miss Sedberry of the Sedberry Hotel--it wasn't a brothel!!



3. I think it would be correct to say that this posthumously published memoir by a legend in the Fashion Industry was a little superficial. This is not a bad thing, but one could only hope that Blass would have opened up more about his personal life. He was a very handsome man, who happened to be gay, and not much of this part of his life is mentioned. This is understandable for his generation and the time. Another reason perhaps is because of the part he played in New York Society, and the people who surrounded him and admired him his entire life. He wanted to be a class act, looked-up to, and a proper gentleman and he will always be remembered as just that. Blass practiced style, lived and breathed it. He was an iron disciplinary, style & work came first, laughter and fun later.

   This book is like an encyclopedia of encounters with the rich and famous, and well-dressed people of the world. He loved being photographed with the Reagan's, Buckley's, Kissinger's, and Vanderbilt's. His contribution to fashion, the beautiful fabrics, and well-designed clothes are legendary. Over the years, his designs stood above all the rest in New York. This book is a great introduction to the world that Bill Blass wanted to show us, a world he loved, created and played a big part in. A giant in the fashion industry that will be truly remembered, and a man of class. A perfect gentleman!

   Joe Hanssen




4. Blass was a true genius and an enigma -- the genius might be gone, and though this book does shed light onto his inner workings, he will always, by his own design, remain an enigma.

   A pioneer in the American fashion scene, and true to the American spirit of self invention, we finally get a chance to learn about him on a more personal basis... and true to form, he only reveals what he's comfortable revealing... making it just as telling for what he doesn't address as what he does.

   This isn't as closed a volume as one might expect -- he's quite candid when it comes to elusive subjects of personal relationships and his unconventional sexuality (which is sure to confuse some who need things to fit into neat categories), and he's disarmingly self effacing in almost all areas -- including professionally.

   The book is a fun read, with beautiful photos -- dispensing with the traditional autobiography format to embrace a looser, to-and-fro free-association timeline that suits the tone of a wonderful dining companion with a lifetime of charming stories.




5. If you're looking for insight into the creativity of Bill Blass, this book isn't going to work for you. It's much more a namedropper's delight, particularly if you are interested in the high society bitchiness of New York City in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

   I liked that he came clean about many issues... his attraction to men, his Yves Saint-Laurent knock-offs and his penchant for glamour but I was really hoping to find out more about his clothes.

   It left me wondering how exactly he had contributed to advancing American fashion and why he was so popular.

No comments about When I Was Your Age.

No comments about Malcolm Forbes: The Man Who Had Everything.