Reviews (2)

Easily the most interesting and honest Cash book!
Marshall Grant, despite what others might believe, would know more about J.R. Cash and Johnny Cash than others who have managed to pick the bones of the legendary singer over the last few years. Unlike others who seem to want to make the man greater than his legacy, Marshall Grant opens that dangerous door of letting the reader know exactly what kind of performer Cash was while never ignoring his all too human dark side - which was darker than some might want to hear about. Grant forces readers to face the fact (in a very untabloid-ish manner that grabs your attention and demands your respect) that while Johnny Cash only seemed like someone who redeemed himself to achieve the god-like status he has been cloaked in, he was way more flawed and damaged a person than most people might imagine...He had some very nasty demons who chased him nearly all of his life and who made themselves known in horrible ways - including Cash's unfair firing of Grant in 1980, the unfair rumors of Grant's departure which evolved into a major lawsuit, the enormous amount of money withheld from both Grant and Luther Perkins estate, Cash's questionable financial habits, the fallout from his numerous "no-shows," his demanding nature to act above everything and everyone around him at times, his constant battle of never completely ridding himself of pills again and again, and his many indulgences that were as destructive to the people around him as they were to the singer himself. Grant also balances out his portrait of John Cash by offering many recollections of the many acts of generosity and his uncanny identification with those far less fortunate than him. Above all, Marshall Grant finally gives the late Luther Perkins the enomrous credit so many others might trivialize. If you want to hear the truth from someone who was closer to Cash than anyone except June Carter than Marshall Grant's book (endorsed by Cash's daughter Roseanne) is certainly well worth reading.

i was there when it happened
great book .great insight in the career of johnny cash,marshall grant and luther perkins. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Cash, Johnny    4. Composers & Musicians - Country & Folk    5. Country musicians    6. Grant, Marshall,    7. History & Criticism - General    8. Music    9. Music/Songbooks    10. United States    11. bassist    12. Biography: film, television & music   

Reviews (10)

present at the creation
matthew modine has done us all a service.how can any of us -- unless we are jack nicholson or nicole kidman or tom cruise, etc. -- even imagine the experience of a starring performer's interactions with stanley kubrick?modine has now accounted for his time -- challenging, demanding, demeaning, cold, exhausted, and worse -- in the laserlight.i hope modine's path will be followed by many of the others.
A "must read" for Full Metal Jacket lovers
One word. WOW.
war is hell so is making a movie with Kubrick
A great behind the scenes look at working with one of the all time best directors. Life imitating art and art the way Stanley wants it. this book puts you right in the middle as though you were one of the grunts, or crew who seem to have been treated with the same irreverence by the dictator, I mean director. How do you make your actors show the true emotion of war, put them in hell for a year seems to be what Stanley was thinking. Mathew takes you through the battle and seems to have come out a better person when all is said and done. Stanley surely met his match with Modine, who stood his ground and forged a friendship with the obsessive director through fortitude and moxie. Trying to stay a step ahead of Kubrick at every turn became Modine's MO only to find out the ever elusive director was always two steps ahead of him. The 2 jokes Modine crafted to tell Kubrick during production epitomized the worlds view and Stanley s view of himself. A great read that really takes you into the mind of the man we were so excluded from, and into the mind of a young actor who so early in his career changed him forever. Savas ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. Film & Video - Direction & Production    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Reviews (54)

Fascinating
As a violinist, and not a pianist, I found this book fascinating. It's interesting to try and understand the nuances that go into making or refurbishing a piano. The author, as an amateur pianist, doesn't get too detailed because I'm sure it would be over his head. He does appreciate what goes into it though, which is what he parlays through the book. I imagine it would be a fairly difficult read for someone who's not a musician, but I think the core audience of this book is musicians, specifically pianists.

A Marvelous Memoir
I play the piano, I love piano music, and this is a marvelous memoir.(It doesn't hurt that I love Paris too!)However, I honestly don't know if I would have enjoyed this book if I did not play the piano and love piano music.I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 because, by the end of the book I found myself wishing the author was more emotionally involved in his own piano playing; it seems like he was avoiding that kind of emotional disclosure to his readers - an unfortunate choice.However this is only a small problem in an otherwise great read.

A beautiful memoir...
Although classified as a non-fiction memoir, Carhart's brilliant work reads like a novel in its vivid character descriptions and joyous reverence for music. The author pulls us into his Parisian existence, in the center of which lies Desforges Pianos, a small, but magical atelier which houses passions for history and music. We follow Carhart on a hero's journey, all the while learning immense amounts about the making and history of pianos.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Americans    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Carhart, Thaddeus    5. Composers & Musicians - General    6. France    7. History    8. Homes and haunts    9. Instruction & Study - Appreciation    10. Music    11. Musical Instruments - Piano    12. Paris    13. Personal Memoirs    14. Piano    15. Pianos    16. Biography & Autobiography / General    17. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (55)

I love Chuck!
I love this book!I also must say that I loved heavy metal when it ruled MTV.If you loved heavy metal, I think you have to read this book.If you didn't love heavy metal, then you may still enjoy the book, but I can't recommend it as highly.I think a lot of the jokes rely on knowledge of the music/metal culture, and if you didn't like metal you probably just won't care to read about Chuck's thoughts on it.Nevertheless, I think he has a gift for writing and this is my favorite book written by him.I swear that he is at least a little bit of heaven on earth.

really, really annoying
You have to be truly annoying to write a book so bad that I keep reading despite myself, until I finish it. You have to be transcendently annoying for the book to be so bad that I feel compelled to spend four minutes of my life giving it a bad review. Chuck Klosterman, take a bow. You are truly annoying.
Love It!!
A Heavy Metal masterpiece! A thoroughly entertaining look back at growing up listening to heavy metal- I, like Chuck, was born in 1972 and his stories remind me much of my youth and heavy metal wonder years.Thanks for the great book Chuck!I want to dig up my old Skid Row, Kiss, Def Leppard, Dio, Bon Jovi, Ratt and GnR cassettes and read the book again!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1972-    2. 20th century    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    8. Genres & Styles - Heavy Metal    9. Heavy metal (Music)    10. History & Criticism - General    11. Klosterman, Chuck,    12. Literary    13. Music    14. Music History And Criticism +    15. North Dakota    16. Personal Memoirs    17. Social aspects    18. Social life and customs    19. United States    20. Music / History & Criticism    21. Western music: periods & styles   

Reviews (60)

murdered or not mr. wolfe doesn't tell real story not profitable for him
Nancy Miracle wrote the real story and Mr. Wolfe stole what he could the only real story is told and available through the marilyn monroe foundationmarilyn monroe had a real life and that real life is available =through the marilyn monroe foundation only

Card Carrying Psychiatrist?
I share the concern of amazon reviewer Thomas Hughes that author Donald Wolfe accuses people close to Marilyn of being communists.
mr. spoto is insidious he mentions nancy miracle but in such a way as to discredit her real story
he tries in this book but fails and because he just researched the old story through the old hollywood liesbut when he does mention nancy maniscalco her real daughter and in such a way as if she were related to the kennedy's it makes one sick what a sellout if he was that close to the reality and then went for the old crapola see www.marilynmonroefoundation.com for how to get the real uncensored story of the real woman and her daughter published by the marilyn monroe foundation ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1926-1962    2. American actors    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Death and burial    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Individual Movie Actors And Actresses    9. Monroe, Marilyn,    10. Motion picture actors and actresses    11. Murder - General    12. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    13. True Crime / Espionage    14. United States    15. Biography: film, television & music    16. Films, cinema    17. Monroe, Marilyn    18. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1925-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    7. Newman, Paul,    8. Photoessays & Documentaries    9. Portraits    10. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    11. Films, cinema   

Reviews (26)

The Warhol scene in their own words
If you don't know much about the Factory scene, this is a great way to introduce yourself.
Tragic but transcendant
I always noticed this book at my grandmother's place, but didn't recognise the name until last year, and I read this book in a matter of days. Edie's short life, as described in this convoluted biography induces both envy and pity, we envy the beautiful, spoilt celebrity at the centre of a wild hedonistic carnival, who seems to have everything and obey no-one, and we pity the poor lost soul who is used, abused, abandoned and maltreated at every turn. Edie's meteoric rise to instant stardom as the jewel in the crown of the 1960's Warhol empire is as tragic as it is thrilling, and the biography makes you feel every minute of it. This book brought me to tears twice and yet parts of it were so transcendant as to seem surreal, her life is still powerfully bright. The book is still really gripping and moving even though I was born almost three decades after her death and long after the end of the 60's. Somehow at every turn you hope Edie Sedgwick will pull herself together and pull through and you wish that everything told in the book will turn around but it never does, Edie seems to burn out before she'd even become a has-been.
a sad story
This book was interesting but it left me sad. First, this book wasn't just Edie's biography. If it had been, it probably would have been so much shorter. It drifted into all sorts of areas (even going as far as to discuss a Sedgwick burial spot in detail even though Edie is not even buried there )and that was boring. It goes way way back into her family tree, pratically does her father's biography, her mother's biography and Warhol's biography, two of her brothers. It seemed the author needed a certain number of pages. Some of the people in the book seemed to embelishing things or lying. I had trouble believing parts of their Edie stories. Some of the people "interviewed" in the book seemed to be still doing hippy slang like Edie's brother John and that just made me laugh. I understand that the book is about Edie and she lived during that time but returning to hippy slang was silly. The 1960's are over, adjust to it. Alot of the book is Edie drug stories. It's really bad because it sounds like it's trying to glamourize that sort of life even though it lead to Edie's down fall. In the end, Edie was a rich preppy girl who bought her friends with her money and bought her way into Warhol films. When her parents began to cut off the money supply and Sedgwick became a big headed diva who actually did think she was had talent enough for mainstream films instead of just paying her way into Warhol films, her friends cut out and all she had left was a few family members who were willing to love her to spite her abuse towards them, her being spoiled, her drug problems and her embarrassing them. Sad story. Edie could have done so much more with her life than wasted it trying to be buy friends and instand fame with Warhol. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Individual Movie Actors And Actresses    6. Motion picture actors and actr    7. Motion picture actors and actresses    8. Sedgwick, Edie    9. United States    10. United States - 20th Century/60s    11. Biography: film, television & music    12. Films, cinema    13. USA   

Reviews (3)

I want John Canemaker's privileges
Once again John Canemaker has made me envious of his access to such beautiful artwork. The behind-the-scene stories of the personalities who created the characters we grew up with is wonderful. A gorgeous book with illustrations that make it worth the money all by themselves.

Nine Lives
So much has been written and said about several of these nine legendary Disney animators that I very much doubted a lot of new ground was going to be broken, especially in a Hyperion release, but Canemaker rises to the task here, and then some.I was most interested in artists like Les Clark and Johnny Lounsbery, who have received less attention than some of the others. Canemaker not only brings them vividly to life with meticulous research, but he also manages to bring new information and fresh insight to all nine of his fascinating subjects.No matter how well you thought you knew the Nine Old Men and their work, there's plenty here for you.This book reveals the lives and personalities of these men, analyzes their contributions extraordinarily well, and also their working and personal relationships with each other, and presents great new visual material from their lives in and away from the studio.The Kimball stuff is a special treat. Discovering the Genius Of Exactly What Made Disney "Disney"
John Canemaker has given readers the Disney animation book that's been missing for decades. Only it's the Readers Digest version. Canemaker is forced to compact nine amazing biographies into one book. Each of his nine subjects - the core group of gifted animators who defined the look and feel of Disney animation from the 1930's through the 1970's - is deserving of far more time and space than a single volume can deliver. Nevertheless, he's done an amazing job, and he introduces us to these men with the same careful critical objectivity he did in "Before the Animation Begins", Canemaker's marvelous 1996 book focusing on the great Disney visual development and story artists. Read more

Subjects:  1. Animation (Cinematography)    2. Animators    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    7. General    8. United States    9. Walt Disney Company    10. Animation    11. Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers    12. Biography: film, television & music    13. USA   

Reviews (12)

A womans heart ...laid out boldly in words for all to see.
ANAIS has been someone who has carried me through some tough times in the past...I read her at twenty...and twenty-three and twenty-six. Her troubles were my own and we were kin. She is meant to be read by anyone who loves life...in it's full fleshy sometimes heart rending reality. She writes with the open-heart of a poet, and leaves the reader feeling more than fed. READ ANAIS NIN!

A great read
I recomend reading Anais Nin's diary. The book is such poetic prose. Some sentences really took my breath away, the way she can captivate something so beautiful and human in simple words. Since it is a diary, its main focus is her life, but its not selfish, infact she mentions herself very little. The main focus is Henry (Miller) and June, his wife. When Ananis Nin falls inlove with someone, so does the reader. Her descriptive skills gave me goosebumps, you really can see it in your minds eye, hear the music or feel the softness of skin. I highly recomend this to anyone thinking about reading this book, you will come away with a slice of life from 1930's France.

Wonderfully delicate and erotic
This is one of the most profound works of literature I have ever read.Nin leads you directly into her life, the nature of the people around her, her feelings and internal conflicts.She writes delicately and powerfully and womanly.Everyone should have a chance to read this. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1903-1977    2. 20th century    3. Authors, American    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Diaries    7. Literary    8. Nin, Anais,    9. Nin, Anaèis,    10. Women    11. Biography & Autobiography    12. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    13. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    14. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (86)

SHIPPING
DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW LONG THIS BOOK TAKES FOR SHIPPING IT ?? HOPEFULLY 24 HOURS... I CANT SEEM TO FIND THAT INFORMATION ANYWHERE ON THE PAGE.. PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION... THANK YOU..

Good Read
The Basketball Diaries is sad because it's honest.It's gripping because it's real.I recommend this book that captures the life of talent gone to waste through the fall of addiction. Although it's not one of my all-time reads - you won't be dissapointed that you picked it up.

The Basketball Diaries Review
The book "The Basketball Diaries" by Jim Carroll is about the life of Jim Carroll as a High School basketball player and a heroin attic. The book takes place in New York City's Lower East Side of Manhattan. Jim Carroll, the main character records his games as a basketball star in his diaries.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Carroll, Jim    7. Childhood and youth    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    9. General    10. Poets, American    11. Biography & Autobiography / Literary   

Reviews (164)

Disappointing!
I wasn't too into this one. I'm a big fan of Steinbeck's fiction, but this memoir is rather dull. I was looking to hear what he had to say about the zeitgeist of America at the time he wrote it. But as an older man (as he even admits) he isn't as inspired to talk to or rub shoulders with people whom he crosses paths. The ones that he does writeabout come across as a bit uninspired. Nothing much happens on his journey and it almost seems like he doesn't have too much to say.
Travels With Charlie, by John Steinbeck
Favorite memories of this book come from years ago when I could not put the book down as I read of Steinbecks travels with his poodle.For those whose minds wander and wonder about the roads, towns and people of the U.S., I highly recommend this book.I am purchasing it to read again.

A great travel book, for awhile....
Great travel book. Imagery was good and the descriptions were more than adequate. I more than once thought I was right there and that's a good thing. However it sort of lost steam at the end and I truly believe Steinbeck got homesick during the travels, and tired of writing near the end.
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Subjects:  1. 1902-1968    2. 1960-1980    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Description and travel    6. Essays & Travelogues    7. Journeys    8. Literary    9. Steinbeck, John,    10. Travel - General    11. U.S.    12. United States    13. United States - General    14. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    15. Biography: general    16. English    17. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -    18. Steinbeck, John    19. Travel writing    20. USA   

Reviews (4)

Gift
This was a gift to our son. He was thrilled to receive it and will continue to enjoy it for many years to come.He is a wood worker and is interested in all sorts of books about wood working and wood workers.

A Perfect Gift
My husband has been wanting this book for a long time; it was recommended to us by an old friend of Nakashima. We've always loved his work, that which is at the Metropolitan Museum and also the arboretum library in Minneapolis, completely furnished with Nakashima's work.The book was no disappointment; we loved it. Truly he understood "the soul of a tree."

A showcase for one of the best.
I've had the pleasure of working with several pieces of Nakashima's over the years and agree that he's left a true legacy. "Nature Form and Spirit" is a good description of his work.
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Subjects:  1. 1905-    2. 20th century    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Design - Furniture    6. Design - General    7. Furniture    8. History    9. Individual Architect    10. Nakashima, George,    11. United States    12. Art / Design / Furniture    13. Individual architects    14. Individual designers   

Reviews (168)

Ahhh the Arrogance....
Well, it's been a long time since I read this book. Though it left a lasting impression.
I guess this doesn't surprise me...
I haven't read this book, therefore, I really don't deserve to comment on the lot of it. However, I had been a HUGE Rush fan throughout the many years that the band were together prior to the 80's. Reading some of the reviews of this book I seem to get a very clear picture of the kind of man that Neil Peart REALLY is, and have therefore nothing but disdain to offer him as a review in return.
Motorcycles and emotion
I'm not an avid book reader by any means, but this one I read cover to cover in record time.I was drawn to it by the romantic idea of riding a motorcycle coast to coast and all over, but Neil's emotional situation really added to it the expirience.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Composers & Musicians - General    5. Composers & Musicians - Rock    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Travelers    8. Biography & Autobiography / Composers & Musicians    9. Music    10. Autobiography & Biography   

Reviews (25)

A touching story
A Tale of Love and Darkness is a hilarious though serious book about the life of the author in the historical setting of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Being the great storyteller he is, Amos Oz made the true events so easy to relate to, and as such this book is remarkable.Also liked Usurper and Other Stories, which I have included in my collection.

Lyrical memories
A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS is a deeply poignant, lyrical tapestry of memories that will be much loved by admirers of Oz's work. The prose is finely crafted, as we'd expect from a writer of Oz's stature. This book is not a memoir, as such--its narrative is not linear, but waxes and wanes through various themes. Arching over the narrative is the shadow of Oz's loss of his mother. My one reservation about the book is that I feel Oz withholds from us--it's never really adequately explained why he changed his name to Oz or what train of thoughts led him to do this. Was he attempting to erase the trauma of his profound loss? Regardless, this work will linger with you after you finish its final pages.

Brilliant piece of storytelling but, alas, not a memoir
Amos Oz likes to say "the first thing you should know about [his] autobiography is that it's not an autobiography. It's an imposition forced on [him] by the Library of Congress." An interesting confession considering "A Tale" was publishedunder the genre "memoir" and went on to reap much acclaim - and quite a bit of money -- as a memoir, including The Koret Jewish Book Award for Autobiography. Asked by befuddled interviewers to clarify himself, Mr. Oz will say only that having asked the dead into his home, "they told him the stories he never heard". This is a writerly response, with much truth and sense, but it doesn't excuse Mr. Oz for allowing his publisher to tout the work as a memoir or to blame the Library of Congress. Actually, a good old-fashioned name already exists: a semi-biographical novel. Or, if that's not hip enough, call it a post-modernist novel, then, a nod and a wink to the reader to figure out what is real and what isn't. As it stands,the many fans of Mr. Oz ---until now I've considered myself one --- believe they're hearing true stories, not stories conjured by the artist if he listens hard. This year we've been brutal on American writers who've played on the popular taste for truth; we've held them to standards and shouted "foul" when they haven't lived up to them. It saddens me that a great fiction writer like Mr. Oz hasn't held himself to a higher standard. "Oz" in Hebrew, we're reminded again and again, means "strength." As a "moral conscience of the modern world", as we're also reminded
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Historical - General    6. Jewish    7. Literary    8. Personal Memoirs    9. History / Jewish   

Reviews (23)

Patty is a pioneer for telling her candid story
"Call Me Anna" is Patty's own story. Patty Duke wrote this book in 1988 long before it was fashionable to "tell all" like today's throwaway "stars" do.
Boring.....
I actually stopped reading this book about halfway through, she is a boring actress and her life story is not really makes for interesting reading.

Candid celebrity auto-bio, written with great character
Born poor and surrounded by addicts and illness, young Anna Marie Duke drifted into the arms of a society-busy married couple wanting to represent her in show business; they were odd social climbers who nonchalantly took away Duke's identity and gave her a made-up existence that crumbled once the photographers went home. A few of Duke's stories, while never less than candid and darkly amusing, are nearly too wild to believe(or maybe that's because they seem half-finished, as with the story of a motel molestation attempt or a day at a doctor's office where Patty's grandmother was deeply shaken after being forced into a strange contraption apparently meant to subdue her). Patty the Singer gets a colorful chapter(she hated her records for the UA label)and the chaos surrounding "Valley of the Dolls" is wonderfully captured. The final chapters skitter over her mental illness and a new marriage, and Patty doesn't delve much into her feelings as a woman(having her second child seemed to help her blossom, but we don't feel her passion, mostly her drive, her unfocused ambition and her neuroses).Still, she's a charming writer and has a sly way with a story(her roots are very important to her, and she's fine as a leader or a follower, but she never loses her vitality or funny malice). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1946-    2. Acting & Auditioning    3. Actors    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Duke, Patty,    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    9. United States    10. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    11. Biography: general   

Reviews (6)

A Pleasure to Read
I look forward to reading this again and again to enjoy Angell's flowing and immaculate use of language and to visit again and again with his friends and family.

Humor, Sadness, Excellent Little Stories
This biography of a sort is really a series of stories that reflect important parts of his life. Being a supurb writer his little vignettes are a mixture of humor, history, personal views, and whatever he wants to say. I think I liked the story of his Army Air Corp life during World War II the best. The idea of the Army losing his paperwork so that effectively he didn't exist sort of told me that the Army hadn't changed when I went in a generation later.
more than a baseball writer
Roger Angell's LET ME FINISH is a collection of autobiographical essays by a writer best known for his New Yorker magazine articles on the World Series, and his profiles of Bob Gibson, David Cone, etc. (He also wrote the baseball classic THE SUMMER GAME.) Angell was born in 1920, and grew to adulthood in New York City. LET ME FINISH is a beautifully written account of Angell's life told in relatively brief chapters.
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Subjects:  1. Angell, Roger    2. Authors    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    9. Literary    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Sportswriters    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century    14. History / United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)   

Reviews (44)

It Answers The Question On Why WCW Imploded
Back in the day, the quip during the lean years in the WCW offices went as follows: As long as we have Ted's money, we'll be in business.
A good book on how NOT to run a wrestling promotion
Reynolds and Alvarez have written a very funny book. I was expecting great stuff from the guy who runs wrestlecrap.com and he, and fellow co-conspirator of Figure Four Weekly delivered. Whether it was intentional or not, it was funny nontheless. But then again, they were handling with what was priceless comedy material anyway.
Nothing particular new here
I'd go 2 stars, but this book should probably be required reading for wrestling promoters. Plus, it's WCW and that was something I held near and dear. There's nothing in this book that you couldn't find on the internet. In fact, if you were a spoiler junkie in the 90's, you've probably already read this book. It's a nice, more or less, factual recap of the ratings and PPV buy rates of WCW. The authors then like to thrown in their 2 cents, but they're like every other internet wrestling geek. They all hate Hogan, Nash, and Bischoff. They all think Flair, Benoit, and Jericho are god. And they all think they could start booking tomorrow and run a major promotion. There's nothing truly personal in this book - no stories from wrestlers, crew, or suits that truly relate any sort of real connection to the story of WCW's demise. Kudos for actually getting all this info in one place and making a book out of it, but oddly, better personal stories can be found from DVD's produced by WWE of all places. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    3. Sports    4. Sports & Recreation    5. Sports - General    6. Wrestling    7. Sports & Recreation / Wrestling