Entertainment Books

This book by Tori Spelling was absolutley fantastic I read the whole thing in less then 6 hours. It was uplifting, funny and at times a bit sad. It really gave me a chance to know not just the actress that Tori is but her as a person and what a wonderful person she is. This book is a **** (four star) in my book anytime:-)

Could not put the book down and I'm a bigger fan now more than ever. Looking forward to the next book.

If you like Tori you will love this book. It is a quick read but very enjoyable. I looked everywhere for this book and every book store is on back order, Amazon is the only place I was able to find it. It also has some funny family pics of Tori in her early years!

A little self involved book about a self involved young lady. That has not grown up enough to appreciate the life she was given and forgive her parents for not being perfect. In all fairness young people, especially those who do drugs and alcohol so early in their life tend to blame others for their choices instead of taking responsiblity for their own poor judgements. We all had parents who weren't perfect and we found away to love them and forgive them for not being everything we expected and then grew up and ask forgiveness in return because WE WERE BRATS! Life and having a family of our own has a way of teaching us about what parents are really all about. I'm sure her parents had their problems as attested to in her book. She had choices but chose to chose money and being manipulated over standing up, we treat people how to treat us. So don't blame mommy dearest for being mommy dearest when YOU clearly let her be that kind of mother, or Daddy for being unattainable. Look inside yur self dor why you didn't chose freedom, many people do.

I watch the Tori Spelling show and was curious to read her biography. It was a really quick read, I read it in a day and a half. I really enjoyed this book. It gave a empathetic look into a hollywood rich girls life. It showed how money definitely does not guarantee happiness.I would recommend the book to all.sTORI Telling

Very funny book, I strongly recommend it. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion!

This book was so funny! I was disappointed when I got to the end, as I wanted to keep reading!

I can't remember when I found a book so funny. I was constantly laughing out loud--filthy, funny, and highly immature--loved every minute. Thanks Chelsea.

This is a great book. I lost count on how many times I laughed. I look forward to reading more books by Chelsea Handler.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! It literally made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! I didnt want to read it too fast because then it would be over so soon. She is freakin hilarious. All her stories made me crack up. And what made it even funnier is that I can actually picture her doing this stuff! By far the funniest book I've ever read!!!

This book is definitely enjoyable because Chelsea is so funny, likeable, and a decent writer. The book is in the category "memoir/humor" but I really think that even though it wasn't meant to be, it could be a psychology text too. It's nice that she takes her situation lightly, but she really is psychologically damaged (not saying most people aren't). Her perspective seems a little wack, like it's so normal to her to drink THAT much and have THAT much promiscuous, virtually anonymous sex. To read the book, you would think strangers just walk up to each other, say hello and go have sex. Promiscuity makes me pretty uneasy, and so I took one star off the book for her taking it so lightly.

On this amazon page, a review from Publishers Weekly reads, "Opening with a cute story from when she was seven...." I think the reviewer is missing the point completely. The story was not cute AT ALL. I don't know what purpose Chelsea had in mind when choosing the story (probably just the sex connection), but it reveals much more. It is a glimpse into the larger framework of the really bad parenting (common in our culture) that created the promiscuous alcoholic adult. Hardly a cute story, more of a violent, very psychologically revealing story.

I think Chelsea may be missing the point too, by spinning her wheels searching for a need to be fulfilled over and over, when it is impossible. But hey, she is funny as hell. and she seemed to come around at the end!

not great... I actually liked her newer book better (are you there vodka.. its me Chelsea).. After reading that book first, I was thinking this one had to be even more raunchy... but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't bad... I enjoy the way she writes. I just was let down after reading the other book first.

I absolutely loved this book!!! Its an easy and extremely funny read!! Some of her stories kept me laughing for days!!!So if your looking for a good laugh I would definetely reccommend this book!!!

I like to watch Chelsea's show, and she has a wry sense of humor; however, the way she conducted herself as a young woman is both frightening and sad. The thought of two underage women constantly drunk and inviting Godess knows whom into their beds, including criminals and absolute undesirables, wreaks of low self esteem, lack of self respect and no boundaries. I have to wonder if young women know they are putting themselves in danger when they get drunk and go home with strangers?? Not to mention diseases???? This lifestyle is not healthy. Think before you leap or read! I don't recommend this book to young women, who may be influenced to behave in unhealthy ways.

I read "Are you there Vodka, It's Me Chelsea?" and loved it so much that I immediately ordered "My Horizontal Life". Chelsea has a brilliant way of telling stories that makes you fell like you are out having a drink with a close friend. Not one to pass on to my grandma but definitely all of my girlfriends!

Read the book and I would recommend it to anyone that likes to read autobiographical books. Yes, there are people/children that live like that either through their own choice or not.

This is a wonderfully written autobiography. You will laugh many times. You will also cheer for these children to overcome their start in life.

In the genre of Angela's Ashes or Let's not go to the Dogs Tonight; Jeannette Walls had a totally unconventional childhood and has moved on to write about it in an oddly humorous, unsentemental manner which leaves the reader not only stunned but unable to put the book down. This story is all her own and she shares it beautifully. It will make you certain that you are not the "worst mother in the world", no matter what your teens say.

I couldn't put this book down once I started it. One of the best books I have read this summer by far. It's one of those books that you keep thinking about long after you've finished it. Loved it!

"I had no idea what my life would be like then, but as I gathered up my schoolbooks and walked out the door, I swore to myself that it would never be like Mom's, that I would not be crying my eyes out in an unheated shack in some godforsaken holler." - Jeannette Walls

"I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening (party), when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster ... She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill ... To the people walking by, she probably looked like any of the thousands of homeless people in New York City ... I was embarrassed by them, too, and ashamed of myself for wearing pearls and living on Park Avenue while my parents were busy keeping warm and finding something to eat." - Jeannette Walls

THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls is the second-best book I've read this year to date, the best being Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

Rose Mary and Rex Walls were married in 1956. Over the next several years, they had four children - daughters Lori, Jeannette and Maureen and son Brian. Anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian individualists frequently on the run from something, the couple refused to enter the societal mainstream even to the extent of supplying their children with the conventionally acceptable American upbringing that stipulates freedom from hunger and the provision of adequate shelter and clothing. THE GLASS CASTLE is Jeanette's poignant and powerful memoir of growing up emotionally loved but materially deprived.

From Jeannette's narrative, it's soon apparent that her parents are gifted and intelligent human beings. Indeed, Rex, who's self-taught and knowledgeable about subjects that would challenge many university graduates, reads "Los Alamos Science" and "The Journal of Statistical Physics" and becomes interested in the Chaos Theory. Rex's mind is constantly ablaze with technically sophisticated plans and enrichment schemes, the former including designing The Glass Castle, an energy self-sufficient family home to be built of glass. However, Rex's rebellious streak against society, complicated by alcoholism, dooms him to a succession of failed blue-collar jobs and petty confrontations with the law that keep the Walls constantly on the move from California to Nevada to Arizona to West Virginia to New York City. In the Southwest, the family lives in a succession of dilapidated buildings in isolated, desert mining towns until Rose Mary inherits a home from her mother located in Phoenix, where life for Jeannette and her siblings is relatively good. Then Rex again becomes unemployed and the Walls move to the decaying coal mining town of Welch, WV, where Rex grew up. In Welch, the family's living conditions bottom out when they take up residence in a wretched, unheated, leaky, unplumbed shanty on stilts built on the side of a mountain. Here, the children don't even have enough to eat. Jeannette describes the experience of scavenging food at school:

"When other girls came in (the girls' restroom) and threw away their lunch bags in the garbage pails, I'd go retrieve them. I couldn't get over the way kids tossed out all this perfectly good food: apples, hard-boiled eggs, packages of peanut-butter crackers, sliced pickles, half-pint cartons of milk, cheese sandwiches with just one bite taken out because the kid didn't like the pimentos in the cheese. I'd return to the (toilet) stall and polish off my tasty finds."

I've had occasion to read memoirs by authors recalling happier upbringings: Knots in My Yo-Yo String by Jerry Spinelli, Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood by Susan Allen Toth, Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson, Sleeping Arrangements by Laura Shaine Cunningham. In the early pages of THE GLASS CASTLE, I had to ask myself, "Is this a parody?" But one couldn't make up the events that Jeannette relates.

What's remarkable about Jeannette's story is her lack of bitterness towards her parents. Only on a couple of occasions does she even hint at laying blame on them for irresponsibility and negligence. Besides, her love for them endures. To me, and perhaps other readers with more "normal" childhoods, Rex's and Rose Mary's treatment of their offspring was neglect verging on abuse.

The fact that Jeannette and her siblings apparently grew up to be well-adjusted and, in the author's case, happily married and professionally and financially successful, is evidence for the resiliency of the human spirit. But, as you read THE GLASS CASTLE, you will perhaps weep and/or rage for the Walls children.

During their Phoenix period, Rex took Jeannette, whom he'd nicknamed "Mountain Goat", to the city zoo. There, led across a low fence by her Dad to get closer to a cage, Jeannette's palm was licked by a captive cheetah.

There are many books, articles and seminars on effective negotiation. "Getting To Yes" is an easy read that lends itself to practical application in any form of negotiation. For the price of this book there is no better value for learning effective negotiating skills.

As a corporate human resources director, I often find myself in the position of negotiator. This may be with unions, contractors, vendors or employees. After reading this book, I found that many of the `tips' actually work in the real world. Combined with the book by Jerry Spence How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday this book will have a very positive impact on your negotiating skills. Michael L Gooch, SPHR Author ofWingtips with Spurs

I wasn't about to read the book at all until my Proffesor demanded his students to do the assignment to read and write 10 great ideas about the containts of the book. I found a lot of examples the author uses to imply a negotiation in our life, and especially on business. I haven't finished reading it but planned to do it.

This book changed the study and practice of negotiation since it was first published.

It is one of the most important books on negotiation ever written.

It is based on "interest based" negotiation and "expanding the pie" and then "dividing it". It is about cooperative negotiation and how this should be the default rule whenever possible.

It is excellent and a must read for any student of negotiation.

Since there are already 140 reviews, I'll keep it short.

"Getting to yes" has been recommended to me for many years and used as a basis of several trainings and discussions I had in the past. I finally decided to read the book to see if there is anything more than what I heard earlier. From that perspective, I was disappointed. Though, looking at the book without previous knowledge, I'd say that it's a great introduction to principled negotiation, probably the best there is.

The core of the book tries to explain the reader that negotiating about fixes positions is most of the time a lose-lose scenario. Therefore it's better to try to look at what both negotiators interests are and then try to work from there. Then by using these interests, the negotiators will be able to find a solutions with is mutual beneficial for both parties. That way a negotiations turns into a win-win situation and also does not have any personal impacts on the people doing the negotiation.

From this core perspectives, the authors approach different topics related to negotiation. When to negotiate (having you're alternative). Ways to brainstorm solutions. Ways to negotiate with many parties. Working in a principled way if the person with whom you are negotiating is not, etc etc.

The second edition ends with a section on answers to common questions, which almost summarizes the book itself.

"Getting to Yes" is a small book (though it could have been smaller!) and is definitively worth reading. It wasn't as good as I expected, but have not seem a better book on this topic. Recommended.

I laughed, and I cried. This book is so good that I may actually keep it instead of taking it back for store credit.

Bought as a present along with another book (hardbound) from Amazon "The Last Lecture". On both copies pages were so unevenly cut it looked as though a mouse or two had a good dinner. The library had a proper copy! Otherwise, Amazon has been good to me over the years, except for the ultimate embarrasement of presenting this gift (time ran out.)

Here I am in Australia possibly one of a few to own the book as it is not due to hit our shelves until at least December. I received the book last night and sat up and read nearly half the book before I had to concede to sleep. She is a very interesting woman and the people she has met and interviewed is mind blowing and at the same time this intimate travel through Babara Walters life displays the humble and human side of her. I am betting that by late this evening I will have finished the book, because it was so hard to put down.

I would recommend it to anyone - even if you don't know the first thing about this lady. A book well worth buying.

Entertaining.....very, very detailed story of Barbara's personal and public life. Long book, worth the money if you are a fan.

I will not support a woman that has had affairs by buying her book. Why not just put a PIG on the cover?

My mother-in-law gave me this book and I wasn't expecting to particularly like it, as I am not that familiar with Barbara Walter's work (other than a few specials I have watched.) I certainly didn't realize all the barriers she had broken through for women in journalism. But what really drew me into this book was her honesty about being a working mom - the conflicts she often felt between her own career drive and the needs of her daughter, parents, and disabled sister. She owns up to that most difficult of emotions that many of us working moms often feel but frequently deny - GUILT. But at this point in her life, she is philosophical about it, and doesn't come off as self-punishing, or as regretting her decisions. She is grateful for her extraordinary life, and comes off as having done the best she could. I especially appreciated her honesty about the difficulties she had with her daughter as a teenager. I think that chapter alone is worth reading the book.

This is a book that everyone should read! Makes you realize how important family is and what having moral values really mean. It also makes you think about what kind of person you want to be remembered as and especially what you would like to teach your children. I absolutely loved it. Wish we still lived in those days. The world has changed so much and I can't say it's for the best.

Read this after the passing of Tim Russert.... what a wonderful son and father he was. It is a wonderful tribute to his Dad, Big Russ, and fond memories for his family to cherish always.

It was a challenge getting it...delivery glitches...but it is here and all I had hoped it would be...thank you...

I really had a hard time trying to finish this book about the perfect son and the perfect father and the perfect democrats and the perfect priests.

I still don't know if this was ghost written for the catholic church or the liberal democrats as Tim wore both very prominently on his sleeve.

Tim Russert was a highly intelligent man and it was always fun to watch him on Meet the Press, but with this CD set, you get to hear how this man got to be who he was and how his father, Big Russ, helped to shape his life. I bought the book and the CD's, but the CD's are especially nice, since Tim Russert is the narrator. The book is filled with his humor, insight, humanity, and ethics.

If I disliked her before reading the book (and I did), I detested her after reading. I would guess she makes life pretty miserable for everyone around her, including her children.

Well, it's not horrible but I'm glad I got it from the library and didn't pay for it.
Mr Ciccone claims that one of the two precepts by which both he and his sister try to live their lives is keeping their word...this, no more than a few pages after Madonna cajoles him to move to New York and live with her (she reneges) and asks him to be one of her dancers (she hires someone else).
Both Mister Ciccone and Madonna seems to be permanently scarred by the early death of their mother.....y'know what? this happens. People die too soon. Move beyond it. It can be done. Not necessarily easily, but it can be done.
Mr Ciccone makes every excuse for his sisters' terrible behavior and the fact of the matter is...there is no excuse. Not all successful people in showbiz are monsters. Most of them are solid, sane working professionals. Madonna is not one of them.
Oh well, I wish them luck. They need it. At the end of the day, this is a sad book. These people enjoy the trappings of success but seem to have very little going for them in the line of their "inner life". That is actually the only thing that can keep you going when it all hits the fan.

This was an ok light read. It is a memoir of Christopher Ciccone, not strictly a Madonna bio. Madonna is part of the story only because Chris spent a good part of his life working for her.

It reads kind of like a day diary. It chronicles his life and his feelings. It's not really that deep and doesn't spend a lot of time on when they were children.

Chris is constantly being manipulated by Madonna into a client-customer relationship where he is being taken advantage of both as to being underpaid and spoken to in a personal not very respectful way, seemingly just because he is her brother.

He spends the entire book complaining about his treatment by her yet continues to forgive her by saying how much he loves his sister and how she openned up doors for him through her offers of employment in her rise to superstardom.

The best part of his story is that at the end, he had a falling out with Madonna and finally was able to establish his own businesses using the skills he acquired doing tour/stage/design work for her.

Note: I read the Kindle version. The photos are at the book's end. There are no captions for some reason. Also, you don't get the Madonna photo shown on Amazon's page either.

You know how some poor, tragic circus elephants slave away in the circus for thirty years and then finally have enough? And then break free, running amuk, stomping the trainer to death and trampling through the crowd before getting taken down by police with rifles? Well, Christopher the elephant finally could take no more of the circus called Madonna. A sad spectacle to watch him liberate himself, and do himself in...

He pretty much comes off as borderline delusional, as he puffs himself up wanting you to believe that so many accomplished people need him "advising" them and take him seriously. And then the (poorly written) book bores you when it strays from the subject of Madonna. I mean, she's the star, she's the reason we're flipping pages to begin with...

Who knows how accurate it is. It's easy to suspect that many of her faults are overplayed while his are severely downplayed. And it would have been nicer to have had more coverage of her music. He doesn't even mention the albums Music, American Life or Confessions on a Dancefloor.

The best part for me was the anecdote about Live Aid in 1985. Here was Madonna, fresh off the blinding superstardom created by Like A Virgin, in the midst of the "scandal" about nude photos and she's about to perform before 90,000 people in Philadelphia. He drives her from Manhattan to Philly, just the two of them, in his beat up range rover and then they hop back in it after her performance and speed off! I guess I was picturing a limousine or a helicopter and an entourage with caviar and bottles of Cristal. I was surprised and amused to see fairly ordinary lives being led at the center of things that just happen to be mounted on an epic scale. Interesting, to peer behind the facade...

I admit that this book captured and maintained my interest. However, I can't help but feel that he had other motives (money)for creating this book. I believe 70% of what he says, but would have loved to hear Madonna's side of his story. As for Christopher, I don't understand how someone with so much talent (interior design, furniture etc.) and with so many powerful connections, can be broke ALL THE TIME. I am tempted to believe Madonna's accusations that Christopher is a drug addict after all.

Nevertheless, this is the best book concerning Madonna (so far and in my opinion). Although I believe that most of what is written here, is already common knowledge. Madonna has always been as high maintenance, and difficult, as she is talented and extraordinary.

But I feel that as he attempted to find his own voice, and separate Christopher from Madonna, that in the end he only managed to prove his dependence on her - and stood once more in her shadow.

If you are an Eagles fan it is a must read. Don Felder has always been one of my favorite guitar players. After reading this book I learned quite a bit that I didn't know about him, or the Eagles. I still like the music but would never go buy another record, or see them live after reading how the money and greed changed them.

This book succeeds in doing exactly what it should -- painting a picture of the Eagles experience as seen through the eyes of the author.

Too many people get caught up in whether or not they agree or disagree with Felder's views, but I don't think that has any bearing whatsoever on how good the book is.

My only minor complaint is: I wish the book had the same level of detail for the Eagles studio sessions and tours as it did for Felder's personal sections (childhood and home life). I imagine this is simply because he doesn't remember the Eagles details as vividly due to the drug usage.

All in all, lots of interesting details told very clearly and concisely. A fun and enjoyable read.

Don Felder is a survivor. Nothing came easy but he worked and worked and perfected his talent to a point where millions of people could get the benefit of his music. Fantastic person and a really fine book!

This is truly an amazing book, and I don't use that word too often.

I attended the December 31, 1999 "Eagles Millennium Concert" at The Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was simply great, and Don Felder impressed the heck out of me. I wasn't too familiar with him before then, but gained immediate respect for "Fingers" Felder at that show.

(I'll never forget when, at midnight, the show stopped and Joe Walsh went to the microphone to say: "The most amazing thing about the year 2000.....is that I'm still ALIVE!!".)

Then, I watched Felder and the Eagles perform on the "Hell Freezes Over" DVD with much of the same admiration for his playing ability. I had noticed how little he was featured and how "nice of a guy" he seemed to be. Little did I know what was to happen.

After that DVD, I couldn't seem to find Felder. "Where's Felder?" I would say to myself, as if he was Rock `n Roll's version of Waldo.

I went to several Eagles concerts, with no sign of Don. No credits on the programs. No mention anywhere. I honestly thought he might have died.

Then......last month, I heard the Howard Stern/Don Felder interview on Sirius Radio. My 6 year question was answered. (By the way, that was absolutely once of the best celebrity interviews I've ever heard!)

What happened to Felder? Don Henley and Glenn Frey turned out to be 2 greedy A-Holes who totally screwed Don Felder, forcing him to sue his adopted musical brothers to get what he justly deserved in the first place. They stole his money for years. And when he questioned it, they kicked him out of the band. Scum bags!

I couldn't put this book down. It's honest, funny, sad, candid, and exposes the two Eagle Gods (Henley and Frey) for the jerks that they are. How dare they form a new company and squeeze out Felder, who was ALWAYS there for them, in thick and thin. (Not to mention the 3E club, but that's a different story)

By the end of this book, you'll love Felder even more and totally despise Henley and Frey. Don't get me wrong: Felder was no angel in all of this. He had his share of affairs, drugs, etc. But, he NEVER screwed the others like Henley and Frey did, and do today. Shame on them!

I'll always enjoy the Eagles music (Up to "The Long Run"), but will never see Henley and Frey in a positive light again.

Don Felder, thanks for writing this book and telling it like it really is.

The book shows that great musicians are not always pleasant to be around, but I would like to hear Hensley and Frye's side of the story.