Entertainment Books

In Home, A Memoir of My Early Years, Julie Andrews reveals a difficult childhood in war torn Britain. Born to a mother with dreams of stardom of her own and a father prone to drink, she weathers the German's Blitz that ravaged London. Her parents eventually divorce and her mother remarries. Julie begins her performing career locally and eventually branches out to radio, music halls and eventually a command performance before the Queen (the youngest solo performer age the age of 12). Continuing to draw audiences Julie eventually accepts an offer to perform on Broadway and leaves for the US at age eighteen.

While her performing career was on the rise, Julie was not as secure at home. Even though she traveled and performed with her mother and step-father, her mother was prone to black moods and struggled with Julia's rising fame. Both her mother and stepfather had drinking problems. There are family secrets that could shake the family apart. Julie becomes the partial caretaker and support of the family at a young age and depended more and more on people outside the home to provide comfort and support for her. When opportunities to move on and go to America, these are the people who assure her that home will be taken care of, it is her time to go. This is a tender memoir that doesn't shy away from difficult memories. What makes this so heartwarming is the care she takes with her story. Clear eyed and honest, she tells an engrossing tale of a difficult childhood and the ability to find humor and good in those times.

Even though I was born 6 years after the release of Mary Poppins and this book is about Julie Andrew's life up to being hired for Mary Poppins, I enjoyed every single page! I have always been a huge Julie Andrew's fan; however, I had no idea about her life prior to her films. Her grace and humor shines throughout the book. It is also evident how much work went into it as the memories are described so wonderfully. I really hope she will follow up with another book to bring us to date to where she is today!

I adore Julie Andrews so this book was a huge disappointment. I was so looking forward to getting lost in her words. By page 5, I was beginning to skimread over her tedious and depressing genealogy. Only halfway through the book does she begin describing her acting career. The book ends as she signs up for Mary Poppins. Where was an editor to suggest that anyone other than a devoted fan would find the minutiae of her family troubles a dull read?

This memoir reads as if it were two different books. The part dealing with her early work in British musical theater (after her emergence from the dying music hall tradition) reads mostly, but not entirely, like a stereotypical "show-biz" memoir, full of good friends, great colleagues and generally lovely people. It is saved from utter cliche by two things: First, Andrews clearly portrays the hard, wearing and sometimes humiliating work that goes into performing at the highest levels (particularly while trying to establish one's self). Second, she portrays some of the nastiness that can go on in this world where your status rises and falls with each performance and your ego and self-esteem with it. Fear of failure is powerful and all-pervading.

Andrews provides a number of startling vignettes that are distinctly not of the "beautiful person" school. There is Rex Harrison trying hard to get the very young (around 21) Andrews fired from My Fair Lady during rehersals while she was struggling to find herself in the role. Harrison did not care one whit who (including Andrews) might overhear him or the obscene and abusive language that he used. There is Richard Burton dealing with the pressure of performance in Camelot by the occasional heavy drinking binge and appearing on stage while totally drunk. Burton, a famous and successful womanizer, also tried to seduce the younger Andrews and did not scruple to try to manipulate her into his bed by undermining her sense of security as an actor in working with him. Nasty stuff and there are other such stories involving lesser known people. It is worth noting that Andrews does not mention receiving any help from other cast members while Harrison was busy trying to destroy her. The great director Moss Hart, however, showed enormous faith and patience and worked one-on-one with her to save her confidence, her role and probably her theater career. She says that she loved him for it, and I do not doubt her.

The other book, though, is about her childhood; and the events that it relates are often bleak and occasionally harrowing. Born in 1935, Andrews clearly remembers the bombs falling on London during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz of 1940-41. Her mother was an accomplished pianist and her Dad (as she always calls him) a working man. Her mother was working as a pianist at a resort when she met another man and left the family to live with him and eventually marry him. The two of them formed an act for the British music halls (vaudeville). Her mother insisted that Andrews come to live with her and her new husband and Dad acquiesced. This was a terrible blow to Andrews because Dad was essentially the only source of love in her life that was reliable, responsible and unconditional.

Nonetheless off Andrews went. She neither liked nor trusted her stepfather whom her mother insisted that Andrews call "Pop." Her new parents were busy working on their music hall career and became successful enough to be "second top" performers, especially after they discovered Andrews's amazing voice and other talents. She became part of the act and traveled with them. Success did not last, however, because Pop had ever growing alcohol problems which eventually affected his work and made him unemployable. Money became scarce, and he reacted in a very typical way: he began first to have flaming arguments and then to beat first his wife and eventually their two younger sons. Andrews, in her room, overheard many of these episodes and felt guilt for not somehow intervening. She is certain that her mother, whom she believes was abused in her own childhood, sometimes deliberately goaded Pop until he exploded into violence.

Pop apparently never beat Andrews but did make sexual advances to her at least twice, once when she was about ten and again when she was about 16. Each time she successfully forestalled him; but after the second occasion her mother's sister had a lock installed on Andrews's bedroom door, a necessary precaution as the drunk and befuddled Pop tried the door just after the lock was installed. He never tried again.

Andrews's primary sources of love and comfort during these times were her Dad, her aunt (she of the bedroom lock) and her voice teacher. Only her aunt had some periods when she was around Andrews more or less constantly. Her Dad could not be, but he seems to have simply suffused her with love when he was able to see her.

Andrews now became the main breadwinner for the family as her mother also slipped into alcoholism. Her mother informed her that if she failed they would lose their house, so there was plenty of pressure on a very young child. Her mother also one day took her to a house party and had her sing for the guests there. The party's host then questioned her closely. On the way home her mother informed Andrews that this man was Andrews's actual biological father. Her Dad, who loved Andrews's mother, had married her while she was pregnant and raised Andrews as his own child. This must have been shocking to Andrews but she does not make much of her reaction, and it certainly did not affect her relationship with her Dad.

We now know how deeply unsettling, indeed devastating, this sort of family background can be to the emotional life of a child and the adult that they grow to be. Some people can be emotionally stunted in various ways for life. Andrews herself is unlikely to be unscathed. The prose style that she employs in discussing these events is telling in this regard. She writes frankly and clearly about them, but she is guarded. Her tone is matter of fact, much as if she were describing what had happened to someone else. It is a tribute to her that she was able apparently to be not merely functional but greatly successful as an actor, a mother and a wife.

Julie Andrews' new autobiography, "Home," is a must-read for anyone who loves Disney, entertainment, England and great family stories. She is a consummate writer -- yes, she is one of the celebrities who writes her own books -- and evokes the mood, settings, and even the smells of her early life, from a dysfunctional but loving family and the last days of British Vaudeville to Broadway stardom and getting the role of Mary Poppins.

I was not aware that two Disney legends crossed paths twice in their careers. Julie Andrews performed in her first big stage variety show with none other than Disneyland Golden Horseshoe fixture Wally Boag. Boag also figures prominently in Steve Martin's autobiography, in which he fondly recalls Disneyland as his haven from an unhappy home life.

Julie's childhood had tough times, but she remained very close to her family over the years despite the bumps in the road. I'm glad she chose to focus in so much detail on her early career in this book, since many of us know little about the theatrical world she came from. Mary Poppins makes an appropriate stopping point since she suggests that her early experience led to her being uniquely qualified to play the part, which had a lot of music hall-style set pieces. The life she led after the movie made her an international star is really another story for another book.

I listened to the book on CD. Hearing Julie Andrews herself spin her tale in a warm, friendly way is a remarkable experience. Some of my friends chose to read the book first. I also bought the book to share with family and friends, and to have on hand for quick reference.

Very solid and innovative new age tournament poker strategies presented in this book. Definately a book for advanced players as some of the mathematical situations detailed in the book are beyond the grasp of beginners. The book is very well written.

I think this book will help anyone. From a beginner to someone who has played in tournaments. It's more appropriate for those with some knowledge and strategies of their own, but really anyone can benefit from this book.

This is a great tournament book! They discuss so many new concepts that hasn't been mentioned before in book form. These concepts can be found in different poker forums as in 2+2 forum. One of the concepts that is mentioned is bubble effect. They will discuss how to calculate the real value of your chips in different situations in a tournament and how it will effect your decisions. Many of the concepts are very helpful for sit and go as well, especially when you want to squeeze in to the money often. I highly recommend this great book. The authors have done a great job writing this.

I was a little skeptical, if not curious as to what would be written in this book and as to how useful the advice would be. I had read Kill Phil and thought that the ideas were very basic and not very applicable to intermediate and advanced players. When I spent my money on Kill Everyone and read I could not stop reading. Why? Because the 2008 Aussie Millions main event was coming up and the book focuses on bubble play, equilibrium strategies and prize pools and equities; concepts which are very important in the major events. All the money in poker is to be made in or around the bubble and when approaching the final table. Kill Everyone is the best for these situations and therefore very much worth the read. Part one of the book shows how to accumulate chips early on and I found a particular example useful for me in the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event. For No Limit Hold'em Tournaments this book sets the new precedent. Lee's latest book Let's Play Poker is brilliant for sit and go's. Use these books to improve your skills and reach your poker playing potential.

If you play freeze-out tournaments (Anything else played today?) you'll find this book to be an essential source-book and reference. An understanding of the concepts and examples presented will give any player a better foundation from which to make decisions - and from which to approach the optimum decision at critical points.

The discussion of play on the bubble is alone worth much more than the price of the book. For example the authors present analysis of how often you should push as a function of your bubble factor (ratio of equity loss from losing to equity gain from winning the confrontation) and your opponent's calling frequency. Most players know intuitively that you should push more frequently when (a) your bubble factor is greater and (b) your opponent is more likely to call. But a chart showing the results of the calculations gives insight that can't be gotten otherwise.

One short section attacks the myth that the big stack should call liberally to knock out small stacks. That discussion alone can make the difference between just finishing in the money and making a big win. If you have ever called or raised a bit loosely to knock out small stacks only to find that you've doubled up one or more and made them into real competition while crippling yourself then this section is must reading.

I could continue with examples, but the book is only 348 pages - probably shorter than my examples would be.

I do have a single criticism. The authors (properly) use the Independent Chip Model but without fully explaining the assumptions on which it relies. Like most other authors they do explain that it assumes equal skill for all players. However, they neglect to mention that it also relies on two other assumptions: (1) that all players will receive equivalent hands over the limited time of the tournament, and (2) that play is based on only your hand and statistical behavior of your opponents. If you're in the middle of a tournament, assumption (1) probably doesn't apply for the limited number of hands remaining, and in any given hand other things - tells for lack of a better word - frequently become more important than either of these assumptions.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book. But, be prepared to study rather than just read for it contains more, much more, than a list of starting hands and advice to play a tight aggressive game.

"I DID STAND-UP COMEDY for eighteen years. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spend in wild success." So begins Steve Martin's biography of himself as he explains it because he feels as if he is writing about someone else 30 to 40 years removed from the time and place. Although I was a fan of Steve Martin's comedy and movies mainly via SNL and his early movies I never appreciated the dedication, hard work, and intellectual underpinnings that guided his rise to superstardom. He covers the early dysfunctional family experience that seems to come with later greatness in enough detail to make the ending very touching where there is reconciliation. Throughout the book you get a flavor for the times (sixties/seventies) from an observer/participant perspective rather than partisan/ideologue. Finally I enjoyed reading it because Steve Martin is a complex and interesting character who can be completely zany and stupid but also recite poetry, discuss art, and find the philosophical underpinnings in making a fool of yourself in front of thousands.

I became a Steve Martin fan in college when my roomates and I saw him on Johnny Carson trying to make people laugh by reading names out of a phone book (the way great actors can supposedly make people cry by doing the same thing). Of course, no one was laughing so he resorted to his standard balloon hat, bunny ears, arrow through the head and Groucho Marx glasses. It was so bizarre and crazy, we were in stitches. Of course, we were also pharmaceutically challenged at the time so that helped.

When reading this book, it also helps if you lived through the 60s and 70s. Steve makes many references to those times as he was growing up and his comedy career morphed. If you also grew up during those times, you can relate to so much more of what he's talking about. But regardless, it's really quite entertaining as he pulls you through the 60s and his time as a writer on the Smothers Brothers show and his early attempts at comedy in the 70s.

If you followed Steve's stand-up career, I think you will really like this book. You really get to know the man and his struggles with his comedy career, his family and his love life. This is the first book of his that I've read and I never realized what a good writer he is. I breezed through the book as he has a way of painting a picture and and scene in a very visual way. So many times through the book, I read a sentence and stopped and thought, "You know, that's true. It really is". A few of my favorites were "Thankfully, perseverance is a great substitute for talent", and "Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naivete, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do".

Every young performer should read this book, whether you're a Steve Martin fan or not. It is inspiring as well as entertaining. If you were born after the Steve Martin phenomenon of the 70s, go to YouTube.com and find some old Steve Martin stand-up clips. You will not regret it.

I remember watching Steve Martin's seemingly meteoric rise from Tonight Show guest, to Saturday Night Live stalwart, to concert hall blockbuster. He made me laugh. He helped take the edge off the 70's. I remember leaving one of his Nassau Coliseum shows thinking that all in the world was good and it's ok to be goofy - for a little while anyway. It was from that melancholy recollection I read through this book.

While Martin's stand up humor was edgy, innovative, and visual, Born Standing Up is laced with a dry humor that sometimes brings chuckles one or two lines afterward. We can see that as is true for most seemingly overnight success stories there are years of hard work and sacrifice behind the sensation. Though there is only a small window into Steve's creative genius, you can see how his young life contributed to the product he presented on stage. Martin's stand up act was filled with silliness, idiocy, and just plain tomfoolery. In Born Standing Up we see the crafting of that act took an intellectual approach and technical dissection of how comedy works. Laced with stories of his family life, upstart employment, inspirations, encounters and collaborations with familiar performers from the era, and the eventual eruption of his show, Born Standing Up leads down a road of opportunities realized and acted upon.

Tracking the career of Steve Martin can be confusing. The performances of the stand up era are dramatically different from the ones we see in movies today. So different that when I played some of "Let's Get Small" for my kids (who are very familiar with the Cheaper by the Dozen dad) they had a hard time believing it is the same person. Born Standing Up reveals an underlying personality that is constant throughout Martin's career.

I believe this is a 5 star book for anyone who fondly remembers Martin's stand-up. Thanks Steve for making the world a little less serious!

Steve Martin is simply the best and is now copied by all other stand up comics. Great belly laughs.

Martin's book is a terrific look at what it took to succeed in comedy during the 60s and 70s. For someone who, as a teenager, lived for Martin's appearances on The Tonight Show or Saturday Night Live, I was able to laugh all over again at the memories of his gags, silliness, and craziness. They were events for us 15-year-olds, gathering around the TV and then carrying our favorite bits forward to reenact in the classroom. Martin is quite honest about his complicated relationship with his father and other family members, but noticeably -- but inconsistently -- discreet when it comes to certain marital or romantic relationships. At one point, he references a divorce he was going through when we, the readers, hadn't yet been apprised that he had married. Here we thought he was still the lonely guy. In any event, overall, this is a wonderful chronicle of a hard-working comedian, as well as how difficult it is to make it within that business. I found this book to be as enjoyable as Harpo Marx's "Harpo Speaks," which also examines a life well lived within a cut-throat industry.

This is definitely a 5 star item. I agree with all the above positive comments, so I won't repeat them here. Basically you see a board position from real life games and you have to figure out the best move, which may be just a positional move, such as putting your rook behind a passed pawn, or you may have to avoid a trap or a mate three moves ahead. There are absolutely no hints on what may be the issue. I photocopy a few pages of problems, not the solutions, and carry them in my pocket to evaluate when I am somewhere where I have time to spare. The ability to have folded sheet(s) of paper in my pocket, rather than a full book, makes this an extremely practical offering.

Good book as chess coach. Good instruction material as well as useful lessons for myself.

The 1st word in the title is key, this book is _very_ practical. I suppose there aren't many chess books that will weaken your game, but I haven't come across any that should really significantly help an intermediate player to the degree this one does. It's based on a novel, but seemingly obvious, concept that the answer to problem presented shouldn't be "telegraphed" in any way beforehand. Also, the problems are not simply of the white/black "to play and win" variety - you may just be trying get a draw when behind. You aren't told whether there's a mate hiding in there or simply a positional improvement. In other words, it's very much like the real life positions players find themselves in on a regular basis.

There are a few minor points I could complain about. I think the arrangement of the illustrations s/h/b somewhat different and it seems like the difficulty levels shown are occasionally a little off. But these are really insignificant issues compared to the power of the concept and the excellent choice of problems.

In short, a great book for intermediate-to-advanced chess players. (It's extremely handy when you want something very portable to keep you entertained for an indeterminate amount of time - like waiting at an airport.) I'll be sad when I've finished this. I hope Mr. Cheng comes up with a volume 2!

I'll just add that, for what it's worth, I was recently playing blitz against an A-level friend (who beats me much more often than not) and I came up with a winning move in a complex position that stunned both of us. I don't think I would've seen it if I hadn't been exercising my brain with this book - and I'm not even halfway through!

For a combination of originality, usefulness and just plain fun, this book definitely deserves 5 stars.

First of all, I'd like to say that this is not a problem or puzzle book. As Cheng points out, if you rely on problem books, your mind channels into that mind set and you are constantly looking for mates in four or queen sacs which rarely occur. This book presents positions from amateur games (with a few master's games sprinkled in). They are typical positions which present simple tactics or strategic decisions or defensive moves, in other words you are not given anything to look for beforehand (as in your own games) so you have to think for yourself and scan the board for the best move in this particular situation. He doesn't even rate the difficulty until after you have made your choice. I had previously worked on CT-Arts problem series software and realized after finding five queen sacs leading to mate, that this wasn't real chess. Mr. Cheng's book is as close to real chess as I have seen. I was thinking he should create something on cd or dvd software based on this book or even more examples. But the book, as it is, is logically arranged. No more flipping to the back for the solution to the position. It's on the facing page and all you have to do is cover it up. Minor comments: slightly larger diagrams would help. Numbering left to right, as someone mentioned. Also, putting the color to move at the bottom of the diagram, rather than have all whites at bottom. I'm not sure if this would be a typographical issue, but there you are. I have only gone through about ten percent of problems, but have already learned a lot and have been kicking myself for stupid decisions, just as i do in real games. Congratulations to Mr. Cheng for this book, and perhaps he will expand into the software field in the future.

This is a great book. I think every chess player should get as much information as possible on chess. Thats what I think. I've been playing for a long time. But slacked off a bit. So I recently got back into it. I play every day on my computer. And lose the majority of the time. Out of about 2,3oo games I won a little over 500. So I got a little tired of that and said to myself that you shoul get a couple of books. Thats why I purchased this book. I'm still reading it but It's helping me out.

Rock documentaries are my husbands lastest thing. He went from a man that does not like to read to reading these type of books daily. "Slash" is a good read. Packed full of juicy stories. A must read!

Amazon delivered Slash book to me in just a few days, and the payment was ok too. I love the book because it's very interesting,I recommed it because it's great and easy to read. It had interesting things that people would like though they are not Slash's fan.He is showing us what great he is. Thanks, Amazon, to give me the possibility of read this book. It's hard to find a page like Amazon that deliver this book to my country (Argentina).

This isn't one of your boring autobiographies. The book progresses from Slash's early childhood to his current status in life, and it's entertaining every step of the way. Slash shares moments of triumph as well as humiliating incidents, and tells us stories of many of the celebrities he's met over the years. He also answers the questions running through the minds of all Guns N Roses fans: What happened? Could it have been avoided? I'd recommend this book for any GNR fan. Damn near 500 pages, and not one was boring.

I enjoyed this book. He tells his story in a simple, honest, and humble manner. No boasting or bridge burning. He is obviously deeply disappointed with the demise of the original line up for GnR but he doesn't scream about it or come off as bitter and twisted. I believe what he has to say regarding the reasons for the breakup: Axl was an inconsiderate member of the band who is both unapologetic for his inconsideration and incapable of realizing how important it is to be considerate when interacting with other human beings.

Axl humiliated the entire band and organization by refusing to show up for gigs on time. There were innumerable times he did not take to the stage until HOURS after the band was scheduled and ready to go on. This did not happen once or twice or a few times here and there. It happened many times and Axl refused to apologize or even explain what the hell his reasoning was for keeping tens of thousands of fans waiting for him to show up and sing some rock n' roll.

Slash does NOT slam Axl in this book. He merely lays out the simple and indisputable facts about Axl's arrogance, narcissism, greed, tyrannical inclinations, and his grossly un-brotherly & inconsiderate treatment of his fellow band mates. To his further credit, Slash praises Axl's talent as a lyricist, song writer, and lead vocalist. He conveys a sense of deep sorrow that the two of them could not remain friends or band mates.

Read this book and you will no longer wish that the original GnR reunite. You will be glad that Axl has had so much difficulty with his version of the "new & improved" GnR. His thoroughly ill treatment of the original line up is enough to not only turn your stomach but put you off from ever looking again at any of those old GnR videos & concerts. You cannot watch them without seeing what an absolute piece of excrement that Axl Rose was towards his band and their audience.

When this book was published, Scott Weiland was still part of Velvet Revolver. He has since left the band and one hopes with all of one's heart that Slash and the band ask Eric Dover to join them as lead vocalist. Eric doesn't have the same front man presence as Axl, but he sings a helluva lot better than him and you can bet he won't be refusing to go on stage on time.

As for Slash's drug use: He talks about it in a refreshingly unrepentant manner. He does not come off moralistic or preachy. He does not look down his nose at anyone. His attitude is similar to that of Bill Hicks: He had a fun time in the debauchery and survived it and that's that. No apologies for having fun with crack, heroin, ecstasy, and OxyContin. None needed. He's been there, done that, and now he's a dad with two sons whom he adores and wants to raise in a healthy way.

If you liked the original GnR as much as I did, then you must read this book. It is easy to read and Slash's voice and manner are on every page. He speaks without any pretentiousness and drives home the point that he loves being a road hog and a working musician and is not interested in being anything or anyone else. He loves himself, his family, his talent, his friends, and his life. He is a good egg with a good heart. The man deserves his success.

Thanks for having the balls to write this , Slash. The current list of band bios about GnR are nauseatingly frivolous and unforgivably sensationalistic. They do not enlighten the reader; they merely obscure the truth with rumours and misspoken anecdotes.

This book was fun to read!

Let me start by saying I am a huge Slash/GnR fan. I loved Slash's stories behind all the GnR songs and his take on Axl being Axl and the last band tours. My beef is with the editing and fact checking. I am shocked by how much of it is wrong! Just small examples like Slash and Renee being married at the Four Seasons in Marina Del Rey (it's a Ritz) and getting Fred Coury's name wrong (it is mentioned at least 1/2 dozen times as Curry). There are several other wrong or inconsistent details, enough for it to distract me and wonder what else was incorrect in this book. Again, that being said, I did enjoy the book would recommend it. I just wish the publishers would take the time to put out a better quality book. Nikki Sixx's book was really so much better quality even though it is a totally different style.

I have used previous editions in the classroom but this one is even more thorough and has up-to-date examples which make it even more interesting. Worth keeping as a desk reference even if you aren't a PR person!

Although I found this text interesting, and mostly informative, the practice of editing seems to have slipped through the cracks. And for this purpose, I offer my eye for future editions! The order of content, as well as combining similar themes, could have been a bit more well thought out.

I really enjoyed this book. The story itself was entertaining, and I also enjoyed the interesting array of photographs, "How To" lists, and illustrations. I found myself skipping over certain parts of the book (mainly the chapters that include manuscripts of Jameson's movies and conversations with her family), but overall I had a hard time putting it down.

This book is a must-read if you're a fan of Jenna Jameson or you just want to read a juicy story about sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. It's certainly not Shakespeare, so if you go into with that in mind, it's a really fun read.

When I first purchased this book, I wanted to know what makes a girl into a pornstar and why would she continue to do it if everyone is putting her down. As I read the first 300 pages of this book, I learned that Jenna had serious self-esteem issues to the point of narcissism---sometime that she might still exhibit to this day. That reason for her becoming a pornstar was no surprise but throughout her life, Jenna really hasn't learned anything from her past relationships or mistake and she has not really shed a good light on the sex industry. She claimed that people make stereotypes of her type of lifestyle claiming that pornstars are nothing but sluts. The fact is, she admit she has had sex with many people offscreen even when she was in a relationship. Then what do you call that type of lifestyle then?

I thought reading this book would make me understand the porn lifestyle more but it was as I thought it would be. It was a lot of tragic moments and drama. However, I do give her credit for admitting to the fact that she thinks she is better than everyone else by saying that "half of the world's men are jerking off to (me)" while most pornstars writing a book about themselves would claim themselves to be the victim.

A lot of the events of the book are very skeptical and I wonder how much of it are facts. To some extent, some events are exaggerated to the point it makes Jenna a seriously flawed character who only handles the situation with drugs and running away. Even after she sobers up, she repeats the mistake again. There were a lot of philosophical standpoints in the book which sounded more like a third-person observation (Neil Strauss's) than her own self-analysis and I wonder if she really did write anything.

The ending of the book wasn't really anything spectacular, she just gets married to Jay. If the book continued, it would show that she has divorced him and is dating Dave Navarro and Tito. So she really hasn't gotten out of that "lifestyle."

When she claimed she would have become a pornstar anyway if she did not have such a tramatic childhood, I tend to disagree because hopefully her mother would have taught her to have some self-respect. What made her into a pornstar is that she has a big enough ego and has no shame or humiliation. But I guess if her ego was bigger than her implants, she would have become a pornstar anyways.

This is an amazing book. It is a very real look at the industry, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Her story is very real and gritty. I found it very captivating and heartbreaking at the same time. I found myself really wondering about the choices, no matter how small, we make and what they lead to in the long term. I found myself laughing at her ability to inject humor in certain humorless situations. My heart broke for her emotional pain and longing, and the horrible downward spiral with drug abuse. Her story is one of redemption and finding her true self, and creating a world that fits her needs; not the other way around. And more importantly finding what it really was along the way- that she wanted.

One warning with this book: Not all may appreciate the photos, so I recommend having a spare page handy as a marker. Her photos in the book are very beautiful, some are more haunting that others. But there are some folks that may be offended both by her story, and her photos.

At first glance, most will think this book a tawdry story about the porn industry. There is nothing tawdry about her story. It's raw, gritty, sometimes humorous, and sometimes painful.

Great read!!! Very exciting and attention grabbing. I read it in 2 weeks. Jenna has had a very sad and eventful life. This gives her a great new respect for the woman she has become. I learned a lot! The "industry" is not at all like the image it has been given.

I actually think women may enjoy this book more than men, because it's a very personal story about another woman's life. She centers her story around her life, not just porn, so I really do see women being able to relate more to her troubles. A book about sex with great ilustrations that I'd guide you is Sex and the Perfect Lover: Tao, Tantra, and the Kama Sutra

I have never been more intrigued by a story in my life. Anthony Kiedis continually strived to have fun in his life and never took life too seriously. He made a life derived from the use of drugs and had magnificant experiences. This book is awesome and wonderfully expresses Anthony's deepest, darkest thoughts and feelings. Must READ!

I was pretty shocked that between the alleged writer, ghost writer and a major publisher that somebody didn't catch a blatant mistake that really casts some doubt as to the effort and veracity of this manuscript. About midway thru the book Anthony starts to discuss his contract negotiations with Warner Brothers and company president "Mo Austin". I believe, unless he was kidnpped by aliens, that the head of Warner's at this time was actually a man named Mo Ostin, a relatively well known figure in the record business. This would be like writing a book about the real estate industry and referring to a "Danield Trummp" This makes me wonder if Anthony either didn't even read the manuscript or didn't know how to spell the name of a reasonably important business associate, namely the person responsible for paying him millions of dollars annually. And the ghost writer should be ashamed of himself. Obviously, the publishing company probably didn't care since this has a People Magazine quality to it that spent more time racking up naked photos of ex-girlfriends and endless gossip about intercourse and "babes".
I expected a lot more from this book. On some level, I was entertained but ultimately this is a very disposable effort that is much like a fast food meal. Anthony's youth, his struggles with finding artistic success, his incredible self destructiveness and creative abilities are ultimately overwhelmed by the low rent, frat house behaviors that he knows are inappropriate but still seems all too willing to share. We never find out about what happened to his Dad in terms of how he left California, people like George Clinton who fade in and out without any follow up.

As much as Anthony's drug use is discussed in detail, he frequently pussies out with justifications stemming from inadvertent dentist novacaine and wrongly prescribed pharmaceuticals. I would have been more sympathetic if he manned up and just admitted that on all of these relapses it wasn't a relationship or a wrong prescription, he just wanted to fall off the wagon.

A word about the women. Living in LA, I get the sense that Anthony's outlook on women is totally defined by looks only. It was astonishing to me that a streetwise individual would have a woman he had broken up with come back to him and then after this leech starts trying to threaten him for palimony he falls madly back "in love". Only in LA. Another LA reference which I'm sure AK is already cringing over is his discussion of Kabballa which has already come and gone like alfalfa sprouts and oxygen bars as a passing and absurd fixation of LA's jaded. More revelatory moments (besides the aforementioned baffling inability to attend his "friend's" funeral) was when he went to give a Christmas present to Ione and the mother wouldn't even let him into the house. The mother must have been very pleased with the type of behavior her daughter, a veritable child was having to endure. It takes a lot of bad behavior to generate that kind of hostility.
Also, the story where he is so loaded that he forgets that he made a deal to sell his house and a realtor does that and he isn't even informed. Hello, doesn't a seller have to sign reams of paper during that process. that one was a bit hard to swallow especially because a buddy's family was literally living there. this all happened in a week. Can you spell escrow period? That's gotta be at least 30 days.

Anyway, I did find this book fascinating at least from the level of abuse and the hilarious kowtowing to celebrities that allowed anthony to literally walk the Earth as a veritable emotional, physical, ethical and professional zombie. Finally, this was written in 2004 with a supposed happy ending of sobriety but I don't think any reader would be at all surprised to find anthony hiding out in some future seedy motel, blazing away. I don't wish that on him or anyone else but it eems that if he can't even really explain this continual obsession to us readers he probably doesn't understand it himself. For a true biography of personal tragedy and the tortured artist those looking for a little more substance might like Richard Ellman's "Oscar Wilde", but, careful you will have to concentrate and you won't be able to read it with MTV on in the background.

Anthony Kiedis. Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was interesting to read Anthony's autobiography and understand the meaning beyond some of the lyrics he has written so far. I do need to separate book from "facts" however.

The book: 465 pages in tiny print describing a life of excesses in every sense became at times a tedious read, mainly because Anthony's life is self-described and delivered by what I define a rather flat narrative. A repetition of events -and most often, a vicious circle, literally- that failed to engage me in full in a few parts. That does not mean that I did not "appreciate" the content. If anything, his is an often brutal testimony of what a serious drug addiction can do to a human being (I felt that this book was more about his drug addiction than about his life or the RHCP).

The "facts": oh, I would have a thing or two to say about his upbringing, I am itching to do it. But. Anthony comes out to be so non-judgemental, so not-critical, so loving towards his family, which he clearly loves to bits to this day, that I am discouraged to say anything more about it. And I respect him for not pointing any accusing finger, about back then or later on. He is not blaming anyone, or at least, that's the way I have perceived the core of this book. In his words, it was mostly all about "the shortcut", which brought him to jump fences instead of walking on a proper path, figuratively and literally. The drugs, his love stories, his songs, the band, the friends he has lost to drugs, the rehabs, and drugs again... An indefinable sense of hopelessness, sometimes peppered with sober, more productive moments, where the love towards life shines in full. I think that it is at this point that he chose to write the book, after a few years of sobriety. And I hope the process of retracing his past has added to the self-healing and helped to stay clean and sober, appreciating life to the full.

Would Anthony have become what he is without experiencing what he went through? I do not know. We are what we do, or so they say. But as much as this book conveys the dispiritedness, desolation and utter despair connected to drug addiction, it is uplifting to see that it is POSSIBLE to get out of it. Tough, difficult, hard, but possible. An inspiration for those ones who are still struggling.

I read somewhere that Anthony recently had a baby (last year). Not an epilogue to his story, but another, wonderful, beginning.

After listening to Stadium Arcadium and being blown away by the lyrics (e.g. Wet Sand) and stunning music (again, Wet Sand), I was very drawn to reading Scar Tissue. While not a die hard RHCP fan before the book (or before Stadium Arcadium), I am now. I dug up the old stuff and gave it a re-listen. It's amazing to listen to the songs after having read about them; the process AK describes on writing lyrics and the contributions and musical influence from the rest of the band past and present.

A main theme and thread throughout the book is AK describing his serious struggle with substance abuse. He writes in a very clear and vivid voice, it is moving and revealing. I have profound respect for his recovery and the process he went through. To me, the book itself is written with a sense of service and purpose beyond mere autobiography. A great read.

Scar Tissue is an excellent tale. More than anything the story is about a man who has done some hard yards and is witnessing without shame or pride his life story. The book is humbling in many ways. Scar Tissue is as fun to read as it tragic. His account of his day to day dealings as a rockstar leave you feeling like Anothony Kedis could very well be just one of your friends. He is down to earth. He is real, and he is very articulate. There is quite a bit of esoteric language, but you can handle it. Read it. 5 Stars

Spring Amakening: In the Flesh is a fabulous guide to the broadway show, from conception to casting and beyond. It has lots of wonderful pictures of the cast, as well as interivews with original cast members, replacement cast, ensemble and the minds behind it all; Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater. A full libretto is an added bonus, as the info given in this book about the show and cast is wonderful. A must own for a fan of the show or any Broadway enthusiast.

The NFL Record and Fact Book is a must purchase every year. Anyone interested in the history of football will be pleased with the historical information that is included as well as the present schedules of each of the teams. I pick it up throughout the football season.

This book has the answer to any football question you would ever ask. It contains NFL records, Pro Football Hall of Fame information, Team information, Draft information and more. I bought the book last year and kept it right by my chair where I watch football for the whole season because I would thumb through it every Sunday. I have been waiting for this book to come out. Be sure to get it before the season starts.

This book provides a different look at football with stats and is very interesting reading and informative.

While the NBA and MLB have stopped publishing guides and record books,the nfl still publishes a great record and factbook.This book is loaded with lots of great info and history,and even scheduling formulas and rules.A must have for any die hard nfl fans.

The NFL's Record & Fact Book was once an necessary part of any football fan's library. Now it is just a waste of money.
The book claims "It is the essential information book for the game." Yet this year they decided to drop birthdates for players - an essental piece of information.
The rest of the book contains only rudimentary information that you can find for free on the internet.
Football fans are demanding more info and the NFL keeps offering less and less.