Entertainment Books

I'm not sure what drove me to buy the Brillstein book. I had heard of him of years, but wasn't sure that a managers tale was all that interesting. Oh, but is! This book is filled with humor, honesty, and and ego. Bernie seems like a terrific guy and he tells fantastic stories. Some are filled with love: Belushi, Radner, etc. Others venom (and these are the most fun, he pulls no punches): Ovitz, Shandling (more would have better on this), etc. You learn about the inside story of Hee Haw, The Muppets, SNL, and Lorimar. My favorite stuff was about Jim Henson, rarely have I seen so much great stuff written about one of my heroes.

While this may not be a roast, I raise my glass to Big Bernie and the wonderful life he has led. Thanks for sharing.

There's really no good insider showbiz tips or amazing gossip here. I found the book to be readable -- meaning I kept on reading once I picked it up but at any time I could have stopped and not felt like I was going to be missing a golden nugget.

It's a show biz biography of a manager. Did we really expect it to be an essential read?

I found myself unexpectedly touched by this autobiography. Having read it, I consider Bernie Brillstein a friend. With no self-praise, Brillstein shows himself to be a man of decency, of compassion, of empathy. He began in his profession as an agent at William Morris, dreaming of representing mid-Century comics such as Jackie Gleason and Jackie Gale. When he left William Morris, he became a personal manager, starting the careers of dozens of entertainers who have become household names. The stories Bernie has to tell! He survived--there's no other word--until the end of the century, representing Jim Henson, Lorne Michaels, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and, as the saying goes, a cast of thousands along the way. He created HEE HAW and greenlighted THE SOPRANOS, headed a movie studio for a short time, got fired, picked himself up and started again. His very life has been the personification of the entertainment business; there are few who exceeded his success. And he is the one having the last laugh: He's still here! But along with the chronological report of his professional experience, what he was thinking, how he pulled it off, there is this man, this basically sweet and decent man, and that's what shines through his book. I enjoyed reading about Bernie's fascinating life.

A passably interesting look into life of an "old school" agent/manager with some real insights into his client's lives and the behind-the-scenes machinations of Hollywood. WARNING: You'll have to wade through a considerable amount of self-aggrandizment that I found tremendously off-putting toward the end. It's a rare occasion when I don't finish a book but I found myself skipping through the last third and ultimately bailed out with just a few chapters to go.

Because we're so star-struck in America, we tend to be overly impressed with ShowBiz and the people who inhabit that world. But as charming, determined and persistent a personality Mr. Brillstein may be, he's essentially just a salesman - NOT the creator, but a "dealmaker" of the ShowBiz Old School - and after almost 400 pages, I found he'd worn thin his welcome! However dramatic it may have been FOR HIM to accompany John Belushi's body back East, or "duke it out" with the Big Boys in corporate takeovers while at Lorimar, the emotions are thinly drawn and shallow in this book. Brillstein made me less than intrigued with his machinations, unimpressed by his self-aggrandizing spin on events and ultimately unsympathetic to his life challenges. (His obvious misogyny doesn't help, either - he has no use for women outside of the sack, it appears.) Here's another absurdly fortunate, rich powerful older man feeling sorry for himself because time changes everything? I'd have hoped he'd have learned to adjust better to the slings and arrows of life by the time he got to his 60s and 70s!

This book was distressing to me because I REALLY WANTED to LIKE the guy - but I found I couldn't. He's kinda ordinary, and once you remove the "famous" names and large amounts of money, his anecdotes are kinda ordinary! He's not terribly brilliant, sage or extraordinary in any other way than being sublimely LUCKY! I gave the book 3 stars, because it's certainly not dreck, but for inspiration or insight, I'd advise looking elsewhere!

As someone who is originally from the Steubenville, OH area, I can tell you that there are a lot of old guys back home who don't like Mr. Tosches very much. His extensive research and willingness to nonchalantly describe certain families' criminal endeavors were not well received. His book, however, is a well-written bio of one of the more compelling personalities in American entertainment.

As a fairly young guy, I only knew Dean Martin as an aging Rat Packer. Tosches does a good job of describing Dino's roots and the enigmatic manner in which he formed relationships. The pace of the book works well, taking you smoothly from his humble beginnings to his ascent into celebrity and his eventual death.

I didn't really find any problems with the research or conclusions drawn. I've read different accounts of the relationship between Dino and Jerry Lewis and how that ended, and it's hard to discern exactly what happened. Nonetheless, Tosches appears to make an honest attempt to tell the story (though maybe from Martin's perspective).

If you're a fan of Dino and the Rat Pack, this is an informative must read. Note that the book doesn't digress too much into the lives of other Rat Packers. This is a book about Dino, and the others all take a backseat.

Great book if you want to know the history of Steubenville, Ohio. Seriously, this book is tough going in terms of keeping your interest. It is clear the author had very little information on Dean's formative years so he goes off on tangents about his home town, its political environment, business, and stories about Dean's relatives that really don't have any major relevance.

I understand the need to provide context so we understand the subject and his motivations, but there is a point where it becomes too much and comes off as filler. The first couple of chapters could have been condensed into a couple of well-written and concise paragraphs.

I found myself skipping ahead to chapters that actually had anecdotes and such about DEAN MARTIN, the supposed subject of the book. In short the book is overlong and could have used some serious editing. The author's writing style is also quite irritating at times and he makes the common mistake of speculating about what Dean may have been thinking when of course he has no way of knowing that.

For a book about Dean that will keep you interested, I would suggest "Dean and Me (A Love Story)" by Jerry Lewis

Growing up with his music I could not believe the life this man led. He saw it all and nothing seemed to bother him. Just too cool even for his own good from his early days in NYC to his partnership with Jerry Lewis to the break up. Nothing seemed to matter. Forget the broads and booze his real love was golf and cowboy movies who would have thought? His indifference to the Mob, to the Kennedy's and even Sinatra, is priceless. GREAT BOOK!!! Didnt want it to end.

What a sad story. I had always thought Dean Martin had more talent than he used - he chose crummy material while others, like Sinatra, chose the best songs to sing. If only Dean had given a da#n - about himself, and about others. I was really fascinated by his ability to navigate the seedy side of show business and glad to hear he was admired for this professionalism. The author really seems to knows his story and the entertainment industry; the reader is bombarded with facts and dates that almost overwhelm but at the same time reinforce the complexities of show business. I recommend this highly.

To spin gold from such low material--the life of a minor pop figure who was huge and rich as a king in his tasteless time--shows Tosches' genius as a writer. The book is self indulgent, overwritten at times, but generally entertaining and often hilarious and brilliant. Right up there with his biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, it tells us more about what we are as Americans than most of us want to know.

At 25, Julie Andrews had it all: She was a Broadway star about to take on her first starring role in a film, Mary Poppins, she was happily married, and she had just become the mother of Emma. Her smile and lovely voice were known to tens of millions around the world.

But the path from her origins to those heights was not the expected one. In this candid memoir, Ms. Andrews takes us for an eye-opening ride through her family's genealogy, her career as a youthful vaudeville star, her experiences in becoming her family's sole support at a young age, and the many amazing things that happen in performing companies. It's a wild trip!

Before the book ends, she gives us behind-the-scenes looks at many of the giants of 20th century entertainment including Moss Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, Fritz Lowe, T.H. White, Walt Disney, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, and Carol Burnett.

She is a lady in all that she has to say, but she does have opinions. The finely nuanced reading captures her true feelings in subtle ways that the book cannot hope to do. I could have listened to this recording all night, every night. It was marvelous!

It was if Julie Andrews was sitting across from you telling you about her life story. I also have and read the book first, so hearing Julie read her own story, with all of the inflections in her voice, was great.

This memoir is truly one of those that cannot be put down. And to hear the reminisces in Julie Andrews' own crystalline voice is a rare treat. The situations that the young girl endured growing up are stunning and the listener's heart breaks for her, all the while gaining a new appreciation for Julie's grace and grit. I highly recommend this book, especially as a book on CD, and am hopeful that Ms. Andrews will continue her life story in the form of a sequel....

I have been an admirer of Julie ever since I first saw her in Mary Poppins so many years ago. What a joy to listen to her tell the story of her early years up until the time when she is on a plane heading toward Hollywood to make that film. She has overcome a great many obstacles in her fascinating career. I certainly admire her even more now after hearing her tell her story. This was so interesting that I wanted to hear more. This is a must read!

Rather than pre-order the book, I waited until the CD came out to see if, as I suspected, it would be narrated by Julie Andrews. Julie's words in her own voice add so much to her story. I can't wait until the next installment! The only criticism of the CD is you have to turn the volume up all the way to hear it, at least while in the car. It brought back such pleasant memories as Julie related stories of her appearances on TV, with Carol Burnett, and on the Ed Sullivan Show, and her own show. Some of the excepts can be found on the internet. Wonderful performer. A voice not to be forgotten, nor repeated.

I found this to be an excellently researched book covering the lives of the artists known as Impressionists. It went chronologically, with stories of their work, their families, and what was going on in the world around them that affected their ability to make a living at their art. It wasn't boring in the least, and let the reader get a clear picture of the personalities and characters of those struggling artists who are so well known to us now.

An excellent work. The author has captured the feeling of each artist and the lime they lived.A must for all those
interested in the impressionists.

One of the great benefits of living where I do is the opportunity to take in great art. A reasonably short train trip lands me in Manhattan and I'm able to go and gaze at the glories of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of the huge draws of the Met are the galleries of paintings by the artists of nineteenth century France and the movement known as Impressionism. Filled with light and colour, these paintings caused mockery from the critics, outrage, and yet were still able to find a market -- and one that has become even more so in the modern world, where Impressionist paintings fetch prices in the millions of dollars.

In this narrative group biography, author Sue Roe explores the lives of the leaders of the Impressionist movement from 1862 to 1886, the most troubled -- and most prolific -- years that these artists shook up the rather staid art world. Each artist is given a bit of a brief biography, and some of the details of their childhood and early careers, along with the women they married and their struggles for either money or recognition or both.

She begins, naturally enough, with Edouard Manet, and his painting, Le Dejeneur sur l'Herbe first exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1863, and which caused outrage. It wasn't a biblical or historical subject, or a portrait, or even a landscape. Instead, two modern Parisian men are sitting out of doors on the grass, with a naked woman. And she's being bold about it, staring out at the viewer with a frank and somewhat amused expression. His next painting, Olympia, had the same naked model, this time as a grand courtesan in a modern setting, and this time, the critics really screamed in horror. Other artists were pushing the limits with experimental work that played with light, such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne. Two women would join the Impressionist circle, Berthe Morisot (she would marry Manet's brother in time) and Mary Cassatt. Shunned by the judges of the Paris Salon, they would eventually stage their own exhibitions, with varied success.

What makes this one different is that Roe takes a look at the lives of these people outside of the art. She looks at how they met one another, their marriages and children, how the outside world treated them. Most of her attention is focused on their financial and marital world. The popular idea of an artist struggling and slowly starving in a garret, fighting the world that scorns them, probably grew out of these lives, if Roe's information is any indication. With a few exceptions, nearly every artist in this story is going broke in a big way -- there are vivid details of their private lives, the quiet frustrations of their wives trying to raise their children on nearly nothing, and especially the choice that some of them took to paint more popular paintings that would make them money, and so, survive.

It was this constant focus on the lack money and the descriptions of poverty that really struck me with this nonfiction work. Again and again Roe focuses on the subject, and seems to take delight in describing the misery, from the Franco-Prussian War and the Communard uprising that soon followed, the disputes that Cézanne and his father had over money, and the constant borrowing and pleading for cash. What with all of the whinging going on, I wonder how anyone had time to paint...

And that's the disappointment of this work. The narrative has a very gossipy tone, and Roe continually focuses on the negative aspects of life. After a while, it became rather tedious to read about, and combined with the fact that she had so many leading characters necessarily leads to everyone getting a little piece of the story, and not too much lead time. I came away with a good perspective and idea of the time range of the Impressionist movement, but I also came away with not really knowing a great deal about any of the artists. If I had not already read some fictional and nonfiction works about Manet, Morisot and Cassatt, I would be heartily confused. Too, Roe mentions various paintings and works, but then doesn't have any pictures of them in the two photographic inserts. It all comes across as very confusing in the end, and while the book does have some positive aspects, it's not one that I would recommend for casual reading.

If the reader already has some knowledge of the Impressionists, this would be a good gateway book to spur some interest in more specific artists, but it really doesn't reveal anything new. Along with the two inserts of paintings, small black and white pictures are at the start of each section, along with two maps showing Paris and the surrounding countryside during the period. Plenty of notes and a bibliography and index complete the book.

Overall, this is about a three-four star read. It's worth reading once, but it's also one that I don't think I will reread any time soon. Which is a pity. So this is not a book that I would recommend, despite giving it an overall rating of four stars.

It is to Sue Roe's credit that THE PRIVATE LIVES OF THE IMPRESSIONISTS is not a fun or funny book.

Ms. Roe is a serious scholar and she has written a serious work.

Writing a definitive biography of even just one person is a huge and somber undertaking...writing an anthology about an entire discrete group is almost too huge to comprehend.

Yet because PRIVATE LIVES is not fun in no way negates its worth.

Sue Roe has assembled the ultimate work on those artists who coalesced to form the movement now well-loved as "Impressionism."

She explains the history of the movement, and how reviled it had been by the establishment. In the process of this explication, she also tells a great deal about the moment in which this movement came to life, at the precise time of the transformation of Paris from a patchwork of farming communities to a cosmopolitan city.

She does as good a job of detailing the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune as I have read anywhere.

Roe has done enormous research on the personal lives of the most important of the artists, and of their joint struggle to be accepted for the type of imagery they were trying to display.

It was startling to read that the great names of Impressionism considered themselves to be cohorts and supporters of one another.

I didn't have fun reading THE PRIVATE LIVES OF THE IMPRESSIONISTS, but the time spent was worthwhile. The book was everything that I hoped it would be: A true learning experience.

The title of the book is misleading. Most, like me, would believe that it is about the various affaires des coeurs of the Impressionist painters. But it is far from that. It is an insightful look into the struggles of the impressionist painters during the years of 1860-86; this was before they became famous.

The book covers the lives (intimate or otherwise) of the better-known impressionists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Cézanne, and Pissarro and the not-so-well-known painters who were in their company Berthe Morisot, Frédéric Bazille, Mary Cassatt and Gustave Caillebotte. The author describes how these painters tried to break the rigid moulds of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, which controlled the technique and subjects of mainstream painting in France.

The author described many of the better-known and the not-so-well-known paintings in such an anecdotal form that the reader is forced to have a look at those paintings somehow (in a coffee table book or online). She brings alive the characters who had posed for the paintings that give a greater depth to the work.

The author has researched this period well and one not only gets an insight of the lives of these painters but also of the world around them. The reader can literally visualize the gradual realization of Haussman's vision of Paris, or the soirées and evenings spent in cafés. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and the siege of Paris are also described in detail - it led to tremendous upheaval in the French society as also the lives of the painters - a large amount of their output was lost during this war and the sense of loss is transferred to the reader.

The author manages to intertwine the lives of the painters - the individuality of each painter is maintained even though all are presented as a collective. Despite the fact that so many characters are being biographed, the author doesn't leave the reader of being overwhelmed with the plurality of characters.

Use of exact addresses and trivial but minute details such as a `thirteen-minute stop for hot chocolate' (238) which Eugène Manet made on way to Paris from Nice. Though the use of French words was rather limited despite the fact that the setting and the painters were French. Most words can be understood from the context - However, some words (cocottes, arrière pensée) do require a bit of looking up to understand the true import of the sentence.

This is a sweet remembrance of the author's friendship with Fred Rogers. But it also gives an interesting insight into the spiritual side of the "Mr. Rogers" so many of us grew up with. Most of us know that Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, but this book shares correspondences and conversations that reveal just how deeply spiritual Fred Rogers was.

This book is about a relationship between two friends. I often give this book to friends who have lost a parent. In this world where so few people encourage and lift each other up, are able to have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend, this book is an excellent example of how to do just that! "I'm Proud of You" is one of my favorite books. I would highly recommend it and preferred it so much more than "Tuesdays with Morie"(spelling?)since the story seemed so much more heartfelt.

This book made both my wife and I cry at times as it covered the sensitive topic of a son's relationship with his father and a man's relationship with a mentor. This is a must read for all father's, son's, and mentors.

I like all of Tim Madigan's writings, for he reveals his heart. I felt 'I'm Proud of You' showed the time a busy person took to share his love and concern with others. Mr. Rogers never stopped sharing, never spoke of himself even when he was terminally ill. Mr. Rogers did not brush off someone with troubles, Tim described as the 'furies', claiming he did not have time; expertise or knowledge, but shared himself. I thought the book was very well written.
It came in a few days after being ordered and in good condition.

I had no appreciation for Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) until I read this book.
He is an incredible human being.
And this book carries along that incredibleness so people like us who have never met the man can learn and bask in his example of perfect friendship.
Truly an inspiration.

I bought this book for a single friend who was struggling dating, and she really found it informative with a little bit of humor mixed in. I've seen Dr. Stork on T.V. and just really thought he pointed out things from a male point of view. I highly recommend it.

I found this book interesting and somewhat humorous. It had alot of tips and advice that women could use in their dating experiences and I would recommend it to other women.

This book explores the reasons that some women seem to be serially unsuccessful in their dating relationships. It suggests that men recognize particular behavioral attributes in certain women, which sooner or later raise a red flag, causing these guys to run for the hills. The author identifies eight specific "types" of women and how their actions, words and attitudes work together to doom their every male-female relationship. Fortunately, by identifying these relationship-sabotaging behaviors, the reader is not only able to determine if they fall into any of the offending categories, but also what they need to do to alter their habits and general outlook to avoid continuing to be "that girl." Overall, it is an interesting read, and one I recommend for anyone who seems to have a long history of being "unlucky at love."

As a therapist, I bought this book mainly out curiosity and as a possible reference for clients. The book starts out well enough, suggesting that a woman who is not "that girl" is confident and doesn't need the approval of men for her sense of self. However, the "labels" are difficult to apply to real world situations. Probably many people have met these "criteria" at some points in their lives. I don't think women really need more categorizing and labeling- it's already done enough in multiple other industries and women have enough collective anxiety already about this. Also, it subjects women to relentlessly question their motives and behavior- "gee, am I a bitter girl because I broke it off with someone who was verbally abusive?" "Am I now an agenda girl because I've waited 3 years for him to propose and really want to get married?" "Am I a yes girl for not asking him to propose and it's been 4 years?" I think women have enough to deal with in their lives, and feel this book is oversimplified if one is looking for real advice. If one is just looking for a lighthearted read to not take too seriously, this book is fine. And no, I'm not suggesting money on therapy instead! There are plenty of other good books out there. Perhaps if Dr. Stork had done a psychiatric/ER residency I may have given it more credibility. Seeing a patient a few times in the ER in crisis isn't the same as working with them long term for years on end. It's easy to apply labels when we aren't aware of the whole story.

This book just plays with a woman's self esteem -- It is written by an immature, arrogant man who sees nothing wrong with himself or his ways -- its all the woman's fault. Saw him on Dr. Phil -- truly very cocky.

I am a happily married woman and I am so glad that I didn't listen to the warped ways of this author when dating. I can only hope my nieces and other young women find respect and self worth from people who truly have their best interest at heart -- not creeps who could care less (like the author). There are a few good dating books out there -- this doesn't even come close.

Media and Minorities: The Politics of Race in News and Entertainment by Stephanie Greco Larson (Spectrum Series: Rowman & Littlefield) looks at the media's racial tendencies with an eye to identifying the system supportive messages conveyed and offering challenges to them. The book covers all major media--including television, film, newspapers, radio, magazines, and the Internet--and systematically analyzes their representation of the four largest minority groups in the U.S. African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. Entertainment media are compared and contrasted with news media, and special attention is devoted to coverage of social movements for racial justice and politicians of color.
This book examines the American media's racial discourses and shows how the dominant ones help maintain inequality. It analyzes the ideological con-tent of the mainstream media that generally reinforces the racial status quo in which blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans are sub-ordinate to whites.
Most of the information in this book is drawn from the scholarly literature on race, media, and politics from a variety of academic disciplines and approaches. Some of the studies used are empirical (using data to test hypotheses); others are theoretical. The methodologies used to describe the media messages include both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Part IV includes original research that analyzes newspaper coverage.
Throughout, the book examines alternative media that challenge the mainstream media and its racial discourse. Mainstream media differ from alternative media in their intended audience, resources, goals, and content. Produced by industries that sell their products to mass audiences for direct payments or advertising, the mainstream media present shows, films, and papers that are intended to make a large profit. To do this, they must cater to mass audiences. Therefore, their content promotes mainstream ideas. Be-cause they operate and thrive within a capitalist economic framework, it is in their self-interest to maintain the system and promote the status quo by presenting a "reality supportive of existing social and economic class power."''
Alternative media appeal to narrower audiences and have goals that supersede profits. Alternative media include independent films, minority newspapers, and websites offering oppositional messages that challenge the dominant discourse. They provide comfort to their audiences, as well as in-formation and alternative interpretations. Alternative news media aim to encourage debate, to monitor the mainstream press, and to increase the visi
bility of certain groups. These media not only represent ideas found in groups excluded from mainstream, but they provide a place where ideas are developed communities are built, and people are empowered. These media "offer a place for counteracting the effects of hegemony, by constructing alter-native narratives which contain different heroes and different plots.
The term "parallel spheres" is used to indicate the places where groups without access to the mainstream press create alternative communication networks. Alternative media and the debates they foster in parallel spheres respond to what is going on in the mainstream press, providing counterpoints and criticisms. Sometimes ideas and rhetoric in the alternative media find their way into the mainstream. While this is relatively rare and sometimes co-optive rather than influential, it shows a potential for diversifying main-stream less.
This book deals with entertainment first, even though entertainment is not typically thought of as political. Yet, as The Apprentice example illustrates, entertainment does serious ideological work by avoiding or hiding social issues and problems. Movies and television programs have consequences for how viewers understand real life, even when they know that the stories are made up. By excluding minorities, the entertainment media fail to tell stories that draw attention and emotion (like empathy or anger) to problems with the racial status quo. By including minorities but treating them as undifferentiated members of a unified group (such as Americans or women), the entertainment media deny both racial discrimination and diversity. By using racial stereotypes, films and television categorize people of color according to assumptions held by white people. These categories provide explanations for why "those people" are "like that." While all groups have stereotypes, those of less powerful groups are stronger and more numerous and have a greater impact on how others perceive people in the group. By focusing on individuals rather than social groups, entertainment media remind viewers that problems are because of "bad" individuals, not flawed social structures.
Part I explores these issue by looking at racial minorities and entertainment television and movies. Chapter 2 begins with an explanation of how entertainment is political and can disempower and subjugate minorities. The efforts of minorities to fight these images and create alternative ones are discussed as forms of political action. The next four chapters look separately at films and television entertainment that include blacks (chapter 3), Native Americans (chapter 4), Hispanics (chapter 5), and Asian Americans (chapter 6). Each of these chapters is organized into sections on exclusion, selective exclusion, stereotypes, system-supportive messages, challenges to main-stream media representations, and alternative media.
Dominant values are not just embedded in entertainment; they are also found in journalism. People think of news as "true" and as "how things are," rather than as a collection of stories put together to promote certain ideas. Yet, the news has narrative structures that include "characters" who are drawn in ways that rely on popular understandings and misunderstandings." Even though the news is "factual," it is presented as a morality tale. Political communications scholars Dan Nimmo and James Coombs call television news "real-fiction" because the segments contain narrative structures and characters and promote certain lessons. These legitimize existing institutions and power relations and promote nationalism, capitalism, minimal government, and individualism." Even when news reports something that has gone wrong, it still does so in a way that promotes the status quo by blaming individuals for the problems, by characterizing these problems as exceptions that have been detected and solved, and by concluding that major social changes are unnecessary, too risky, or impossible to accomplish.
Part II looks at news coverage of the four groups when they are not acting as political activists or governmental actors. It describes how the day-to-day, as well as the crisis, coverage of racial-minority masses selectively excludes them, stereotypes them, and restricts their place in society through its themes and emphasis. Once again, resistance to this coverage and efforts to create alternative news through black and ethnic presses are examined. Chap-ter 7 introduces research on news coverage of minorities and discusses the consequences and causes of this coverage. It also includes an explanation for why increasing the number of minority reporters has not solved the problems. Chapter 8 looks specifically at news about blacks. Chapter 9 does the same for Native Americans, chapter 10 for Hispanics, and chapter 11 for Asian Americans.
Not only can the racial status quo be criticized in alternative media, but it can be challenged on the streets. When racial-minority groups and their allies organize in social movements to protest the status quo, they try to use the mainstream media to accomplish their goals. They offer alternative discourses that challenge the status quo and use or redefine values to promote policy change." The press does not typically carry these messages in the form that the protest movements desire. Yet, adjustments to the dominant ideology sometimes result during periods of social upheaval when the media contain "mixed messages" (some progressive and some regressive). These complex and contradictory narratives in popular culture can provide hope to audiences.
Nevertheless, it is important to realize that cultural values are more static than changing and that the media are more often obstacles to than facilitators of fundamental change. Typically, the news media neutralize criticisms of the dominant ideology by incorporating some of them, overwhelming them with system-supportive messages, and demeaning or refuting challenges. When the dominant ideology shifts, it tends to do so incrementally as elites adjust to challenges from below and within their ranks. Thus, favorable coverage of social movements seems to follow a breakdown in the elite consensus rather than to create it.
Part III looks at media coverage of racial social movements that challenged the racial hierarchy in the 1950s to the 1970s. Chapter 12 reviews literature on media and social movements generally to explain why and how the media usually work against social movements. Chapter 13 looks at cover-age of the civil rights movement (and its aftermath) and challenges the conventional wisdom that the media was consistently its champion. Chapter 14 examines how the media covered the three other racial-minority groups' movements.
Ultimately, it is the politicians who change policy. They use the media to get elected and promote their agendas. Therefore, it is important to look at coverage of candidates and politicians of color when considering media, race, and politics. Part IV discusses the most explicit political news coverage of racial minorities. Chapter 15 reviews the literature on how the media cover candidates and politicians generally. Chapter 16 looks at studies that access how various black candidates and politicians have been covered over time. The rest of part IV relies on case studies of newspaper coverage. Chapter 17 analyzes coverage of two Native American candidates and their white competitors, as well as one year's worth of news about Native American state legislators. Chapter 18 looks at coverage of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American candidates and politicians. Chapter 19 does the same for a Chinese American, a Korean American, and a Japanese American. These chapters illustrate that exclusion and stereotyping become less prevalent when the media cover political insiders of color than when they cover the public and social movements. This finding might do more to illustrate than to refute the system-supportive nature of the mainstream media. After all, like Kwame, major party candidates and politicians tend to play by the rules rather than to challenge the system fundamentally.

A definite how-to book for blackjack. Everyone serious about beating the house should have this book.

Very helpful for an easier approach to getting a better edge on the house
than basic strategy alone.

This is an intriguing book that adds a card counting strategy that is actually usable! For years, I have tried to memorize and practice various card counting strategies (Thorp, Uston, Revere, Wong, etc...); however, one poor estimate of the remaining decks or half decks left you with a count that was inaccurate, and even worse, led to poor game table results! Here is a book with a simple counting method that makes sense, that can be used at the casino tables or on-line very easily.

The book is a little long winded -- all that really matters is the counting technique and the betting technique and the revised basic strategy charts. That alone would be worth the price of this book.

This is a great method for those hobbyist players who want to enjoy themselves, shave a couple of points off of the house advantage, and not labor under the sometimes extreme pressure of more advanced counting systems. I have played several different counts over the years, and I have switched to the speed count completely. It's enjoyable to use, very simple to learn, and the playing efficiency is only very marginally lower than more sophisticated systems. I have found that my winning sessions have increased mostly because I make fewer errors with this count. Now, I'm not telling you that this is a miracle panacea and money flows across the table during all sessions -- those of us who play often know this isn't the case. However, I have noticed that in aggregate over 20 to 30 sessions, this system holds its own with proven results. Best of all, the play looks nothing like the play most counters use. I have used it with impugnity with wide bet spreads, and no one has been the wiser. I highly recommend this book, I can't wait for Frank's next book.

After reading this book, I have to agree with Scoblete and say that this is definitely the easiest card counting system on the market. What makes this system different from the norm is the fact that you are mostly working with addition and very little (but simple) subtraction, with no true count conversion needed. The basic strategy card deviations serve as good camouflage to the pit crew considering some table entries are different than normal basic strategy.

This book was written for the basic strategy player who tried counting cards but found it too hard to accomplish. This system only takes a day or two of practicing before you get it down and the system itself works slowly as you play (you don't count the cards as they come out, you count them after each hand has been played), which is much easier on the brain. I like the fact that the author provides millions of computer simulation results to back up the system. The results show that depending on how aggresive of a bettor you are, this system is 70% to 95% as powerful as the HI-LO. So you do obtain a long term edge over the house...HOWEVER...

If you have already learned a more advanced system than this and have it down pat, I don't think you will want to switch to the Golden Touch method. Before reading this book I had been using the HI-LO with success to the point where counting came second nature to me and I wasn't making any mental errors while at the tables. And while this system will give you an edge over the casino, it is still a downgrade from the more advanced. The biggest disadvantage of this system is that the standard deviation of your edge is very large. What this means is that your calculated edge at times is not nearly as accurate as with other systems. There will be times while using the Golden Touch system that you will be asked to put up your maximum bet while the edge is very small. For example, if you are using the HI-LO and the count is +2, you will only be putting up a 1 or 2 unit bet while the GT system in that same situation may ask you to put up a 4 or 5 unit bet. You are still betting more $$$ when the count is positive giving you an edge, but there will be circumstances when using the GT system that you will be overbetting your bankroll and as a result you will experience much larger financial swings than in other more advanced systems. Because of this, the GT system requires a larger bankroll to sustain the much more dramatic ups and downs long term.

Like I said, if you are a basic strategy player that tried to learn card counting with little or no success but you still want to beat the casinos, then the GT sytem is definitely for you. If you are an experienced card counter that has mastered a system of "HI-LO quality" or better, stick with what you have.

Good luck at the tables everyone!

When I visited Ashland, Oregon's Shakespeare Festival the buyer in their large, authoritative bookstore suggested this as a good basic biography of William Shakespeare. I've concluded it was a good recommendation for several reasons.

It is a relatively brief 224 pages because Bryson makes the case that extremely few documented facts are known about Shakespeare's life. It seems that essentially nothing is known about Shakespeare's relationships with his immediate family members or known theatrical colleagues, and there are blocks of years during which nothing can be said with certainty about even where he lived much less what he was doing. Bryson makes the case that other - more scholarly? - biographies of The Bard which purport to provide greater detail are, of necessity, essentially speculative if not fictitious. He also explains that most of the visual images we have of Shakespeare and his world - portraits, busts, drawings of The Globe theater, etc., - are demonstratably, or at least arguably, inaccurate if for no other reason than they are non-contemporaneous.

Besides telling us about as much as can be documented about Shakespeare's life Bryson provides an interesting overview of the Elizabethan-Jacobean theater world which was an important social and financial phenomenon that brought people of all classes together in intimate surroundings on a daily basis. In a period of less than 150 years - the Puritans shut down the theaters in 1642 - more than 12,000 new words entered the English language of which 2,035 are attributed to - or at have their first recorded by - William Shakespeare. And we learn that the bulk of Shakespeare's work might have been lost forever if his fellow thespians had not collected his plays into what we know as The First Folio within a few years of his death.

Bryson devotes a useful chapter to summarizing the cult that has grown up - dating from the early 1800s - around the effort to demonstrate that Shakespeare's work was actually written by someone else; there are multiple suspects. Most of this "scholarship" is far more speculative than even the most speculative Shakespearean biographies, and Bryson makes the case that the not-Shakespeare faux exposes are clearly absurd; more than one of the candidates died before several of Shakespeare's plays were written. The argument against these theories that exhibits the most common sense is that absolutely nobody alive when the plays were produced questioned that Shakespeare from Stratford on Avon wrote them and, in fact, numerous well known contemporaries praised The Bard.

Bryson's style is fast moving and the material is well organized, but fans of Bryson's trademark sarcastic humor won't find any of it here. There is a five-page bibliography.

Highly recommended.

Bryson is the perfect choice for this addition to the "Eminent Lives" series, as he takes what little is known about Shakespeare's life and distills it into an easily digestible biography. Conceding that little is known about Shakespeare, Bryson succeeds in capturing the writer and bringing his life into the best focus possible. Filling in the few details he can, Bryson proceeds to create an idea of Shakespeare that forms as solid a portrait as we are ever likely to get. While that alone is praiseworthy, the real outstanding achievement in this work is Bryson's dissection of the "Who really wrote Shakespeare's plays?" myths with a case by case demolition of each one of those silly attempts by others to find the "real" Shakespeare. All the pretenders are examined and thoroughly debunked and that alone makes this book must reading.

In Shakespeare: The World as Stage, Bill Bryson tackles the enigma that is Shakespeare by majoring on only those facts that are definitely known about him. Much time is spent exploring the world of Shakespeare's day to reach an understanding of the kind of man he was in relation to his era and his people. Bryson makes the case that a surprising quantity of details survive for this man in an age when such things were rarely codified. Bryson also explores Shakespeare's family, his role as actor, the rumors surrounding him, and answers the claims that he was not who history says he is. His wit and logic as he debunks the many baseless theories and projections about other Shakespeares is truly worth the read. Grade: A.

With this book, the ever succinct Bill Bryson exposes how little we know and can know about one of the world's most recognized figures. The writer left only a few bland papers, wills and court fillings. His time left some engravings, some diaries. Of course, there are the plays themselves and the sonnets, mined for biography by many. Much of what is commonly believed is conjecture or invention from a sense of "had to be" that only started long after his death with each generation adding, not examining prior imaginings. Our need to know a man of such influence and the absence of first hand accounts forced their creation and promoted their endurance.

That great bald head. Every one of the three - and there are only three - portrayals of him are open to question. Was this or that lord his patron or do we just repeat the opinions of biographers writing long after his death? Ever look over the new globe theatre in London, the "reproduction" of Shakespeare's original? One, just one, image of a theatre like it survives. Not it, of one just like it and so you looked around what? And Bryson even finds space for the line of strangely named enthusiasts who believed someone else wrote Shakespeare, that a man from backwater Stratford had no business exploring humanity.

This small book shows once again that the most interesting of history is the making of history itself, exposing her process, that showing how little we can know is the greatest gift of the truly inquisitive.

It's a hard thing to produce a groundbreaking book about Shakespeare, and Bill Bryson makes no claim to it. This small book is part of Harper Collins' Eminent Lives series; their website describes Eminent Lives as "brief biographies by distinguished authors on canonical figures." That said, SHAKESPEARE: THE WORLD AS STAGE is an entertaining and informative little package.

Bryson catalogues the few facts known about Shakespeare's personal life and whereabouts, and some of the arcana -- word and line counts, for example, and how many plays were prepared by which typesetters, and all the different ways Shakespeare spelled his surname on legal documents. These facts have a certain WOW factor of their own, but mostly demonstrate the thoroughness with which the available information has been mined by hordes of Shakespeare scholars. Bryson devotes a chapter to theories that someone else wrote the plays, and debunks them. Again there are many facts presented in a wry and entertaining way; Bryson does that very well. A reader knowing little about 16th and early 17th century England would learn some interesting things from this little book, which is probably well crafted for its target audience of "survey readers."

There was less analysis of the plays than I expected; I found this a disappointment and took off a star for it.

The audio presentation finished with an interview of Bryson, in which he stated that he's not present in this book as he is in most of his writing; he kept himself out of it. That's true to the extent that he's not playing for humor, but it's clearly in his style: a bit like interesting vacation photos artfully arranged in an album and not for one second trying to integrate themselves into a video. He achieves what he sets out to do but if you're not crazy about his levity, this book may not appeal to you; I enjoyed it. The author reads this audio version, as he usually does, and his Midwestern/British fusion may not be what you care for. In that case, choose the print version.

* Subject line is from Sonnet LIX:

If there be nothing new, but that which is
Hath been before, how are our brains beguiled,
Which, labouring for invention, bear amiss
The second burden of a former child!
...

Linda Bulger, 2008

Diffee begins with a series of Venn diagrams demonstrating the small overlap between the cartoonists creative oeuvre and the amusement of New Yorker editors. Then, he allows a brief (alas, all too brief) view into the world of each of 38 eminent cartoonists. This is includes a collage of photographs, a brilliantly crafted- and usually more brilliantly executed - questionnaire, and a handful of cartoons. These brilliant gems are almost always hysterical (including many laugh out loud hysterical), and always obvious why they were not published in the New Yorker - too rude, sexual, political, etc. Although, I have not read the first volume, completing this volume spurs me to run out (errr, zip online to Amazon), and order the previous volume.

If you've gotten to this page, there's a good chance you've either seen or bought the first volume, The Rejection Collection: Cartoons You Never Saw, and Never Will See, in The New Yorker.

I thought the cartoonists' responses to the questionnaires in the first collection provided a fascinating look into the creative mind. In this volume, the questions seemed more convoluted and the answers more conventional.

The cartoons, however, struck me as being funnier in this volume. Two of my favorite cartoonists (Sam Gross and Gahan Wilson) are featured in both volumes.

If I could only buy one, I would buy the first volume, but both collections are enjoyable.

I love the original Rejection Collection. That collection contains many of my favorite cartoons of all time, and it still makes me laugh on my 15th, 16th ... etc. reading. Sadly, this second collection is just not as good. Despite the presence of a few real gems, as a whole this sequel is *not* the cream of the crap, but is instead the next layer down. Worth reading, but not worth owning.

I heard the author on Fresh Air and decided to get the book. It is obvious why some of these cartoons didn't make it into the Mag. Less obvious with others. But almost all fun. The cartoonist 'autobiographies' are also great fun.

I have to admit at the outset that I don't laugh as easily as others I know. Too much so called humor seems predictable or formulaic these days. Not so, The Rejection Collection volumes. This book and its predecessor had me giggling, chuckling, laughing and occasionally guffawing from cover to cover. The cartoons are great. Many are twisted, a little sick, or iconoclastic, which tickles me no end. The questionnaires are a fun and valuable insight into the creative minds and personalities of the contributing cartoonists.

Don't miss Bob Mankoff's replies to their questions (found in the questionairre), also in the appendix! He easily holds his own in terms of wit.

Laughter is a great gift. The Rejection Collections I and II are the perfect choice for someone you care about, who has a slightly twisted sense of humor. I hope there will be many more volumes to come. I'll buy them all!