Entertainment Books

Stephen Fry recounts his childhood and teenage years with honesty and candor. Whenever I read an autobiography I'm prepared for some bias and self-absorption, but Fry's book seems to be a sincere attempt to be candid and reflect upon his past. The autobiography feels relatively uncensored as he writes about mischief at boarding school, unrequited love, making use of a stolen credit card, and a suicide attempt during his teenage years. It's all presented with humor and little, if any, self-aggrandizement. I finished the book feeling as though I had read his carefully thought-out musings and insights on life and certain topics in general, rather than simply a retelling of the events that had occurred his own life.

I have been a fan of the polymath approaching genius that is Stephen Fry for many years and had enjoyed his acting, columns, and novels before getting my hands on "Moab is My Washpot", the story of a young, pre-fame Stephen Fry.

This volume is, as all of his writings are, a wonderful display of how beautiful language can be. Fry manages to effortlessly and effulgently blend his incredibly sharp wit, his thorough understanding of the English language, and a nice flowing story with the real life problems and challenges of being a thieving, lieing, homosexual, at times suicidal, youth who has all the blessings a boy can have and still become a bastard. It is honest, it is real -if that makes any sense- it is poetic, and it is fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Moab is My Washpot". It is gripping and warming and delightful. It makes you think, that "I can overcome this" or at least give you a sense of slight elation. It is not a "look at my how good and clever and fine and intelligent I am" biography. Not at all. It is simply a very good story told very well.

Highly recommendable.

We all know Stephen Fry as the witty, urbane, polymath of entertainment that he has become. However it is interesting and, in certain ways, reassuring, to see that entertainers such as himself go through the same growing pains as the rest of us.

His autobiography 'Moab is my Washpot', charts his growth from a young schoolboy, through various adolescent crises, on to his successful graduation from school and his eventual path through to Cambridge. His early school years have an almost Enid Blyton feel to them, evoking the beauties of an old fashioned English countryside upbringing, but without any overdone sentimentality.

The book also deals heavily with Fry's homosexuality and how this effected his youth. There doesn't seem to have ever been any real internal struggle for him, but the book still gives a fascinating and often very humourous account of his formative years as a homosexual student in an all male boarding school.

Fry's rapier wit is what often makes this book such a treat. All of the petty squabbles of his youth are brought under the blade of his humour with fantastically amusing consequences. Anyone who has enjoyed the acting or comedic pursuits of Mr. Fry will no doubt find this autobiography an engrossing and hilarious read.

I think Stephen Fry is wonderfully talented-- as an actor and a writer. I very much enjoyed The Liar and Making History, two of his fictional forays. MOAB seemed disjointed, haphazzard... I believe that SF must have a very interesting life & life history, but this book did not express it. Was this written to fufill a contractual obligation? His heart just did not seem to be in it. Quite a shame.

Fry is a Wodehouse-worshipper, and his elegant prose shows it. This discursive, digressive, sometimes profane and endlessly entertaining bio covers Fry's youth (with much reminiscing about Public School days in the manner of Wodehouse's Psmith) and the development of his areligious (anti-religious?) and homosexual tendencies... well, they're more than tendencies, really, as you'll see.

I found this to be greatly amusing-- I'm glad I picked it up.

This book is a bit dated. But since I am really a dummy in this area, it has been good to bone up my knowledge, as I gear up to buy and build up a audio home theater - I skipped most of the stuff on the video chapters as I don't plan a movie theater at home.

It does need to be updated. PC and network information are old, so are some of the things around emerging standards. It could also do with some pictures and wiring diagrams - I am no dummy with electronics, but had difficulty understanding what was mean by a central panel, that could be placed in my basement or some place out of sight.

For someone who's entirely new to home theater -- from A/V receivers to speakers to display monitors to hooking everything up -- "Home Theater for Dummies" offers a quick primer on the subject. It covers both sound and sight and gives honest opinions on many things.

However, it suffers from excessive use of parenthesis and side notes and confusing run-on sentences. Also, the explanation of key topics such DVI and a display's aspect ratio still leaves the reader highly confused. The trouble seems to stem from the fact that neither author has a deep grasp of the home theater technologies and they might have just lifted all this information from various sources and put it in book form.

Since the book is cheap on Amazon, I still recommend it to all newcomers to the wonderful world of home theater. If you need more information, get the optimizer discs the books recommends and also check the web for detailed discussions.

Three months ago, my wife suggested that we upgrade our 15 year old TV to a "home entertainment center". So off we go to the local store to look at options. Spoke to a couple of salesmen who were worse than useless. In frustration, I bought this book. After a quick and pleasant read, I felt that I had a reasonable understanding of the options one has when setting up a "home entertainment center." We now have a v-e-r-y nice component system that is a breeze to use.
It isn't difficult to specify and install a system. However, now that I've done it, I realize that most people make a number of unneccesary mistakes. If you know all about this stuff then don't buy the book. However, if you have questions like I did then buy the book and you'll find that you'll end up with a system far superior to the ones owned by most "know it alls".

This was a well written basics type book. Definitely good for someone who knows nothing about home theater.

Wish I'd bought this when I first started researching home theaters. I was a novice, having purchased only a couple of 27" analog sets in the past 15 years. Rather than starting with a book like this, I researched mine the time consuming way: talking to knowledgable friends; wasting time with sales droids at electronic stores, reading home theater magazines. About two months later things reached critical mass and I could finally make an informed decision.

My advice: buy this book, read it, and afterwards *still* do what I did. Only save the sales droids for last (by then you'll know more than they do), and look but don't buy. Then go home and buy what you want at Amazon.

A very entertaining and interesting book, although a bit on the simple level. It is exactly what the title implies, "for entertainment". The first volume of the book is quite interesting also but apparently not available in English. I did read it in Spanish.

This book indeed shaped a generation of young indians - the spirit of scientific enquiry it sparked surely was a key formative influence for many around the world and also esp. in India which received large stocks of these books from erstwhile USSR.nice to see it reprinted.

Like some of the other reviewers, I too grew up reading Yakov Perelman's excellent books supplied by Mir publishers in India. The book was sold for Rs. 2 in the early 80s (about $0.20 in those days - cheap even at that time). Besides Phsics for Entertainment, I read "Figures for fun" and "Algebra can be fun". These are all excellent books to not only inform a person about physics and mathematics in an entertaining manner, but also sufficiently provocative to stimulate creative thinking.

One of the earlier reviewers states that volume 1 is not available in English. Fortunately, it is available at this link:

http://www.archive.org/details/physicsforentert035428mbp

Since the book was first published in 1913, I assume the copyright is long passed. The quality of the scanned copy is excellent, and it would wonderful if this book could be reprinted as well.

This delightful little book (final Russian edition, 1936) presents modern physics in a way that makes it accessible to adults and young people alike, especially because the author asks such whimsical questions as: "Can an invisible man see?" "Can Archimedes have moved the world?" "Who invented the word 'Gas'?" "How much does Lightning cost?" Why is a rabbit cross-eyed?" and "Is boiling water always hot?" Yakov Perelman, a Russian scientist who perished in the disastrous 900 day Blockade of Leningrad by the Germans during World War II, wanted people to think in "'physical categories'" and thus set up the book in chapters that reflect them. He however looks for examples of scientific phenomena in the world of fiction as well as of fact, particularly in works by Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and even Mark Twain. His prose style appeals to both humanists and scientists. As an added bonus, its format (typesetting, etc) will give bibliophiles many hours of satisfying perusing.[ASIN:1401309216 Physics for Entertainment]

This book was extremely popular in India during 1970 till 1990. MIR publishers distributed highly subsidized copies of many popoular science books in India. After fall of USSR the MIR publishers availability stopped completely. This was one of most bought popular science books among my generation. A very well written book on physics as it applies to most common observations and phenomenon. What is amazing is description of "what if" scenarios around physical events. Great to see this available in reprint.

There is only one John Lydon. This is a great read. Gives the story behind the media interpretation of the story. This is a great read.

The book is so good, that i' couldn't belive it. It's really enjoyable to read it, so go for it. Buy the f**king thing.

Punk Royalty King John Lydon/Johnny Rotten's no bollocks account of the fast and furious rise and fall of THE 70's punk group The Sex Pistols. From their beginnings at Malcolm MacLaren's leather shop on King's Road in London to their final concert in San Francisco ... John Lydon/Johnny Rotten ... says it like it is ... and you don't get the feeling you have been cheated.

I must say that I thought it was just a biography of the Sex Pistols, when it actually is an autobiography of Johnny Rotten, but it's great anyway. It's not only John's point of view about the band and all the controversies involved, but also the point of view of other people close to the band. It's quite easy to read, as John makes an amazing use of the words -everything he tells seems to be amusing!

It isn't wll-written, in the sense that John has written everything that would come to his mind, but I find it more real like that. I guess you'll agree.

To sum up, highly recommended ;)

I think one reason I liked it was that Johnny Did Not Glamorize or Glorify anything. He writes about himself in a natural, almost maybe "humble" way, which anyone can appreciate in a writer's story.


His childhood is revealed and detailed wonderfully, and what an Interesting Childhood he had ! His "rat catching" stories,childhood thoughts, preoccupations and feelings are refreshing to read and learn about.

The photos are intriguing and very "for real". Don't expect professional, glossy ,Glam photos. He's displayed the "REAL"


Great book for people looking beyond The Sex Pistols, behind the stage persona and interested in john Lydon for himself.

I love this book and writing style because it captures him authentically and genuinely.

You needn't be a "Sex Pistols" fan to enjoy this unexpected biography.

Highly recommended for any readers !

The Seven Addictions And Five Professions Of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess Of Depravity is the career story of actor, dancer, poet, and sex culture icon Anita Berber, who scandalized Weimar Berlin by appearing naked in nightclubs and casinos save for a sable wrap. Her performance in Expressionist films, her disregard of all taboos and her drug habits all contributed to a life devoted to casting off restraints. Dozens of black-and-white photographs and drawings recreating Anita's "Repertoire of the Damned" illustrate this one-of-a-kind tell-all of Europe's first postmodern woman.

Author Mel Gordon details a glittering, decadent Weimar Berlin in the book, "The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimer Berlin's Priestess of Depravity." Post WWI Berlin "became the world showcase of nude dance and the erotic revue-sketch", and with the catastrophic devaluation of the German Mark, "moral degeneration" reigned in a city that rapidly became a metropolis of exotic, erotic cabaret performances. During her brief, explosive career Anita Berber was Weimar Berlin's "most widely discussed female personality." She performed to packed theatres, outraging her audiences, sharply dividing critics, and shocking society with the scandals that surrounded her both on and off stage. With her perfect, lithe body, dancer and performance artist Anita Berber reigned supreme.

Gordon charts the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the notorious dancer. During her short, brilliant, and self-destructive life, she earned many names, and was called a "totally perverted woman", the "Madonna of Dresden", the "Countess of Sin", "a living embodiment of sin", and "an incarnation of the perverse." Gordon offers the reader a portrait of a difficult life--fraught with public scandal, private demons, and an avant-garde approach to dance that brought Berber the wrong sort of audience. Gordon argues that the very audience who flocked to Berber for her scandalous naked dances could not appreciate the artistic relevance of her performances, and thus heckled--and ultimately abused her.

Gordon tracks Berlin's long-standing tradition with Naked Dance as an art form and traces Berber's career from her early dance training to German Expressionist Richard-Oswald films. But it was Berber's ability to dance that brought Berlin--at least temporarily--to her feet.

The book examines Berber's disastrous relationship with petty criminal, con man, and fellow dancer--Sebastian Droste. Included are details of Droste's post-Berber career in America and his membership in a notorious New York sex cult. The major scandals in Berber's life are examined--her three husbands, her affairs with the sexually obsessed Gerda and her daughter Elsa, and the "lovesick" Baroness Leonie Puttkamer-Gessmann. Berber's health steadily declined as her various addictions grew uncontrollable, and she rapidly became a "creative liability" on stage--even whacking a businessman over the head with a bottle of champagne one evening.

The book also serves as a glimpse into artistic life of Weimar Berlin--and there are mentions here of many notables--including Leni Riefenstahl (she was Berber's understudy for one engagement), Conrad Veidt, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Marlene Dietrich, and Fritz Lang. The text is peppered with marvelous photographs, posters and graphics depicting various Berber routines (including the Dances of Depravity, Horror, and Ecstasy). Additional materials follow the text--including poems by Berber and Droste, synopses of Berber's dance performances, and a bibliography. It's sadly ironic that Anita Berber--who once was so infamous--has now almost disappeared, and it is a particular joy for those interested in Berber (me) that Mel Gordon wrote this work on a much-neglected artist. For more on the life of Anita Berber, I recommend the film "Anita: Dances of Vice" by Rosa von Praunheim--displacedhuman

As a huge Howard Stern fan, I bought this book with my expectations set very high. All of my expectations were completely fulfilled and I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you are a Stern fan or not. It is an amazing look into an amazing and prolific man's life. I think this book is even better than Private Parts.

It's next to the worse book I've read yet, "Private Parts," is the worse. My gosh, you'd think with all his money he could write something worth reading except about his ham life; this guy has got to figure out what a plot and theme is, there is none. And just run on sentences going nowhere. He must sell them to his followers, becasue there is nothing of interest in it just talking and talking and talking of the FCC, and how he did this and that, where ever he ends up, he does. It was not a disappointment in that, I figured it would be something along that order, especially after I read the dirty mouth garbage and seen the pictures in "Private Parts."

First off, I would like to state that I never read Private Parts by Stern, which I was told was a better book. I personally was disappointed in this book. After reading this book, I felt like he was just writing another book because Private Parts did so well. It had some parts that were funny, but for the most part, I felt like it was a book for Stern to insult everyone that he could in a book. I believe that Stern is one of the smartest men in radio, and that he does what he does very well. I am not part of that audience, and perhaps that is why this book did not appeal to me very much. After having read this book, I felt like I had gained nothing by reading it. It left me with no good feeling, and I really wasn't any more educated because of it. I was quite disappointed to say the least.

It would be far too easy to dismiss this book as "just more of the same from the author of Private Parts" because by and large it is just that. But if you do write off (no pun intended) Howard's second novel, then you will truly miss out on discovering the real Howard Stern.

What Howard does in Miss America that he did not in Private Parts, is take his time to think. In his second novel he does not seem in such a mad rush to blurt out every intimate detail of his existence and of those around him. This time we discover a slightly older and more thoughtful Howard Stern. Don't get me wrong he has not seen any error in his ways, nor does he intend to change them. But he does stop to consider why and it makes the whole reading experience far more enjoyable.

Howard has still not lost his rapier wit and it is still delivered with a sledgehammer. Nor has he lost his love of naked females and that is sort of reassuring, for if he were to change at this point, we would know he was a phoney.

In Miss America Howard does go back over some old territory, but this time gives us another perspective. For Example we see the World of Howard, from Robin's eyes and it is an eye opener. Howard also has fun exploring and analysing his friendship with Fred Norris and this all makes for great reading. But the fun really begins when he gives us full chapter and verse on how he totally destroys a rival DJ and it is then that book becomes (to use a cliché) a real page turner.

Miss America is not as funny as Private parts, but a more thoughtful and enjoyable read as once again we are get another look at the world through Howard's small and very dark glasses.

as private parts, if not better. i can't say enough about the two howard stern books. the man puts out perfect art!

This was a Christmas gift for my sister who happens to be extremely religious and has a fondness of word search puzzles. She found this to be a very nice gift.

If you like the magazine you'll enjoy this collection. The pictures are well done, not great and not bad. Just a good collection with celebrities. I too think the cover was the best photo.

Possibly the best picture is the cover. Inside, the photo quality is pretty damn poor and some of the subjects not very attractive to the camera. All in all, a disappointment. I have thrown this in the trash like the bad magazine the pictures come from.

I know what you're thinking... Anyone reviewing this is just a pervert who wants to gawk at scantilly clad women. I beg to differ. I purchased this book as a reference for figure drawing and I'm very pleased with it. The photographers are very skilled at creating a beautiful setting, creative lighting, and solid composition.

Feig has done what is seemingly impossible: He has topped his first book.

The relatability of Feig's experiences is again the main attraction. This book is about the "Kick Me" growing up and dealing with the problems of libido and the need for sexual satisfaction. These stories rang true, because Feig's experiences are shared ones that a lot of young adult males have. This book is about him having sex, but like most guys, he wants it to be right when it happens. For example, we have the story of his first overeager girlfriend, who he escapes only by moving to California for the summer. Feig's description of the circumstances and the actual experience of his first time is one of the most authentic accounts I have ever found in print.

As in "Kick Me", Feig's way with words makes the essays in this book snappy and humorous. The turns of phrase are what can make an ordinary sentence laugh out lound funny. It is no wonder that he is a part of the team that created 'Freaks and Geeks'.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what adolescent and young adult males' lives are really like. The book will make the reader laugh, but also cringe with recognition of things that he himself or a fellow man has done.

Do you laugh at awkward situations? Cringe in empathy towards another's embarrassment while enjoying it in some strange way?

Feig is a great story teller.

This book, as well as his first book (Kick Me), was very funny. I enjoyed it and so did everyone I have lent it to.

This story sounds so much like my own adolescence that I was truly amazed. I couldn't recommend this more highly.

I just finished reading the book and I truly loved it.

The author has chosen to share some of his most embarassing adolescent moments in the book and for this I am grateful. I don't think that I have laughed so much in such a long time.

I am very much looking forward to reading the author's other book "Kick Me", I am hopeful that it will be just as enjoyable.

The book came as promised, in excellent condition and in a timely manner. Would recommend this seller.

Pure Hollywood Drivel.
I kept waiting for the canned laughter, and I kept reading because I couldn't believe someone would give me this book to read.As they say,"You can take the boy out of Hollywood,but you can't take the Hollywood out of the boy".
If he billed it as a fictional work, well even then not worth a read.
I wasted 2 hours of my time so you don't have to waste yours.
LVG

"The Reluctant Tuscan" left me - whelmed. The book recounts the period of time when the writer moved to a rural town in Tuscany and undertakes renovating a dilapidated farm house, mostly to appease his wife, who has bought the property without consulting him. Hilarity ensues.

At least, that's what Mr. Doran wants to you think. There were some amusing bits but none that made me laugh out loud. Stereotypes and caricatures of Italians abound and there are multiple references to the Germans and WWII. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I found these annoying. He does sometimes manage to write in a natural voice that is amusing and inviting and those passages are very nice. Unfortunately they were few and far betweeen. He also has a bad habit of throwing in little asides and quips that obviously call for a laugh-track. I found these drew me out of the narrative and only served to reinforce the idea that Mr. Doran is highly invested in his identity as a sitcom writer.

Late in the book, Mr. Doran makes the comment that in Hollywood, one is constantly auditioning. And I realized that's what he was doing throughout the book - auditioning. Auditioning for the reader's approval, for the reader's laughter, anxiously hoping for a reaction of some kind. Which is a shame as I think he may be a good writer, but he seems to not be able to trust his own writing to speak to the reader. Maybe living in Tuscany will help with that.

It's very seldom that I laugh out loud while reading, and I would recommend THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN very highly. It was refreshing to read this well written, humorous, and emotional book that turned what could have been just-another-book-about-Tuscany into a totally new insight into living in Italy. I felt like I knew the villagers through his illustrative character descriptions, and experienced his emotions--humiliations and triumphs--with a tear or a giggle. I hope Mr. Duran continues writing about his life.

Yes, the man has talent. His style is engaging and entertaining. But not very instructive. And, yes, he is funny. But at whose expense? One gets the impression, at least in a few scenes, that he is laughing at , not with, the Italians. These passages conjured up the image of the "Ugly American". Or, more appropriately, the arrogant American. Caricatures and stereotypes are the stock in trade for television. However, they are not transferable to a country and culture that is responsible for creating a large part of Western Civilization. The author's intent may have been to evoke a humorous response in his readers, but that does not excuse him from the responsibility of adjusting and adapting and LEARNING about his adopted country, as those brave immigrants did when they arrived in this country. Despite some weak attempts at providing a balanced portrait, and at the risk of being accused of not having a sense of humor, I'm afraid most readers will only remember the comical aspects of a truly remarkable ,profoundly rich culture.