In my opinion, a memoirist's chief, if not sole, responsibility to their readers is to be honest about themselves. So the fact that Ms. Franklin often expresses a queenly hauteur in this book bothers me not in the slightest. (She is the Queen of Soul, after all, so I figure she's entitled.) And that she presents her hearty, arguably gluttonous, appetites for men and food with lip-smacking relish is entirely to her credit - the best part of the book, in fact. (Did you think that a great soul singer would be the type to clip coupons and come to a full stop at intersections?)

But everything that readers have written here about the author's evasiveness when it comes to the most interesting parts of her story are true. (As Bart Simpson critiqued Krusty the Klown's autobiography, "it was self-serving with many glaring omissions!") To cite only one example, her idealized portraits of her early family life simply ring false. The bald facts are that her parents separated (which could not have been a casual matter for a minister and his wife in the 1950s), she lived apart from her mother for many years (Aretha huffily denies that she was "abandoned", as many have said, but this was a very peculiar arrangement for the time), she was flogged with a belt for transgressions (not peculiar, sad to say, but can no longer be passed off as simply firm parenting), and while still a teenager she became pregnant not just once but twice (which convinces me that her feelings about the strongly patriarchal rule of the Reverend Franklin - which extended well into her young adulthood - are a lot more complicated than her worshipful descriptions of him would suggest).

So you might try this book if you're willing to settle for simply hearing Aretha's "voice" speak in the first person. (The audio version is read by an actress who does a good job of delivering those queenly cadences but it just ain't the same.) But anyone interested in the inner life of a great American artist will have to look elsewhere.

I have been a life long fan of Miss Franklin's. I have listened to her promise a book that would set the record straight abought rumors, innacuracies and fables for along time. Was this it?

Aretha wants us to believe that her father was a paragon of virtue and a dedicated pastor though he lived with a woman to whom he was not married (Lola). He seemed to be no fine example of Christian morality perhaps that is why he was so cool with her two pregnancies. I personally did not need to know the names of her children's fathers but something, even a little something of what is was like to be a teen mother not once but twice before she was 17. I am well aqauinted with black church culture and I KNOW there was a lot of drama there especially in the era she became pregnant.

Aretha left out many relevant points of her life (and her father's) that would have made a more honest and readable tome. We really learn nothing about the lady's true feelings about nothing; other than her father.

Miss Franklin reveals herself as a petty, ego-rich diva; talented but vey shallow. If this is not the case then she should've written a more detailed and honest book.

The best parts of the book are her remembrances of all the food she ate throughout her life and career. These are vivid and full of lucious detail. In one part of the book, in a mere 4 paragraphs there were no less than four food references; they seem to be memory starters for her. She can recall with great verve and relish the food experiences she's had; from the Apollo Theater in New York to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles. I wish she'd been more forthcoming with her life experiences.

This book was a true waste of my hard earned money. I enjoyed Patti Labelle's memoirs much more. They were honest, balanced and did not always paint the author in the most flattering light. In other words she was real. C'mon Auntie Ree what's the real deal. Give me something I can feel.

After finishing up this book, the only words left in my mind were "Ree, how could you! Though I do not think the book was as poor as other reviewers, I must admit I expected much more from her in terms of speaking on her experiences, highs AND lows, in the music business, as well as the significant lessons she has learned reaching this point in her life and career. But what did I learn most about her? She's a greedy pig! Every piece of food she has ever eaten she can recall, but recording dates and personal issues she's all a-blur.
I did appreciate her vivid memory of her early gospel days and of her dad back in Detroit. That was clearly the best part of the book and seemed the most unbiased accounts recollected for this memoir. In light of David Ritz's prior works, I am quite puzzled as to what went wrong with this assignment? I think Aretha should stick to writing songs and leave the books for the experts. I love her and am forever a fan.

Bill Platt details and analyzes the tensions between Black Americans and Latinos. He covers a range of controversies from Miami, to New York, to Los Angeles. He argues why the two minority groups need to get along better. I have two major problems with this text. First, it overlooks the many instances in which blacks and browns get along quite well. I am an African-American and I think that the majority of us would say that we get along better with Latinos than we do with whites or Asians. Particularly in this age, many minority programs have to be split between blacks and Latinos (thus the proliferation of made-up words like "Af-Lat", "Blatino", "Blackano", etc.), thus forcing the two groups to see eye to eye. Further, I think the book is written in a simplistic style that borders on insulting the reader. I love the topic, but I was a little disappointed by the book.

An unused cache of b/w photos from the Stones autumn 1963 tour of Britain is unearthed, and a rather portentous text is assembled around it. Worth owning if you buy it used.

Most of the content of this book may have been plagiarized