I have been fascinated with Berry Gordy, Motown and it's stars since childhood, but not until I read this book, did I see another side of this successful man. In all the years I have followed Motown and heard snipets about her existence, I had no idea what an important role this author, wife played in the success of Motown.

This book also, for me, placed a human side to Berry Gordy and not the myth and mega businessman.

This book also told, what I believe is the real story about the stars and artist who help build "Hitsville USA".

I recommend this book to all Motown, Gordy fans. It's fascinating and informative as well as a 60's history lesson.

Bravo to Raynoma Gordy Singleton for her honesty and humor.

Fascinating stories about the burst of creativity and enthusiasm that started Motown. Very satifying to read because the writer lets you deep into her soul and tells very real and detailed stories.

This was an excellent insiders view of what actually transpired to make Motown what it is. From Berry's humble beginnings as a poor pimp, to the way he played psychologically with the minds of poor ghetto kids and emotionally destroyed the ones who dared think for themselves. Sad, but had to be told story.

I'm amazed at the almost uniformly positive reviews of this book by other readers here. Berry Gordy accomplished a great deal by founding Motown Records, no question about it (what he did for African American culture in general is immeasurable); what I object to is his (predictible, but no less shocking) glossing over of many unpleasant facts in this book. The fact is, Gordy was a mean and ruthless businessman who stomped on countless others in his rise to the top (the part he played in the downfall of Florence Ballard alone is unforgivable); his warm and fuzzy recounting of his and Motown's story simply reads false to me. Better books on this subject are J. Randy Taraborelli's Motown book, his biography of Diana Ross, and the two Mary Wilson autobiographies. Those read quite a bit more convincingly.

This book is great for those who don't know the truth about the humblebeginnings of Berry Gordy and his Detroit empire. Berry Gordy gives us no insight into the recording sessions and no credit to the background singers, or the background musicians. Oh he compliments them for being a part of the Motown success story this book is nothing more than a couple of recollections of Motown history and for that it deserves 3 stars. He does not get into what really happened between Florence and Diana and Mary and that fateful day of her dismissal...There is no mention of how the recording sessions went with Holland-Dozier_Holland, Mickey Stevenson, Ashford and Simpson and others. The early picture of the Supremes as the Primettes is worth the price of the book alone.

i continue to feel a sense of awe as i read. what ever was in the background of the story, the truth on the surface is that, motown's blessing was berry gordy. consider being locked in a destiny filled with certain failure and uncertain success. your vision emerges beyond your wildest dreams to change the landscape of the music sceen. memories of yesterday and statements of today are still reflected in the music of motown. magic or god? determination or wisdome? for a black man, this was uncharted teritory. for the white man it was thought to be protected. there was no sense of invasion or conquest as fun and joy mixed with sorrow and sadness. the success and accomplishment mingled with struggle and desension. survival slowly became the motto of the day. the reality of the entertainment world and the almighty dollar loured conflict like vultures to rob the safety of the domain. berry gordy was chosen for this at birth and only god understands for surely god has been and is with this man and his vision. the music has been and still is a wonderful and joyful pleasure.the world has become a wonderful place full of riches and promise for so many people because of how god used and still is using this man. i pray god will always be his strength.

One has to wonder what the point is behind this analysis of Motown. The problems can be seen right at the beginning of the book, as Posner describes in the preface that he was unable to interview virtually anybody. His main source of information is court records from the numerous lawsuits against Motown from artists trying to get their royalties. Therefore this is a very biased and lopsided book. First, Posner is clearly not a music writer and has extremely little understanding of the classic music of Motown and the social forces that shaped it and were shaped by it. When attempting to describe the sounds he can only use shallow adjectives like "funky" or "sharp." Posner instead focuses on the business behind the Motown phenomenon, as Berry Gordy started with $800 and built one of the greatest record labels in history, but then was unable to prevent its slow and painful downfall. However, as noted above, Posner mainly uses legal documents as evidence, so his stance on business practices is tilted toward Gordy's enemies from the outset.

Worst is Posner's coverage of individuals, especially Gordy himself. Since Posner admits that he interviewed nobody, then his descriptions of a person's private thoughts and beliefs, which he attempts frequently, can only be copied straight from other biographies with little surrounding context. Posner also easily joins the parade of disparagement against Diana Ross, who may just deserve people's wrath, but you should be suspicious when a person is criticized but is not there to give their side of the story. Posner also gets in over his head when trying to analyze the complex personalities of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. Finally his slow-moving writing style doesn't give you the incentive to turn the pages, and the end of the story is appallingly weak with a halfhearted attempt to wrap up Motown's place in history.

If you are interested in the classic music of Motown and its talented stars, go elsewhere, please. This book does a better job of analyzing the business of Motown but is too fragmented and second-hand for true believability. If you're interested in that subject, also go elsewhere.

I thought this book was a good place to start, as a person who wanted to know more about Berry Gordy's Motown Records and the record label that changed Black music. Posner read alot of other books, news articles and court records to compile his information and puts all of his findings here in his book, which was great for me. I would say that if you want a general overview of Motown's history, then get this book. If you want an indepth delving into Motown's history, get this book to start with. Then read other books such as Temptations, by Otis Williams, or Dreamgirl and Supreme Faith by Mary Wilson of the Supremes, or Where Did Our Love Go by Nelson George.

Mr. Posner has given us a well-written and most enjoyable book that has a clear-eyed affection for its subject. The book captures the magic of the early years, the painful maturity as artists decided to leave Motown, the meandering later years, and the eventual and multiple sales of Motown to different entities. The stories are told with enthusiasm and the accomplishments are given the praise deserved, but Mr. Posner doesn't flack for any personality or viewpoint. In fact, he often presents multiple points of view of some events so the reader can decide where the truth is likely to be hiding.

Since this isn't a book of encyclopedic length, it has to focus on certain key points and that means a lot gets left out. And though many artists contributed to Motown's fabulous accomplishments, the book centers on Berry Gordy, Jr., his founding of the company, how he gathered all that amazing talent, and how Motow provided an environment where that talent could develop and flourish.

The book also focuses on the biggest acts and on those employees who were closest to Gordy. Necessarily, a lot of talented and wonderful people get left out of this telling of the story. THe book is just over 300 pages and it would take thousands of pages to tell something approaching a complete history of Motown. However, this book is delightful to read and gets those of us without inside knowledge closer to these personalities than many of us have every been.

There are so many different and passionate views about who deserves credit for what in all the successes of Motown and who deserves blame for all the various failures that no book can satisfy everyone. However, Mr. Posner has done a great deal to talk to as many folks as would talk with him, did a lot of reading, and dug into court records to find out what really went on. He found out a lot about the truth of the charges and counter charges in key court cases and business practices that existed in Motown over the decades of its existence. The book takes an even handed view and isn't afraid to tell us about Mr. Gordy's rather sharp business practices, the self-delusion and self-destruction of many artists, as well as the glorious way they pulled together in the early years to make themselves into huge stars. The book isn't a puff piece, but it also doesn't drag the people discussed in the book through the mud.

If you haven't already made up your mind, I think you will enjoy this book very much. At least, I can say that I did. Thanks, Mr. Posner!