Books rarely hold my attention. Can't tell you how many I've started and put down. I started Larry Gatlin's book a few days ago and can't stop reading. Half-way thru the book, his re-telling of successes and failures have me grabbing for a kleenex every few pages. His reliance on God and coming back to God's grace are touching/inspiring. He gives God the credit for every moment that counts in his life that will connect to another open door (try to count how many times he writes, "another God moment.") His writing style is energetic, to the point, down to earth, honest - just as his personality is on stage. (I saw the Gatlin Brothers in concert in Kansas City 12/28/02). This book makes the reader rejoice as we watch him overcome alcoholism and substance abuse. Who wouldn't want Larry to win over these addictions, for his sake and his family's sake back home. He doesn't overdo the details but gives the full picture in few words. Keep the music coming Gatlin Brothers!

I'm a Larry Gatlin fan. His book is written as well as his songs. I was captivated by his life story which he described in such down to earth, honest words. And it is so funny.
What a talent!

I've been around the music business for the past 30 years, I have NEVER seen an artist be this honest and open about the rise and the fall of ones career. Larry lays it ALL on the line and this should serve as a wake up call for those that can not handle "life in the fast lane". Larry's story is 24KT solid gold. A real must read from someone who has certainly been there, done that.

SOITENLY I HAVE BEEN A BIG 3 STOOGE FAN FOR 44 YEARS AND I WILL BE A STOOGE FAN UNTIL I DIE.I GIVE BOOK THE THREE STOOGES SCRAPBOOK A TEN STARS IF IT WENT THAT HIGH.

Partially written by Moe's daughter, this is the book the budding stooge fan should buy first. Each of the stooges (Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Joe, and Curly Joe) are given a separate biographical chapter. Their filmmaking history is covered, as well as less well known forays into Television, Comic Books, and yes, singing record albums. The stooges proved to be successful in nearly everything they tried. But the best feature by far is the reference synopses of EVERY stooge short, complete with cast list, director, and trivia. If a gag was used in multiple shorts (many were), they are cross-referenced. A must for any stooge's film festival. Another highlight is photos of the original lobby cards for the shorts. A number of family photographs are included, in which almost all, the boys are shown mugging. A gem for any stooge fan, it has been in print for more than 20 years.

By far the best and most interesting book on the Stooges. Makes the other bios look bad. I am referring to the hardcover edition.

On August 8, 1937 a second son was born to Harry and LillianHoffman. A son who would change many peoples lives through his humorand wits. In 1952 Dustin took up classical piano, dreaming aboutmaking it some day as a professional classical pianist. He was alsocalled on to play in school assemblies whenever the scheduled speakersfailed to show, even though he knew only one song, "BumbleBoogie." Besides piano Dustin was very industrious. As a memberof his high school's tennis team and also track team, where he wasspecialized in marathon running. In the book there is a passage, thatHoffman explains: "I was the Bumble Boogie ace in the hole. Atparties, the first thing I did was find the piano. I would sit on theedge of the bench, leaving room for the right girl to sit down next tome, and say, 'Boy, do you have sensitive hands.' She never did."Hoffman also explains his earlier years as: "a kid who was alwaystoo short, wore braces on his teeth, and had one of the worst cases ofacne in Los Angeles." In early 1957, Dustin again had a change ofheart because he came to realize acting was his greatest joy. Lateron while Hoffman got into acting and got some off-broadway roles, healso got some side jobs. His first being a psychiatric attendant in amental hospital. On his first day there, he explained: "I wasscared silly! Charging down the hall was a middle-aged guy. He saidto me, 'I'm getting out next Sunday...my wife's an old Dutchcleanser... you got nice teeth, sonny boy, are they yours?' Ramblingon senselessly, the man, without warning, suddenly started making thenoise of an electric razor, unnerving Hoffman considerably. Thispassage shows Hoffman's great sense of humor... To say more aboutthis book would be too much. Jeff Lenburg includes many of thedetails that you want to know about Dustin Hoffman. I liked this bookbecause you can follow a great comedian through his hardships, andvictories in his life.

This book truly shows the flip side of reference books - reference vs. trivia. But what a trove is collected here. Dive on in and find your answers. Wonder who voiced Space Ghost in the original series. Look here. But you can also flip through the pages and just let memories wash over you. I found so many shows that I didn't know I forgot about. And with today's lack of as many Saturday Morning cartoons if you are of the right age it will sweep you back to those bygone days in front of the tube. Even more so it is a great reference showing the sweep of animation - the Saturday morning shows, as well as Prime Time shows. The movies. The specials. It's not a book you read from cover to cover, but open up a page and see what it reminds you of. Come in and see how many Scooby Doo show there were (6 listed under S alone). There are titles, years, characters and voices and of course a general synopsis for each entry. Comprehensive? Maybe not but it's chock full of animation goodness to keep you smiling for a good long time.

In a fully updated and expanded second edition of The Encyclopedia Of Animated Cartoons, Jeff Lenburg offers more than 2,200 entries providing information on all aspects of film and television animated cartoons from Bugs Bunny to The Simpsons. All aspects of the medium are covers including creators, directors, promotions studios, voice talent, episode titles, release days and more. Every cartoon ever created is references including silent theatrical cartoons, sound theatrical cartoons, full-length animated features, animated television specials, and animated television series. Featuring more than 40 percent new material for this revised edition, The Encyclopedia Of Animated Cartoons is enhanced with a 16-page color section showcasing the best and the brightest art from cartoon animation's colorful past. The Encyclopedia Of Animated Cartoons is an important, benchmark publication for students, fans, and historians of cartoon animation.

This is THE best cartoon encyclopedia I have ever stumbled upon. It lists nearly every cartoon ever made (by nearly, I mean some programs that weren't shown in America aren't in this book). The book is split up into five different sections:

1. Silent cartoons from the 1910's to the 1920's
2. Theatrical "sound" cartoons (i.e. Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, etc.)
3. Cartoon movies
4. Cartoon television specials
5. Cartoon television series

Everything is listed alphebetically, so it's not too hard to find your favorite cartoon. Although there are some errors in the book, such as slight mistakes in voice credits. But other than that, it's a great book. Specials and series that you never thought anybody remembered are listed in this book.

This tome is quite worthy for any cartoon fan, the information seems well researched there are a few time where the actors and characters for a show are mismatched and not always are all characters listed.

Do you ever watch those cable networks like CARTOON NETWORK, or TOON DISNEY? Jeff Lenburg's THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMATED CARTOONS will answer all of your nagging questions, from particular voice actors to episode titles. For a long time I suspected that Ted Knight, from MARY TYLER MOORE was the narator on SUPERFRIENDS. Now I Know! It's a must have book for video collector's as well. I collect superhero videos, and now I can tell the 4 different SPIDERMAN shows apart. The subdivided text includes: Series, Features, Shorts and Specials...

Veronica Lake must have started out as a child who was distrustful, insecure, and not comfortable with others. At the urgings of her mother, she went to Hollywood. She became the IT girl of the film noir period based upon her photogenic fragile beauty, an accident with her hair that gave her a special look, and her acting ability. She then became an alcoholic. She had several bad marriages, a nervous breakdown, and she proved herself to be a very poor parent. At the height of her popularity, the Hollywood system was paying her $150 per week. Then she made $5000 per week for several more years until her popularity faded, and she was dropped by the studio. One of her husbands spent most of the money, and she died penniless of hepatitis at a relatively early age.

Her mother reported that Veronica had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia as a child. Unfortunately, the author continuously blames every problem or failure on this supposed illness. For example, an actor has to lift Veronica up in front of the camera. Perhaps as a prank, she has forty pounds of ballast sewn into her dress to make herself heavier. The author interprets this as a vengeful trick that a paranoid, schizophrenic Veronica used in order to get even with the other actor. In the book, there is hardly an action that is not seen as a result of the supposed illness. Published after Veronica's death, the book relies heavily on interviews with the mother. The mother was very controlling, and had previously sued Veronica for support payments.

In spite of the above comments, you can get an excellent sense of Veronica Lake as a person. This is the main purpose of a biography, and it accomplishes that well. The only other book published exclusively on Veronica Lake is the autobiography "Veronica" which is no longer in print. As such, this is a valuable and useful book for anyone interested in Veronica Lake. She is best known for "Sullivan's Travels", several Alan Ladd pictures including "This Gun For Hire", and for "I Married A Witch". The title of the book refers to her hairstyle in which her hair hung down over one eye.

I read the book in two days. It was entertaining, definatley worth it. I only gave 4 stars because I would have liked to know more about the last few days of her life and her death (the book talks at length about her last years, but not her last days).
She died alone and broke, which is surprising. Didn't they have residuals back then? How could Hollywood allow this to happen to one of it's own? But then on the other hand, she's the one who squandered away her millions of dollars.
I would have also liked to hear what her children had to say. Her mother (is she still alive? She must be a thousand!!) was interviewed though.

Jeff Lenburg's Peekaboo is a one of the few books written exclusively on the subject of the actress Veronica Lake, the other notable book being the, long out of print, autobiography Veronica. The style of the writing is unfortunately over-sensationalised at every turn. There is a definite leaning towards the downbeat and difficulties encountered by the young Constance Keane who would become one of the IT girls of her generation. This does tarnish the books feel somewhat but if you are a fan of Veronica Lake or of the 40's Hollywood scene, as depicted in LA Confidential this is a book for you.

I'm a long standing fan of Constance Keane's movies and material on "Veronica Lake" is exceedingly hard to find. So on the upside this book is exclusively about her, it does cover some interesting interviews and personal notes from the people who knew her and has some very nice photographs (all be it poorly reprinted in this edition.)

Known for her trade mark hairstyle, The Peek-a-boo Bang, Veronica Lake captured the imagination of the 30's and 40s cinema going public. Her work in the ground-breaking early film noir movies, "This Gun for Hire" & "The Blue Dahlia", still stand-up well today. Along with her comedy roles in films like "Sullivan's Travels" and "I Married a Witch".

This book is a must for Noir movie fans and people who like a biography with tragedy at its heart, a worth while addition to your reading list.

This biography is not as much a biography as a review of interviews made to Hoffman and reviews of Hoffman's movies (too bad there isn't one single word from critic-guru Pauline Kael). In fact, I didn't see much research here, the author never gets in one single day in Dustin's life with phrases such as "in 1967 he made this play and this movie and got these reviews". (And this book ends in 1984, with 'Tootsie'.) Certainly, it must be difficult to get into Hoffman's life, friends and relatives but this book doesn't seem to have tried that at all. The resolution of the pictures is like a xerox copy (this book is a reprint).