I have read this book a couple of times, along with Nick Tosches book on Dino. I like to read about the lives of different entertainers and find that Dean Martin was probably one of the most fascinating personalities of his time.The fact that he was such a private person makes him that much more intriguing. I do feel Arthur Marx did the best he could with the information he had, but I cannot honestly give this book 5 stars. I'll read it again and maybe I'll change my mind.

I have this book and the reading is good. Actually this book seems to be most of the research for Nick Toshes book. Minus the mob and language. Although you get the feeling that Arthur Marx really knew and liked the subjects he's writting about. Would recommend it to be included in any collectors library.

This was an enjoyable read. Some funny, interesting stories. I recommend it!

This book was fun and easy to read. Jim Chenoweth has a great sense of humor, and I really enjoyed reading about his relationships with the stars. The golfing tips are great!!

Tosches has done a brilliant job of streamlining Jerry Lee's life into a smooth novelistic parable about Heaven and Hell. Unlike most biographers, he eschews parading facts. He is a very literate writer with lots of classical flourishes. Drama, plot atmosphere and the negative rule, making Hellfire into a dark fable with no happy ending. It is a different approach to biography, one that takes some license with the truth in order to entertain. But it is a great story about a great presence in rock and roll. I enjoyed the book a lot, but when it was over found myself wanting more. More information about why Jerry was the way he was, his effect on the culture, and where he is now.

An "amen" to any words of praise that have already been spoken about this amazing book. What I would like to point out is that the reason the deaths of wife #3, Jaren Pate, and wife #4, Shawn Stevens, are not covered in the book is that they took place 3 or 4 years after the publication of Hellfire. However, Tosches does discuss both deaths in Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock n Roll, and quite chillingly at that. ("Your sister's dead", Jerry Lee said to Denise Stevens the day after Shawn's bruised and bloodied corpse was discovered, "and she was a bad girl"). Come now, you don't think Tosches could keep silent about the Killer's Killings, do you?

This is a fabulous book but--mysteriously--Nick Tosches doesn't address the rumors that Jerry "The Killer" Lewis murdered at least one of his young wives (there was even a long, engrossing, article in Rolling Stone about the possibility, some years back). It would have been nice to get Tosches take on the subject. His lack of a printed opinion was my only disappointment with this book.

Lewis is a bewildering American talent: he is one of the best comedy directors around, was an amazingly original screen comic (we too easily forget that his character - the nerdy adolescent - was new when he invented him), was an excellent mime, an inventor (he invented several innovations still used in film), writer of much of his material, actor, singer, etc. He could easily have been remembered as being on the second tier of American film comics (along with Laurel and Hardy) though he aspired to be on the first tier with Chaplin and Keaton. So what went wrong? Why do people hold their nose when his name comes up (except in Europe)? Although his personality has become increasingly abrasive over the years and his screen character was not able to age gracefully (what comic personae does? Look at the abominable final films that Chaplin made!), it must be remembered that all of this is not Lewis' fault. He had a disastrous back injury (on live tv, no less) in the early sixties that gave him unbearable pain for years afterward and that led to his abuse of painkillers. That accident sapped most of his creative powers. It is terrible that so much of the good stuff that Lewis is responsible for has been forgotten. He deserves some objective reassessment. I hope someone will do this before he dies as he deserves to be recognized here in the USA as an improtant figure.

Entertaining biography of rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis. It details his rise from the poverty of rural Louisiana to become a rock and roll legend. Told by his wife of thirteen years, Myra Lewis, the book recounts an insider's view of those early days of rock and roll and of the rise of Jerry Lee Lewis in the annals of rock and roll.

Jerry grew up with his first cousin, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, who in his own right achieved a measure of notoriety, as a prominent preacher and televangelist. Lewis, however, a music lover from early childhood, wanted nothing more than to be a piano playing musician. A backwoods good ole boy, he shocked the country with his antics, topping it all off with his marriage to his thirteen year old cousin, Myra, an act which brought him unwelcome notoriety.

Known for his high energy performances, Jerry Lee Lewis lived hard, played hard, and worked hard at his music. His was a life of which legends are made. This book is an enjoyable, no holds barred narrative of that life.

"Rockin'my life away" is by a longshot the best book written about Jerry Lee Lewis by a non-relative.This book doesn't exaggerate things like Nick Tosches' "Hellfire" did and concentrates on the most important thing: The MUSIC. The book also credits Lewis' contributions to all the genres that he covered,including blues, country,rock 'n' roll,gospel & boogie. However,this book is not 100% perfect,either - but comes close to being so.The author compares Jerry Lee too much with Elvis Presley - who is a very different type of performer altogether as he's more pop based that The Killer.Also,not all of Lewis' songs are dealth with and there are some inaccuracies.That aside,though,it's an excellent read.

I truly liked this book. There is much information on each of their movies including behind the scenes events. Several photos throughout. For each movie, you get the cast, a summary, photos, and background information.

I didn't feel there was too much information. When reading about older movies, I like having as much information as possible. I enjoy the history, and this book does a good job of providing that.

For years..The fans of Abbott & Costello wanted to know how their classic film comedies were created.But very few books gave any real insight into how the movies evolved(The exception being..Leonard Maltin's"Movie Comedy Teams"and Jim Mullholland's"Abbott & Costello Book").But Finally those questions are answered in "Abbott & Costello In Hollywood!".This book written by the former president and founder of The Abbott & Costello Fan Club:Ron Palumbo and A&C & Jerry Lewis Archivist:Bob Furnemack uses indepth research,a large collections of rare photos and interviews from the many collegues,family members and friends of the team to show the creation,the evolution and the success of the team's films and tv series.The book also reveals that Bud And Lou were going to work on other projects that never came to fruition:A stage musical..In which they would clash with Universal Pictures most infamous monsters:"Dracula","The Wolfman"and "Frankenstein's Monster",A kids tv game show"Penny For Your Thoughts", another comedy/variety tv series and Lou producing some movies during his convelesence from Reumatic fever.The book also shows us some scenes from their films that were edited from the final release prints of the movies and more insight into what lead to the team's second and final breakup.For fans of A&C or for fans of comedy history..Who want to see the creation and evolution of classic comedy films and tv shows? This is one book worth having.Bravo Ron & Bob! Kevin S.Butler.

If only all film books could be as thorough and well-written as this one! There are so many behind-the-scenes details and photographs of the making of each of the team's classic films ("Buck Privates," "Hold That Ghost," "Time of Their Lives" and "A&C Meet Frankenstein" etc.) that you actually feel like a visitor on the set. Interviews with dozens of people who were there--including Hillary Brooke and the Andrews Sisters--make it all come alive. Fascinating chapters on the boys before and after Hollywood put their movie years in perspective. Also includes an index (thanks!) and a transcription of what is (I think) the best version of "Who's On First?" (from "Naughty Nineties"). An absolute must for A&C fans and classic Hollywood movie buffs.

I must admit that I found this book intriguing and valuable, however, only as a sense of somebody else's opinions on two influential apologists. Many of the authors' conclusions and critiques on Lewis and Schaeffer were well presented, except for one thing. One got the sense as the book was read, that the authors were very proficient and setting up straw men to knock down or using statements somewhat out of context to support their own theological views. While I have no problem using other's statements to support your own theological views, I do have a problem with writing a book under the guise of a critique of apologists in order to support and strengthen your own theological slant.

I can't say that their theological slant was that much different then my own. There are differences, but I found myself agreeing with the bulk of their presentation theologically. However, I do feel that they may have done Schaeffer and Lewis an injustice by oversimplifying their positions. The book is worth reading, but not for a completely accurate depiction of Lewis and Schaeffer's positions.

While presenting a generally concise and accurate summary of much of what Lewis and Schaeffer wrote and taught, the authors (Burson and Walls) seem to have a "hidden agenda" of damning Francis Schaeffer with "faint praise." The authors reject Schaeffer's Reformed views on Predestination (not surprising given that both are professors at a leading theological seminary with a decidedly Arminian tradition). They promote a view of human freedom that is quite consistent with a generally Arminian perspective on such matters. Moreover, the authors seem to leave the door open for the "Openness of God" and other such postmodernist and heterodox viewpoints of God's omniscience...

Burson and Walls also question Schaeffer's views on Inerrancy and reject his views affirming the substitutionary atonement. Instead, they seem to embrace a "limited errancy" view on the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture. They also emphatically embrace a view of salvation and eternal damnation that includes Purgatory and postmortem evangelism.

Overall, this book is worth reading to see how far the "Great Evangelical Disaster" has progressed since Francis Schaeffer's passing in 1984. These two leading evangelical professors can promote heterodoxy with little fear of confrontation or protest from the evangelical academic community. Schaeffer has long been despised by of the evangelical academic community because he exposed their accommodation to the twin idols of academic freedom and academic respectability. May God raise up a generation of Francis Schaeffer's who can bypass the evangelical academic backwaters for the fresh streams of Kingdom service--unencumbered by accommodation to modern idols...

I selected this book to read after reading Hugh Hewett's "The Embarassed Believer". I wanted to get a better feel for what apologetics is about. What better place to go than to the two greatest apologists of the 20th century.

Burson and Walls certainly have a point of view, but I do not think that it detracts from their comparisons of Lewis and Schaeffer. I found that it pushed me to hold up my own beliefs to the same analyses they used on their subjects. I learned where I have strengths and where there are gaping holes in my understanding of the faith.

The territory covered is quite expansive, many of the areas of belief were outside of any regular theological discussions by lay leaders in my church experience. As a Christian called to lay ministry, I have found it important to carefully examine my own beliefs about the nature of the relationship between God and Man before trying to take the "good news" to those outside of the church.

As most comparisons of human-beings are, there are flaws. We are all flawed, but we all have something to say about who and what God is and does in the world. This book gives us a framework to build and articulate our own understanding of what faith in Jesus represents in the millenium ahead.

In Celebrate through Heartsongs we hear a sweet child's voice with a wise person's message. However, the power of Mattie's voice is neither his sweetness nor his wisdom. Rather, it's his great clarity and sureness. Mattie uses death to remind us of what's important, and he cuts right to the chase without any confusion or distraction. This refreshes the reader.

The collection of poems contained in this particular volume of Mattie's work is inconsistent. For example, the emotional charge you receive from reading a poem like "Post-terrorism Haiku" is not the same as the flatter and less interesting experience of reading "Winter Tops." Still, there is enough beef in Celebrate Through Heartsongs to satisfy the reader.

His poetry is some of the best I have ever heard. It is even better to hear him read the poems. This book is worth buying. He will touch your heart.

The simplicity of Mattie's poetry is its power. His thoughts are deep and well expressed for one of his age. I have been reading his poetry for a while now and find that his words make me smile, make me cry, and most all of all - make me think. If all of our children had the thoughts and goals of this young man, the world would bloom into a much nicer place.

The Book is way too short and he never talks about catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. Joe Lewis was a good fighter in his day.....as far as karate types go but equip wrestlers with submission holds and the karate types just fall by the way-side. Again, he never talks about wrestling at all!

This book, by Joe Lewis and Dr. Jerry Beasley, is divided in two parts. The first section is a biographary on Joe Lewis, considered by many in the martial arts world as the gretest karate fighter of all time; hence the title of the book. This section is at times, written in the first and third person, so the reader gets an idea as to what goes inside the mind of Lewis. This part is frank and sincere and many things said may not be well like by traditionalist.

Lewis speaks about his training in Okinawa, the states and with Bruce Lee. He talks about pioneering full-contact karate (aka kickboxing)and point karate. The next section, American Karate Fighting is the bulk of the book.

It also is a let down. The quality of the photos is average. The book works, but for someone who has studied the martial arts for over 20 years, nothing new is really mentioned. The traditional fighter may see something new, but, I doubt many traditionalists, who are not into contemporary fighting ideas, will probably not be interested in this book anyway.

The book is average at best (Probably could rate it lower but think that to get a little inside the mind of Lewis is worth the average rating)and for a skilled writer like Dr. Beasely (The Way of No Way), I expected a lot more.

Such an incredible martial artist, but such a poor job of relating his life. The book is too short and the info too sketchy. It's a good start, but it leaves you wanting more.

Loren W. Christensen, author of Fighting Power and Speed Training.