Book Description
Even a short list of Bette Davis's most famous films -- Of Human Bondage; Jezebel; Dark Victory; The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex; Now, Voyager; All About Eve; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? -- reveals instantly what a major force she was in Hollywood. Her distinctive voice, her remarkable eyes, her astonishing range and depth of characterization -- all these qualities combined to make Bette Davis one of the finest performers in film history.
Drawing on extensive conversations with Bette Davis during the last decade of her life, Charlotte Chandler gives us a biography in which the great actress speaks for herself. (It was she who suggested that Chandler write this book.) Chandler also spoke with directors, actors, and others who knew and worked with Davis. As a result Davis comes to life in these pages -- a dynamic, forceful presence once again, just as she was on the screen.
Though she owed everything to her mother, Ruthie, Bette Davis remained fascinated all her life by her hard-to-please father, who walked out on his family. She remembered the disappointment -- which never left -- over her father's lack of interest in her, and she believed that her resentment of him was probably a major factor in her four failed marriages: she kept putting her men in a position where they would eventually disappoint her. She spoke happily of her love affairs with Howard Hughes and William Wyler; she recalled her leading men, favorite co-stars, and unloved rivals; and she took great care to refute the persistent Hollywood legend that she was difficult to work with. Alone and ill, she faced her last days with bravery and dignity.
The Girl Who Walked Home Alone is a brilliant portrait of an enduring icon from Hollywood's golden age and an unforgettable biography of the real woman behind the star.
Download Description
"Even a short list of Bette Davis's most famous films -- Of Human Bondage; Jezebel; Dark Victory; The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex; Now, Voyager; All About Eve; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? -- reveals instantly what a major force she was in Hollywood. Her distinctive voice, her remarkable eyes, her astonishing range and depth of characterization -- all these qualities combined to make Bette Davis one of the finest performers in film history. Drawing on extensive conversations with Bette Davis during the last decade of her life, Charlotte Chandler gives us a biography in which the great actress speaks for herself. (It was she who suggested that Chandler write this book.) Chandler also spoke with directors, actors, and others who knew and worked with Davis. As a result Davis comes to life in these pages -- a dynamic, forceful presence once again, just as she was on the screen. The Girl Who Walked Home Alone is a brilliant portrait of an enduring icon from Hollywood's golden age and an unforgettable biography of the real woman behind the star.
Customer Reviews:
Her life in quotes..........2007-07-17
I ran across this book in the library when I was doing some research on old Hollywood and the title "The Girl Who Walked Home Alone" really struck me. Being as this was the first I've ever read about Bette Davis, I can't really say how true to form or redundant it may be in relation to previous biographies or accounts of her life. What I liked most about this book was the perspective it gave, the fact that it encompassed not just Miss Davis's take on things but those around her as well. She really had a larger-than-life life, which you really can't help but admire her for living through. I found myself with great sympathy and respect for her after reading this book. Many may be turned off by the fact that the entire biography is a mere compiling of quotes with little narrative by the author herself, but I rather liked it that way. No false second-hand impressions here. I've never been a fan of biographers who try to get into the heads of their subjects and recount from their own imagination as if they themselves were the authority in the matter, all knowing and telling. Here, all concerned spoke for themselves (assuming they were accurately quoted) and the interpretation is left to the reader basically. I thought Miss Davis herself came across rather intelligent and forthright in looking into her own life, though of course not entirely unbiased in her own way. But it gave her a very human quality that I found quite endearing. And with age comes insight it seems, as she detailed the events in her life. However, the amount of typos and grammatical errors in the book was distracting. I mean, it wasn't riddled with them but definitely made me think were there no editors around or did they all just snooze on the job? But overall, a pretty engrossing read about a thoroughly interesting person of substance.
A centerfold of black and white photos completes a wonderful coverage.......2007-06-09
The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography is a recommended pick for any collection strong in movie star biographies, especially those which aren't overstocked on Bette Davis coverage's already. Film biographer Charlotte Chandler interviewed Davis extensively in the last decade of her life, so this biography includes many of Davis' own words and insights, rather than the usual third-party analysis from those who just have had her films and reference materials to work from. A centerfold of black and white photos completes a wonderful coverage, highly recommended for any library strong in film biography.
Been Done Before and Better!!.......2007-05-08
I agree with the reviewer below who said there is nothing new here. The author breezes through Davis' life with Davis interjecting here and there. Its been done before and a lot better (notably Whitney Stine's book 'Mother Goddam'). The author writes very poorly as well and the book is labyrinthical and very confusing. One doesn't know when Davis is talking, when the author is talking, or when one of the people whom the author interviewed is talking. Skip this one. Davis deserves better.
Listening to Bette Davis in person.......2007-01-05
I casually opened this book, thinking it would be just like every other biography, and didn't put it down until I finished it the next day. It was just as if Bette Davis was talking in person. It gives a real insight into her life, which wasn't as glamorous as we probably all imagined. Very very interesting!!
A little redundant.......2006-12-10
The book was good, yet a little redundant. I found myself having to force my way through to get the book finished in the beginning. Honestly, going back and forth from quote to quote to narration was a little confusing. A lot of time it was not stated who was speaking, so you'd have to backtrack to find out who was the speaker at that moment. But once I got into the book, it got better. If you're interested in Bette Davis, I would definitely recommend the book, but keep in mind that it can get a little boring, at least in my opinion.
Average customer rating:
- Quick, enjoyable reading and gives you a real sense of her personality..
- Bette In Her Own Words...
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I'd Love to Kiss You: Conversations With Bette Davis
Whitney Stine
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
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Mother Goddam : Bette Davis
ASIN: 0671611526 |
Customer Reviews:
Quick, enjoyable reading and gives you a real sense of her personality.........2007-04-14
The thing I found most enjoyable was reading Bette Davis speaking - a strong and vibrant personality comes through and it is both enjoyable and interesting to read.
Also, in it she reveals some information such as names of affairs which she says that she didn't reveal in her own biography The Lonely Life. She discusses her thoughts on co-stars and loves and family, it's fascinating.
Bette In Her Own Words..........2006-06-13
I happened upon this book quite by accident. While impatiently waiting for one of my libraries to have 'The Girl Who Walked Home Alone' (the new Bette Davis Bio) available, I found this book, and figured, what the heck, maybe this would hold me over till I could get the new one. Well, it was much better than I expected! It was Bette telling her own stories in her own words, to her good friend and author Whitney Stine.
Mr. Stine became a fan of Ms. Davis's when he was 8, and kept a scrapbook of the star all throughout her career. Well, in 1968, and in his thirties, he finally got the chance to meet her after she heard he was writing a Biography of her career, not her life (Mother Goddam - 1974). She was intrigued, and once the two met, they remained very close friends for almost 20 years.
What I enjoyed most about this book was it was conversations that Bette had had with Mr. Stine over their 20 year friendship. Bette herself explaining her favorite movies, people she did and didn't like working with, tidbits about her personal life, awards she'd won, and missed opportunities. It wasn't some author who never knew her personally making up things they thought had happened, or filling in blanks themselves.
Overall I was very pleased with this book...and am very glad I found it. Now that I've had my Bette Davis fill, I can be a little more patient while waiting for her new bio to become available!
Book Description
Bette Davis (1908-1989) was the great actress of the Golden Age of Cinema. Known for her bullish temper and incomparable candor, she began life as the favorite daughter of a lonely, unfulfilled single mother. Convinced that she lacked beauty, Davis devoted everything to her acting. In classic films such as Jezebel, All About Eve, Dark Victory and Now, Voyager, she distorted herself into grotesque, shocking characters -- always, she insisted, for the good of the role. Off-stage she never achieved the same success, becoming a serial divorcee. By the end of her life, her repertoire had narrowed into excruciating self-imitation. This book unearths the complex, self-destructive woman beneath the steely public persona.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating!.......2004-10-06
I loved this intriguing biography of Bette Davis. Moser's elegant prose makes it a pleasure to read. She writes with great detail and really gets into Bette's psychology. Even as a true Bette fan, I gained a lot of insight by reading this book! What a complicated woman...
Product Description
Bette Davis' autobiography, The Lonely Life, proves conclusively that the legendary image of Bette Davis was not a fable but a marvelous reality.
Average customer rating:
- The eyes of Bette Davis
- Fascinating
- Let Me Just Say This . .. .
- B.D. Hyman--Sold Her Mother Out for $$$$$$$$$
- My Mother's Keeper Book
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My Mother's Keeper
B. D. Hyman
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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This 'n' That
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The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis - A Personal Biography
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Bette Davis (Life&Times series)
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Mommie Dearest
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Bette Davis: A Biography
ASIN: 068804798X |
Customer Reviews:
The eyes of Bette Davis.......2007-09-29
I am not crazy about this book because it seems to be an apparent attempt for B. D. to cash in on her mother's famous name. The book describes how Bette was an unsympathetic and uncaring mother over the years and how B. D. had to "take care of her." Is this really true? I have no idea. Was the book interesting? Yes, parts of it were.
Before I read this book I was never too crazy about Bette Davis. Am I the only one that thinks she always looked and sounded so haggard and tired in all of her pictures? But after reading it I have a new understanding of Bette. She wasn't concerned with Hollywood or with all the glitz. She just wanted to be an "actor." Maybe that was what meant the most in the end.
Fascinating.......2007-09-16
Although I think Bette Davis was a fine actress, she obviously had a very hard time with relationships and it's sad that her daughter had to suffer. You can tell that the author (daugher B. D. Hyman) loved her mother through it all. It gives us insight into Bette's psyche.
Let Me Just Say This . .. ........2007-08-29
I love all of these amateur psychiatrists diagnosing NPD. Apparantly Joan Crawford suffered from this same disease - I read all about it in the reviews for "Mommie Dearest". No one can definitely say what went on in the home of Bette Davis. Even if B.D. speaks the truth - there are 2 sides to every story & her book would be a pretty boring read if she didn't try to stir up some dirt. I don't think Bette Davis was a perfect mother - but I do believe she loved her daughter and did the best she could. Bette was a great actress - and that would undeniably take a toll on other areas of her life so I believe that B.D. probably suffered for it but not to the extent that she claims in "My Mother's Keeper." At the end of her life Bette didn't have a vast fortune to bestow on any of her children - that is why Bette worked up until the end - she was in constant need of money. She supported her Mother, her sister, maintained her daughter Margo's care, and eventually supported B.D.'s family. B.D. needn't have waited until Bette's death for an inheritence that would never come. I am of the impression that B.D. felt the need to soil her mother's name and in the midst of Bette's illness to make a buck. I do think that B.D. should drop it already - if you go to her website she is still preaching about her controlling mother - how can you preach forgiveness if you yourself can't forgive? Why doesn't she just get on with her life already?
B.D. Hyman--Sold Her Mother Out for $$$$$$$$$.......2007-06-16
Well well well...B.D. Hyman--say Amen, folks! The woman who seems never to have had a real job in her life, along with her leech-like husband Jeremy--tears her mother apart with this sensation-seeking piece of muck raking.
Bette Davis was not an easy woman to deal with--I think anyone with a brain in their head could figure this out. Highly strung, neurotic, and probably an alcoholic, she was demanding to the point of torture. B.D. and Jeremy, however, b***ch and moan about what a witch she is, but still had their hands out ready to take any cash she offered. If you would like a good laugh, read Narrow Is the Way, B.D.'s follow-up book detailing how they ran away to the Bahamas when creditors started chasing them in the U.S.. B.D. now runs an evangelical ministry--snigger snigger--you can give her money--cash, credit card or check--and she'll pray for you.
My Mother's Keeper Book.......2007-03-08
Thanks for sending the book so quickly. I appreciate this. Great Service!!
Book Description
FIRST TRADE PAPERBACK EDITION
BY EDGAR AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR
STUART KAMINSKY
"I'm here," came a familiar voice.
I turned and found myself looking at Bette Davis no more than a half a dozen feet in front of me. She strode forward around two couples and stood in front of me with a smile that could kill. The orchestra had picked up the theme and it was hard to hear her as she said:
"Why are you following me?"
Why has legendary actress Bette Davis been kidnapped not once, not twice, but three times? And what does her abduction have to do with the Third Reich's attempts to steal America's plans for a top-secret superbomber?
In pursuit of answers, private eye Toby Peters must penetrate a hapless spy ring composed of third-rate Tinseltown tough guys, and delve into the bedroom peccadillos of America's glitter set. As bodies begin piling around him, he finds himself racing to the rescue of Miss Davis.
But if he fails in his mission, who'll protect Peters from the wrath of the star...?
Download Description
Why has legendary actress Bette Davis been kidnapped not once, not twice, but three times? And what does her abduction have to do with the Third Reich's attempts to steal America's plans for a top-secret superbomber? In pursuit of answers, private eye Toby Peters must penetrate a hapless spy ring composed of third-rate Tinseltown tough guys, and delve into the bedroom peccadillos of America's glitter set. As odies begin piling around him, he finds himself racing to teh rescue of Miss Davis. But if he fails in his mission, who'll protect Peters from the wrath of the star ... ?
Customer Reviews:
A promising premise disappointingly realized.......2003-06-19
Judging from the number of used copies of this book on sale for just pennies, other readers shared similar reactions: That they found The Devil Met A Lady to be quite a disappointment. Kaminsky continues the (dubious) trend of casting historical figures in fictional adventures by building a mystery, involving wartime espionage, around an attempt to blackmail Bette Davis. But the character that emerges is more that of a dull drag queen doing Davis than of the Fourth Warner Brother. And the sleuth, Toby Peters, solves cases with the help of a vaudevillian network of friends and acquaintances like fortune-tellers, little people and, well, BIG people. The plotting is pretty last ditch, with coincidences aplenty and saviors unexpectedly turning up where it's unlikely they'd be (the "mystery" proves little more than an afterthought). And while a light tone is one thing, The Devil Met A Lady -- the title's a play on the 1936 Davis version of The Maltese Falcon, Satan Met A Lady -- lacks the edge and precision to be a campy romp.
Customer Reviews:
A Bette Davis "must read",, if you are a fan........2007-03-26
Bette Davis tells it like it is about her movies, and directors, and life in general, from her point of view. She makes sure she sets the record straight about her personal life, and her professional life. Very entertaining, only if you really like Bette Davis, in all her glory.
Customer Reviews:
Good book - great woman.......2007-04-02
I was not a fan of Bette Davis until I saw her being interviewed by Dick Cavett in 1972. The Dick Cavett Show - Hollywood Greats The second she walks on stage you know you are in for a collossal treat. I have watched it over and over. That is what made me a fan and prompted me to get this book (and fill my Netflix queue with Bette Davis movies). I found the book to be very entertaining and loved the letters concerning and reviews about her daughter's hideous back-stabbing stunt at the very end. I think if you are a fan of Bette Davis that you would enjoy this book.
A Bette Davis Fan Must Read.......2006-04-07
I've been a huge Bette Davis fan and it makes me upset that some of the reviews think that this is a book that isn't worth the paper its written on. I mainly wanted ti read this book to know more about Ms Davis, to know more about the last decade of her life with all the sickness she went through. I loved it, and i think that any Bette Davis fan would enjoy it greatly!
You'll love it if your a fan of Bette's.......2005-10-03
Obviously the one star reviewers aren't very big fans of Bette's. This is an honest and real account of some of the movies, struggles she faced with all her recovery from her surgeries. This is an important read to a bette davis fan and I would highly reccomend it!
Jonathan goldis
This'N That Jumps Around.......2005-09-24
I was never a big fan of Bette Davis, but I am always interested in reading what others have written about their own lives. This book had it's moments, but it would have been better if they would have given more of a chronological history. Instead, she jumps around from story to story, as each one pops into her head. This made things a little confusing for me. I did feel like she had an ulterior motive for writing the book. That motive was to get back at her daughter for a nasty book she had written about Bette. I have not read the daughter's book, but it obviously shook up Bette Davis and ruined a mother/daughter relationship. For me, this made the book end in a sad fashion. It also leaves the reader hanging, wondering if this mother and daughter ever worked out their differences. I can't really recommend this book unless you are just seeking more information on the life of one of Hollywood's biggest stars. One last positive thing I will say about the book is that Bette Davis does not get into a lot of the dirt she could have told about Hollywood stars. I do respect her for this.
WRITTEN ONLY TO GET BACK AT B.D........2005-08-13
This book was written by Davis only to throw Kathryn Sermak in her daughter's face because of "My Mother's Keeper". Davis subtly refrains from mentioning B.D. in any way until the last chapter where she has her supporters like Mia Farrow talk about what a liar B.D. is. Unfortunately, the rest of the book, is as another reviewer pointed out, a loving tribute to Kathryn Sermak. Its "Kath this -n- Kath that". Davis was obviously a very disturbed woman with manic tendencies that were demonstrated all through her life, no thanks to a controlling mother, which she herself became. This book offers vignettes about her career but its nothing that hasn't been read before. In whole the book is dull and trite.
Average customer rating:
- Sheet Music - Piano/Vocal/Guitar
- This is a great book for guitarists.
|
The Best of Barenaked Ladies
Manufacturer: Warner Brothers Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Barenaked Ladies : Public Stunts, Private Stories
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Disc One 1991-2001: All Their Greatest Hits
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The Barenaked Truth
ASIN: 0769215793 |
Product Description
A collection of the best songs from the hot Canadian outfit, Barenaked Ladies. Titles include: Be My Yoko Ono Box Set Brian Wilson Enid If I Had $1,000, 000 What a Good Boy Alternative Girlfriend Jane Life, In a Nutshell The Old Apartment Shoe Box Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank This is Where It Ends.
Customer Reviews:
Sheet Music - Piano/Vocal/Guitar.......1999-12-20
A book of sheet music for 13 of their songs. As far sheet music goes, it could be better. It's your run of the mill take-a-song-and-condense-it-down-to-3-parts (Piano/Vocal/Guitar). The only guitar part is a single chord line - no tablature or lead parts. The same holds true for their 'Stunt' sheet music book. Songs: Be My Yoko Ono - Box Set - Brian Wilson - Enid - If I Had A $1,000,000 - What A Good Boy - Alternative Girlfriend - Jane - Life In A Nutshell - The Old Apartment - Shoe Box - Straw Hat And Dirty Old hank - This Is Where It Ends.
This is a great book for guitarists........1998-10-13
Good book!
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