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Merchant Prince: The Story of Alexander Ducan McRae
Betty O'Keefe , and
Ian MacDonald
Manufacturer: Heritage House Publishing
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ASIN: 189438430X |
Average customer rating:
- Dull, Dull and Dreadful
- Much Ado about Nothing
- By no means a serious study of GayHollywood, but a good read
- Beef Jerky for the Brain
- Deeper analysis of being gay in Hollywood
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Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998
David Ehrenstein
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
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Binding: Hardcover
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Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star
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The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deals of Henry Willson
ASIN: 0688153178 |
Amazon.com
If David Ehrenstein's Open Secret says that somebody is gay, you can safely assume that he or she is (which is why the chapter on Tom Cruise reveals nothing more than reasons why people believe--or want to believe--he might be gay). Interviews with contemporary "out" stars, writers, and studio execs are balanced against the reminiscences of those who spent Tinseltown's golden age in the closet. This reveals how open Hollywood's tolerance of its gay and lesbian members has become, but it also shows the lack of similar progress in how the press deals with potential celebrity queerness. There isn't much difference, for example, between the scandal sheet Confidential's 1955 exposé of Tab Hunter's bust at a "pajama party ... for the boys" and the 1997 "Kevin Spacey Has a Secret" cover story in the ostensibly more respectable Esquire.
Open Secret flits from a visit to the set of the Ian McKellen-Brendan Fraser film Father of Frankenstein (based on the novel by Christopher Bram) to an analysis of Ellen DeGeneres's protracted coming-out process, from an overview of the impact of AIDS on the entertainment industry to the story of how Gus Van Sant almost made a movie of Randy Shilts's The Mayor of Castro Street. But the intersection of queer sexuality and Hollywood admittedly covers a lot of territory, and Ehrenstein does an admirable job of providing an overview. One bit of advice: skip over the very brief prologue, which tries a bit too hard to convince readers of the book's seriousness, and allow the informative and entertaining stories here to speak for themselves. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
Hollywood isn't just a place or an industry -- it's a fantasy that unfolds in the minds of moviegoers the world over. And talking about "who's gay in Hollywood" has always been the most socially acceptable way of talking about homosexuality period.But times have changed for gays and lesbians inside Hollywood and in the culture at large. Ellen DeGeneres "came out" to a world quite different from the one that allowed Marlene Dietrich to "stay in." And while Rupert Everett may be called "the gay Cary Grant," the real Cary Grant would never have described himself as gay -- even though he was.So what has it meant to be gay in Hollywood, not just as a star but behind the scenes as well? How homosexual actors and actresses came to define straight America's sexual self-image is only one of the paradoxical and provocative questions explored in Open Secret, a revealing cultural chronicle of gay Hollywood. From the silent era to the age of the multiplex and beyond, homosexuality has been a fact of life in the film industry, and scores of important personalities -- stars, writers, directors, producers -- have enjoyed long and spectacular careers on both sides of the camera, despite mainstream America's professed bias against gays.
Part social history and part Tinseltown expose, this entertaining book spans seventy years, painting knowing and vivid portraits of many of Hollywood's foremost gays and lesbians, often in the words of eyewitnesses or the principals themselves. Veteran entertainment journalist David Ehrenstein traces the gradual transformation from an era when gays and lesbians had no public profile in "polite" society to the modern era when many top entertainment figures are not merely comfortable with their sexuality but actually celebrate it -- and are in turn celebrated for it. In the process, he presents a unique reflection of American society as a whole and its ever-changing attitudes and values.
Customer Reviews:
Dull, Dull and Dreadful.......2005-11-12
This book has no life to it---I mean the writing--it is redundant, heavy, lackluster. Reads like a boring college research textbook. The author repeats and repeats and is consumed and obsessed with Ellen Degeneres over and over again. It is not like a book, but an overblown article. There is nothing new in the book--it is a historical account of gay and lesbians in Hollywood and boring as can be. Sorry I bought it but am thankful I got a used copy and did not pay much. I could hardly wait to finish it to throw it out as I did not even want to keep it. Forget this dull and dreadful book!
Much Ado about Nothing.......2003-03-05
It seems odd that this book, with its good intentions, would just be so unsatisfying as a read. You almost get the feeling that the author is on the outside of Hollywood looking in. He seems to be obsessed with Ellen. The book has a certain bitterness to it that doesn't play well.
I couldn't in all honesty recommend purchasing this book. Though if you find it at a public library, might be worth flipping through- but not checking out.
By no means a serious study of GayHollywood, but a good read.......2000-03-25
...nonetheless. This book is not a distasteful one unlike a vast majority of books about gays in Hollywood. It is also quite entertaining and should be regarded only as such: an entertaining book on a summer's day... In this case it does not really matter, whether the material is credible or not. If you do not take what you read TOO SERIOUSLY, then you will enjoy this book. If you want some serious study about gay actors, then look some place else for it.
Beef Jerky for the Brain.......1999-07-13
As one reader comments, this book is "a must for any serious Hollywood History library." Yes--in the same sense that the complete works of Ed Wood belong in every comprehensive home video collection.
Deeper analysis of being gay in Hollywood.......1999-06-18
If you want gossip, get a tabloid. If you'd rather read a thoughtful analysis of "gay Hollywood" in a social/historical context, get this book. This is not a list of who's gay and who isn't; Ehrenstein has chosen to write about what happened (and happens) to gays who are part of the Hollywood machine. He demonstrates, through first-person interviews and anecdotal accounts, in what ways Hollywood--the studios, the executives, the media, the audience--is and is not accepting of homosexuals. Not everyone in his book is famous, or a big time movie star, but they all have something to say or show about the difference between the gay Hollywood of the Cary Grant and Rock Hudson era and the gay Hollywood of the Ellen Degeneres and Tom Cruise era.
Ehrenstein's skill is in keeping the history together, so that James Whale's story is appropriately connected to the "Gods and Monsters" story, but each stands on its own as well. He has also taken care in choosing what to cover in this book. It would be impossible to write the entire history of Gay Hollywood in one book; and Ehrenstein has selected only certain aspects of that history and examined them in depth rather than touch only the surface of too many things.
Average customer rating:
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The Musical Journeys of Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0313258341 |
Book Description
One of the great figures in the evolution of European music and the greatest German violinist of his time, Louis Spohr has been largely forgotten by the music world. This volume concentrates upon the journeys Spohr took as a young virtuoso, composer, and conductor to Russia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, England, and France between 1800 and 1820, as well as his travels in Germany itself.
Book Description
Fully updated and beautifully repackaged, this steamy edition adds an exciting new dimension to our publishing catalogue, and its re-release is perfectly timed with America’s current wave of nationalism sparked by preoccupation with Operation Iraqi Freedom. Leave it to STARbooks Press to ensure that every aspect of U.S. military policy is covered (or uncovered, as it were)! Not only have all of the original stories been retained in Raw Recruits, (including John Patrick’s insightful intro, “A Taste for Seafood”, this stimulating update includes a new bonus book, “Busfuckingrides” by new STARbooks sensation, Mark Wildyr, and a new inclusion, "The Star Recruit", by longtime favorite, William Cozad. Still intact of course (and as erotically relevant as ever), is military pornmeister-unparalleled, Rick Jackson (USMC)’s bonus book of 17 tales, “Military Maneuvers—The Collected and Uncensored Sex Diaries of a Horny Dog”, and Her Majesty’s baddest-Brit seafarer, Ken Smith(’s), unrelentingly salacious novella, “Sailor Boy”. Yeo, man—talk about “Union Jack”-off material!
Customer Reviews:
Right on target!.......1999-11-04
Over 300 pages of saucy tales from the Masters of Genre. Nobody's as sexy as a man in uniform, especially if he's one in Raw Recruits!
Customer Reviews:
The Underside of College Hoops.......2006-04-01
Journalists Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian show the underside of college basketball recruiting in this still relevant and hard-hitting book. As many know, the key to winning is recruiting the top players. Since the NCAA forbids paying athletes in cash - recruiters, scouts, coaches, and hustlers have alternative methods for landing the top jocks. As the authors show, those methods include gifts of athletic shoes, summer camps, and fun-filled recruiting trips. Parents of top athletes and their high school coaches sometimes receive dollars, favors and/or jobs. I particularly liked the authors' description of Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, who skillfully exploits the process with his popular athletic shoes. Simply put, the game is awash in corruption,
Many realize that amateurism - paying athletes not in cash but with scholarships - is unworkable in big-money sports. Others know that too many top players leave college without a pro contract, and with little education. We fans may enjoy college basketball, but that cannot obscure the sport's dark underside.
Book Description
One of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, the two-day engagement near Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862 left more than 23,000 casualties. Fighting alongside seasoned veterans were more than 160 newly recruited regiments and other soldiers who had yet to encounter serious action. In the phrase of the time, these men came to Shiloh to "see the elephant."
Drawing on the letters, diaries, and other reminiscences of these raw recruits on both sides of the conflict, "Seeing the Elephant" gives a vivid and valuable primary account of the terrible struggle.
From the wide range of voices included in this volume emerges a nuanced picture of the psychology and motivations of the novice soldiers and the ways in which their attitudes toward the war were affected by their experiences at Shiloh.
Customer Reviews:
Very good historical scholarship.......2001-03-20
Seeing the Elephant takes the historiographical tactics of McPherson or Power -- close study of participants' own writings -- and applies them to a specific group at a specific moment: green recruits at the Battle of Shiloh. While the conclusions the co-authors come up with are more or less what one would expect, the book is still highly interesting and gives a good picture of the mentality of the average Civil War soldier before, during and after the battle. One thing I'd point out is that this is *not* a tactical study of Shiloh -- you'll have to go to another book for that. I would recommend this not only to students of the specific battle/campaign but to anyone interested in the battle experience and soldier mentalities of the period.
Informative, but not very entertaining.......2001-01-16
I needed to write a report on Shiloh, and this book gave me some information which I greatly needed. It gave me the points of view and opinions of some of the new recruits used to fight at the Battle of Shiloh.
Average customer rating:
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No hero: Memoirs of a raw recruit in World War II
John Kingsmill
Manufacturer: Hale & Iremonger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 0868065358 |
Book Description
Join the crew of the Evarstanza, a massive carrier converted to be the ultimate exploring vessel, and seek adventure. Raw Recruits is the first in our licensed Dragonstar adventure series and is designed to take four to six player characters from first to fourth level. In this campaign adventure series your characters can play the part of a newly formed unit of explorers aboard the Evarstanza. Built and commanded by the Gold Dragonkin Mercucio, the mighty ship sets out on a series of adventures in the Rimward Barrens. Strange planets, haunted factories, overrun freighters, experimental labs, pirate attacks; all of these can be found in these pages. Each of the separate key adventures and the numerous Interludes (short encounters) in this book can be played as part of the ongoing plot as part of the Evarstanza's crew or each can be broken out and run separately with no connection. The choice is up to you.
Book Description
A completely updated and revised edition of a bestselling book that has helped tens of thousands of people learn how to network effectively, Success Runs in Our Race is more important than ever in this fluctuating economy. With scores of anecdotes taken from interviews with successful African Americans -- from Keith Clinkscales, founder and former CEO of Vanguarde Media, to Oprah Winfrey -- Fraser shows how to network for information, for influence, and for resources. Readers will learn, among other things, how to cultivate valuable listening skills, which conferences blacks are most likely to attend when looking to build their business network, and how to effectively circulate a résumé.
More than a guide for personal achievement, this is an information-packed bible of networking that also seeks to inspire a social movement and a rebirth of the "Underground Railroad," in which successful African Americans share the lessons of self-determination and empowerment with those still struggling to scale the ladder of success.
Customer Reviews:
Great Networking Resource.......2007-07-25
Networking is a significant part of my business. George C. Fraser's Book - "Success Runs in Our Race", provides many excellent and effective strategies for networking.
Quality business and professional guidance!.......2007-03-24
George Fraser knows what is required to be successful in business or in your professional life no matter what your career or profession. Many of the skills he talks about in his book can be applied to your work life or your personal endeavors. On the surface this might sound odd but the success characteristics are the same. What he talks about are the required behaviors that lead to your ultimate success. I will never forget how he emphasizes the importance of networking and how your networks must be cultivated in order to gain maximum benefit. He made the point very clear when I heard him talk to a group when he said, "networking is much more than meeting someone then calling them the next week to ask for a business favor." If everyone learns that networking is and must be created for win/win situations, everyone realizes benefits in the long run. This is a wonderful book and one that has value for anyone attempting to gain a competitive advantage in the business world. Relationships are how things get done in the business world and this book certainly provides the required tools for making that happen.
Connecting The Community.......2004-09-07
Networking as defined by the small business glossary is developing business contacts to form relationships, increase your knowledge, expand your business or serve the community. Author, George C. Fraser is adamant that networking is the key to uplifting and unifying the Black community.
SUCCESS RUNS IN OUR RACE is saturated with advice and information about being successful in all walks of life. Mr. Fraser's primary goal is to establish a "New Underground Railroad" of sorts, which basically would not only work for the success of an individual, but also for the Black population.
This book is a compilation of facts, personal stories and tips on improving life for all of us. A sense of community and caring is something that is missing in the world today, and the author hopes to make us more aware of that fact. While I found SUCCESS RUNS IN OUR RACE to be a very informative book,it is not a novel, it is more in the vein of a textbook.
Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
The book for the next millenium!.......2001-04-24
I would recommend reading this book, as well as giving this book as a gift to all college graduates. The chapter that tells how to create and do an awards ceremony in less than 2 hours alone is worth the price of the book! I particularly liked the way he defined "networking" vs. "neck-working"--and how to handle those who have mistaken one for the other. (Neck-working is misusing your opportunity to network by trying to hit on the opposite sex--a definite no-no!) Mr. Fraser's solid hints on connecting with like-minded individuals in the black community and giving back to the community, not abandoning it are fantastic--and doable. If you like commentary by people like Tavis Smiley, this is your book!
This is an invaluable how-to book for individuals & groups.......1997-10-09
George Fraser has written a common-sense guide for networking and getting ahead. It includes anecdotes, charts, graphs and folk wisdom. Every home should have this reference book.
Books:
- Michael and Natasha: The Life And Love Of Michael Ii, The Last Of The Romanov Tsars
- Money Secrets of the Rich and Famous
- Mrs Keppel and Her Daughter
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- Nikola and Milena, King and Queen of the Black Mountain: The Rise and Fall of Montenegro's Royal Family
- Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II
- Oona Living in the Shadows: A Biography of Oona O'Neill Chaplin
- Phantoms of the Card Table: Confessions of a Card Sharp
- Philip the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy (History of Valois Burgundy)
- Phoenix: The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria
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