Ginger: My Story

Customer Reviews:

Oh So Tedious!.......2007-06-16

I was a huge fan of Ginger Rogers until I read this book--oy vey, what a moaner! She comes across as thoroughly tedious and completely self-involved. I can fully understand exactly why she had so many husbands. I truly sympathized with one of the later husbands who had to resort to hiding booze up in the loft of their house--anything to numb the pain, I suspect!

A book I'll always remember.......2007-02-27

Not being an avid "autobiography" reader, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can honestly say that even if you aren't a reader you will like this book. It has surprises out of nowhere & it's enjoyable.

I'd recommend this book to anyone.

"God Bless Mommy, and Granddaddy, and Mary Baker Eddy ...".......2006-04-12

What do you get when you cross Ginger Rogers with Tammy Faye Bakker? You get, evidently, Ginger Rogers--or at least what remained of Ginger in her not-so-sprightly seventies. Though much has been said and written about the cruelty of time, the gentle reader must nonetheless brace herself for a shock upon cracking Ginger's memoirs to the pages of recent photographs. There is nothing left of the buff, scrub-faced girl that graced the cover of Life Magazine in 1942 sporting boots, coveralls, and a fishing rod. Alas, Ginger in her dotage was an overweight, diabetes-ravaged, pancake makeup-smeared parody of her former self, more frightening and less recognizable than any male drag artist's impersonation could ever have been.

But what, you may well ask, is the relevance of these observations? None in particular, unless you speculate that the medical treatment Ginger shunned throughout her life might have boosted her long-term physical and mental health, leading to a more lucid, balanced, and enjoyable memoir. But such was not to be. Nay, Ginger--devout Christian Scientist that she was--relied exclusively on prayer, and credited it with curing everything from an ailing starlet's acute appendicitis to the boils on her fourth husband's derriere. Where most Hollywood memoirs are chock full of juicy gossip and innuendo, Ginger's runneth over with religious testimonials. It seems that in childhood, little Ginger, stricken with warts, first employed the bury-the-potato method to no avail. Shamefaced at her lapse in faith, Ginger then tried prayer, which--lo and behold(!)--vanquished the warts, leading to a lifetime of unwavering, prayerful devotion. So says Ginger in three scores of hindsight, at any rate.

These sorts of rose-colored recollections might justifiably strain the credulity of even similarly devout readers, and will certainly alienate young film buffs, who tend to lean toward the cynical and metrosexual. This is too bad, because La Ginger was indisputably one of the great geniuses of the Golden Era--one who could not only dance like the wind and sing tolerably but act, both dramatically and comically. She was a quadruple threat, as evidenced by her Oscar turn in *Kitty Foyle* and her uproarious comic rhythm in classics like *Swing Time*, *Stage Door*, *Tom, Dick, and Harry*, and *Monkey Business*.

On the bright sider, evidence of Ginger's cross-medium artistic ability is plentiful in *Ginger, My Story*. While her memoir doesn't come close to matching the literariness or wit of say, Tallulah Bankhead's, it conveys a sense of physical place and culture with an effectiveness unparalleled by other Hollywood bios. Whether Ginger is squatting in the dirt at her childhood home in Independence Missouri, sashaying around Astaire, or cringing at a bull fight in Rio, the reader can see, feel, and smell things as they were. This delightful sense of immersion makes *Ginger, My Story* a more than worthwhile read, despite what I would call the book's principal flaw: the author's tendency to depict the otherworld of human relationships in black-and-white, two-dimensional terms.

Four stars.

One of the Best Books I've Ever Read.......2003-06-10

I am a great fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. When I learned that she had written an autobiography, I wanted to read it right away. This book was so good and informative, that I read all 450 pages within a few days. In her book, she talks about her childhood, her devotion to her mother, Lela, her stage career, her romances, and her movie career. I reccomend this book to any Ginger Rogers or Astaire and Rogers fan.

Blah blah blah. What an irritating woman........2002-11-05

I'm sorry that she's dead, but I have to say after reading this book that I found Ginger Rogers to be a self-righteous prig.
To hear her tell it, every cute scene in every one of her movies was her idea. Every glamourous dress she wore was her idea. And, of course, everyone loved her.
Particularly Mommy.
Ginger is obsessed with her mother. It's like she never moved past that "I'm gonna tell my Mommy!" phase of childhood developement. She never fought a battle of her own; she just called Mommy to do it for her, so that she could stay in her dressing room drinking milkshakes and praying.
I have respect for anyone in Hollywood, past present or future, who is willing to stand up and declare that they have a religious faith. But constant harping on how God healed the boils on her husband's butt gets a little wearying. Her constant determination to tell everyone how to live, coupled with her ridiculously childish practical jokes, leave me in no doubt as to why all of her non-drinking husbands became drinkers in a hurry.
She was a great entertainer, and some bits of the book were fairly interesting, but I think I finished it because I was fascinated by her ego and disastrous marriages than because I had fun with it.

Laura Ingalls Wilder (On My Own Biography)

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Laura Ingalls Wilder (On My Own Biography)
Ginger Wadsworth
Manufacturer: First Avenue Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 157505423X

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My School/Mi Escuela
Ginger Foglesong Guy
Manufacturer: Rayo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060791012
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Book Description

Ginger Foglesong Guy's eloquently written text, accompanied by the sparkling watercolors of Viví Escrivá, takes readers through an exciting day at school. Kids will enjoy exploring the classroom and playing at recess in both English and Spanish!

El texto elocuente de Ginger Foglesong Guy, acompañado por las brillantes acuarelas de Viví Escrivá, guiará al lector a través de un día excitante en la escuela. ¡A los niños les encantará explorar el salón de clases y jugar durante el recreo en inglés y en español!

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Ginger - My Story - Large Print Edition
GINGER ROGERS
Manufacturer: HARPER COLLINS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HKS320

Product Description

Large print book club edition

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Ginger: My Story
Ginger Rogers
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLKXC0

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My Cat Ginger
Jan Wahl
Manufacturer: Tambourine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0688107230

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My Grandma/Mi Abuelita
Ginger Foglesong Guy
Manufacturer: Rayo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060790989
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

Follow an imaginative boy and his family as they take a faraway trip above the clouds and across the sea to visit his beloved grandma. Ginger Foglesong Guy's lyrical words draw readers gently along the journey, with each moment of adventure and tenderness—familiar to most young readers—captured by Viví Escrivá's sensitive watercolors. Simple words in both English and Spanish provide valuable bilingual vocabulary lessons on every page.

Sigue a un niño lleno de imaginación mientras atraviesa el cielo y el mar con su familia para visitar a su amada abuelita. Las palabras líricas de Ginger Foglesong Guy dulcemente dirigen el viaje del lector, y las sensibles acuarelas de Viví Escrivá capturan cada momento de aventura y ternura. Palabras sencillas en inglés y español en cada página proporcionan varias oportunidades para lecciones de vocabulario en ambos idiomas.

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MY STORY (INSCRIBED)
GINGER ROGERS
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MRYGRY

Ginger, My Story. (book reviews): An article from: Video Age International

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Ginger, My Story. (book reviews): An article from: Video Age International

Manufacturer: TV Trade Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Video Age International, published by TV Trade Media, Inc. on October 1, 1991. The length of the article is 536 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ginger, My Story. (book reviews)
Publication: Video Age International (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 1991
Publisher: TV Trade Media, Inc.
Volume: v11 Issue: n9 Page: p12(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Ginger - My Story
Ginger Rogers
Manufacturer: The Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000W75CEA

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Strong on events poor on analysis

Great book, sometimes a little tedious

makes history fun

Unfocused and Uninteresting

Excellent, Wonderful

New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485-1603 (Penguin History of Britain)
Susan Brigden
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142001252

Book Description

No period in British history has more resonance and mystery today than the sixteenth century. New Worlds, Lost Worlds brings the atmosphere and events of this great epoch to life. Exploring the underlying religious motivations for the savage violence and turbulence of the period-from Henry VIII's break with Rome to the overwhelming threat of the Spanish Armada-Susan Brigden investigates the actions and influences of such near-mythical figures as Elizabeth I, Thomas More, Bloody Mary, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Authoritative and accessible, New Worlds, Lost Worlds, the latest in the Penguin History of Britain series, provides a superb introduction to one of the most important, compelling, and intriguing periods in the history of the Western world.

Customer Reviews:

Strong on events poor on analysis.......2005-01-21

Susan Brigden, Reader in Modern History, Fellow, and Tutor at Oxford, has written New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors 1485-1603. This book replaces the 1950 work Tudor England by S.T. Bindoff in the updated Penguin History of Britain series. The volume is suited for use as an introductory college textbook providing a strong narrative of the period.

Brigden's main goal is to show the Tudor period as one of transition between a series of 'old worlds' and outlooks as opposed to modern viewpoints and 'new worlds'. During this highly eventful period, according to the author, the Protestant Reformation, the conversion of the nobility to one of personal service to the monarch and the exploration of new lands across the Atlantic all were new worlds. The old worlds such as those of a strong independent feudal monarchy, the stability of the old religion and the certainty of an established landscape were all gone by the end of the period.

The text primarily concentrates on a political narrative of the times; it is laden with facts and events. Towards the start of the period, a chapter is spent on the social life of the common man and the social orders. Near the end of the book, there are diversions from the political narrative to cover the beginnings of colonization in North America and events in Ireland. A concluding chapter showcases Shakespeare and the literature at the close of Elizabeth's reign.

The book is both too much and too little to succeed in its goals. While presenting a strong narrative and displaying a wide knowledge of the facts, the work is short on context and analysis. Characters appear on the political stage with little introduction and the reader is left to his own devices to understand the motivations behind the actions. Personalities are often pithily described but without any additional background. Events are well chronicled but the need to cover so broad an area permits little depth. One bright spot is the coverage of Ireland, much more in-depth than is usually found in a British overview of the period.

New Worlds, Lost Worlds, leaves the reader understanding that there were many important events in during the Tudor years. What motivated the people, and how the events related to one another is less well presented. Readers who need to find out "Just the facts" will be very pleased with this book.

Great book, sometimes a little tedious.......2004-02-23

The book is a wonderful read. Though required for my course in early modern European history, I still enjoyed it. Everything appears to be historically accurate and cited properly (citations are at the end of the book). However, it appears that Bridgen seems to have a habit of repeating the point from her book over and over again in each chapter, which gets a little tedious. Nevertheless, it's a good book for anyone interested in English royalty.

makes history fun.......2003-09-25

Wow! This is a great history of one of the most exciting periods of english history. Brigden does a fantastic job integrating politics, religion, popular culture, discoveries and exploration and so on. She has a natural talent for compelling narrative and detailed description. Buy this book, and you won't be sorry!

Unfocused and Uninteresting.......2003-03-16

I was excited when I first picked up New Worlds, Lost Worlds, looking forward to reading about the Tudors, a dynasty I knew something but not a lot about. However, two pages into the author's prologue I began to have doubts. Brigdon provides a recitation of what her book is *not* about, without ever really telling us what the book *is* about - almost as if she is unsure herself. And the book itself seems aimless, endlessly wallowing in topics then meandering onto something else.

Brigdon's choices about what information to impart is also less than satisfying. For example, the book opens with Henry VII landing in South Wales. We are given precious little of Henry's background, however - pretty much nothing more than that he was born in Pembroke in 1457 and hid there thirteen years later. Nothing about what shaped him in exile, how he marshalled support for his return, what had brought Richard III to deposition. Instead, we are given a long-winded expose of the land Henry marched through on his way to Bosworth Field. Such is typical of the book, with such long meanderings that the reader feels as if he is wading through waist-high water, able to see the shore but unable to reach it. Far from being "vivid and stylish," as one reviewer has described it, Brigdon's prose seems all fluff and no substance.

Excellent, Wonderful.......2001-06-30

This is a superb history book, sometimes wonderful. The Tudors are one of the most deeply-researched and pored-over dynasties in English history, and it is easy to think we know the story and the actors all too well. Yet this book, written, as Brigden says, "with awe and excitement", is alight with enthusiasm, curiousity and passion on every page.

The things I liked especially included: the author's vivid and stylish prose, so far from the bland puddings of most history textbook; her ability to tell a great story, so that for once you are genuinely curious to turn the page and find out what happened; and the way the book is driven forward by the interlocking forces of politics and religion. History here is no grand impersonal scheme, nor is the 16th century either 'the start of the modern era' or 'the high road to the civil war' - but a tale of complexity and chance. It would all have ended very differently if Mary had a baby.

Some things I liked less, though...

1. Ireland, so fashionable in British historiography at the moment, is given a lot of space, perhaps disproportionately. Brigden is clearly not an Ireland expert, and these sections are some of the weakest. They lack the deep reading in primary texts that so colours the rest of the book, and to someone ignorant of Irish history I suspect this book will still leave them thinking it was all a blur of O'Neills and Kildares. Brigden also doesn't really connect the story either - she never convincingly argues that Ireland influenced English affairs, I think.

2. The absence of Wales. This a sad loss, since the Tudors had far more impact on Wales than perhaps any other dynasty, even forgetting their Welsh precedents. Henry VIII's acts of 1536 centralised and united Wales for the first time since Glendower, and far more decisively, while the Welsh Reformation is probably THE decisive event in Welsh history - an event that preserved the Welsh language and laid the basis for Welsh literacy. None of this is in Brigden's story.

3. Economic history is almost totally ignored - which is fine so far as it goes (who wants to read about agricultural prices anyway?), but leads to a perhaps more grievous omission: there is almost nothing here about the urban classes, rising in wealth and numbers, who did much to shape the religion and intellectual history of this period.

4. Some chapters are quite weak: I suspect where Brigden is either really out of her speciality, or just knows too much. "Family and Friends" reads like an edited version of a much longer piece, with all the bones and examples taken out, making it dry and dull. The chapter on the 'Governors and the Governed' is very weak, far too vague to be helpful and a lot of it is covered elsewhere in the book. The static picture it presents is also very misleading. The chapter on 'Elizabethan World Views' is unbelievably sketchy, and the chapter on the New World even more so. It is really the narrative chapters that drive this book, and make it worthwhile - the chapter on Henry VIII ('Imperium') is absolutely outstanding, for example, as is the one on Edward and Mary. These are the shining gems here.

5. Judging by the other two volumes, I think the editor of the Penguin History of Britain has instructed his authors not to discuss the historiography of their periods explicitly. You will strive in vain to find the name of a single historian in the text - apart from Thomas More and Francis Bacon. This is very refreshing, but conceals from the reader many of the foundations of Brigden's arguments - in fact, you could put away this book unaware that probably no period in the history of England or any other country has been as ferociously debated as this one. It would have been better, perhaps, for Brigden to have written her massive bibliography as a true essay, drawing out some of these debates.

6. Finally, perhaps unfairly, I'd like to have known a little more of Brigden's own opinion - what, at the end of it all, did she think was going on here? The problem with the new trend in historical writing such as this, that is reluctant to fit historical events into grand patterns, that emphasizes contingency over inevitability and events over process, is that it can leave the general reader with more questions than it answers. For many, surely for Brigden (and me!), the fascination of the past is more than enough to warrant study of it. But many will want more - and it is sad that a work of such breadth, intelligence, style and passion may still leave its readers asking where to fit the Tudors into the grand scheme of things...

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New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485-1603
Susan Brigden
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJMOV0

Book Description

Knowledge work is now the reigning business paradigm and affects even the world of higher education. But what perspective can the knowledge of the humanities and arts contribute to a world of knowledge work whose primary mission is business? And what is the role of information technology as both the servant of the knowledge economy and the medium of a new technological cool? In The Laws of Cool, Alan Liu reflects on these questions as he considers the emergence of new information technologies and their profound influence on the forms and practices of knowledge.

Customer Reviews:

how to resist business ideology.......2005-05-15

In this book, Liu makes a persuasive argument that knowledge workers can resist the dominant postcapitalist business ideology from the inside by developing an "ethos of the unknown." The argument is dense, both philosophically and historically, but the book provides one of the best summaries available of the development of knowledge work and its relation to "cool."

This survey is framed by a larger argument, however, which seeks to establish a place for the arts and humanities in the information age. Liu argues that together they can establish a historically grounded aesthetic sense to serve as a counterweight to the capitalist drive for innovation at any cost that ignores the past and its human costs.

Disorganized insight.......2004-11-11

Full of striking observations but ultimately too disorganized and inconclusive to do justice to the question of the place of humanistic knowledge in a culture of knowledge that is "cool," technical, and purposive.

The Laws of Cool: Knowledge Work and the Culture of Information

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The Laws of Cool: Knowledge Work and the Culture of Information
Alan Liu
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPV8IO

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