The Emmy and Grammy Award-winner s candid, spectacularly amusing memoir of his years in stand-upIn the mid-seventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. Born Standing Up is, in his own words, the story of why I did stand-up and why I walked away.At age ten Martin started his career at Disneyland, selling guidebooks in the newly opened theme park. In the decade that followed, he worked in the Disney magic shop and the Bird Cage Theatre at Knott s Berry Farm, performing his first magic/comedy act a dozen times a week. The story of these years, during which he practiced and honed his craft, is moving and revelatory. Martin illuminates the sacrifice, discipline and originality that made him an icon and informs his work to this day. To be this good, to perform so frequently, was isolating and lonely. It took Martin decades to reconnect with his parents and sister, and he tells that story w...

#Straight From the Heart (2008-11-16) This is a deceptively simple and straight-forward book. There are few adornments or self-delusions. Mr. Martin tell us his story without asking for understanding or sympathy or applause. And it s a wonderful story, indeed - entirely about the work of being a performer. In Martin s case, the theme is diligence. The object lesson is this: Preparation is Everything. Like Fred Astaire, Martin practiced and practiced long into the night to create the on-stage illusion of ease and simplicity. And this book illustrates the same principle. A marvelous,...

#Bravo! Rare Autobiography that s too Short (2008-11-01) One of the first show business tenets I heard was always leave them wanting them more. And that s what Steve Martin has done with this book. While the pages go down as easily as a vanilla ice cream cone on a summer day, there simply isn t enough here, and I want more of Mr. Martin s life and career then he gives out. I look forward to the day when Steve Martin writes about his movies and books, for if he does half as good a job writing about those as he did writing about his comedy career here, they will be well worth re...

#Honest and straightforward. (2008-10-31) I enjoyed getting to know Steve Martin in this book. Although I was never a fan of his standup routine, this book made me laugh. And, it s honesty and down-to-earth quality caught me by surprise. Anyone interested in getting into show business should read it. This book really shows you that persistence pays.

#Great Insight (2008-10-29) Admittedly, I have always been a fan of Steve Martin, and I particularly like it when he displays his serious side (as in the end of Trains, Planes, and Automobiles). He does that here. I challenge you to read the last chapter (after you have read the rest of the book) without shedding a tear or two. This book was also very funny. I found myself laughing aloud during times in school when I was supposed to be quiet. Great read!

#Lessons For Artists (2008-10-28) Easy-to-read and devoid of pretense, Born Standing Up is everything you expect from Steve Martin s writing. It is witty, interesting, and offers welcome surprises. Far more than a historical memoir, the book is a terrific inside view of the painful process of an artist learning their craft. Martin s book could be recommended on a lessons in craft basis to writers, artists, musicians, jugglers, poets, olympic athletes, and anyone trying to perfect an odd skill. The most amazing thing about Martin s story is he was willing to keep plugging away at sta...

She was television s most famous virgin -- and, as Aaron Spelling s daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character s exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed -- and sometimes slammed -- the same doors it had opened.sTORI telling is Tori s chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she s led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen s Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents, her struggles as an actress after 9021...

#Good, hard to put down (2008-11-22) This is a really good book. I read it compulsively, harldy putting it down. Tori Spelling is a total comedian, who knew? While she does tell a lot of stories about her mom and dad, it s not in the totally spoiled brat, repressed childhood way I thought it would be. Obviously she has issues with her mom, and maybe some of those are her fault, some are clearly not. She borders a little bit on self-obsessed a few times when criticizing her family, but she s got a point when she says that being Aaron Spelling s daught was a double edged sword for he...

#It s good !! (2008-11-21) Being a fan of 90210 I was really looking forward to hearing Tori s story. Picked her book up at the airport and finished it almost in one sitting. Fun and entertaining read giving an insight into her life and up bringing. I found she approached most subjects sensitively and did not bad mouth anyone. Interesting to see how her approach to money and her upbringing have had such a massive influence on her life. Overall a good entertaining read if you re interested in Tori.

#Insider s look (2008-11-11) I think this is a great autobiography. You get an insider s look to what Tori s life was like growing up, during 90210 and her current marriage. I have always loved Tori and reading this made me feel for her the way all the critics who say mean things should.

#Oh Tori... (2008-11-10) Tori Spelling is a guilty pleasure. She s so funny in everything she does and has three shows I adored before watching that: Tori and Dean: Inn Love, So No-TORIous and 90210. I enjoyed her book very much and she s hilarious, it s a good read.

#OMG! I LOVE TORI (2008-11-09) This is a great book i would recommend it to anybody who just have the press side of her life and want a lovely book that you can tell is from the heart. I love Tori Spelling and i have to admit there are a lot of things i had a different opinion of until i read her book. This is such a sad book at times but it also made me laugh a couple of times. Everyone should read this book because it is just great and you will genuinly have a better view of Tori Spelling.

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague.  Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder.  Wouldn t you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?Mitch Albom had that second chance.  He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man s life.  Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college.  Their rekindled relationship turned into one final class: lessons in how to live.Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical...

#Tuesdays with Morrie, Daily Life Lessons (2008-11-13) I enjoyed this so much the first time that I am rereading it. A heart-warming story about a former student paying homage to his favorite professor at Brandeis University. The book will tug at the heart and feed your soul, making you return for daily servings. Through Morrie s physical struggles with Lou Gherig s disease, Albom gives us the meaning of life through gentle reminders of what really matters - living life, appreciating friendships, looking within for life s rewards, not outwardly through material possessions. Told sim...

#Living in times of financial and political changes (2008-11-12) I m a little late in getting to read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It was written 11 years ago and yet the messages are still powerful today. If you haven t read it, pick it up and join in an amazing journey with Mitch and Morrie. If you have read it try a reread. We have all changed our roles in life over these past years, and you will be reading it with different eyes. Today with all the political and financial changes read this as a way to ground and stay on focus. Enjoy! We have to learn how to die...

#Great book! (2008-11-11) worth reading, worth all the reviews, whoever reads this book will get at least one learning from it!

#Tuesday s with Morrie (2008-11-11) the book arrived in fantastic condition it took a bit longer to arrive than I had expected

#Excellent story (2008-10-17) the story is very good a must read. . . . the shipping was quick but not in the described condition. . . .

No personage is too big, no nuance too small, no subject too far out for Groucho’s spontaneous, hilarious, and ferocious typewriter. He writes to comics, corporations, children, presidents, and even his daughter’s boyfriend. Here is Groucho swapping photos with T. S. Eliot (”I had no idea you were so handsome!”), advising his son on courting a rich dame (”Don’t come out bluntly and say, ’How much dough have you got?’ That wouldn’t be the Marxian way”), crisply declining membership in a Hollywood club (”I don’t care to belong to any social organization that will accept me as a member”), reacting with utmost composure when informed that he has been made into a verb by James Joyce (”There’s no reason why I shouldn’t appear in Finnegans Wake. I’m certainly as bewildered about life as Joyce was”), responding to a scandal sheet (”Gentleman: If you continue to publish slanderous pieces about me, I shall feel compelled to cancel my subscription”), descri...

#Superior Service (2008-02-15) This was my first Amazon Experience. Like most potential Amazon users, I was a nervous Nellie, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficient service and the quality of the goods I received. I feel confident to continue using Amazon, whenever the need arises.

#Not The Screwtape Letters (2003-10-04) The biggest compliment I can give this collection is that reading it made me wish I wrote more letters and had more celebrities among my circle of potential letter-receivers. Of course, inherent laziness being what it is (and the fact that I have so far been frustrated in all such attempts to gain the favor of our nation s collection of celebrities), I ll have to be content reading Groucho s correspondence. And, as alternatives go, it s not bad at all. The book is divided into ten sections: Movie Business, Private Life, Touching On Televisio...

#A must-have for Groucho fans! (2003-08-27) Groucho s letters (to him and from him) are many in number, and the correspondents he had. . . wow! Famous authors, politicians, his family, and his numerous friends. . . it s a huge list, believe me, and the result is a book full of the many moods of Groucho Marx, and his correspondence with some of the most famous people in the world. Don t miss it!

#This book will cure what ails you! (2002-12-17) I received this book after major surgery some years back and Groucho s wit really helped pick up my spirits and take my mind off of my body. This was one of the best gifts that I ve ever received and I m pleased to see that it s back in print. If you could have a dinner party and invite any historical figures that you wanted, wouldn t Groucho be on the list? This collection of his intimate correspondence is the next best thing.

#The Absolute Best Book on Groucho (2002-12-08) This classic collection of Groucho Marx s correspondence, which was donated to the Library of Congress, at their request, gives the best glimpse into who Groucho Marx was. Not only do we see his letters to his family and friends, who included some of the century s most famous people, but we get to see what people wrote in return. Groucho s personality and wit shine through, and these letters are a rare treasure. With little formal education, Groucho could construct a letter better than most people with college degrees. He shows himself ...

Tragic tale of a retarded man and the friend who loves and tries to protect him. With illustrations from the movie starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise.

#too sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (2008-11-12) I read this book and OMG it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I HATE IT WHEN GEORGE SHOOTS LENNIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!I would rate this book ages 12+. there are lots of cuss words like damn, hell and bitch!its too violent and inappropriate for you if you are young!(DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)(CAUTION If YOU DON T LIKE SAD...

#too sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (2008-11-12) I read this book and OMG it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I HATE IT WHEN GEORGE SHOOTS LENNIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!I would rate this book ages 12+. there are lots of cuss words like damn, hell and bitch!its too violent and inappropriate for you if you are young!(DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)(CAUTION If YOU DON T LIKE SAD...

#One of the classics of literature (2008-11-07) This is the first book by Steinbeck that I ever read and like many other people, it was required reading in my language arts class. It was so moving that some of the girls in the class were crying at the end. George and Lennie are two workers that move from job to job. George is small and clearly fairly intelligent while Lennie is huge, powerful and has the mind of a child. After some difficulty at a previous job, they arrive at a farm and begin working. They have been together a long time, after Lennie s last surviving relative died...

#Capturing (2008-10-30) I read the book in 7th greade, but didn t know what a [. . . ] house was. I read it again, just because I remembered how fun it was to read the beautiful way Steinbeck captures street talk. What I appreciate about the book as an adult is that Lenie, the mentally retarded character, was not able to rationalize at the begining of the book and Steinbeck made no indication that he could. At the end of the book, suddenly, Lenie s able to rationalize the consequences of his actions and fears rejection because he s done something bad. Other then that little, really ...

#One of the most popular books in American Literature-and for good reason! (2008-10-15) This wonderful book is one of the most popular books written by Nobel prize winner-John Steinbeck. It is also probably one of the most popular books in American Literature. Set during The Great Depression,The story is about two migrant farm workers-George Milton(who is a cynical man) and Lennie Small(who is very big,strong but mentally disabled and reliant on George to look after him) and how they dream of owning their own piece of land. Due to something Lennie has done(which was actually sort of ...