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The L.A. River Needs All the Help It Can Get

Yes, The Los Angeles River Does Deserve Better

Not very interesting.

A great read!!

Too much of a lightweight read

Rio L. A.: Tales from the Los Angeles River
Patt Morrison , and Mark Lamonica
Manufacturer: Angel City Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth (Creating the North American Landscape)

Down by the Los Angeles River: Friends of the Los Angeles Rivers Official Guide

Eden by Design: The 1930 Olmsted-Bartholomew Plan for the Los Angeles Region

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ASIN: 1883318246

Book Description

In "Rio L.A: Tales from the Los Angeles River," the Los Angeles River is presented in its diverse context, a waterway as unique as the city through which it meanders. According to Los Angeles Magazine (August 2001) "Morrison, Lamonica and Angel City Press should be commended for this love letter to one of Los Angeles's most ill-used natural treasures." The subject of tremendous controversy, the L.A River is quickly becoming a revered geographical icon that for too long was left neglected and unappreciated. Today it exposes an urban psychology unimaginable in the 21st Century; a river where nature, commerce, concrete and the trails of humanity fight for space, and even for existence. In a city whose history has been explored time and again, little is known of this majestic river. In "Rio L.A." Morrison and Lamonica present the culture that evolves around this virtual oasis in a land of super highways and celluloid dreams, while tracing its history and giving the Ri! ver its voice. Rio L.A magnificently captures both the reality and the spirit of the Los Angeles River, a concrete masterpiece of clandestine beauty that stretches from the mountains of the Santa Susannas to the mouth of Long Beach Harbor. Accompanying the full-color photographs is a powerful commentary on the history, evolution, mythology and culture of the L.A River: the very source of life to the City of Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews:

The L.A. River Needs All the Help It Can Get.......2005-03-29

This book is done in a table top format and should be within reach at all times- at least for all Angelinos and natural flowing river advocates. It is not a scholarly treatment and not meant to be, rather, it is an anecdotal effort to bring awareness of the *existence* of the river and bring people up to speed via a quick overview of the history and current affairs of the river. This is accomplished with good text and photos by Patt Morrison (Los Angeles Times columnist, extraordinaire) and Mark Lamonica (a great photographer).

It is ironic that the first Europeans settled and founded Los Angeles *because* of the river, never mind the Indians that were here first and had revered the river for centuries for it's life providing qualities, yet in so many years and due to huge population growth, demands for ever increasing water volume caused people to start looking elsewhere, ie., wells, lake diversions, catch-basins, etc. The river became a nuisance from it's pesky habit of changing it's course through periodic floods and then ran dry for much of the year. Eventually, the river was channeled and turned into a huge concrete drainage ditch- not a pretty site. Access to the river was fenced-off, so it pretty much became ignored. Well, not quite.

Very dedicated people (including Patt Morrison) have been drawing attention to the river and calling for it's revitalization as a river complete with native flora/fauna. "Friends of the L.A. River" is one such group and there are many more. There are significant stretches of the river that have been rehabilitated to a more natural and original condition and many would love to see this happen over the entire 51 mile run it makes from the headwaters in the San Fernando Valley all the way to Long Beach where it meets the Pacific Ocean- and this is doable! The river just needs more attention drawn to it and that is the essence of this book.

If anyone wants a more scientific (hydrology, meterology, etc.), scholarly and historically fact filled book about the river, check out what most people refer to as the definitive science and history of the river: "The Los Angeles River: It's Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth" by Blake Gumprecht (Patt Morrison references it in her book). In combination, these 2 books give a compelling voice of hope to the continuing revitalization and respect for Rio L.A.

Yes, The Los Angeles River Does Deserve Better.......2003-08-24

Than this poorly written, haphazard history. The photos aren't even coffee book table quality and are often so cropped as to delete important features that the author may have actually described. This is not for a serious historical reader or for a photo composition review. It fails on all counts.

Not very interesting........2003-05-06

I'm a big fan of "urban archaeology" but except for a few cool bridges (if you've ever been to the movies you've seen them) there's not much goin' on these days along the LA river. Its interesting as a story but photographicly its pretty dull, even as an industrial landscape.

Its like books on Rt. 66. 99% of what made it interesting isn't there anymore.

A great read!!.......2002-04-11

That other review must be from a disgruntled author. Patt Morrison's book is filled with historical information about the Los Angeles River, plus wonderful anecdotes and a very readable style--I bought it because I saw it on the LA Times BESTSELLER list for six weeks and decided to see what I was missing. The people who put it on the list by buying it know what's great--I love this book. A book doesn't have to be long like Gumprecht's to be fulfilling. Plus this book has compelling photographs that tell their own incredible story. Hooray for Patt Morrison and Mark Lamonica!

Too much of a lightweight read.......2002-04-05

Admittedly, there aren't many books devoted to the LA river so we have to make do with what's available. Unfortunately, if you're looking for an in-depth historical biography, this certainly isn't it. Entertaining, maybe -- a big maybe. The text is so lightweight and airy, I half expected it to drift away. The Blake Gumprecht book is more thoroughly researched and thought out, and a much better choice.

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Mathematician John Allen Paulos bravely bridges the scientific and literary cultures with this amusing, enlightening look at numbers and stories. If you think those two things go together like a "horse and a paperclip," as Allen wryly observes, you only have to look at phenomena like the Bible codes, the stock market's ups and downs, and the Clinton sex scandal to begin to understand the hidden bonds between them. Put simply, mathematics can describe everything that happens, and everything that happens contextualizes mathematics. In demonstrating this, Paulos continues the noble numeracy crusade he began with A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper and Innumeracy. Perhaps the most compelling thought experiments in the book are those of the statistics of stereotyping and race relations. Paulos shows, mathematically, that minority status makes achieving equality extraordinarily difficult.

If you want to keep hold of your comfortable worldview, don't read Once Upon a Number. But you'll be missing out on an unforgettable reminder of what chance, coincidence, and odds really mean, along with several valuable life lessons that may help you understand lost socks, racism, and mistaken identity. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

Named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 1998 by the Los Angeles Times, Once Upon a Number presents a surprising and humorous look at the similarities between narratives and numbers.

"Both delightful and wise, this little book cries out to be kept close at hand, to be looked into from time to time, to be treasured as an old friend." -Los Angeles Times

A "charming narrative.â¦Almost every piece is fascinating." -Salon

"[Once Upon a Number] deserves rereading." -Booklist

Once Upon a Number shows that stories and numbers aren't as different as you might imagine. In fact, they have surprising and fascinating connections. Beside lucid accounts of cutting-edge information theory we get hilarious anecdotes and jokes; instructions for running a truly impressive pyramid scam; a freewheeling conversation between Groucho Marx and Bertrand Russell; explanations of why the mundane facts of the O.J. Simpson case are overwhelmingly incriminating; how the Unabomber's thinking shows signs of mathematical training; why we're much more likely to feel aggrieved than aggrieving; and dozens of other treats. America's most engaging mathematician has done it again.

Customer Reviews:

For the previous reviewer..........2006-06-28

Usage Note: Assure, ensure, and insure all mean "to make secure or certain." Only assure is used with reference to a person in the sense of "to set the mind at rest": assured the leader of his loyalty. Ensure and insure are generally interchangeable.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

The split that wasn't there.......2004-10-24

Paulos starts the book with a clearly absurd story, one that has numbers and statistics mixed in with a narrative. His question is, why is this so jarring? Why is it that people are literate and numerate, but so seldom both at once?

This book addresses that question. In part, he says that literature deals with many aspects of a few individuals, but statisticians generally study a very few aspects of very many individuals. He also notes that literature tends to treat each individual as a unique product of a unique time and place. In contrast, math and physics typically deal with cases where the specific individual is irrelevant. Any experiment on an electron gets the same result no matter which electron you use, or where, or when.

The dichotomy may not, in fact, exist. One could refer to the recent statistical studies of DNA data that have that literary much-about-few character and that often seek out the uniqueness of the study's subject. Part of Paulos's main point, however, is that reasoning in "human" prose is often just mathematical reasoning in street clothes. Other times, when day to day logic seems irrational to a simplistic "scientific" analysis, it turns out that there is a deeper kind of reasoning at work, and one that can be cast in formal terms.

Paulos delivers more than his nominal argument, though. His presentation is filled with little asides and self-referential humor. He is a logician after all, and, like the logician Lewis Carroll, uses his logic to create delightful unreason. Taken as a whole, it's a brief, enjoyable, and instructive look a the formal side of casual reasoning, and at the human side of mathematical logic.

//wiredweird

read "innumeracy" instead.......2002-04-25

I found this book disappointing. While some of the examples and anecdotes are interesting, and everything is very well written, I didn't really understand what the author's point actually was. I suggest that your time is better spent reading his other book, "Innumeracy", which is staggeringly good.

J.A. Paulos: a great mind........2002-02-11

The author deals in an original way with the difficult nexus between statistics and stories, between alpha- and betascience, without favouring one of them, and indeed arguing that both are complementary. This striking impartiality creates the space for original ideas about everyday-situations that every reader will certainly recognize. To be original about (seeming) banality, that is the work of a true great mind. The reason why I do not rate this book with the maximum score, is that it sometimes misses an overarching line of reasoning. The discursive path may strike some readers (like me) as too associative. Needless to say that such a style has its charms, but perhaps due to my Europe-continental education, I am a bit more at ease with a clear thesis and a transparant construction. Nevertheless: it is absolutely imperative to buy this book!

Fast-paced, insightful and totally unique.......2001-02-18

Of all the science books that I have read, there are only a few that I would classify as a must-read. I definitely put this book in that category. I have never read a Paulos before, and was amazed at how facinating the world of probability and statistics is when it is described this well! Authors of books about the wonders of the universe would be lucky if they could make their subjects as interesting as Paulos makes his.

There are four major concepts described in this book: the origins of probability and statistics (in particular how these subjects grew out of our natural observations of the world), the effect of subjective perspectives on our interpretation of both story and statistics, intensional logic (the still little-understood logical structure of this subjective interpretation), and information theory. The book takes a fast-paced, entertaining tour through these topics, and Paulos adds interesting personal anecdotes and bad (intentioanlly) jokes. The book concludes with a discussion of the chasm between the arts and sciences (and those who like to keep it that way).

Book Description

Three Tales of Three contains three favorite fairy tales -- Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Three Little Pigs -- that will carry children away with a huff and a puff to a place where things are not too big and not too small, but just the right size.

Customer Reviews:

Good memories.......2001-10-10

well written. Just the way I remember the stories to be. I liked that the story of the three pigs wasn't sugar coated. A lot of the three pigs books have been changed to have a kinder ending for the two pigs. This book tells the book as I remebered.

Harlequin American Romance Series, No. 554 thru 557: The Invisible Groom; Finding Daddy; Love Potion Number 5; Once Upon a Honeymoon (Studs)

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Harlequin American Romance Series, No. 554 thru 557: The Invisible Groom; Finding Daddy; Love Potion Number 5; Once Upon a Honeymoon (Studs)
Barbara; Christenberry, Judy; Thacker, Cathy Gillen; Kistler, Julie Bretton
Manufacturer: Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000WP4BCQ

Once upon a time recently in...a land nearby (The Prairie Light Review, Spring 2005, Volume XXV, Number 2)

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Once upon a time recently in...a land nearby (The Prairie Light Review, Spring 2005, Volume XXV, Number 2)
The Prairie Light Review
Manufacturer: The Prairie Light Review
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000X1O818

Once Upon a Number. (Book Reviews).(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of Risk and Insurance

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Once Upon a Number. (Book Reviews).(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of Risk and Insurance
James Kallman
Manufacturer: American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008FYKYE
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Risk and Insurance, published by American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc. on December 1, 2002. The length of the article is 526 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: Once Upon a Number. (Book Reviews).(Book Review) (book review)
Author: James Kallman
Publication: Journal of Risk and Insurance (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc.
Volume: 69 Issue: 4 Page: 614(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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ONCE UPON A NUMBER
John Allen Paulos
Manufacturer: Basic Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NTI7VM

Once Upon a Number the Hidden Mathematic

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Once Upon a Number the Hidden Mathematic
John Allen Paulos
Manufacturer: PENGUIN PUTNAM * TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SH65ZO

Amazon.com

Like its subject, The Smartest Guys in the Room is ambitious, grand in scope, and ruthless in its dealings. Unlike Enron, the Texas-based energy giant that has come to represent the post-millennium collapse of 1990s go-go corporate culture, it's also ultimately successful. Penned by Fortune scribes Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, the 400-page-plus chronicle of the scandal digs deep inside the numbers while, wisely, maintaining focus on the "smart guys" deep-frying the books. The likes of paternal but disengaged CEO Ken Lay (dubbed "Kenny Boy" by George W. Bush, one of many prominent public figures with whom he rubbed shoulders), cutthroat man-behind-the-curtain Jeff Skilling, and ethically blind numbers whiz Andy Fastow vividly come to life as they make a mockery of conventional accounting practices and grow increasingly arrogant and bind to their collective hubris. They're not a likable lot, and the writers find it difficult to suppress their astonishment and revulsion with the crew who rapidly went from golden boys and girls of the financial world to pariahs when the bill finally came due. The authors' unrepressed sarcasms are more than often unnecessarily given the scope of the outrage. Enron's leading lights were or a time celebrated for their ability to concoct nearly unfathomable business schemes to hide mounting shortfalls and keeping track on their machinations can be a chore, but, by sticking hard to the story behind the fall, McLean and Elkind have reported and written the definitive account of the Enron debacle. --Steven Stolder

Book Description

Just as Watergate was the defining political story of its time, so Enron is the biggest business story of our time. And just as All the President's Men was the one Watergate book that gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance, The Smartest Guys in the Room is the one book you have to read to understand this amazing business saga. And the critics agree:
“This book is right up there with Den of Thieves and Barbarians at the Gate. . . . Those who want to learn what happened here, you don't have to read anything but this.” —James Cramer, CNBC

“The best book about the Enron debacle to date. . . . Based on hundreds of interviews and fresh details, McLean and Elkind masterfully weave together the many strands of the Enron story. They shine in their characterizations of Enron's often incompetent executives.” —Wendy Zellner, BusinessWeek

“News junkies and mystery lovers who enjoy financial scandals will devour this multilayered book. . . . The Smartest Guys in the Room will rival other models of the genre, including James Stewart's Den of Thieves. . . . The authors write with power and finesse. Their prose is effortless, like a sprinter floating down the track. . . . The character sketches of former chairman Kenneth Lay, former CEO Jeff Skilling and ex-chief financial officer Andrew Fastow are masterful.” — Edward Iwata, USA Today

“Powerful and shocking. . . . succeed[s] in opening a disturbing window into both the company and the era . . . filled with fascinating characters and anecdotes.” —Jonathan A. Knee, The New York Times Book Review

“The Smartest Guys in the Room is utterly professional, readable and—even though you know what's coming—highly entertaining.” —Daniel Gross, The Washington Post

“Meticulously reported and compelling . . . a cautionary tale about highfliers who weren't as clever as they thought.” —David Koeppel, Entertainment Weekly

Customer Reviews:

Blunt, intriguing analysis of Enron.......2007-10-05

This book goes through Enron's rise and fall while analyzing each main character. McLean and Elkind have researched well.

This is quite entertaining and a fun read. The only downside is the large number of characters, but the authors have provided a character description list in the beginning of the book. I frequently referred to the characters' descriptions.

Overall, a good book on Enron's choices over the years.

The smartest guys in the room.......2007-09-10

A very well-written account of the rise & fall of Enron. I couldn't put it down

Wanted to read the book after seeing the documentary........2007-08-23

I purchased the book after seeing the documentary in an Ethics class taken during an MBA program at Oklahoma City University. I wanted a little more detail on how things got so blatently out of hand at Enron. I've also read the Conspiracy of Fools. I'm very intrigued by the human nature aspect of this story. We are not being realistic, if we don't think this very same situation could happen anywhere at anytime. More people didn't come forward because their personal livlihood was in jeopardy, even though they had concerns about the ethics of the operation. These were very smart people who let their arrogance get in the way. In the end, everyone was to blame, but no one was to blame. Based on what I understand of the personalities of the Enron Leaders - this was their destiny. It was bound to happen - it only took some time. The biggest question of all - who is next.

Great book on bad management.......2007-08-02

Bad management and the amazing power of human beings to self-delude is on full display in the Enron debacle. This book does a good job of telling a complex story with a large cast of characters. I think it will help supervisors and business owners more that the latest fad book on business and leadership. These guys make excellent bad examples.

Case Study of Corruption on Steroids.......2007-06-05

I purchased this book after having watched the movie of the same name. The book is a very detailed and meticulous recounting of the rampant greed and corruption that was Enron. What you come to discover is that through highly-technical accounting schemes and tricks Enron turned itself into a seeming juggernaut of a business from just a staid old pipeline company. Enron really thought that the free market enabled it to do anything and trade any kind of commodity from weather derivatives to paper pulp, oil, and broadband. What you come to find out in this book though is that they never really had a way to deliver what they kept promising Wall Street.

Enron was a big house of cards all propped up by their stock price. Once that dropped, all hell broke loose. The company was obsessed with the stock price, posting it in elevators and encouraging employees to invest as much of their 401K monies into it as possible. They even created elaborate hedge funds that were based on the stock staying above certain levels. In order to keep the stock at lofty levels they lied and used "creative" accounting to fool Wall Street.

The real reveal in reading this book however is that Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay really have a vast number of compatriots to join them as teh villians here. Andy Fastow, now the government stoolie, was arguably worse than both Lay and Skilling. And yet, thanks to his cooperation, he gets far less jail time.

This book is a slow read, and not for the half-hearted. For the vast majority you are really better off watching the film.

Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.: An article from: Communications & Strategies

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Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.: An article from: Communications & Strategies
James Alleman
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Communications & Strategies, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1176 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: Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.
Author: James Alleman
Publication: Communications & Strategies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 61 Page: 187(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

When you think of birds, you think of songbirds--bluebirds, robins, bluejays, chickadees-and that group of birds, the passerines, is featured in Volume II of Birds in Kansas.

Of the 424 bird species that have been recorded in Kansas, 208 are passerines, commonly known as songbirds or, more accurately, perching birds. (Many so-called songbirds, like crows, have terrible voices and can't sing a note, but all of them can "perch.") They include most of the birds you'll see at your feeder, and many you won't: flycatchers, larks, swallows, jays and crows, titmice, wrens, thrushes, waxwings, wood warblers, blackbirds, tanagers, finches, and others.

All 208 species found in Kansas are discussed in Birds in Kansas, Volume II. Abundantly illustrated with 199 photographs and 208 range maps, this handbook provides the only comprehensive, current, and authoritative treatment of the songbirds in the state.

Written specifically for amateur birdwatchers and naturalists, both volumes of Birds in Kansas provide the reader with common and scientific names, distribution maps, photographs, and facts concerning reported occurrence, breeding habits, habitats, field marks (for identification), and food preferences. Volume I, published in 1989, covers over 200 species of ducks and geese, gulls, herons, woodpeckers, shorebirds, birds of prey, and other non-passerines. Volume II is devoted solely to the passerines.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent information.......2005-07-07

These are very good books for those who are looking for information on birds in Kansas. Each species has a page or more and includes a map that shows which counties the bird can be found in and which counties she nests in. The only thing keeping this from a 5-star rating is the black & white pictures. Recommended as it has every bird known to be in Kansas, unlike "Birds of Kansas: Field Guide" which is much smaller (pocket size) and has great pictures, but only 100 or so species.

Customer Reviews:

Surprising and Unusual.......2004-01-28

The coffee maker is not normally an item thought of as artwork, but the examples presented here should lead to reconsideration of that opinion. The machine is not merely a means to an end, but an integral part of the process and enjoyment therof. If anything, this book is a paean to human ingenuity in the improvement of the ordinary objects of daily life.

Coffee Makers : Macchine da Caffe (Bella Cosa Ser.)

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Coffee Makers : Macchine da Caffe (Bella Cosa Ser.)
Ambrogio Fumagalli
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KXJ5ZI

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Flower Gardening in the Hot Midwest: USDA ZONE 5 AND LOWER ZONE 4
Linda Hillegass
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0252068858

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Flower Gardening in the Hot Midwest: Usda Zone 5 and Lower Zone 4
Linda Hillegass L. L. Hillegass
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPV12W

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Flower Gardening in the Hot Midwest: Usda Zone 5 and Lower Zone 4
L. L. Hillegass
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ5M2Q

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Nicolaus Damascenus on the Philosophy of Aristotle (Philosophia Antiqua)
Nicolaus Damascenus
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9004017259

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Nicolaus Damascenus on the Philosophy of Aristotle.

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IBHIDS

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Nicolaus Damascenus on the Philosophy of Aristotle.
H.J. Drossaart Lulofs
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UBWNXQ

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Nicolaus Damascenus on the Philosophy of Aristotle.
H.J. Drossaart Lulofs
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UG14EU

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Nicolaus Damascenus on the philosophy of Aristotle: Fragments of the first five books translated from the Syriac with an introduction and commentary (Philosophia antiqua)
Nicolaus
Manufacturer: E.J. Brill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007JK216

Amazon.com

Written with the exhaustive thoroughness readers have come to expect from Donald Spoto's celebrity biographies, Notorious moves smoothly through the details of actress Ingrid Bergman's life. Although most will equate the book's title with the 1946 Hitchock film that provided Bergman with one of her more complex and unusually dark roles, the very definition of the word proves an appropriate description of her life; derived from the Latin notus, notorious is defined as "famous or celebrated; secondarily, known for something not generally approved." Disapproval of Bergman--both virulent and far-reaching--stemmed from her extramarital affair with director Roberto Rosellini and the subsequent birth of their son (conceived before their marriage). It is this fall from grace that intrigues Spoto.

In 1939 Ingrid Bergman was hailed as a fresh-faced girl, "dignified, gracious, unpretentious and spiritual," who represented everything good that America loved and needed. Although already a wife and mother, she was most often described as innocent, even virginal. But in 1949 this perception changed, and Bergman was no longer a martyr for the sake of her movies; at the time, she was regarded as the foulest of sinners, a renegade whose "powerful influence for evil" was soon to be condemned in churches, schools, and even on the floor of the U. S. Senate. However, Spoto doesn't neglect Bergman's artistic drive and integrity; he creates a portrait of a woman on trial for aspiring to both professional success and intellectual fulfillment. The details accrue to portray a disarmingly modest professional--at times idolized, at times disparaged, but always skilled and committed.

Book Description

First time in paperback: "A resoundingly successful biography" (Washington Post) and the basis for a major television miniseries this year.

The life of Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982) is as compelling as that of any of the women she portrayed in dozens of unforgettable movies and plays-a list that includes Casablanca, Intermezzo, Gaslight, The Bells of St. Mary's, Notorious, Anastasia, and Hedda Gabler. Hers is a story that begins with a tragic childhood in Sweden, then moves on to the nightmare of Germany under the Nazis and later to Hollywood in its golden age. From her position as America's most beautiful, admired, and loved actress, she was plunged into national disgrace and branded "an apostle of degradation" for her adulterous love affair with Roberto Rosellini in the late 1940s. But her independent spirit triumphed in the end, winning her honors and accolades even as she fought an eight-year battle with cancer. Donald Spoto, who knew Ingrid Bergman and had unprecedented access to her husbands, friends, lovers, directors, and costars, as well as to her papers, letters, and diaries, has written a biography that the San Francisco Chronicle called "mesmerizing" and "deeply moving"-the definitive account of a consummate actress who dared to live the truth.

Customer Reviews:

A Valentine of Superlatives.......2004-09-08

I'd purchased this biography to learn more about a fascinating woman who left an indelible mark on her profession, acting. But my disappointment was great; this is less a biography than an infatuated paean -- something one might write for a fan club or public relations campaign. Though Mr. Spoto and his crew of researchers obviously undertook considerable investigation into Bergman's life, Mr. Spoto failed to complete the last -- and most important -- task of a biographer: a critical analysis of his subject. Instead, throughout the book, Mr. Spoto repeatedly (and I emphasize "repeatedly") flogs readers with superlatives about Bergman's acting, looks, intelligence, strength, spirit, wisdom, and character. Why the Pope hasn't yet canonized this woman, based on Mr. Spoto's writings, is beyond me -- perhaps it is only because she was not Catholic. I do hope that someday another biographer -- say, someone with the talents of Edward Tytell (biographer of Ezra Pound) or Noel Riley Fitch (biographer of Sylvia Beach and Julia Child) -- might undertake the task of penning a more informative, insightful biography of Bergman. The woman certainly deserves this.

So St. Ingrid she wasn't..........2004-03-09

...so have you never made a mistake? We can thank her money-grubbing first husband Petter Lindstrom for her "indiscretions" with Roberto Rossolini and others---if he had spent more time as a loving mate instead of a calculating business manager who belittled Ingrid and put her on a paltry allowance, then maybe none of the nonsense which haunted her for so long would have happened at all. He played the boss, but she was the bread winner, and the shame of it is she let him get away with it!!

She had the same emotional needs as any other woman OR man. But only under the moralistic hyprocrisy of the U.S. at the time could such a woman (I doubt if a man would) have been so pilloried---the rest of the planet was not so hung up as we on attempting to be the guardian of world morals, especially when we had more than enough of our own dirty laundry we kept trying to hide.

No matter, because her beauty, wit and talent counted for more, and in the end she won anyway. She knew her craft well (who else would have felt secure enough to suggest script changes to Hitchcock, and have him acquiesce??) and lived it not at all for money or fame, but rather for the sake of the craft itself. And what she left to stage and screen through the body of her work, through her very presence, will forever be her only true legacy.

Not quite "Notorious".......2003-10-20

She was Hollywood's golden girl, an actress who shone on the silver screen but never burned out. Despite worldwide fame, Ingrid Bergman's life was riddled with tragedies and problems, including an affair that could have wrecked her career.

Ingrid Bergman lost her parents, then her beloved aunt, as a young girl. Growing up in Nazi Germany, she soon became an actress and rose to fame, first in Sweden and then in Hollywood. Then problems arose -- Ingrid met one of her favorite directors, Roberto Rossellini, and left her husband for a whirlwind movie shoot/love affair. The scandal was overwhelming, and it was years until the stigma evaporated -- after which Ingrid was appreciated all over again for her talent and courage.

Donald Spoto's telling of Bergman's life is solid and informative, with quotations by Ingrid, her husbands, children, costars, directors, and lots of other people who had known her. Letters are reproduced, and her different performances are analyzed (some of these movies were downright terrible).

He also does a pretty good job of analyzing Ingrid's motivations -- why she was attracted to the elitist Peter and passionate Roberto, her strong artistic sense, her workaholic attitude, and her feelings about her children and loves. It's a pretty good analysis, overall.

Despite the title, the book isn't a dirt-fest. In fact, that's one of its weaknesses. Oh, it shouldn't be showing only her flaws, but Spoto seems to adore her a little too much. She herself is quoted as saying that she's imperfect. Even though Spoto reveals her weaknesses and failures, he doesn't seem to think any of them really matter.

It definitely could have used better perspective, but "Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman" is a solid, interesting, well-written look at the life of a talented, artistic woman. Highly recommended.

Don't mistake the title.......2002-09-01

This book isn't about everything bad that Ingrid did, even though that's the impression the title gives. This is a well and thoroughly researched and very readable biography. Donald Spoto speaks about Ingrid with respect, and although he mentions her weaknesses and failings, I don't feel he's doing it to spread dirt around. If it happened it happened, but he doesn't spend half the book talking about it.

Except where it concerns Rossellini, and that is perfectly understandable, because everyone who knows about Ingrid knows that was a real and terrible time in her life. I think it's sad that she went through all that and the marriage ended up falling apart anyway.

Anyway, basically he speaks of her work. She went crazy without it, and really as I think about it her life was work. That's what I remember froming reading this.

It is a very good book, and like everything I have read by Spoto, is well-written and highly interesting. I recommend it very much.

Is this a creative review or what? I seem to be suffering some sort of blank as far as reviews are concerned this morning.

She really was notorious.......2002-07-16

I was a young adult when Ingrid died and I was not aware of her fame and reputation as a film star. I saw her occasionally in old movies and was fascinated by her glowing beauty and talent. I was appalled by her appearance in her role as Golda Meir; she had changed so much, but now I know why. Spoto's biography about Ingrid revealed her intimately -- from her childhood to her death, throughout her marriages and affairs, the successes of her career, and relationships with friends and family. I didn't know that she had been banned from America for her "sins", and I didn't know she had other children besides Isabella Rosselini. In spite of her foibles, Ingrid still seems like a great woman, thanks to the passionate -- and compassionate -- telling of her life story by Spoto. The audio version of the book was completely compelling to listen to, enhanced by the reader, C.M. Herbert, whose voice had a quality similar to Ingrid's, and therefore made Ingrid come even more to life.

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Notorious, The Life Of Ingrid Bergman
Donald SPOTO
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MYEUDW

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Notorious: Life of Ingrid Bergman.
Donald Spoto
Manufacturer: HarperCollins 1997.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 000255786X

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Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid] Spoto, Donald [Bergman
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KVCDYU

Life Magazine August 26, 1946: MOVIE: 'NOTORIOUS' with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (now, a true Hitchcock classic!); France Rebuilds her railroads; La Follette listens to election returns

Average customer rating:

Life Magazine August 26, 1946: MOVIE: 'NOTORIOUS' with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (now, a true Hitchcock classic!); France Rebuilds her railroads; La Follette listens to election returns
LIFE MAGAZINE
Manufacturer: LIFE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SPE8V4

Life Magazine issue dated August 26, 1946: THE MOVIES: Alfred Hitchcock's 'NOTORIOUS' with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (now, a true Hitchcock classic!); France Rebuilds her railroads; La Follette listens to election returns; Please see TABLE OF CONTENTS photo for additional information on articles in this issue

Average customer rating:

Life Magazine issue dated August 26, 1946: THE MOVIES: Alfred Hitchcock's 'NOTORIOUS' with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (now, a true Hitchcock classic!); France Rebuilds her railroads; La Follette listens to election returns; Please see TABLE OF CONTENTS photo for additional information on articles in this issue
TIME-LIFE books
Manufacturer: TIME-LIFE books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VB17S2

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Notorious the Life of Ingrid Bergman
Donald Spoto
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEFZH0

Average customer rating:

Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman
Donald Spoto
Manufacturer: Da Capo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSIKIC

Book Description

When the Bank of Scotland recently carried out a survey asking people to name Great Scots, 'Wallace McIntosh - War Hero' was chosen among such illustrious names as John Logie Baird, David Livingstone and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Born into grinding poverty, McIntosh was a few days old when given by his young mother to her parents to bring up. As a boy, he was trailed round Aberdeenshire and Perthshire in the 1920s while his grandparents desperately sought work and shelter. He had not heard of Christmas until he was seven, and never celebrated his birthday until his late teens, but he could steal, kill and skin a sheep before he was twelve and snare anything that could be cooked in a pot. Leaving school at thirteen he was determined to escape the constant struggle to survive.

Gunning for the Enemy tells the moving story of how the RAF finally accepted McIntosh after at first rejecting him, but then initially gave him the lowliest of jobs. Only by a fluke was he trained as an air gunner. During his time with 207 Squadron, based at Langar, Nottinghamshire and Spilsby, Lincolnshire, he flew over fifty sorties in World War Two. Although Bomber Command did not record details of 'kills' by air gunners, Wallace, who shot down eight enemy aircraft with one probable, is widely believed to be its top sharpshooter and at one time he was its most decorated also. He had many hairy incidents and his prodigious memory for detail enables him to recall numerous amazing escapes from death and how each and every night he and his comrades dramatically took the war to the enemy.

This is a story of outstanding courage, told with wit, pace and honesty by Mel Rolfe who has previously enjoyed acclaim with such books as To Hell and Back, Hell on Earth and Flying into Hell.

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