Vixens, Floozies and Molls: 28 Actresses of Late 1920s and 1930s Hollywood

Book Description

The floozy, the gangster's moll, the nasty debutante: Most Hollywood actresses played at least one of these bad girls in the 1930s. Since censorship customarily demanded that goodness prevail, vixens were in mainly supporting roles—but the actresses who played them were often colorful scene stealers.

These characters and the women who played them first began to appear in film in 1915 when Theda Bara played home-wrecker Elsie Drummond in The Vixen. Movie theaters filled and the industry focused on heaving bosoms and ceaseless lust. Bara never shed the vamp image. The type evolved into the flapper, the gangster's moll, the "dame," and the "bad girl." This work covers the lives and careers of 28 actresses, providing details about their lives and giving complete filmographies of their careers.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Book.......2002-06-07

This book is well informed. Except for Anna May Wong, I didn't know any of these actresses. The sad thing is that the internet doesn't say much about these actresses either. So the author did well in giving praise to the unknown. The author says something to which I have to know. This is from the book, "But the roles would necessarily be smaller and being nasty to Shirley would prove rather lethal-as Astrid Allwyn (Dimples, Stowaway)and others would later discover." What did Temple do?

Great reference and a book that fills a real need........1999-09-21

This is an interesting, well-researched book. I'm a fan of Hollywood's golden age, and this book helped make me aware of some of the lesser known (but still wonderful) stars of that era. Good writing and some wonderful photos. I also like how the author tells us what happened to these stars after they left Hollywood. Great reference. I've already referred to it many times while watching AMC and TCM.

Average customer rating:
100 Tips for Keyboard You Should Have Been Told Part 2
John Dutton
Manufacturer: Sanctuary
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 184492033X
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Book Description

Fight smart. Emerge victorious.

• Essential walkthrough of all four campaigns, plus training and bonus missions
• Stats for every weapon, tool, unit, and vehicle
• Thorough dissection of enemy strengths and weaknesses
• Strategies for general and direct control modes
• Expert combat tactics and tips

Customer Reviews:

What a Great Guide!.......2004-07-07

I learned so much. This book was very helpful to me as I played Soldiers Heroes of World War 2. I cannot wait to see if this "Ron Dulin" writes more strategy guides so that I can get through other difficult games with his help!

Customer Reviews:

My Years With General Motors.......2007-02-26

Must reading for all business owners, executives, college business majors and not just in the automotive or related fields on how a stuff shirt
could set a management control system up that was from its start up over bearing, self serving, cause different levels of management to establish surfs and kingdoms making it not only impossible to settle operational differences in a smooth transaction between production and marketing, but in fact Impossible!

Even worst he was able to sell his concept of " In The Land Of The Blind, The One Eye Man Is King" to not only his company but to the American general business community and at one time the world.

In his company it became the one and only way to run the company, by his book, of course he hated unions and any Govenment control, he was a true Hilter with no soul or feeling for his fellow man.

His way, even today the idiots controlling General Motors are stuck fast unable to do what is required as they continue to lose market shares to other countries including Japan, and loss money billions of dollars yet these morons sit in their towers expecting a miracle.

There is no Durant coming from that company.

To see how this man became so powerful, read Billy, Alfred and General Motors.

Thank you for your attention to this review.

Joseph R. Pugia, Sr.

Sloan and the old GM.......2007-01-12

An incredible man! We need more like him to throttle the huge corporations and return us to making America prosper. Keep your dollars in the USA!

Excellent Historical Account of Management at General Motors........2006-03-21

This book "My Years with General Motors" was originally published in 1963 and is just as relevant reading today as any books written by top managers since then. The book is not easy to read, it is well over 400 pages of thoughtful text, but it is well worth reading for people with an interest in the history of General Motors, the history of the automobile, history of industrial technology in the 20th century, etc...

It was published shortly after I was born and I was aware of it during grade school but unfortunately didn't bother reading it until recently. The book is well-positioned with the Bill Gates quote on the cover that reads, in part, "... the best book to read if you want to read only one book about business...". I completely agree with that!

This book is better than any other book I am aware of regarding the Automobile industry if you are interested in business and management evolution. It provides much better insights into business than books I have read by and about say John DeLorean, Lee Iacocca, or Howard Hughes. Those other books may be more entertaining however for people looking for entertainment. This book provides broader insights into general industrial management for contemporary use than say the two books written by Bill Gates do.

This 1990 edition of "My Years with General Motors" also provides an insightful introduction by Peter F. Drucker that adds considerably to the understanding of Alfred P. Sloan. This book is interesting for what it doesn't cover as well as for what it does cover.

It does seem Mr Sloan believed in the importance of a well defined structure for management, a constitution if you will. However, the ultimate goal is to put people to work to produce the best possible result. Leadership is seen as more important than structure by Sloan, this is not what the popular opinion of General Motors would be however.

That is why I recommend reading this book as an Excellent Historical Account of Management at General Motors. Four out of Five Stars.

Insightful, in the trenches information.......2006-02-28

In this book, Alfred P. Sloan tells the story of his years as president and CEO of General Motors. His story is relevant for anyone who needs advice on how to save a company that is on the verge of bankruptcy and get it growing. Sloan has divulged his insights on organizational structure, management processes, financial control, product strategy and research. Here is some of the advice he offers:

· Balance cooperation and control: Sloan implemented a framework of coordinated policy and decentralized operations. Top managers made policy, and individual business units were free to implement the policy in the way they wanted. He created interdivisional committees to ensure continuity.
· Management. Rather than expecting managers to behave like drill sergeants, Sloan pushed for "selling" at all levels. Corporate leaders were expected to sell their policy decisions to divisions. Division managers were encouraged to sell operational initiatives to top management.
· Finances. Sloan created a system for reviewing appropriation requests to control spending. He also created a system of four-month forecasts to make sure the size of inventory did not exceed the needs of production.
· Product Strategy. Sloan developed a marketing strategy for General Motors to offer an automobile for every price range. The company had previously been stuck offering cars only in the mid-price range, and had lost considerable market share to Ford.
· Research. Sloan recognized that research was just as important as manufacturing and put both research and operations on the same organizational plane.
· Distribution. Sloan turned automobile dealers into business partners and simplified the process of distribution for General Motors. He also created GMAC, a financing entity that allowed the "average man" to buy a car and pay in installments. When he began this program, banks refused to lend money to working people to buy automobiles, considering them a bad risk.

This is an analytical and well written Book.......2005-09-05

This book first of all is a very well written book, it breaks down in a very structural way, what the author tries to convey.

The book also reflects the thinking that went around on building General Motors, I don't think the reader is going to find many insights to management, as it has advanced so much, but the reader will be able to understand the logics and the insight of how to build strong business procedures, and for then strong organizations.

I do strongly recommend this book to be read.

Rafael Weill
Venezuela

Racing in the Rain: My Years with Brilliant Drivers, Legendary Sports CArs, and a Dedicated Team

Average customer rating:

A great insight into 60s/70s sportscar racing
Memories of Steve McQueen
scientific method validated
How An Autobiograpy Should Be Written
Racing in the Rain: My Years with Brilliant Drivers...

Racing in the Rain: My Years with Brilliant Drivers, Legendary Sports CArs, and a Dedicated Team
J. Horsman
Manufacturer: David Bull Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Racing | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1893618714

Product Description

Few can claim that their racing careers spanned the greatest decades in sports-car competition-the 1960s and 1970s-and then extended into the 1980s. Fewer still were consistently successful. John Horsman is one of the fortunate few. Horsman's vivid personal account takes you to the world's greates circuits and puts you alongside the drivers and the crew as you experience things such as Jacky Ickx's prowess driving in the rain, the fiery determination of Pedro Rodriguez and his astonishing come-from-behind wins, and Horsman's exciting solution to the Porsche 917's handling problems, with a tail of his own design.

Customer Reviews:

A great insight into 60s/70s sportscar racing.......2007-09-14

This book highlights the technicalities of racing sportscars at the highest level. Whilst the book focuses on the development of the various cars the author worked with (GT40/Mirage/Porsche 917), it also touches on the various drivers employed by his teams during his career (Rodriguez, Vern Shupan, Derek Bell).

This book provides some fascinating insights into the author's perspective of the Porsche 917 era, particulalry in regards to the rivalry between the Gulf team and Porsche Salzburg/Martini.

A great read, particularly if read in conjunction with Vic Elford's book, which details the Porsche Salzburg side of things.

Highly recommended for those who enjoyed the epic sportscar era.

Memories of Steve McQueen.......2007-04-04

This is a great book for anyone who grew up on the movie Le Mans (still the best racing movie ever made) and dreamed of racing at night down the Mulsanne straight! The author not only was a part of history, but is a surprisingly engaging writer as well.

scientific method validated.......2007-03-18

Over the past twenty years, I have been able to highly recommend only one book (other than my own) on sports car racing in the 1960s, "The Certain Sound" by John Wyer. I can now highly recommend a second, John Horsman's "Racing In The Rain", which extends coverage into the '80s and is even more empirical than Wyer's book, if such be possible. If you want to know how to succeed in road or long distance racing, this is the book. Horsman's book is a tribute to the empirical method, honest analysis and old-fashioned persistence. There is plenty of humor and action to make it all palatable, but this is a book for someone who wants to know how it really happened and why. The quote from Howden Ganley on page 313 is alone worth the purchase price. An extraordinary book.

How An Autobiograpy Should Be Written.......2007-01-26

I've had the distinct honor of reading and collecting motorsports-related literature for almost 40 years. John Horsman's book "Racing in the Rain: My Years with Brilliant Drivers, Legendary Sports Cars, and a Dedicated Team" easily ranks in the top-10%. How often we racing fans spend hard-earned money and countless hours attempting to glean something new from the pages of another racing-related book, only to fill rather empty from the effort. Further, errors of fact abound in many of the titles published over the last few decades (errors easily avoided with a decent editor). Far too often, stories are simply rehashed from older titles, with the same worn-out photos making title after title- not so with Mr. Horsman's book. I found myself exclaiming out loud every few pages after discovering a "fresh" take on something I'd never known, and again, I consider myself well-read. The drivers who were "there", as well as mechanics, and rival team members, will find all sorts of revelations in this book, as well as the secret(s) to John Weyer's / Horsman's successes with the GT 40, 917 and Mirage. Horsman goes down a path seldom taken by authors- namely, calling the shots as he saw them (warts and all), including the mistakes he and others (by name!!) made, as well as the "good" calls / decisions. Some may find the inclusion of specific details as to lap times, set-ups, engine specifications, etc. not terribly necessary, but these truly make the book all the better. I'm one of many knowing the history of the great races and their associated drivers, but have always wished to be schooled in the more technical while reading; Horsman accomplishes this- and more. His recollections on the greats- Redman, Bell, Ickx, Rodriguez, Siffert, Hobbs, etc. are alone worth the modest price of the book. This is another great title from David Bull Publishing and very similar in design and take to Vic Elford's memoirs (another "must" read) and the story of the American great, Walt Hansgen. Bravo again to D.B. Publishing for bringing such great titles to motorsport fans.

Racing in the Rain: My Years with Brilliant Drivers..........2007-01-19

Excellent information, great perspective from someone directly involved with the Gulf racing program (of which I was a big fan).

My Years with General Motors - A Personal Account by the Former Ceo of World's Largest Manufacturing Concern

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My Years with General Motors - A Personal Account by the Former Ceo of World's Largest Manufacturing Concern
Alfred P. Jr. Sloan
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JJUE1M

A Ghost's Memoir: The Making of Alfred P. Sloan's My Years with General Motors

Average customer rating:

Great Story tellers, great personalities...
McDonald's Years of Struggle with General Motors

A Ghost's Memoir: The Making of Alfred P. Sloan's My Years with General Motors
John McDonald
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0262134101

Book Description

Published in 1964, My Years with General Motors was an immediate best-seller and today is considered one of the few classic books on management. The book is the ghostwritten memoir of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. (1875-1966), whose business and management strategies enabled General Motors to overtake Ford as the dominant American automobile manufacturer in the 1920s and 1930s.

What has been largely unknown until now is that My Years with General Motors was almost not published. Although it was written with the permission of General Motors -- and slated for publication in October 1959 -- at the last minute General Motors tried to suppress the book out of fears that some of the material in it could become evidence in an antitrust action against the company. This book, by John McDonald, Sloan's ghostwriter, tells the behind-the-scenes story of the book's writing, its attempted suppression, and the lawsuit that eventually led to its publication. McDonald's narrative is partly the David-and-Goliath story of a lone journalist taking on the world's then-largest corporation and partly a study of strategy in its own right. McDonald's struggle to publish the book led him to navigate a complicated course among the competing interests of General Motors, Fortune magazine (his employer), and Time, Inc. (Fortune's owner). In many ways this "book about the book" parallels the Sloan book as a tale of successful, brilliantly planned strategy.

Customer Reviews:

Great Story tellers, great personalities..........2007-09-28

I am enjoying very much this book. I still didn't finish it. I will read it slowly, each time I am reading it I go back in time and I feel like an invisible person that seeing history unfold.

What makes me recommend this book? First is very well written, it has a great story and we get to know better a man like mr. Alfred Sloan. How he behaved in real life, his relationships, the impact of the loss of his wife... In this book we can have a short portrait of this man, it is possible to get an insight into the real person he was.

I also enjoyed the foreword by Dan Seligman, it is a great summary of the book and gives a great insight into the story and man behind the book, John McDonald.

McDonald's Years of Struggle with General Motors.......2002-08-07

Until reading this book, I was wholly unaware of efforts by General Motors' lawyers to prevent the publication of Sloan's memoir My Years with General Motors which is generally considered one of the most important business books ever written. McDonald was Sloan's ghost writer (hence the dual meaning of the book's title) and provides a compelling account of how and why the book was finally published in 1963. McDonald suggests that a study in 1921 (discussed in Sloan's memoir) recommended "covering" all prospective buyers of automobiles by designing, manufacturing, and marketing a complete line for various "price steps." In that event, GM lawyers feared, federal regulatory agencies would become involved and seek to dismantle what could be perceived as a monopoly. In 1962, McDonald initiated a lawsuit against GM. He was at that time still employed by Fortune magazine. Almost immediately, Time Inc. "entered the game", fearing loss of GM advertising. It would be a disservice to both McDonald and to those who read this review to reveal what happened next. To my surprise, the book became a "page turner" and remained so to its conclusion. McDonald tells a lively story with colorful characters, a complicated plot, all manner of crises and conflicts, subtle (and not-so-subtle) manipulations, and conflicts of interests while -- along the way -- examining a legal system exploited but which ultimately prevailed. A great read.

My Forty Years With Ford (Great Lakes Books)

Average customer rating:

Autobiographcial Account of His Experiences
Where is the book?

My Forty Years With Ford (Great Lakes Books)
Charles E. Sorensen , and Samuel T. Williamson
Manufacturer: Wayne State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 081433279X

Book Description

An unflinching eyewitness account of the Ford story as told by one of Henry Ford's closest associates.

Customer Reviews:

Autobiographcial Account of His Experiences.......2005-05-13

Sorensen tells his story in a straight-forward manner. There are positive and negative aspects of this era in American history which saw the nation moving toward a better standard of living for the masses. Henry Ford comes out appearing very human. By that I mean he had some extremely admirable qualities, but at the same time he made some major mistakes that had lifelong negative consequences for his family.

Thankfully Sorensen kept a diary so the material he draws upon in this book was not skewed by trying to recall events after they had long passed. He saw Henry Ford as a man for whom a sense of responsibility was one of his strongest traits. He also said Ford never appeared to be afraid of anything. Sorensen said Ford's philosophy was, "We must go ahead without the facts; we will learn them as we go along."

Ford is described as a man who sought action, not theory. He wanted results and kept his executives free from unneccesary paperwork. Sorensen and Ford were so absorbed in their work that they worked in their "free time" to accomplish their goals. Work was play for them and the passion for the task showed.

The war years presented new challenges for Sorensen. He provides details of how he and others did the impossible in producing air craft for the nation. He and others of his ilk seemed to thrive on challenge. They were doers throughout their whole lives.

Henry Ford's biggest failure seemed to be his relationship to his son Edsel. Henry couldn't accept that fact that his son was not a duplication of himself. He never showed his son respect. Edsel appeared to be trapped in the shadow of his internationally famous dad. Ford company executives resented Edsel. He experienced physical sickness related to stress. But Sorensen says of Edsel Ford, that he "was a gentleman in the finest, fullest meaning of the word." He describe how he always presented himself in a kind and professional manner.

This book gives you a first hand account of an insider's view of an achiever. He tells it the way he saw it. Nonfiction truly is filled with suspence and odds twists. Life is mysterious.

Where is the book?.......2005-02-06

Found the book we want.
Put it on our wish list.
Cannot see how to purchase the book.
Help!

Average customer rating:

My Years with General Motors
Jr. Alfred P. sloan
Manufacturer: A Macfadden Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0206140703

Product Description

The dramatic inside story that has been acclaimed a classic of american business.

Hard Driving : My Years with John DeLorean

Average customer rating:

Drive Hard -or go home!

Hard Driving : My Years with John DeLorean
William Haddad
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0394534107
Release Date: 1985-08-12

Customer Reviews:

Drive Hard -or go home!.......2007-10-02

I just read this book and I don't regret it.
I feel I could see -through the authors eyes- what one side of John Z DeLorean was like...

This is a story that covers only a very brief part of DeLorean's life (obviously) and I don't consider it the entire measure of the man.

I would say that the author presents a credible account of his perspective, I did not get the feeling that it was biased beyond that of someone who was so close to the matter. The excitement, enthusiasm, frustration, disappointment and regret show through. But it does not spoil the read, it instead reinforces its credibility and makes the whole journey more intimate.

I am left wondering about the other side of the coin, I wish I could know what JZD was thinking and what were his true motivations and timings. Like anyone out there, he was unique. -even if things done in his business and personal life were later perceived as 'predictable in hind sight'.

It truly was a fascinating read, my unfounded, biased and preconceived ideas about JZD were challenged and I am now waiting the delivery of DeLoeran's own book on the matter.

-I dream a world where dreamers succeed and the righteous lead.

Average customer rating:

MY YEARS WITH GENERAL MOTORS
Alfred P. Sloan
Manufacturer: Doubleday & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NTM51A

Average customer rating:

MY YEARS WITH GENERAL MOTORS

Manufacturer: Macfadden Pub.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000GPXI08

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My Years with General Motors
Alfred P; McDonald, John; Stevens, Catharine (editors) Sloan
Manufacturer: Anchor Books/ Doubleday & Company Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000J29YLA

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