Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biography of Dusty Springfield

Book Description

Dusty Springfield led a tragic yet inspiring life, battling her way to the top of the charts and into the hearts of music fans world-wide. Her signature voice made songs such as, "I Only Want to Be With You," "Son of A Preacher Man," and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," international hits. In Dancing With Demons, two of her closest friends, Valentine and Wickham, capture, with vivid memories and personal anecdotes, a Dusty most people never glimpsed in this no-holds-barred yet touching portrait of one of the world's true grand dames of popular music.

Customer Reviews:

Dusty was a Character.......2007-01-09

If you are a Dusty Springfield fan, as I am, you will be appalled and fascinated by this book. Her manager and some "friends" tell everything she ever did, and how hard she could be to get along with. There is to this day a huge number of DS fans who continue to talk about her and admire her fabulous musical qualities. She died in 1999 of breast cancer after overcoming most of her demons. Dusty was known all over the world as a great musican, and you can still hear her voice on that diamond ad, in the movie about Enron, and once you get tuned in, you will hear her constantly in movies and on TV as accent music.
This books has a lot of errors, but it still stands as the definitive book on Dusty. I sure hope when I die, my friends don't get together and tell everything I ever did!! Wow....

Authorized??? Biography of Dusty Springfield..........2006-09-02

Authorized, I don't think so...
This book, as well as being 95% negative, is very poorly written.
It's difficult to follow at times, even rereading some of the long run on sentences...It appears that no one edited it before publication.
Some of the "facts" and dates, even names (Dinah Washington is refered to as Ella Washington), are questionable.
It does shed light on the seemingly very sad life of Dusty Springfield, but is the most poorly written book I've come accross ever.

Absolute Rubbish.......2006-08-03

This book if full of complete rubbish. Vicki Wickham should be ashamed of herself. She did nothing but portray Dusty in a negative light when we all remember her as the HAPPY AND POSITIVE PERFORMER. Of course i didn't personally know Dusty but to write such negative things is shameful. You should be ashamed of yourself Vicki. How can you call yourself a friend of Dusty? She knew you were going to do that to her. It makes me sick. This book is a waste of money and i don't reccommend it to anyone. I'll continue to love Dusty the way she was no matter what this book says.

Definitely NOT definitive!.......2006-07-17

I have no idea how the word "Authorized" got into the subtitle. While it's entirely possible the two writers knew Dusty and were part of her intimate circle, they absolutely dropped the ball on this one. I have no doubt that her life was as troubled as they claim, but I'm furious that the so-called biographers often decided to go all "coy" on us. Why not name Dusty's lovers? Instead they use pseudonyms along with tantalizing descriptions. This perpetuates the stereotype that being a lesbian is embarrassing. Also, they'll make a statement saying that one song was probably the worst cover ever recorded in the history of the world -- and then not name the song! What is wrong with these people!? I hope to God that with the renewed interest in Dusty -- and let's face it, she is and will always be a legend, no matter how troubled her life may have been -- a truly definitive book will come out that will be straightforward and real. This one isn't it--though I wish it were.

Lopsided negatively... And who on earth edited this thing??.......2006-06-10

This is a pretty awful book... I could have written a better one... The authors portray Dusty as emotionally needy, and there is precious little in the book to suggest that the authors even liked Dusty. Whoever edited this thing should find a different line of work. It reads like a lengthy and very poorly written tabloid article! I wish that someone would write more balanced portrait of this artist. It seems that any literature on Dusty is either "sugar-coated" or trashy. This book falls in the trashy category. I only hope that the upcoming film of Dusty's life will be more balanced, and sympathetic towards its subject.

Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biography of Dusty Springfield

Average customer rating:

Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biography of Dusty Springfield
Vicki Wickham Penny Valentine
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTDFDG

Book Description

An authoritative insight into the life of the man most film fans consider the "one and only" Tarzan - Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller -- this book offers an intimate look at Weissmuller's early life, middle years, and later decline, through swimming training, Olympic triumphs, failed marriages, a Hollywood life as Tarzan of the Apes, and subsequent career as Jungle Jim.

Written by his only son, this biography is a sensitive yet unsentimental portrayal of the man who was Tarzan to movie fans around the world. Johnny Junior's inside perspective on his father's life and career includes interviews with his father's celebrity friends and former wives, recollections of conversations with his father over the years, and family stories involving international icons such as Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Robert Mitchum, Joe Louis, and many others. There are "surprises" in the text and many photos from private collections that have never before been printed or seen by the general public.

Customer Reviews:

A great tribute by a son about his famous father........2007-01-28

In the thirties and forties there was something big film wise to look forward to nearly every year, bigger than the anticipation of the next Star Wars, Bond or Potter film. It was Tarzan and most of those years there was only one Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller. To many today he is still the only Tarzan.

Tarzan fans in our generation actually embraced a parallel universe in the jungle man's world. There was the long time favorite given us by author Edgar Rice Burroughs, an articulate educated Lord Greystoke who could stow away his tux, put on a loin cloth to lead Tantor and his herd of elephants. Then there was the bigger than life Johnny Weissmuller on the screen who portrayed a Tarzan of few words, gave a battle cry that is more familiar today than most any other sound byte and whose biggest vocabulary word was "Umgawa!" Whether we were first introduced to the book Tarzan or film Tarzan, we could love both. Weissmuller himself was familiar with the concern Burroughs had about the portrayal that first MGM and then RKO required and wished also that he could have a bigger speaking role. However, the money was good and he couldn't object too much. When Burroughs himself made Tarzan films and hand picked Bill Brix with his well spoken vocabulary the films bombed.

In "Tarzan My Father" the author Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. gives a portrayal unlike others in the past. It is not an apology or a "daddy dearest". Johnny Jr. loved his father and admits there were both good and bad things that can be related. However, even in the bad, Johnny Weissmuller is more the innocent taken in by business managers, partying big name friends and two of his five wives, especially the last one who did all she could to trash his name and memorial while making money off of interviews. There is also a rebuttal against Esther Williams's recent book with interviews that reveal she has lied about Johnny Weissmuller as she did other legendary Hollywood heroes.

Johnny Jr. covers the myths behind the legend and uses documentation when needed. When stories conflict he gives both sides as would a true historian. I found myself looking at older books I have on the father and find that in general the son has been forthright in his handling of events. There is also detailed information about his father's sports career which makes him also legendary in that world as well. I had an opportunity to meet Johnny Weismuller briefly in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia and the man I saw was the man described by his son. It was a moment I will always remember. He was both generous and kind.

The book covers the father's friends and cronies, people like Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Red Skelton and others who are icons today. In his own case the author knew well Robert Mitchum, Ricky Nelson, Burt Reynolds and Elvis. There are great pictures in the book that will delight any and all film fans.

Yes, the book is very personal and unlike some, the author does it not to exploit his name but to give honor to one of the great film heroes of the 20th century. The book itself is endorsed by Danton Burroughs, secretary of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. This is a tribute and it shows us a man bigger than life who greatly influenced more than one generation.

Johnny Weissmuller had what some might call a simplistic philosophy that his son paraphrases as "A man should stand where God places him-jungle trails or Hollywood streets-and fight for those things he believes."

Tarza, My Father.......2006-06-25

Excellent book, told me more about the man than i ever knew. my own father is a johnny fan of his era, a swimmer too. I grew up to know the legend of what he was. After reading the book he is more of a man then i could of imagined. What a great read.

Cheetah could've written a better story.......2006-05-23

I have gone about 1/3 of the way through this book and have been very disappointed. The events are told unevenly and there is little insight to this potentially great story or stories behind the man. I thought I would get greater insight from his son but so far very little is revealed. The writing is very choppy and I am surprised that the professional writers helping JR couldn't write more fluently. It is like they took all the notes and forgot how to put them into words. the book is extremely short and is more like a magazine article. There seemed to be so much waiting to be told. Amazon should send half my money back because all I got was half a story.

A must get for all Johnny Weissmuller fans.......2006-02-23

It was a very fascinating read and gave a great insight to the life of Johnny Weissmuller and how the studios treated stars then.
I would recommend it to anybody that liked the Tarzan movies.

A Great Read

MGM -You made a Big Mistake !.......2004-06-29

My daughter gave me a copy of this book for Father's Day this year along with the last MGM Tarzan movie that I was missing " Tarzan Escapes". This book is loaded with all kinds of good stuff written by Weissmullers son, Johnny Jr..It has some great pictures in it too. For Folks like myself who grew up watching (or just wanting to watch) Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan and knowing that nothing either before or after his movies was worth it's weight in Dog Dung then you also will really enjoy this book! My kids were raised hearing phrases like "That used to be a full grown man" or "Ma-ha-wani Sleep,Ma-ha-wani Sleep" or better yet "That was a close one, we almost lost the rifles". Yes there was only one REAL Tarzan and folks from my generation know that his name was Johnny Weissmuller. Boy did MGM screw up when they stopped making Tarzan Movies and let Johnny go to RKO, If only they knew how big his movies would become in the future! When Tarzan answered Jane as he was feeding a bottle to Boy and said "Him no choke",I'm certain MGM did a lot of choking in years to come. It was kind-a like SUN RECORDS selling Elvis Presly's contract to RCA for 50 grand a real no-brainer. This book tells the whole Hollywood story and how so many stars of that day really turned Hollywood into "SIN CITY" but Johnny was one of very few who kept to clean living and avoided all the garbage! This book is a real good deal! "ENJOY"

My father, Elmo Lincoln: The original Tarzan

Average customer rating:

My father, Elmo Lincoln: The original Tarzan
Marci'a Lincoln Rudolph
Manufacturer: Fulton County Historical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006REBRU

Book Description

What is this book about?

This book teaches you how to build custom ASP.NET Web sites from the ground up. An expert team of authors uses their extensive ASP.NET programming experience to give you hands-on instruction in the best way to create Web sites with ASP.NET. This completely updated edition features new examples, and all code is written and tested for ASP.NET version 1.1.

What does this book cover?

Here's what you will learn in this book:

How to install and configure ASP.NET
Basic programming principles for Visual Basic. NET, such as variables, controls structures, and procedural programming
Techniques for applying these principles as you develop ASP.NET pages
The minimum amount of object-oriented programming necessary to work successfully and efficiently with ASP.NET
Key differences between ASP.NET 1.0 and 1.1, how to use the examples in this book with either version, and how to move from 1.0 to 1.1
Build ASP.NET sites faster using Microsoft's new, free WebMatrix tool
Techniques for extending your ASP.NET sites to incorporate related tools and technologies, such as using ADO.NET for data source access
Web Services for inter-Web site communication, and Server Controls for facilitating code maintenance and reuse
How you can make your ASP.NET site production-ready through proper debugging, optimization, and security

Who is this book for?

This book is for beginners who have no previous experience of ASP, VB, XML, object-oriented programming, or the .NET framework. A little knowledge of HTML is useful, but not essential. All the concepts you need to create dynamic ASP.NET Web sites are presented and explained in full.

Download Description

* Updated edition of one of the bestselling ASP.NET books of all time
* Teaches readers to build dynamic Web sites from the ground up using ASP.NET, the Microsoft technology for interactive sites, and VB .NET, the most commonly used programming language
* The expert author team assumes no previous programming experience, enabling anyone with some knowledge of HTML and Web site design to pick up this book and start creating dynamic sites
* The reorganization of several chapters offers a smoother pace for readers
* All of the code has been rechecked and verified to work with the newest ASP.NET 1.1 release
* Updates reflect security and performance improvements in ASP.NET 1.1
* A decreased emphasis on object-oriented programming makes the book even more suitable for beginners

Customer Reviews:

Do not waste your time!.......2006-06-12

I'm used to read books about technology. My career (Computer Programming) involves constant actualization and besides that, I love reading a software book.

But this specific book, have kept me trying for more that 14 months, even when I usually read books off this kind of subject (Web Development) in something between two weeks and two months.

I finally decide to dump it, since I can't spend more time. I just got another book for the subject. And I did it after convince myself of the fact that this book is so slow, redundant, and poor that it can kill my enthusiasm.

This book has probably 50 pages (if you filter from the 863 printed) of good information.

If your time is valuable for you, and you need or want to learn the technology, this book is not for you.

Pretty cool book!.......2005-09-08

I found it very interesting! I would indicate this book for people that have previous knowledge in ASP and web technologies, beceuse if you don't, the content of the book will appear too difficult, but it's not. It gives you a good overview and introduction to .Net plattform. I recommend!

A Cautious "OK".......2005-05-30

This book is very good at teaching the concepts, but there are many mistakes that will really keep you on your toes. You can work around them, to be sure, but just be forwarned. The mistakes are everything from spelling (not really a big deal) to code errors, like semicolons where they dont belong and malformed code. One exercise involves a database that is supposed to be included in the download (from their site) but is not. The "errata" page on Wrox's site suggests you do a Google search in order to find and download the database.
It is a good book for learning ASP.net as well as a good lesson that proofreading is important.

Great Way to Come up to speed on VB.Net.......2005-04-12

Not sure why some folks say the title is misleading, the book indeed is specifically geared towards the beginning ASP.NET/VB.NET developer. No where does it mention learnig VB Studio. In fact I have VB studio, but I downloaded the Web Matrix software (free from MS) and I find it very easy to use and a good development environment.

I found the book to be very accurate and moves along at a very good pace, not trying to overwhelm the reader with too much detail early on. If you like to learn by coding (getting your feet wet) then this is the book for you. I like this approach, because you sort of figure things out as you go along, and at some point you begin to see the "big picture".

The exaples are very well thought out, and appropriate for the concepts being discussed. This book has enough examples to make it a good refrence book.

Does NOT use VB.NET 2003.......2004-06-24

I am amazed that Wrox (AKA Wiley Publishing) would title a book in such a deceptive manner.

Purchased the book and first thing I did was read "What you need to use this book?" - it clearly states "You do not need Visual Studio.NET in order to use this book." Instead - they expect you to download something called a Web Matrix...

Sure - it uses the .NET framework 1.1 but to me, and I am sure the vast majority of developers, if one sees "with VB.NET 2003" they are not expecting to be taught how to write code in Notepad...

Book Description

What is this book about?

In Beginning VB.NET 2003, three expert authors guide you through the basics of building working applications, creating windows and boxes, handling unexpected events, using object-oriented programming, and more. You’ll learn to use menus, toolbars, dialog boxes, and other controls in Windows applications, and how loops and branching structures function in decision-making. You get a thorough overview of object-oriented programming concepts and theory.

After mastering these levels, you’ll be able to explore database programming, look into creating ASP.NET applications for the Web using Web forms, and get a basic introduction to XML. Finally, you can discover how functionality offered online can be integrated seamlessly into your applications with Web services.

What does this book cover?

Here just a few of the things you'll learn in this book:

Programming basics, how VB.NET functions, and the principles of the .NET Framework
How to work with data structures and build and deploy Windows applications
Object-oriented programming concepts and theory
Debugging and error-handling techniques
What you need to know about Web services and .NET remoting
How to build class libraries, create your own custom controls, and program custom graphics
Database programming with SQL Server and ADO.NET
A basic understanding of mobile applications and how to build them

Who is this book for?

This book is for beginning programmers who have chosen VB.NET as their first programming language, and also for programmers who know other languages but are new to .NET programming.

Download Description

What is this book about?

This book is intended to be an introduction to programming using VB.NET and a precursor to other titles that will discuss more advanced topics. Beginning VB.NET 2003, shows you how to get up and running with Visual Basic .NET or the Visual Studio .NET IDE. It also discusses what the .NET Framework is and why it is important. You then learn how to use loops and branching structures for good decision-making. The book also includes information on how to use menus, toolbars, dialog boxes, and other controls in Windows programs. Explanation of object-oriented programming concepts and theory are included to give the reader an understanding of its benefits.

What does this book cover?

In this book, you will learn how to

Build class libraries
Create your own custom controls
Program custom graphics
Access databases
Work with Web services and .NET remoting
Deploy your application

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as I had hoped.......2007-01-12

I looked this book over pretty well at Borders before buying it from Amazon, but was unpleasantly surprised once I began to read it straight through. Critical information is omitted from some topics. Continuity seems illogical. And the website, though expertly administrated, has a small subscriber base. The book is not very well organized and is carelessly written. For twice the price, the Deitel offering is ten times the tome.

How did this book get 5 stars by other reviewers.......2006-08-01

I am a seasoned programmer learning the .NET platform. At first this book seemed okay...the layout was pretty good and I found their presentation methods easy to learn from. Then I started running into some serious coding problems. Their ASP code examples are outdated and riddled with errors. No error errata on the website either to fix anything I saw. I spent more time trying to fix their stuff than I did acutally learning. It would be a good book if it wasn't for all the errors. They desperately need some technical editors... I wouldn't recommend this book at all.

Starts Simple, Goes Complex., Stays Microsoft.......2006-03-26

Visual Basic has now been around for some fifteen years. Through several versions it has progressed to be a fairly complex, fairly powerful language having been extended into the .NET family of languages, database connectivity, web functionality with both HTML and XML.

At 800 pages, this is a large book. It starts quite simply doing a little program where you type in your name and it comes back with a 'Hello' statement. From there it goes step by step to fairly complex programming using Microsoft's ADO.NET interface to talk with SQL Server.

Microsoft has established this programming evironment where everything about the language, the editor you use to program it, the utility routines you call on, the database you access has to be Microsoft product. This book fits into the 100% Microsoft environment. If your database is MySQL, this may not be the way you want to go. On the other hand, Microsoft rules the desktop environment so it may not be a bad idea.

A great start for new programmers.......2005-12-12

I recently purchased this book used here on Amazon. As I read it, I find that the material is very easy to pick up and I even find that I'm jumping ahead of the lessons and making my own code to do different things. This book is not the usual boring droning on type tech manual that I thought it would be. 5 stars.

Basic, procedural introducation to a language.......2005-08-19

Really needs more examples, more thorough technical information, and real-life coding solutions (eg. how to write a DB application for retail stores vs. how cats inherits the animal object). Overall, pretty weak.

Average customer rating:

Beginning VB .NET 2003
Willis Thearon
Manufacturer: Wiley-Dreamtech India Pvt. Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Visual Basic | Programming | O'Reilly | By Publisher | Books
ASIN: 8126505087

Average customer rating:

Beginning Vb.Net 2003

Manufacturer: Apress
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Visual Basic | Programming | O'Reilly | By Publisher | Books
ASIN: 1861008996

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