Customer Reviews

After All

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book in a sitting,admittedly skimming certain parts.Although I am a big MTM fan, it whetted my appetite without satiating me...there is definitely a vague "arm's length" quality to this book noted by previous reviewers...MTM obviously suffered from a lack of connection with either of her parents as well as a lack of any kind of spiritual connection...I found the "vegetarian" chapter oddly placed and suspect readers might be more interested in how she keeps such an enviable physique.All that drinking and never a hangover,wow,what a charmed life...it was hard to picture squeaky clean Laura Petrie or Mary Richards smoking like a chimney, too.Although she states she's nothing like her TV characters, in the end the book made her seem a little one-dimensional,like a television actor.I still admire Ms Moore but I think some professional writing help would have greatly improved the quality of this work.True fans will probably enjoy it , but others should pass..

As a fan expecting a personal, if not detailed, autobiography of MTM, I came away very disappointed. Most of all, the relationships with Grant Tinker and other husbands/family members were covered at a very matter-of-fact and not intimate level. Most certainly, writing such a treatment is certainly MTM's right, but I came away feeling almost as having read a third-person biography rather than a first-person account of a fascinating life and career.

I read every word of this book (in about half an hour) and wish the white space at the end of two or three page "chapter" was filled and then some. This is an exceedingly superficial, detached treatment of very personal, sometimes revealing stuff. Yet why do I feel MTM managed to pull it off--telling me her secrets while keeping herself at armslength. Then again, she seems to keep at armslength from herself... There is information about The Dick Van Dyke show, the The MTM Show, MTM's alcoholism, diabetes, pregnancies and marriages, the deaths of her son, sister, and brother, her audience with the pope, her visit to Israel...all these things, yet not very much. Possibly one of the most fascinating lives in modern American entertainment, and so many details left out! Maybe Ms. Levine will write another book--maybe a book about each of the highlights (or lowlights) by themself.

"After All" is the titled used for Mary Tyler Moore's autobiography taken from the theme song of her hit seventies sitcom. An informative read, Mary takes us on her life's journey growing up in Southern California to becoming one of the biggest television stars of all-time. She accounts her years on the "Dick Van Dyke Show" as Laura, Van Dyke's TV wife, to her attempt at becoming her own person in her very own TV series. She talks about how hard it was for the creators to come up with the "Mary Tyler Moore Show", her battle with scripts in the first year, and her subsequent disappointment when the series closed. She discusses her battle with diabetes, her divorce from Grant Tinker and her new marriage to a plastic surgeon, and most daring the time when her only son accidentally shot himself. "After All" is one of the best memoirs I have ever read and it's a splendid addition to anyone's home library.

I'm amazed that this book is being hailed as one of the best celebrity autobiographies. MTM's book doesn't focus on any one thing long enough to be anymore than a glossy look at her career. The main problem is that the events in her life that are meant to be sympathetic come off as self serving. She points to the loss of her brother, sister and son in tragic deaths as events of major importance, but she spends more time describing a miscarriage she had than how these people were important to her. Their main imporatance seems to be the fact that they died, not that they ever lived. The books main strengths are the behind the scenes show business talk, although I don't MTM isn't a keen enough observer to bring her shows and movies to life for us. Instead, we get mostly stories about how people treated her. A quick, but mostly empty read.

I enjoyed the autobio of Mary Tyler Moore. She doesn't gloss over anything in her life. She talks to us frankly, which I like. Any MTM fan or fan of the show would like this book.

In "After All" Mary Tyler Moore writes openly about her
childhood,growing up in Brooklyn NY, then Hollywood.Her life
in showbusiness.Personal tragedy,loss,regrets and finally
being able to find the happiness within.You will feel her joys
and sorrows.You will laugh and you will cry.As I finished the
book this morning I felt I had lost my best friend.
Truly a remarkable book on a remarkable woman.

This is a book I keep on my shelf so that I can go back and re-read parts occasionally. I don't think that I'll ever part with it.

I'm an MTM addict--have taped many episodes of the MTM show and have watched them over and over.

So I knew I had to read this book and I'll admit that in a way I wanted even more self-disclosure. But then I'm a curious person and I love details. I rarely watched the Dick Van Dyke Show so I didn't even need this portion of the book.

I loved hearing about her marriage to Grant Tinker and about her love affair and marriage to Dr. Levine and was fascinated with her alcohol, drug, and smoking addictions. She was such a goody-goody character on the MTM show and so it was really quite a kick to find out that she was a bit different in reality. I really enjoyed hearing about the affairs she had which by her own admission were experiments in sensual pleasure more than anything else.

You have to feel such compassion for a woman who has had some terrible tragedies in her life--the worst would be the sudden death of her son. So terribly sad. She doesn't elaborate very much on her grief, but if one is a parent one doesn't need a detailed account--we can all imagine the devastation. I'm reminded of Elizabeth Edwards who wrote at length about her son's death. I don't think I would have wanted anything similar from Mary. She kept her deepest feelings a little more close to the vest as they say although she certainly didn't gloss over her pain.

I loved it. I thought there were some very personal, heartfelt feelings expressed throughout--it was particularly more revealing of the sexual Mary than I expected and I was most pleased. For me--a book to treasure.

Mary Tyler Moore displays a great talent for writing. She holds nothing back in her book, and is brutally honest. I can't imagine a person being more honest with themselves than she is in her autobiography.
It is a great read for all MTM fans.

Mary has a flair for writing which makes this book more interesting that your average celeb biography. Her life is fascinating, and she spares nothing in this engrossing book.