Customer Reviews

Another Life: A Memoir of Other People

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Two television shows -- Brian Lamb's Booknotes, and Kitty Kelley's reception honoring Michael Korda (her editor and the author of this book)-- convinced me to read Another Life, and the decision was most rewarding. Korda had told Lamb that the common trait shared by best-selling authors -- regardless of style or genre -- is the ability to tell stories. Who would know better than someone who has been an editor at Simon & Schuster for 41 years? A voracious reader who has worked with hundreds of writers (one wonders just how many manuscripts he has absorbed during his career), Korda is a clever writer himself. Another Life is basically a string of hilarious anecdotes involving authors (not all of them household names) whose work he has edited. Excerpts from this book have appeared in The New Yorker (Korda's memories of legendary playwright Tennessee Williams and his ventures into other forms of writing ran in the magazine just this year), and Another Life can be enjoyed as a collection of magazine-length pieces. Writers as diverse as Jacqueline Susann, Richard Nixon, Joan Crawford, Truman Capote, Harold Robbins and Graham Greene (among dozens and dozens of others) are discussed, and Korda also intermixes am ample sprinkling of stories about his co-workers at S&S and his competitors at other publishing houses. Another Life not only lived up to my lofty expectations, it exceeded them. Highly recommended to anyone interested in how books come to fruition.

What a wonderful tour guide Korda turns out to be in this ultimate insider's look at trade publishing in the last half of the American Century. He's smart, self-deprecating, generous and altogether enthusiastic about his life's work and times. Almost every page of this book features an anecdote about a publishing legend. The publishing behind-the-scenes stuff is fascinating. If you've wondered where the more romantic notions people have about authors and their editors come from, this book will explain much. Korda is like a very entertaining teacher, and beneath the fun lies an inspiring, dedicated, hard-working, dues-paying professional. I would think this is a must read for anybody interested in publishing today.

Those who love the story of writing and how stories are made will love this book. Those who work closely with authors to help them develop their work will appreciate it even more.

Korda gives us a rare inside look at how publishers publish. He shares with us how he got into the business, how he climbed the S&S ladder, and how he came to run the editorial department of one of the most successful houses in publishing history. He tells us hilarious and eye-opening stories of Tennessee Williams and Jacqueline Susann and Harold Robbins. We learn just how much work editors put into creating bestsellers. We find out who the authors are and who the writers are. If you're like me, you'll read these stories as you would a bowl of candy. You'll eat and eat until you're scratching at the bottom of the bowl for more.

I don't recommend this book without reservation, however. Michael Korda, the famous editor, could have used even a junior editor to help him dig out his story. At times, the book thuds along, caught up in Korda's telling of the history of publishing in the United States. His asides into the money side of the business -- how publishing developed from a cottage industry into a mere cog in larger multinational entertainment companies -- is numbing. Still, I soaked in these parts of his story to get to the good parts.

Korda is not a great writer, though he worked with many, and has a wonderful story to tell. Skip past the dull moments if you like, but most definitely read this book.

Michael Korda's family biography, Charmed Lives, remains one of my all time favorite reads. This book, Another Life: A Memoir of Other People, came to my attention while doing research on the web regarding the meaning of memoir/biography. There has been some recent controversy over whether a memoir is based on facts or simply on subjective opinion. I will take Michael Korda's facts, and subjective opinion, anytime. He has a balanced point of view, and the gift of seeing us all as people. He also understands the nature and the nuturing of creative talent.

Another Life is a memoir of the publishing industry; it presents a view of how publishing used to be in the old days, the Golden Age of the famous name publishing houses. Though I think we are in another and very different Golden Age at present. I am entering the publishing business myself, and it gave me insights into truly how the business operates on a personal level.

I am now reading his biography of Ulysses S Grant, and am very much interested in his assessment of Grant. It stays with me. I hope Mr. Korda continues to write historical biographies. He has a lot to share with the world.

Michael Korda has written some interesting, gossipy books so I looked forward to more of the same. However, writing about the book publishing business is a let down for the reader expecting the same spice as in "Charmed Lives" or the semi-fictional "Queenie". Korda is at his best writing about his family and the famous and/or notorious people he has met. His style in "Another Life" is ponderous, over-explanatory, S L O W. He's trying to educate the reader about the publishing business AND do his name dropping tricks at the same time and it's a bad fit. After the first half, when I realized there was to be more exposition on book publishing, I started to skip parts and was relieved when I finished the book. And despite the protestations of humility, the author comes across as a snob and elitist. In his elliptical way, we he lets us know all about his positive attributes, but we are left to wonder about what he omits about his private life, mentioning such a minimum. For a book about other people, there was too much about the author, too much about HIS business career and too little about other lives.

I was surprised to find such varied reviews of this book which I consider one of the most enjoyable I've read in years, as gripping in its way as the best novel particularly for those interested in how publishing changed in past decades. I believe this book would be valuable for any author struggling to understand publishing today. I find puzzling some reviewer's comments condemning its writing which I considered (as an author) professional indeed (just goes to show....). Possibly they sought what the book isn't. Certainly it's not a tell all autobiography, comments on his personal (family) life being restrained. But obviously he wrote the book he intended: a narrative of his life in publishing and for this we should be grateful.

Michael Korda is like a garrulous relative at a family gathering who just won't shut up. There are a few (a very few) amusing anecdotes in this overly long tome, but oddly enough, I can't think of any just now. The one about Harold Robbins was sort of interesting, but then again, why would I be interested in Harold Robbins? It was surprising to learn just how much an editor contributes to an author's manuscript (if this is indeed true. Given the apparent size of Korda's ego, I wonder if he places a bit too much importance on his worth.), but after a while the book just gets tiresome and repetitive. Korda seems to have led an interesting (and very privileged) life, and has known a lot of people--too bad he can't convey it in a more interesting manner. And I got a little tired of hearing about what a phenomenally best-selling author he is--although none of his previous books are in print! Given the quality of the writing in this one, I'm not surprised. And the "I'm just a humble editor at heart" schtick at the end of the book just didn't ring true. Korda might be editor-to-the-stars, but humble he is not.

I loved this book! The stories are hilarious at times -- especially about Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Harold Robbins, and his first boss at Simon and Schuster. I'm an editor myself, so I'm completely biased, but his insight into the editing process and the publishing business is exceptional, and the book was a joy to read. I've been telling people stories from the book, and highly recommend it to anyone who's in the publishing business or who is (or wants to be) a writer or editor. This book was a lot of fun -- I didn't want it to end. 

We have all read countless books about the movie indutstry, the TV industry, theatre, etc., but how many books have been written about the workings of the book publishing world - and who'd have dreamed it would be so fascinating?

Kudos, Korda. I bought this book with low expectations but was pleasantly surprised to find myself entertained, informed and completely engaged. This insider's view of the evolution (some may say devolution) of the publishing industry over the last thirty-odd years filled in a lot of missing blanks about where books are born and how they die.