Customer Reviews

Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria: The Tumultuous History of All in the Family

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thought while reading this book how thoroughly done it was. I thought about how much I loved All in the Family, how connected I felt to each character, how I identified with Mike, Gloria, Edith and even Archie. How real it was to me. When a piece of literature, brings back all of those feelings and memories, it is something to remember. Pictures, stories, Archie-isms and an episode guide are just a few things that make up this book. I recommend it to all Archie Bunker fans and haters alike. This book is one of the best documentations of characters you love to hate, that I have ever come across.

If you love the show ALL IN THE FAMILY like I do you will find this book very interesting. It gave you a better outlook of how the show was written and why. It told of the actors and what they gave to the show. It told of how CARROLL O'CONNOR really had to fight the producers and writes to make it the show that it became. It was because of Carroll O'Connor that the other actors finally spoke up and they all worked together. This book proves that it was CARROLL O'CONNOR that really made All In The Family.Everyone needs to read this book and they will come away with a better outlook of the show.

I bought this book because I enjoy watching "All in the Family" reruns on TV Land. It's a great show. This book tells the history of how the show was formed, written and produced, but you don't hear from the actors themselves very much at all.
I want to know how the four actors felts about these roles, about their day-to-day adventures while filming and how they felt about each other as professionals and individuals. This book didn't answer those questions.

The author of this book merely went through some old magazine interviews and pieced together this book about All in the Family. The author also wrote books on "The Honeymooners," so it's no surprise that throughout the book she compares All lin the Family with The Honeymooners, though she never really makes her case. Other than one chapter near the end that analyzes the controversy over the such, this ends up being an enlarged TV Guide-style article praising the series without going into any depth. It does have an episode guide but the books is just the minimal that could be written on the subject and just about anyone who watched the show could have done it as well as this author.

First there was Duffy's Tavern, then the Honeymooners, (Til Death Do Us Part in the UK) and before Moe's Tavern was ALL IN THE FAMILY. The enormous impact this show had on American society with its controversial subject content and very un-Father Knows Best language and worldview is unquestionable. It was the show that could anger and shock you and drive you to tears one moment, and in the blink of an eye, have you rolling on the floor in laughter. It was one of the first shows to deal with Women's Issues, Bigotry - - no topic was too controversial. This book will help you appreciate it... and yes, it has an episode guide, the trivia and all that stuff too. It was the show that made us look at ourselves and sparked passionate arguements. This is a fascinating, yet incredibly readable history of the show, balancing between sociological analysis and the stuff that any true fan or addict would want to know. Thumbs up for TV fans, and people like me who grew up on it and were deeply effected by the episodes.

The best part of this book is the episode guide at the back. The rest of the book is average--not a lot of surprises or previously unknown facts but not a bad read.

"Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria" is a very informative book about the classic '70s sitcom, "All in the Family." I enjoyed this book because it was a lot of fun to read. The author included a lot of great facts, pictures and information that has otherwise gone unpublished. Although the book was written over 20 years ago, it's still fascinating and just as important today as it was when it was first published. If you're like me and consider "All in the Family" one of the greatest American television shows ever, you must read this book.

As a fan of the greatest sit-com in history, I found this book to be very fascinating, and entertaining. It gives much insight into the show's history. Highly recommended!

This book gives condensed bios on AITF creator Normal Lear, the producers, writers and cast. The origins of the show itself are told from Lear's own home life with his father, and his inspiration from a British sit-com. The business of network television in the late '60 and early '70s is described, revealing just how risky a concept AITF was in a TV culture filled with rural comedies. The book gives inside view of how the show was taped, with lots of interesting tidbits. (Like the carpets on the living room floor were painted on, and Archie's shirt was deliberately drab because a true white shirt would "burn" on camera.) The book also chronicles the growing phenomenon of the show, season by season, and its impact on TV and the American culture. This is a comprehensive history of one of the most evolved and beloved shows on TV. The pages are filled with photos, and the book also features an episode guide.

I love this book.One of my all time favourite shows.With it's share of hilarious episodes as well as mind boggling episodes."Archie Is Branded"and"Edith's 50th Birthday"were two episodes that I found to be frightening.This book has everything you want to know about All In The Family.With an episode guide included.I highly recommend it.