Barbra: The Way She Is [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Christopher Andersen (Author), Ellen Archer (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

She is a one-name legend, a global icon, the ultimate diva. Yet most of what we know about Barbra Joan Streisand is the stuff of caricature: the Brooklyn girl made good, the ugly duckling who blossomed into a modern-day Nefertiti, the political dilettante driving to the barricades in her Rolls-Royce, the Oscar-winning actress and bona fide movie mogul, the greatest female singer who ever lived, a skinflint, a philanthropist, a connoisseur and a barbarian, the woman whose physical characteristics are instantly identifiable around the planet-the tapered nails, those slightly crossed eyes, that nose, the voice. Even to the multitudes around the world who idolize her, Streisand remains aloof, unknowable, tantalizingly beyond reach. Until now. In the manner of his number-one New York Times bestsellers The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen taps into important sources-eyewitnesses to Streisand's remarkable life and career-to paint a startling portrait of the artist...and the woman.Whether you love her, hate her, or are simply spellbound by her titanic talent, Barbra is one thing above all others: a true American original.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The book reads like buttah!” (Al Roker, The Today Show )

“Readers who can’t get enough of Streisand will lap [this up]...” (People )

“...a scandalicious new bio packed with fresh dirt on the world’s most reclusive diva.” (New York Post )

“...hits all the high notes.” (USA Today )

“[Andersen] has a knack for ferreting out memorable anecdotes of the ‘no wire hangers’ variety.” (New York Times Book Review, Inside the List ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Christopher Andersen is the critically acclaimed author of twenty-five books, which have been translated into twenty-six languages worldwide. Formerly a contributing editor of Time and senior editor of People, he has written hundreds of articles for a wide range of publications, including Life, the New York Times, and Vanity Fair. Ellen Archer is an acclaimed audiobook narrator and winner of a coveted Audie Award for For the Love of a Dog (available from Tantor). Her recent audiobooks include the New York Times bestseller Smashed by Koren Zailckas, Unhooked by Laura Sessions Stepp, and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami. Producers and publishers describe Ellen as versatile, warm, intimate, fresh, fun, intelligent and sultry. She easily covers the spectrum between familiar and conversational and more authoritative and aggressive deliveries.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged,Library - Unabridged CD edition (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400132452
• ISBN-13: 978-1400132454
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,691,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why the vendetta?, June 12, 2006

By 

Cindy Gerlach Mueller "So Many Books, So Litt... (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barbra: The Way She Is (Hardcover)

Boy, does someone have an axe to grind with Barbra or what? OK, so it's not big news that Barbra Streisand can be difficult to work with, is a perfectionist, may have a high opinon of herself. But the author takes every opportunity to knock her. Even those who had to work with her on movie sets where she might have been demanding admit that her suggestions, her know-it-all attitude was often correct. And can Barbra do nothing right? Early on he takes her to task for her lack of grooming, later on for her fastidious dressing and nails. With this author, Barbra couldn't win. The entire book has a gossipy feel to it that made many of the observations suspect. Bottom line? Next time I'll look for an objective author, not someone out to malign his subject.

31 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars At Long Last TRUTH, April 13, 2006

By 

Samantha Roberts (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barbra: The Way She Is (Hardcover)

"Below is an e-mail written from Randy Stone, who is Barbra's sister's ex-husband:

Someone sent me an e-mail of an article on page six that I must respond to.It has to do with Barbra Streisand and it is a vicious lie. The article claims that Barbra was in Los Angeles on the day her sister got married and she refused to attend.

I'm sadly used to reading vicious lies about Barbra. but this one made blood boil. It is so far beyond the truth that I just want to mention a few things. I was the groom in that wedding so I want set the record straight. First of all, Barbra gave us our wedding, on her beautiful Malibu Ranch, and then she gave us a large gift of money to get us started on our new life together. A while before Roz and I actually got married, Barbra had been frantically working on making Yentl. When we told her that we were going to be married she was thrilled for us and agreed to be Roz's Maid of honor. She was so happy for her sister, that we finally came up with a date for our wedding, Barbra was willing to move post production on Yentl from London to Los Angeles which was going to cost upwards of $100,000 (a lot of money in 1983) so that she could be with us. Having been shown a portion of the film and knowing how hard she had worked for years making what Roz and I agreed would be her masterpiece, we made the decision to go back to Barbra and INSIST that she concentrate on her movie and not assemble a new post production team and schedule just for our wedding. Although Roz and I are no longer married, we remain good friends. As far as Barbra, I will never forget how warmly Barbra treated us as a couple and what an amazingly generous, kind and selfless person she was to me.

On the day of our wedding, she was calling every few hours to make sure things were perfect for us and had her assistants taking photos of us so that they could be shipped to London overnight so she could see them immediately. When I think of Barbra, the thing that comes to mind is that every time I ever spent time with her, she never talked about herself. She seemed so interested in every detail of my life and made me feel that everything I told her fascinated her. Since I was in my early 2Os at the time, I hardly believe that what I had to say was so interesting. But I do believe that she went out of her way to make sure that I felt accepted and cared about. She was a great sister-in-law."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Hard-bound Tabloid Story, February 11, 2007

By 

John Ashley Nail (Decatur, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barbra: The Way She Is (Hardcover)

"Barbra: The Way She Is" isn't a biography so much as a 412-page National Enquirer story, offering more gossip than insight on its subject. The author and his editors don't even bother to check simple facts like who directed "Patton" and what was Jack Nicholson's debut movie, calling into question other assertions Christopher Anderson makes in his book, like all but claiming Streisand had affairs with Bill Clinton and Prince Charles. I'll admit I couldn't put the book down, but when I was done I wished I'd spent my time reading something else.