Customer Reviews

Bob Hope: The Road Well-Traveled

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I had the grave misfortune of picking up a copy of Larry Quirk's "book" on Bob Hope a few days ago, and was simply blown away by the amount of garbage I've suddenly digested. Coming away from this book I wondered did Bob Hope really hated homosexuals, or is this volume truly about a homosexual author (Quirk) who just simply hates his subject because he made gay jokes---in the 1940's? Hack is too good of a description for Quirk.... sleaze bucket sounds just about right.....

This book has been returned-----AVOID

A book promising the "real story" of Bob Hope's rise from struggling vaudevillian to American comedy icon has a great deal to offer, but Lawrence Quirk's book fails to deliver on that promise. Among other things, the book is badly written as the author repeatedly goes off on tangents; One moment we're with Bob on Broadway, and then we're suddenly on the set of one of the "Road" pictures. Quirk seems to have an agenda with regard to sexual interests, suggesting that many stars thought to be completely heterosexual were, perhaps, not. However, these claims are attributed to no one and seem to be tossed in on a whim. A badly edited book (typos and contradictions about) I can think of nothing to recommend The Road Well-Traveled. I await the publication of a definitive Hope bio. I suspect that will come following the passing of the legendary comedian

I'm not a fan of Bob Hope but his omnipresence in rado, TV, and films has made him a part of the cultural landscape for all of my life. And I have warm memories of his TV specials, especially the ones from military bases around the world. Also, I am interested in early 20th century popular culture (early films, vaudeville, radio, early TV). I was disappointed in this book, mainly because the author's focus is narrow, and it's tone is gossipy. It lacked perspective and depth. While a professional historian might have produced a deadly dull book, author Quirk could have broadened his scope to include Hope's role in the history of radio and early TV. Ironically, for all of the stories of the ego-centered scene-stealing Bob Hope, we never get any understanding of how the image of this privately generous performer meshes with Bob the monster. Quirk seems to have repeated stories, interviewsm etc. without comment, analysis, or follow-up. I found myself flipping though the last few pages just to get through it.

Like many I am happy Mr. Hope made it to 100. Like many, I grew up watching his specials - like many I wanted to read more about this man. My mistake was getting this book. Naturally, it does cover his career; albeit, I think Mr. Quirk really couldn't find any true "dirt" so he implies alot. I think Mr. Quirk is more hung up on the homosexuals of the industry and how hard they had it that he makes out Mr. Hope to be some homophobe. Not a very good read, not really enjoyable. I do not find that I am a fan of Mr. Quirk's "writing" style. In all fairness he does make some interesting points, but they are not worth the read in what could have been a potentially good book.

If you want to read a really good biography on Bob Hope, read 'A Life In Comedy' by William Faith. This biography was not very impressive.

First of all Save your money and do-not purchase this book. Mr.Quirk seems to know what Bob Hope is thinking from his birth to the early 90s. This book ranks up with one of the worst books I have ever read. Mr. Quirk talks about homosexuality throughout this book,that makes you wonder if Mr.Quirk is gay himself. He states in his book, that in Vietnam homosexuality activity became more common among servicemen because of their womanless environment. This is an outright lie, there were thousands of Vietnamese prostitutes throughout Vietnam. In fact they would set up brothels outside every American base in Vietnam. Another misconceptions that comes out of his mouth (who knows what goes in it) is his assertion that the soldiers in Vietnam were mostly from working-class boys and blacks suggesting that they are uneducated, this is another lie, we had the highest educated soldiers at that time in Vietnam than any of America's previous wars. Two more little-known facts, are that most of the soldiers who fought in Vietnam where volunteers, and of the 58,000 who died in Vietnam, over 50,000 were white. One more thought about Vietnam, no one ordered us to see Bob Hope's show, in fact it was just the opposite it was extremely hard to get off duty to see one of his performances. This book is a perfect complement for an outhouse, so throwaway your old Sears catalog, because the pages of this book holds a load of crap.

This books recounts Bob Hope's life from England to recent history, and through all phases of his career. If you thought Mr. Hope was always a wonderful Mr. Nice Guy, then this book will dispell that myth. According to the author, although talented and hard working, Hope has always been self centered, an opportunist, and a womanizer. Did I believe all of this? Some, but I am not so sure it was a balanced story. I felt the author painted Hope's life from a pallette of dark colors. There seem be more emphasis here on the bad things about him rather than the good. The author references a number of resources, but very little directly from family members. Minor note - the author has a rich vobaculary - so keep a dictionary handy. There are also a lot of typographical errors. Interesting reading, but take it with a grain of salt.

Please don't waste a cent on this mess of a book. It's an absolute disgrace to the great talent of one of the world's finest entertainers *Bob Hope*. It was undoubtedly the most poorly written biography I've ever read, full of spelling errors and simple bad editing. One star was as low as I could go in this review.

Hands down the worst book I have ever read. As others have reviewed, full of gossip, obsessed with homosexual innuendo, patheic spelling and grammatical errors. Waste of time, not to mention money

This book is truly as bad as others have said. If you want a worse one, try Quirk's book about James Stewart -- long on innuendo, but no proof.