Customer Reviews

Buster: A Legend in Laughter

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

 

 

Poor writing. Poor spelling. Poor research. Poor content.

This book is doo doo.

This is, without a doubt, one of the worst books I've read in recent memory. It reads like a painfully long book report on Buster Keaton written by a junior high school student: short, awkward, repetitive sentences chock full of misspellings, grammatical errors, overused superlatives, and excessive generalizations. As if that weren't enough to dissaude anyone from trying to read his work, the author included a plethora of factual errors as well. I'm ashamed our public library actually carries a book this bad, but at least I didn't waste any money on it.

This embarrassing book has so many factual errors it is difficult to know where to start pointing them out. One example will suffice: the author lists Danny Kaye AND Donald O'Connor as playing the lead in the biopic THE BUSTER KEATON STORY. Interesting sounding 'facts' abound. No proof is ever offered that these events, totally unknown to other Keaton biographers, ever occurred. I have to give them the same credence I did the Kaye/O'Connor credit. And how dare he repeat the old saws about the Fatty Arbuckle scandal? This author's main source of research appears to have been HOLLYWOOD BABYLON. This might have made good fiction if the writing style were not so excruciatingly bad. Avoid like the plague.

One question kept running through my mind as I read this book (or, rather, read the first half before I threw the thing out)....Did this author do any actual research for his information??? I noticed many glaring contradictions or falsehoods troughout the book, but chalked these up to the possibility of differing reports from interviewees. But, as soon as I read that DANNY KAYE starred in The Buster Keaton Story (actually starred Donald O'Connor), I promptly recycled the book and went in search of something (ANYTHING) better that may have been written about the greatest film comic of ANY time. Mr. Edwards, please stick to criticizing film....don't actually WRITE about it!

A DAMNED INTERESTING LOOK AT KEATON'S CAREER AND ESPECIALLY LIKED THE FAIR WAY THE AUTHOR COMPARES THE TWO FILM COMEDY GODS -- KEATON AND CHAPLIN. GOTTA ADMIT THAT ONCE I STARTED READING THIS BOOK, I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. EVEN WORSE, I HAD TO GO AND RENT SOME KEATON VIDS TO CHECK OUT WHAT THE AUTHOR WAS REVEALING REGARDING THE STUNTS AND STUFF. PRETTY AWESOME BOOK!!!!!! ONE PROBLEM: AFTER READING THE STUFF REGARDING FATTY ARBUCKLE, NOW I WANNA READ A BOOK ON THE ARBUCKLE SCANDAL (THE AUTHOR CALLS IT THE DAY THE LAUGHTER DIED) AND CAN'T FIND ONE

Finally read this book after numerous recommendations. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Great look at Hollywood history and the chronicling of Keaton is awesome (and thanks for the secrets to his great stunts). If this writer writes all his books in such a way, I am really looking forward to his next one! As a fan of Hollywood bio's, I highy recommend this one (as if anyone really cares)

First of all, thanx to the people who read and reviewed this book, and thanx to all on the net who told me about it. I went out this weekend to buy it, and as soon as I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. The author (Larry Edwards) sure knows how to write a book with all the usual dribble. Great ancedotes and the Hollywood history of the time is written in such a way you feel like you're there. I also feel the comparison of Keaton and Chaplin was done in a very fair way. SIMPLY PUT, THIS IS A GREAT BOOK and I am looking forward to his other AND ACCORDING TO AMAZON, THE NEXT ONE IS A BELA LUGOSI BIO ----AWESOME