Customer Reviews

Dishing Hollywood: The Real Scoop on Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had so much fun reading this book! The stories are great and Miss Jacobson clears up a lot of false Hollywood rumors. The best part about this book is that it includes chapters about some forgotten stars like Carole Landis, Dorothy Kilgallen, and Lupe Velez. Anyone who is a fan of classic Hollywood and loves juicy gossip will want this book.

I fortuitously fell into this little gem the day after xmas.....a belated "BEST" present to myself.
While I already own Jacobson's two other books and hold her in high regard, this book proves that she is only getting better as a film historian and writer.
She assumes a slick, quasi-cinema noir persona in her narrative and mixes in a Sandra Lee-like easy 'recipe' that takes a not too subtle slam at each of the scandals/stories she relates. The vanity of the 'dish' (aka scandal/tragedy/hard luck story) only enhances the general readability of this book. This is a novel approach that makes an already interesting product even more appealing. I kept thinking that the author did a terrific job with the material she was presenting.
Aside from the kidding around, this book is really rather fair and factual. The author knows her stuff and relies on knowledgeable sources to substantiate or refute claims made in the book.
My only criticism of this book is that I wish it had been longer and had covered some other stories that I find interesting and want to know more about. Hopefully there will be a follow-up to this book which will do that.
Anyway, this is a very good read and worth the $ and time spent reading it.

My list of the 5 best books on Hollywood and Stars scandals

After an extensive research and readings, I have compiled a list of the best books on Hollywood and stars scandals.
The best in this rank order:

Number 1: Hollywood Earth Shattering Scandals: The Infamous, Villains, Nymphomaniacs and Shady Characters in Motion Pictures. It is the newest, largest and the most explosive. Lots of new stories and scandals we did not hear about or read in other books. The galleries of photos are impressive. Author, Maximillien de Lafayette. Definitely this is the very best. Rating: 5 stars

Number 2: Hollywood Babylon. Simply because it was the first, the pioneering work that opens the Pandora Box. Author, Kenneth Anger. This book is still interesting. Rating: 5 stars

Number 3: The Hollywood Book of Scandals. Some new stuff, but lots of rehashes. Rating: 3 stars.

Number 4: Sex lives of Hollywood Goddesses. Very very interesting, but little. However, juicy. Author: Nigel Cawthorne. Rating: 3 stars.

Number 5: Dishing Hollywood. Not much stuff but engaging. Author: Laurie Jacobson. Rating: 3 stars.

I love Laurie Jacobson's books and this one is the best yet!!! I love her "juicy little tidbits" about the stars of yesteryear. The stories are very entertaining and I love the fact that she also included recipes to match the stories. A very clever thing to do!!! It's almost like 2 books in one, a gossipy book and a cookbook! I hope she continues to research Hollywood and to write wonderful books about the stars!!!! My only complaint---it's not long enough!!! I am ready for a "Dishing Hollywood II".

11-25-03 I found Dishing Hollywood to be a refreshing, great book! Refreshing, in that the author grabs the reader from the word Go with earthy text, no punches pulled. I like that. It's a rare book that has those combined qualities! Ms. Jacobson clearly posesses the much-appreciated ability to not bog down the reader with overly-"politically-correct", "same old"-type stories that I've seen in some other authors' books. Dishing Hollywood cut to the chase and allowed me to see a much deeper and very colorful view of some of the celebrities and their scandles! The recipes are a new twist! I've read one other book from this author and, hence, knew this one would be a winner sight unseen! There's not a speck of ho-hum in her books! Thank goodness!

Rumors and myths about the some of the worlds most beloved stars shattered! Murder! Scintillating debauchery! Drug abuse!
And recipes too!

Jacobson pulls you in and takes you for a ride around the tawdry side of Tinseltown. Before you know it the book is done like a guilty cookie binge but alas you are left with the everlasting recipes. So moo down some more!

Whip up some goose liver pate and pretend you are Monty Clift. Fading away, hoping he will have his old beautiful face back up in heaven before La Liz had to save him in the wreck that smashed it.
Or wish a peaceful rest for the sweet Sharon Tate and her poor unborn baby over some cheese enchiladas. Sharon's last meal..

But that's just the book! Jacobson's writing style is a gas.
Imagine sitting down with a cigarette girl working Ciro's and having her tell alllll about Gary Cooper and his huge uh, salamie. (I'll save the thrills for the book.)
Unknown facts she's got but shy she's not!
Get this book! There is nothing else like it!

I highly recommend Dishing Hollywood The Real Scoop on Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals. Laurie Jacobson really knows her stuff and serves up heaping portions of scandal and intrigue of Hollywood's most notorious stars. I have read all of the author's books and Dishing Hollywood is Jacobson at her best. Jacobson brilliantly spins tale after sordid tale, "sprinkles" famous film quotes throughout each chapter and "tops" off with a recipe of the star's favorite dish (or, in some cases, their last meal!). Dishing Hollywood is a tasty treat, and I can't wait for Jacobson's next book!

Organized around the theme of food to the extent of featuring choice recipes with each biographical entry, Dishing Hollywood: The Real Scoop On Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals by television writer and producer Laurie Jacobson is a compelling look into more than forty tabloid-worthy exploits of Hollywood's stars ranging from the early twentieth century down to the present day. A shocking and lurid collection guaranteed to add spicy conversational anecdotes to one's Hollywood themed cooking, the recipes are as fun as the scandals are fascinating.

It's a good book. Easy-reading, but not hot enough for me.
I want to see steam...something to sink my teeth into, a hot salsa of scandals. This book does not have it. But, but, it is a good book. Give it a shot!

This book is very interesting, part cookbook part Hollywood scandles.

Laurie Jacobson delves into some of Tinsletowns most interesting stories.
From the murder trial of Spade Cooley (who killed his second wife in the 1940's) to the untimly death of the orginal Edna Turnblat (Divine) Lauie Jacobson tells about the scandals and then shows a recipe connected to that person (After talking about Roman Polanski she shares a recipe for the nachos he at before fleeing to Europe during his rape trial.)

A very interesting book.