Customer Reviews

Ellen: The Real Story of Ellen Degeneres

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

 

 

I bought this book expecting a carefully researched, full biography on Ellen. Instead it was basically a rehash of magazine articles, videos, and news stories about Ellen and her Coming-Out. The author did not even interview Ellen, so we don't get a true, direct-source picture of Ellen's life. Instead, we have old information taken from other sources and condensed into this book. It doesn't sound like the author interviewed Ellen's closest friends and associates, either; I got the impression that a lot of the information was third- or fourth-hand, not directly from the sources. This book is crassly commercial and written at the time that public interest in Ellen was at its peak. It reads like a fan magazine and its sole purpose was to make money, not to provide an insightful biography of Ellen DeGeneres. I would only recommend it to those who no longer have access to the magazines and videos about Ellen's show and her coming-out.

AS AN ABSOLUTE ADMIRER OF ELLEN AND DESIRING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REAL LIFE OF ELLEN DEGENERES, I WAS VERY DISAPOINTED TO READ A BOOK THAT HAD NO IMPUT FROM ELLEN DIRECTLY. THIS BOOK WAS TOO INVOLVED WITH THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF THE GOINGS ON OF HER SHOW, THAN THE PERSONAL EVENTS IN ELLEN'S LIFE. OVERALL THE BOOK WAS WELL WRITTEN, BUT VERY UNEVENTFUL.

I'm giving this book 4 stars, because I'm a huge fan of Ellen, and as far as I can tell, this is the only biography available. If there were a few more biographies available, I'd probably only give it two stars.

This book reads like a newspaper written by a mediocre journalist. Or a compilation of a bunch of articles from Us or People. It's really annoying to read because of that style.

But, it does contain a lot of good information. It answered most of my questions that I had about Ellen. It doesn't have any direct interviews with Ellen, but I don't think that Ellen is going to say any more about her past than she has. In one book, Ellen says, "I can't remember anything about my childhood." And, I think that's probably true. That's probably why she makes a bunch of jokes about everything, because she's got a horrible memory.

And, this book is mostly about the TV sitcom, Ellen. Probably about 75% of it is about the sitcom, and the biography ends after the end of the show. So, since she's got a talk show, this book is really dated. And, three of the chapters are dedicated to various co-stars of the TV sitcom, so this book really isn't a 100% Ellen book.

So, if you're a huge Ellen fan like me, you will probably want to dredge through this book. For everyone else, I'd recommend passing on it and waiting for Ellen's next biography to come out in a few years.

I am an admirer of Ellen and applaud the difficult decision she had to make in order to live her life her way. This book, which was a fast read, left me wanting more.

Who is Ellen. What are her likes and dislikes. The book was a chronograph of her professional life and while she is "still a work in progress" it would have been nice to know a little more about who she really is as seen through the eyes of friends and family.

Brilliant description of Ellen's life so far. Detailed yet dignified and truthful. A brilliant read!!