Customer Reviews

Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Women

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Marie Brenner has written a profound collection of essays of some incredible, profound, and dare I say, "great dames." I laughed at some of their exploits. I cried at the tragedies that touched each of their lives in some way, and I came away a better person able to deal with life with a bit more perserverance than I knew I had. The women in this book were not perfect...far from it at times, but neither are any of us! Great Dames is really wonderful! Especially enjoyable were the chapters about Marie's mother, Thelma Brenner.

In her latest book,"Great Dames: What I Learned From Older Women," Marie Brenner captures the spirit of the ten women she interviews in a succinct articulate style. Ms. Brenner is an astute interviewer and analyst, in the style of Doris Kearns Goodwin, the presidential biographer. Her "stories" read as easily and intimately as works of fiction. She extracts the essence of each Great Dame--her phrasing is efficient yet rich--leaving the reader almost satisfied, maybe wanting just a little bit more story, a little bit more of the secrets behind the dames. Some further analysis of the relationships which drove the Dames to "Dameness" would have enriched the reading for me. On balance, Great Dames is great reading.

I couldn't get enough of Marie Brenner's story telling ability. I ate up every word she said about her mother.

I feel like all women could tell very similar stories about our own.

The book does a great job of showing the tension between endearment and the struggle for independence.

I thought the writing was superb, but I thought most of the women would make nasty role models. Many of them distinguished themselves by their dishonesty, willingness to sleep their way to the top, ability to take other women's husbands and extraordinary self-centeredness. I'd love to learn from older women, but most of these ladies would be my last choice. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the book. It's definitely a good read.

As a person who enjoys theater, film, and books, I'm always interested in character study.

Benner's book delves into the lives of a number of different American, female, 20th century public figures (including her mother with whom she had a loving, but troubled relationship). Rather than present these women in a one-dimensional way, Benner explored their lives in all aspects and shared the good, the bad, and the nasty.

What I took away from this book is that even the greatest, most admired women have their flaws. Although many of the women were privliged with beauty, wealth, and/or influence, they had to struggle to make their lives a success often in the face of tragedy and adversity.

All of Benner's "Great Dames" posessed unparalled tenacity, candor, and spark. This book was both food for the mind and the spirit.

I am still struggling with this book because I whole-heartedly agree with 'A Reader' in US about how they 'distinguished themselves by their dishonesty,willingness to sleep their way to the top, ability to take other women's husbands and extraordinary self-centeredness.' While I enjoyed Kitty Carlisle Hart and Constance Baker Motley, I shake my head as I read about the others. Please don't excuse their behavior because 'it was a different time'. Integrity is integrity and while some of these women accomplished some wonderful things, their journeys are not to be celebrated. Rather, here is how NOT to be a great dame.

Great Dames profiles the lives of ten prominant women who emerged during a time when women were not thought to have much influence. With the exception of Constance Baker Motley ,Kitty Carlisle Hart and her own mother, these women seem to excelled in marrying well, sleeping with the right person and being born into socially or politically connected families. While their stories are facinating and present insight into a time since gone, they are bittersweet and unsatisfying.

Well, the jury seems to be split on this book. The cover and sales pitch for the book do make it seem more "serious" than it actually is. But once you decide to have fun with this book, it's quite enjoyable. I enjoyed the character sketches very much.

This book is -- for the most part -- a really mean-spirited look at the lives and reputations of some of this century's most well known women. With the exception of the pieces on her mother, Kitty Carlisle, Constance Motley and Jackie Kennedy, the profiles entirely fail to capture the talents, charm and/or magnetism of some of the most celebrated women of our time. ALL of these women were accomplished -- and not just at snaring the right man, as Brenner would have it. There's alot of judgement in this book, but very little real insight.

The pieces on Pamela Harriman and Clare Boothe Luce are particularly unpleasant -- even the documented kindnesses of these women are subjected to high school pychologizing with conclusions that flatter neither their motives nor their results. Indeed, no opportunity is missed to portray their actions in the worst possible light, even when other interpretations of their actions may make just as much sense. Brenner quotes numerous "friends" of her various subjects but, as cliched as it sounds, with friends like these, who needs enemies?

The subtitle of this book is "What I learned from Older Women"; From the profiles of Luce and Harriman, it is apparent that Brenner learned the cattiness exemplified in Luce's play "The Women." The profile of her mother shows she also learned grace and tolerance. This book would have been so much better if only Brenner had extended the same grace and understanding to all her subjects that she demonstrates in writing about her mom.

Sorry to disagree with the raves but I found this book trite. Instead of real character study, we get bits and pieces. there is no thread to really connect these women except that they were all rich and/or famous. the author did not attempt to really get at the heart of her characters so we are left with magazine articles. This book is a complete waste of time. We learn little and what there is to learn about these intelligent and independent women is fluff. Very disappointing.