I, Tina [Mass Market Paperback]

Tina Turner (Author), Kurt Loder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 1987

Tina Turner's is the most fascinating true story in show business. From Nut Bush, Tennessee, to Hollywood stardom...from Ike's Kings of Rhythm to onstage with Mick Jagger and the Stones...from the lowest lows to the highest highs, Tina has seen, done, suffered and survived it all. And in her spectacular bestseller "I, TINA," she tells it like it really is...

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Tina's autobiography is just what you'd expect from the fiery superstar: high-powered, sexy, honest, with apparently nothing held back. Tina was neglected as a child and abandoned at age 10. At 18 she hooked up with talented piano player Ike Turner; two years later, in 1960, they had their first hit record. The couple enjoyed considerable material success, but life with Ike became hell on earth. In 1976, Tina got out, giving up all rights to her and Ike's assets to gain her freedom. Flat broke, she started a comeback that culminated with Private Dancer, her award-winning, multi-million selling, worldwide smash album. Tina has somehow remained compassionate, generous, sober, a gutsy survivor who never lost faith in her exceptional singing and performing talents. A good choice for public libraries. Thomas Jewell, Waltham P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“And what a tale she has to tell!” (Liz Smith, New York Daily News )

“Splendid...this is rock history with substance!” (Susan Brownmiller, Newsday )

“A page-tuner!” (People )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Avon (August 3, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380700972
• ISBN-13: 978-0380700974
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

149 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, May 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: I, Tina (Mass Market Paperback)

I love Tina Turner's music and I love her as a person now that I know the story behind her incredible life and career. I wish I had found this sooner. I was also surprised to find out she is a practicing Buddhist. Very cool! No wonder she seems like such a centered human being in all of her interviews.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Tina Turner. Since learning more about Tina's spirituality, I also highly recommend a little book by Taro Gold called "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life" which contains many inspirational thoughts based on the Buddhism Tina metions in her autobiography.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The strong survive, March 7, 2004

By 

JLind555 - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: I, Tina (Mass Market Paperback)

I remember first hearing Tina Turner when "A Fool In Love" came out in 1959 and being blown away by the sheer raw power in that awesome voice. For the next two decades, Ike and Tina Turner were household names for R&B fans, and few if anybody outside their inner circle knew the price Tina was paying for being part of the team. An abusive womanizer and control freak, Ike beat Tina with increasing violence over the ensuing 19 years as their fame grew and declined, until Tina finally reached inside herself for the strength to say "Enough".

A question frequently asked is why do women wait so long to get out of such relationships. Tina was bound to Ike by emotional and financial ties and her own insecurity. The devil you know may be better than the devil you don't; who's to say what's waiting on the outside might not be worse than what you escaped from? But one beating too many tipped the scales; for Tina, it was leave or be destroyed.

The story of her flight from Ike with thirty-six cents to her name; the subsequent lawsuits for breach of contract and her comeback to fame and fortune that topped anything she had known when she was part of Ike-and-Tina-Turner is well known enough not to have to recount here; but most of this book is a fascinating and well-written exploration of her childhood, her rise to fame, and the hell of her marriage with Ike, told by many different voices besides hers and Ike's that were witness to it all. We listen to Tina's own voice: "I gave in to myself. I went inside of me to help me. You can do it." We look at Tina now, heading for seventy and still drop-dead gorgeous, and we feel a deep admiration and respect for a very gutsy lady. This book is inspired reading.

Judy Lind

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars what love's got to do with it., November 10, 1998

By 

Yiannis Psaroudis "divastation.com" (soho, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I, Tina (Mass Market Paperback)

the ironic title of the film version of tina turner's _i, tina_ (_what's love got to do with it_) is answered in this tale of self-love and inner strength. chronicaling turner rise to superstardom from her days as a cotton picker in tennessee to an internationally-renowned rock diva, _i, tina_ is even more compelling that the film version. featuring interviews with everybody from tina's mother to former ikettes to ike turner himself (i don't know how they pulled that off!), the book is a multifaceted look at turner's life. the national coalition against domestic violence says that a woman is battered by her husband or boyfriend, in this country, every fifteen seconds, making domestic violence america's most common, but least reported, crime. while tina's story is all too common to a number of women, it is also probably one of the most inspiring pieces of literature to deal with the subject of domestic violence. if a poor, black girl from nut bush, tennessee can find the inner strength to not only escape an abusive reltionship, but also take on the music industry by making a comeback and the unprecidented age of thirty-seven, what's to say we all couldn't. _i, tina_ will appeal to those who are not music fans, but it's an absolute must read for anyone who has been following her career.