Customer Reviews

If I Only Knew Then...: Learning from Our Mistakes

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Remember when Archie Bunker met Sammy Davis, Jr.? You probably do: that episode of "All in the Family" was iconic television - a memorable moment. You'd be surprised to learn who wrote the script for it: I was. That answer and many more are tucked away inside If Only I Knew Then..." by Charles Grodin.

What happened when Carol Burnett met Cary Grant? Carol tells you right here. It's a moment you'll long remember-Carol does.

How did Goldie Hawn feel as she left the popular TV series Laugh-In? What lessons did she take from Laugh-In as she moved to a new career in movies?

How did actor Gene Wilder meet director Mel Brooks? Hint: a woman was involved. Wilder and Brooks went on to combine their talents in many successful movies.

Paul Newman, Rosie O'Donnell, Robert Redford-the list goes on and on. Deeper than just `celebrity gossip,' these vignettes provide an inside look at what actors, artists, television personalities and others have learned from life-they share not only their wisdom, but the difficult ways they acquired it.

Charles Grodin has compiled the life lessons of many of his friends so that the rest of us can learn from their experiences. Meanwhile, Grodin is donating 100 percent of his book royalties to an organization that serves the homeless. Obviously, he's not in this for the money. Instead, he is genuinely trying to pass along collective wisdom.

Pick up this highly readable new book and start reading anywhere: you won't put it down!

Armchair Interviews says: Charles Grodin is a comedian, actor and former talk show host.

I really enjoyed this book. There are stories from different famous people about a mistake they have made and what they learned from that mistake. The stories are often funny and sometimes sad, bringing a tear to your eye. It's a great book to take when you are waiting at the doctor's office. I read some stories to my 15 year old son that he found very interesting, and lead to some interesting conversations. I highly recommend this book.

Some very touching stories about people's mistakes in life, and how they overcame them to have successful careers. I thought Robert Towne's story about Robert Evans and the story behind the making of "The Two Jakes" was hilarious. There's a bit of something in here for everyone - along the lines of "Chicken Soup for the Soul." Found myself laughing out loud at one point, and at another point wiping away a tear. Highly recommended.

Charles Grodin has assembled eclectic information from many interesting people - much of which is valuable - and gives his proceeds to a very worthy cause. Great gift item.

If you can admit that you are not perfect (yet), and want an instruction book for life, this it it. Buy it. Read it. Learn from it.

Want to learn from other people's mistakes? This book might help if you happen to read the appropriate story. Overall, I would say this is a mixed bag. Some vignettes are funny, poignant, heart-felt. But for some, you wonder why Grodin bothered putting them in the book. And who are some of these people anyway? Certainly, I am impressed with the diversity of the author's friends and acquaintances. The idea for the book has merit because we all want to learn from our mistakes or missed opportunities. A light read except for those stories which contain the gravitas that many clearly lacked.

Everyone can look back on their life and describe a significant mistake they've made and the lesson they learned from it. But how many of you would be willing to write it down and have the world read about it?

Charles Grodin found over eighty people to contribute to his collection of essays in If I Only Knew Then..., and the net profits from book sales go to HELP USA, a not-for-profit organization. HELP USA's mission is to empower the homeless and others in need to become self-reliant, an excellent cause in this reader's book.

Many of the contributors are celebrities such as Alan Alda, Carol Burnett and Ben Stiller. Others are accomplished and well-known people in the industries of politics, business and Hollywood.

Sally Kellerman (Hot Lips from the movie M*A*S*H) learned what happens when you play hard-to-get with Marlon Brando. Judge Judy got a lesson in how to gain respect as a woman. Senator Orrin Hatch regrets voting against the Martin Luther King holiday.

Some of the essays are entertaining, the lessons poignant and universal. Others seemed to have missed the point, or were turned in like last-minute homework assignments, perhaps out of guilt or obligation to Grodin.

One lost lesson in particular comes from Leonard Nimoy, who still bristles over the memory of inappropriately naming his book I Am Not Spock. He declares that he is still unconvinced he was wrong. He writes, "Live and learn," but did he?

This book feels like it was put together more for the sake of HELP USA than for the readers. If I Only Knew Then... hits and misses. The "hits" are moving and, at times, heartbreaking. If you do decide to purchase this book and read selectively, do not miss the stories by Barbara Feldon (from TV's Get Smart) or Sheldon Schultz. Their lessons anchor the book, providing meat and meaning.

The misses, however, are a tad boring and blowhardy. It's like when you're mingling at a party and some clueless guy sidles up and chimes in within seconds as if he's with the program already and rather misses the point, contributing little, while you make excuses to escape what was, just a minute ago, a lively conversation.

Maybe we're not meant to take anything substantive away from some of these stories. Or maybe, if the authors are neither famous nor literary pros, we aren't that interested. If the little boy next door is selling magazine subscriptions to buy uniforms for the school band, should you subscribe to three or four periodicals, including Tedious Times and Pointless Monthly in order to support a good cause because you also get Entertainment Weekly out of it? Well, that's up to you.


Reviewed by Margaret Andrews for Curled Up With A Good Book

This was an enjoyable book and a quick read. It was interesting to read what notable people felt were learning experiences for them and why they thought so.

The concept of this book is to get celebrities to talk about "mistakes" they have made and what they have learned from them. Unfortunately, the book lacks any editorial direction and the stories range from inspiring to baffling--and often the reader can't even figure out what the point of the story is.

Is is supposedly "authored" by Charles Grodin but there is no evidence of what he did to compile the book other than contact some of his friends. He writes a couple of pages and that's it--why is his name on the cover?

A few of the essays are well written and thoughtful, but many sound like a star just told someone a story and a transcriptionist put it on paper.

Many of the stories shouldn't have been included--they don't illustrate the point of the book. Don't include a famous person just because they contributed one meaningless paragraph! (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Judge Judy, Walter Cronkite, Paul Newman). A lot of the essays are too short and don't contain enough details to make the story interesting.

And politicians should have been left out--they ended up using the story to make themselves look better instead of humbly offering a glimpse into the life of a real human being. Yet Grodin allows a number of liberal political comments to be included that bash conservatism.

There are some good things about the book--Alan Alda, Leonard Nimoy, and writer Gil Schwartz (who does a nice job explaining different types of mistakes before doing a poor job explaining his father's death).

But what was the point of Sally Kellerman telling us that she wished she would have slept with Marlon Brando when she had the chance? Or Newsweek writer Jonathan Alter changing his mind on interrogating terrorists? Kathie Lee Gifford rambles and makes no sense. And Shirley MacLaine is just nuts, while insulting president Bush and making no contribution to the book's subject other than confirming that her inclusion was a mistake.

The book is a great concept that falls flat due to bad editing. Dump the weak stories and push the good writers to tell us more. Namely, there are too many mistakes in a book about making mistakes.

This was the audiobook version. It would have been nice to have the actual celebrity reading his or her words. A couple of stories were interesting but most were not. It was a case of out of touch celebrities telling pointless stories that don't relate to the average person. I wish I hadn't bothered to listen to it. Not recommended.