Isn't She Great? [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Michael Korda (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

For Jacqueline Susann, excess was the norm. She lived a life most people only dreamt about. She basked in the spotlight, and reveled in the glitz and glamour that made her a pop icon in the 60's and 70's. But beneath the flamboyant facade, she was tormented by a secret she desperately fought to keep hidden from the world.

In this audiobook adapted from his bestselling memoir Another Life, Michael Korda recounts his wild ride as Susann's editor. Not only does he relay the story of a woman who at 47 surmounted impossible odds to become the reigning superstar of pulp fiction with Valley of the Dolls, Korda provides a tantalizing glimpse into the bygone publishing scene of the era.

A poignant, funny look at a vivacious and brassy woman and the publishing world in which she thrived, Isn't She Great is a captivating insider's tale that only Michael Korda could tell.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Korda narrates this selection of excerpts from his autobiography, Another Life. The producer has somewhat misleadingly titled this production Isn't She Great and slapped pictures of Bette Midler and Nathan Lane on the cover, attempting to capitalize on the recent film about Jacqueline Susann's career as an author. Indeed, Korda did serve a term as Susann's editor, an experience he relates in the first segment. However, this is not ultimately, or even mostly, about Susann; it's a story about Korda, a man who has worked with many interesting and important writers as an editor for Simon & Schuster, and concerns the changes the publishing industry has undergone in the latter half of the 20th century. Promoting this as an audiobook only about Susann sells Korda and other authors he's worked withAJoan Crawford and Graham Greene among themAshort. His tales are interesting and written with a good eye for detail and humor. He is an excellent reader, and hearing the words in the voice of the author always adds to a memoir. With high production values, a fine abridgment, appropriate pauses between sections, and well-timed side breaks, this is recommended.AAdrienne Furness, Genesee Community Coll., Batavia, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Michael Korda is the highly respected, distinguished Editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster. His many books include Man to Man, Male Chauvinism, Power, Success, and Charmed Lives, as well as the bestselling novels Worldly Goods, Queenie, The Fortune, Curtain, The Immortals, and his memoir Another Life.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Audioworks; Abridged edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671045768
• ISBN-13: 978-0671045760
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,815,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Korda never claimed he did "discover" Jackie, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Isn't She Great? (Audio Cassette)

Korda makes it clear that Jacqueline Susann was already a huge celebrity due to the phenomenal success of her bestseller "Valley of the Dolls" when he was assigned to edit her next potboiler, "The love machine." He recounts many amusing anecdotes about how Susann merged the glitzy world of Hollywood with the staid world of publishing, forever changing it and paving the way for the Jackie Collins and Danielle Steeles of today. Korda's memoir of Susann is funnier, wittier, and more thorough than the disappointing cinematic slush adapted from it, "Isn't She Great" with Bette Midler and Nathan Lane (appropriately cast, but stuck with a dog of a script). The only frustration is reaching the end; this account really begins and ends with the author's relationship with Susann save for a paragraph or two of postscript. I will definitely pick up Barbara Seaman's biography of Susann, "Lovely Me," to find out more about this fascinating woman, but don't skip over this author's amusing and thoughtful reminiscence of a woman who used a lifetime full of showbiz experience to finally achieve the fame she never found as an actress or model by exposing Hollywood's seedy underbelly in print and hyping the book into middle America.

4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Michael Korda did not discover Jacqueline Susann, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Isn't She Great? (Audio Cassette)

There seems to be a debate who discovered Jacqueline Susann. Michael Korda has asserted in an article for the New Yorker, describing his experiences editing "The Love Machine", and getting know the famous authoress who wrote the novel. He fails to mention in the article he gave an interview to Barbara Seamam back in 86 or 87. She is the woman who wrote "Lovely Me, The Life of Jacqueline Susann." He has said in a couple of interviews he never talked to Barbara Seaman, but Barbara has the tape of the interview. Let's set the record straight once and for all. Jacqueline Susann was all ready a famous and established bestselling author, "Valley of the Dolls" when Simon & Shuster bought the hardcover rights to "The Love Machine." And the only reason why they bought the novel was because the editor-in-chief at the time had moved on to another publishing house, taking many key people at Simon & Shuster with him. Upper Management at Simon & Shuster needed a guaranteed bestseller for an upcoming list because of an important stock-holders meeting. That is the reason why Simon and Shuster published "The Love Machine." And Jackie didn't fail to disappoint them. "The Love Machine" stayed number one for over five months on the New York Times Bestseller List. And she taught the people at Simon and Shuster how to promote and sell a novel. Along with her husband Irving Mansfield, they pioneered the art of selling the popular novel.