Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son [Hardcover]

Joel Siegel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2003

Good Morning America 's beloved movie critic shares with his son--and readers--what he's learned in fifty-eight years of an extraordinary life in this poignant, funny, wise, and entertaining memoir. . At the age of fifty-four, renowned movie critic Joel Siegel both became a father for the first time and learned that he had cancer. Now, in Lessons for Dylan , Siegel shares all the things he wants his son to know--in case he's not around to tell him--about his family history and Jewish heritage, life's pleasures and sorrows, the challenges of growing up (at any age), and, most important, who his father is and what he values. Threaded throughout are stories from Siegel's extraordinary life: his path from an immigrant neighborhood to national television; his work in the civil rights movement, and his career as a critic. Siegel candidly addresses the more difficult passages of his life, including the end of his marriage to Dylan's mother and the experience of having cancer. But he also shares great stories from show biz (featuring Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Paul Newman, Brad Pitt, Stevie Wonder, all four Beatles, and many more); lays out the History of the Jewish People in Four Jokes; and offers fatherly advice on sex ("ask your mother"), work, and what to cook for Rosh Hashonah (recipes included). Full of humor and wisdom, common sense and self-revelation, Lessons for Dylan offers lessons for all of us about what really matters in life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The day Good Morning America entertainment critic Joel Siegel brought his son Dylan home from the hospital was also the last day of his chemotherapy for colon cancer. Siegel began writing Lessons for Dylan two years later, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The result is a tender and entertaining "just in case" autobiography/tutorial for his son. Siegel’s life is the curriculum; he instructs his son with vignettes from the family album, his battles with the "witch of cancer," his divorce, the death of his first wife, adventures as a reporter, and his star scrapbook including interviews with the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and Brad Pitt. He writes movingly of the Holocaust’s shadow in his family. Yet the Jewishness he passes on to Dylan is more cultural--a recipe for brisket, a history of Judaism in four jokes, and a great introduction to speaking Yiddish.

Siegel's self-portrait has a Zelig-like quality: he registers voters in Atlanta, meets Martin Luther King, attends a Ku Klux Klan meeting, writes jokes for Bobby Kennedy, visits Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love and invents German chocolate for Thirty-One Flavors in Los Angeles. He is an engaging writer, stronger in storytelling than self-reflection. His occasional self-importance, saying for example, "that was before I was Joel Siegel," detracts from his wonderful intention of talking to his son. When his reporter’s voice speaks louder than his newfound wisdom as a father, Siegel seems to be writing for a wider audience. --Barbara Mackoff

From Publishers Weekly

Good Morning America's entertainment critic Siegel, who at age 54 was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the birth of his first child, has turned his potential tragedy into a warmhearted memoir written as letters to his son, Dylan. Siegel covers a wide range of topics and tells many fascinating stories, ranging from details of "three cancer surgeries and chemo and CAT scans and six months of radiation in the past five years," to personal descriptions of movies that he hopes to watch with his son one day. He offers anecdotes from his various jobs writing in advertising, for radio and as a joke writer for Bobby Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. He also gives great short histories of his previous marriages, his famous interview subjects (including all four ex-Beatles) and his Jewish heritage, including a hilarious glossary of Yiddish words that includes 29 words for "schmuck." Most touching are Siegel's various pieces of fatherly advice, from how to recognize one's life work ("follow your passion") to how to deal with bullies ("If you fight back and get hit, it hurts a little while; if you don't fight back it hurts forever"). While Siegel is currently healthy, his memoir stands as a powerful account of a life well lived and as a beautiful testimonial to the love of a parent for a child.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 382 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (May 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586481274
• ISBN-13: 978-1586481278
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,655,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU'LL LAUGH. YOU'LL CRY. YOU'LL LEARN YIDDISH., November 10, 2003

By 

Linda (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son (Hardcover)

I've trusted Joel Siegel's movie picks since he joined the ABC New York affiliate in 1976, and 99% of the time he's been right. I borrowed his memoir from the library and enjoyed it so much I bought a copy to reference again and again. This book has it all: Love Stories. History Lessons. Comedy. Tragedy. Celebrity Gossip. Career Tips. Recipes. A Glossary of Yiddish Expressions. Siegel fought for civil rights, met the Beatles, rubbed elbows with Hollywood glitterati, battled cancer and lived to tell his tale. What started as a legacy for his young son is a legacy for us all. With wit, humor, and brutal honesty, Seigel reminds us what it's all about: Family. Love. Chicken Soup. Pair it up with All I Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten and you have the blueprints for a happy, full, rich life.

Another great read on the importance of family and personal success: Use What You've Got & Other Lessons I Learned from My Mom by Barbara Corcoran

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, July 5, 2003

By 

Vicki McCandless (Dallas, Tx United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son (Hardcover)

A look at Joel's amazing life and the unconditional love from a father to his son. Anyone who's had a cancer experience in their life will find themselves in the pages of this book. It will make you laugh and cry out loud.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons for Dylan and whoever reads it..., June 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son (Hardcover)

A terrific book that reminds you of what is most important in life - love and laughter! I laughed and cried and picked up a whole lot of "trivia pursuit-like" knowledge along the way.