Customer Reviews

The Lucy Book: A Complete Guide to Her Five Decades on Television

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First lemme say I am a huge sitcom fan and I think Lucille Ball is the #1 queen of TV. This book included a detailed description of every episode of I LOVE LUCY and all the other sitcoms that Lucy stared on. I enjoyed a lot of the book. But I felt like it was missing something. Some of the details were very boring such as the furniture being changed constantly on I LOVE LUCY. I wanted to hear more commentary from Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, but for some reason their comments in the book were rather brief. THE LUCY BOOK was written almost like a textbook. It would have been more interesting if it were more fan-oriented. Some months back I read an excellent book COME AND KNOCK ON OUR DOOR about the sitcom Three's Company. And I think THE LUCY BOOK would have been much more interesting if it were written in the same manner. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting factual accounts about Lucy's TV sitcoms (such as dates and times). But I do not recommend this book to anyone who wants to have an entertaining reading experience. However if you do want to read a really good book about Lucy I recommend the book LOVE LUCY which was written by Lucille Ball. And if you're interested in books about sitcoms in general then I recommend: COME AND KNOCK ON OUR DOOR, GROWING UP BRADY and ARCHIE AND EDITH MIKE AND GLORIA THE TUMULTUOUS HISTORY OF ALL IN THE FAMILY.

If you LOVE LUCY, then this is the book for you. It is an encyclopedia of every single TV appearance Lucille Ball has ever done. Everything from commercials, variety show appearances, Award shows, guest appearances, and, of coarse, her four television series: I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy. The book is filled with tidbits of information which will make watching an episode as if it were the first time. Mr. Fidelman's writing style is easy to read and filled with humor and wit. This is a really fun book to read! If you need a reason to watch a Lucy program for the one thousandth and one time, this book will provide more than a few. I LOVE "The Lucy Book!"

... because it's all here--backstage gossip, production info, out-take dialoge and best of all its researched, researched, researched. This is for those of us that can recite whole snatches of dialoge, who wondered about odd cuts and gaffes, critical (but loving) comment and not just the "I Love Lucy" series but tons of things on the uneven "Lucy Show" and the rest. Geffrey is the ultimate fan and he presents the information fairly and if I may say so, like a gentleman. (Note: Steve Allen writes a forward and is quoted--intriguingly--but is not the co-author as this amazon.com heading would imply) Great, funny and touching quotes from Lucie, Desi Jr., Gale Gordon, etc, as well as Desilu regulars like Kathleen Freeman, Doris Singleton, Shirley Mitchell and the whole gang. This book has been years in the making. Your copy will be dog-eared and falling apart quickly if you use it for constant reference. Go ahead and buy a second! : > Great companion to the "Desilu" book.

This book is the definitive book in Lucy's tv appearences. Dont pay attention to the other reviewers who claim this book has too much information, this book is amazing. I have been a Lucy fan for 10 years(since I was 5) and have read tons of biographies on Lucy and they all contain the same infromation that we can eaisly find on the internet. The two biographies Love, Lucy and Desilu are very factual and are probably the best two Lucy biographies I have ever read but this conatins the most information I have ever read about her tv appearences. This covers everything, even when they did that thing with Lucy on the show The Nanny. This gives peoples insight from people who worked with Lucy including Vivian Vance and also has what Lucy and her kids had to say about some things. And it goes beyond listing details about her four comedy series, it lists talk show appearences, game show appearences and much more. If you want to know about a certain series she did or about certain talk show apperances then you are sure to find it in this book. I think I even remember seeing something about some episodes that were scripts but they were never rehearsed or filmed. If you are a new or old Lucy fan or a fan of someone that worked with her then you need this book!

The epitome of Lucy books, this is a chronolical listing of every major Lucy appearance ever; including a brief description of each one and 33 b/w photos. Don't hesitate, this is THE book to purchase!

what can i ad to the glowing comments above except to say that i've read everything on lucy since bart andrew's original, but this book is just amazing for the depth of information, the scope of the interviews and fact that its all presented so entertainingly. this is not a book you'll put on your shelf and just pick up to find out info on a specific episode of I LOVE LUCY. you'll want to read in from page one because its a fascinating biography without rose-colored glasses. this is the perfect gift for lucy fans! and it is sure to be the most sited reference tool for any lucyphile.

This is a great book that is sure to be worn out by the time you're done reading it. It is great for the Lucy fans (like me) who were not alive during Lucille Ball's active TV career and may have not caught every episode of Here's Lucy or the Lucy Show or even Life With Lucy. It sets straight the rumors or stories that have been mis-told throughout the years. With valuable interviews from Desi, Jr., Lucie Arnaz, plus people who have worked with her over the years like Herbert Kennwith, Maury Thompson, Mary Jane (Croft) Lewis, Doris Singleton, Milton Birle, Madelyn Davis, Bob Carroll, Jr....the list goes on and on.
I like the way the author gives a synopsis of each episode or show Ball was in and then gives a commentary about it, whether it was good or bad, or little known facts about the episode itself. After reading plenty of other Lucy books, I still found this one very informative and quite interesting to read. It is laid out by season (years), and the episodes of her regular series are listed in the order they were aired, not the order they were produced. There is even a Lucy Trivia quiz in the end.
For those who have thought they had read every Lucy book they need to, this one is a must-read!

This book is really a must have for any Lucy fan. Although sometimes there are comments about Lucy that some people might find offensive like saying she looks tired or puffy or something like that it only says it because it probably was how she really looked. Lucy had a very busy life and was allowed to look like that a couple of times just like a normal person who has a bad day. This book has information about many programs that even I haven't seen and there is a lot of information about each one including interviews that it makes it seem like I have seen it. I read up on this book in between commercials when I watch a Lucy show and you will be surprised on how many things you have never noticed before like when there is a window with no glass and weird things you wouldn't think of noticing. All in all I think this is a great book that you should own.

I disagree with the reviewer who said this book is not for the "true Lucy fan." I consider myself to be a pretty true Lucy fan, and I have read almost every book written on her, and I have to say that this book is one of the very best. Geoffery Mark Fidelman has put a lot of time into this work, and it shows. He offers fascinating insight and/or critique on nearly every episode of "I Love Lucy," "Lucy Show," "Here's Lucy," "Life With Lucy," and a host of other television appearances Lucy made over the years.

Does Fidelman say Lucy looks tired at times? Yes. Does he critique her performance sometimes? Yes. She didn't always do a blockbuster job in every performance of hers, due to any one of a number of reasons (troubles with Desi, overwork, stress in her life, and just plain tiredness). And though I've seen few episodes of "The Lucy Show," "Here's Lucy," and "Life With Lucy," Fidelman's overall feelings on those series reflect what critics have been saying for years. Just because Fidelman tries his best to offer objective viewpoints (which I think he does, more often than not), it doesn't mean he's not a true fan, or that true fans shouldn't read this book.

This book is short on biographical information, but it was never designed for that. Frankly, that's a good thing, because there are so many books out there about Lucy and/or Desi, another one wouldn't have been necessary. But for the ardent Lucyphile out there, this is a must-own. I find myself going back to this book constantly, after each "I Love Lucy" episode I see, even if I'd seen the episode many times before. Go, buy this book!

If you love Lucy, like Lucy, or just admire Lucy. You must get this book. It tells all about her career on television. The great tidbits of information on all of the shows is incredible. Information that could only be told by people on the sets. It's amazing that the author Geoffrey Mark Fidelman could get all of this information from so many people behind the scenes. It is all put down in an easy to read format. You read each episode and follow along in your mind, remembering when you first saw the show. You can actually feel the development of the show, as well as the people involved, as you cruise from episode to episode. There is only three things left to say. GET THIS BOOK.