Customer Reviews

Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This has to be the best book I've every read about Dean. Written with class,love and heart - the love leaps through the pages. Sharing those stories of growing up in the Martin home was precious and touching. This book is a must for Dino fans!

Deana Martin's honesty and vulnerability about her life is what makes her book so sincere. It is a look into a world most of us never experience. The people she has met throughout her life such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles and even the frightful....Charles Manson, is an experience worth reading about. For all of us who love Dino's music, this permits us a look at his life through Deana's eyes.

For anyone who adores Dean Martin and wants to know more about what the man was really like, this is the best book ever. The other bios will have all the information and dates and stuff - this book has the HEART!
Well written, emotionally vulnerable, and honest. Dino is one of the few celebs that, the more i find out about what he was really like, the more i like him!
And the pictures are TERRIFIC!
BUY THIS BOOK!
kimmy
dinopallies@yahoo.com

I loved this book! A very easy to read and well-written account of the life of the great Dean Martin. Deana not only shares the stories of her father but also shares her own life in this wonderful book. I also enjoyed the book written by her brother, Ricci. It's nice to read positive books written by family members who truly loved their father. The book is funny, warm and touching. I didn't want it to end and though it is sad to see Dean age and become ill, the book ends on an upbeat note because you realize that he will always be with us through his movies, TV show, music and this book. If you like Dean Martin, you must read this book!

Whatever one's expectations in starting this biography of Dean Martin, the only sure thing is that the reader will come away liking his daughter, author Deana Martin.

The man that she describes her father as being was not an impressive person, marvelous though he had been as an entertainer.

This is not to belittle his accomplishments as a singer, Las Vegas performer, recording artist, television star, movie star and comedian. In all cases, he broke new ground and earned record amounts of money.

Still, the human being that his daughter describes was shockingly flawed. The way that he had treated her mother, his first wife, was appalling and inexcusable. Consequently, this mistreatment had a devastating impact on the four children that the couple had had together.

Nonetheless, the book is fascinating, exactly as a reader might expect in learning about the upbringing of the children of Hollywood royalty. The names that the author drops, very legitimately, are the most prestigious in the entertainment industry, beginning with classmates named Arnaz and Bridges and, of course, Sinatra.

Still, Deana Martin pulls no punches. One gets the sense that she has accepted this mistreatment and forgiven it, that she has trained herself to move forward in life. Nonetheless, it is clear that she never will forget the inappropriate behavior that damaged her existence. In a ladylike way, she lets those who deserve a hit have it, whether the hit is directed toward her step-mother Jeanne or to Liza Minelli.

There are a few sloppy glitches in the copy which are more the editor's fault than the author's, such as referring to Pat Kennedy Lawford as Peter Lawford's sister, rather than his wife.

Ultimately, this is a fascinating book, but very sad. After finishing it, the sole fact that emerges is that Deana Martin is a very special woman.

I read this book as well as That's Amore by Ricci Martin. I have written a review of both books. For me, it was often like I was reading two very different perspectives on Dean, one that was bittersweet and full of yearning for a father's love (Deana) and one that was more adoring, although still open about some of Dean's flaws and secrets (Ricci).

Of course, Deana was the daughter of Dean's first wife, a woman he left to marry Jeanne. People judged him harshly for that but even Deana notes the various emotional and other challenges faced by her mother -even before Jeanne entered the picture.

Deana was then put in the very difficult position of having to deal with her biological mother as well as try to find a place in the home of Jeanne and Dean Martin. I don't want to include too many spoilers here but I do want to add that I think she expresses the pain, confusion and anguish of a lifetime of challenges - as well as GREAT JOY AND PRIDE in being Dean Martin's daughter. This book is remarkably open and honest. It was a revelation to read.

Also, the foreword to this book is written by Jerry Lewis, a fact that is significant. I was a bit surprised by this because Deana is not always glowing when she writes of Jerry. However, Jerry is definitely very proud of her and this book (or appears to be, in his intro).

I would recommend that people read That's Amore because both books share similarities but also some significant differences about key parts of Dean's life. Two children, each going through watershed moments (the Martin divorce from Jeanne) and seeing some of them very differently. Each gives a slightly altered perspective on Dean and I do feel that Deana felt more outside the family than Ricci for a good part of her life.

Anyway, read the book and see what you think. In case you think I sound too negative, I'd like to end this by noting that I felt in awe of Deana's resilience and honesty as she wrote her memoirs of her father. I didn't expect the book to be so revealing so it was quite riveting to read it.

Deana Martin's tribute to her father showed the undying love that a daughter feels for her father no matter how bad a father he was. Her words do not take away from my admiration of the entertainer, but give me deep feelings for the torment that such a talented man can bestow on his children. It's the type of book that can have you laughing one minute and wiping away the tears the next.

I really enjoyed Deana Martin's first writing venture and hope to read more works by her in the future. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

THIS BOOK IS A LOVING TRIBUTE TO DEANNA MARTINS DAD DEAN. I LOVE DEAN AND HIS TV, MUSIC, AND MOVIES SINCE THE EARLY SIXTIES HAVE BEEN A STAPLE IN MY LIFE. THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN BETTER THAN HER BROTHERS SO I GUESS HER WRITER WAS BETTER THAN HER BROTHERS. THERE ARE THREE MAJOR GOOFS IN HER BOOK ABOUT DEAN AND HIS CAREER.I WILL MENTION ONE. SHE STATED MR. RICCO WAS A TV SERIES HER DAD HAD THAT LASTED A FEW MONTHS. DEANNA MR. RICCO WAS YOUR DADS LAST MOVIE WHERE HE PLAYED A MOB LAWYER.THERE ARE TWO MORE . THESE OFF SPRING HAVE TO LEARN TO READ UP ON THEIR DADS CAREER.HOWEVER ITS A SWEET TRIBUTE TO HER DAD AND SHE SEEMS TO BE A LOVELY LADY.

Dean Martin slid into my heart 35 years ago when I first saw him slide down the fire pole to open one of his Variety Shows. Until I read this book, I didn't think I could love him anymore than I already did. In "Memories are Made of This" Deana Martin has come closer than any other biographer has ever come in describing what made Dean Martin tick...and believe me, I've read every biography written on the man. We learn not only of Dean Martin the singer, the entertainer, the golf addict, but of Dean Martin the father who, like most men of his generation, was generous and loving though not hands on. We also learn of the spiritual man who prayed the Rosary and regretted decisions he'd made in his life. The book is a real page turner which my non-Dean Martin fan friends have found to be as interesting as my Dean Martin fan friends.

I enjoyed this book so much that I read it within two sittings. Deana Martin has not written a "Daddy Dearest" type of book...but more of a "Dearest Dad" book telling the truth about what it was like to have him as a father. The most controversial part of the book, when Deana writes that ..."he was not a good father but he was a good man..." she says it with the insight of a child who grew up in the turmoil of a family that split up when she was very young...seeing her mother's life and health decline over the years...and then starting a totally different life with her father's "new" family. As many an entertainer of those times, Dean was not around emotionally for his children, although he did spend time with them when he wanted to. His advise to them when they needed discipline was "...just tell your mother we had a talk and don't do it again." I think this is what she means by her statement. He definitely loved his children as can be seen by his deep and fast decline after his son Dean Paul was killed in a plane crash. I found nothing mean or hateful in her telling of her life with Dean. Just facts...he surely was one of the greatest all-around entertainers in show biz history...but he was also human...something many of us don't realize about movie and recording stars. This book had me laughing and crying. I say...Thanks, Deana, for some great insight into the man, not just the legend...and for sharing your life and his with all of us.