Customer Reviews

Oprah: A Biography (Random House Large Print)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

She seems so nice. But mercy --- she's nasty. That's the message in Kitty Kelley's new book. You may think Oprah is warm. She seems that way. But she's aloof. She gives everything to the camera.

Oprah has lots of secrets, according to Kelley. The book shows how Oprah is demanding and somewhat lazy. The woman who shows such compassion and love, so much humility and friendship, is really a diva with a big ego, big appetite and a case of just plain nasty. That is if you believe Kelley's book. And since Kelley has never been successfully sued over any of her books, I'm inclined to believe her. True, she's lawyered up. But, so are her subjects.

Kelley doesn't really have what I'd call a bombshell in her new book about the queen of talk. Much of it is innuendo and things we've heard, even things Oprah herself has said. For example, Oprah may be gay. Or, she may not be. I guess Kelley couldn't pin that one down. And really - who cares?

But Kelley quotes Rosie O'Donnell (from a 2009 Howard Stern interview) saying Winfrey and King are the "emotional equivalent of a gay couple," and author Erica Jong saying, "I would not be surprised if Oprah is gay." Oprah comes off as more asexual than gay or straight.

There is a lot here about the "real" Oprah as seen by her father and others. We get a glimpse of Oprah that makes her less than appealing. Would we expect this of a Kitty Kelley book? Yes, probably. On the other hand, Kelley has done her homework and held 850 interviews. The book is full of footnotes. It's well documented. Oprah comes off as self-centered and arrogant -- not at all likable. She doesn't come off as the person so loved by so many. But, should this surprise us? Have we not all read Machiavelli? People are seldom what they seem.

The queen often talks about herself in the third person. For example, "Oprah does not walk." "Oprah does not do stairs." I gotta wonder, maybe O needs to walk and take the stairs. Might help with the well-known weight problem. Know what I mean?

The queen even had a bathtub made to fit her body. And a gardener tells Kelley that Ms. O got too fat to use the pool at her Indiana farm. She was afraid of being photographed by paparazzi in all her girth.

The bottom line is, you'll have to draw your own conclusions about Oprah. If you love her, you won't like what you read. If you hate her, you'll enjoy it. If you're like me and don't care one way or the other, it's a fun book to read.

To me, not reading the latest Kitty Kelley book would be like saying no to dark chocolate. I just can't do it.

We get a sense of the real Oprah in the following quote from the book:

"She may be admired by the world, but I know the truth," Vernon Winfrey, Oprah's father, told Ms. Kelley. "So does God and so does Oprah. Two of us remain ashamed."

No one in Oprah's family believes her stories of child abuse, according to the interviews. But because she's rich and powerful, they won't contradict her colorful stories.

Kelley's book, according to The Washington Times, ". . . has an initial printing of 500,000 copies. Kelley said some major news organizations have refused to schedule interviews for fear of "Oprah's power and displeasure."

Like the Wise Guys, Ms. O has Omertà going for her. No one wants to touch this book in the media. Well, I suspect there are many outside the media who will do just that. The publisher should crank up the presses for a second run.

Highly recommended.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

I have been a so-so Oprah fan over the years ... I always felt she
was a pretty fascinating woman, deserving of much praise for her
help of others. I also felt that "0" was disingenuous a great deal
of the time...and I was turned off by her preaching platitudes to the
masses time and time again. I was also bothered by her oft times
cold/critical tone when interviewing guests who somehow triggered her
distain. I always felt that this was one person you would NOT want
to tangle with. Well, Ms. Kelley pretty much proves that point to
the max. I came away from this book marveling at the tales of utter
pettiness and revenge visited on those folks who DARED to offend
(purposely or not) the Queen. I have read elsewhere, and this book
confirms, that Oprah was a very open, friendly, down-to-earth person
in the beginning of her career. The old adage that "power corrupts"
seems apt here. With her history of hard times and her obvious dis-
content with herself both physically and emotionally and spiritually,
the stage is set for much pompous prosthelytizing. I find the bile
rising in my throat when Oprah is on and she lectures to the masses
to "be the best that you can be" -- with all her cheesy ways to do
just that. I am a person very interested in psycho-spiritual growth
and all, but Oprah is acting like she is a Goddess, when in actuality,
she comes across as very "Psych 101" in consciousness. All that being
said, "0" remains a pretty amazing person...many good deeds under her belt,
even if they fed her narcissistic side, they still help others. Bravo
to Ms. Kelley for taking on the juggernaut that is Oprah.

I've read Kitty Kelley's other unauthorized biographies and sadly this one does not measure up to her others. The book is odd in that there are no great revelations and yet it is still an entertaining read. I was at no time bored, but also not completely absorbed in the words.

Apparently, Kelley has encountered a subject who carefully and completely sealed off a great deal of information through iron-clad confidentiality agreements with anyone and everyone crossing her path, including relatives. Information is available from a variety of sources yet the book feels, although interesting, not quite complete. Learning of her early prostitution, drug use, etc. helped flesh out a portrait of her, but most of the other shocking revelations are already known through Oprah's well timed public confessions.

People who reach this level of success are usually shrewd, single minded and manipulative, so it isn't surprising that these are characteristics Oprah apparently possesses. Vernon Winfrey's statements about Oprah, both as a child and as a woman, were fascinating information and added substance to the biography, but the book needed more. The fault doesn't rest with Kelley. From the research she did it is obvious it wasn't laziness or a lack of trying on her part that more wasn't revealed. Oprah's great wealth and power have effectively muzzled people she wants muzzled whether legally obligated by a confidentiality agreement, or not.

A breakdown of the reviews posted here finds almost an equal split between five star and one star reviews. Perhaps the real story is in the rest of the numbers -- those of us between either extreme. I have no strong feelings about Oprah, either good or bad and the book left that ambivalence unchanged. This is not a typical Kitty Kelley tell-all, can't-put-it-down book. So, there is some disappointment in that. But, the book is also interesting -- at least mildly interesting. So perhaps the best way to decide whether the book is worthy of your time is to factor in the level of interest in Oprah herself. The book will be more compelling if the reader loves or hates her.

There are so many other reviews here so I won't make this too long, other than to say I liked "Oprah" by Kitty Kelley a lot, but it's a big fat book, and with about 100 pages left, I really was sick of O.

Kelley's research is thorough but after a while I had the feeling I had just read 150 People magazine stories and still had 100 to go.

Oprah's childhood is fascinating and her early years coming up in the business are, too (who knew she knew John Tesh from all those years ago!). But two thirds of the way through, I knew everything about Oprah I wanted to know. . . but I still had all those pages to wade through, with no bombshells. The parts about her involvement in Barack Obama's were my least favorite parts, and I skimmed there, as this is where the book ends. And yes, Oprah does feel like she propelled him into office.

Recommendation: I think it will make hardcore Oprah devotees mad, so I wouldn't recommend it to them. So I don't know who I'd recommend this to. Maybe people like me who like Oprah but got sick of her show a few years ago, and don't want to do everything Oprah says, or read everything Oprah reads?

(THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)...Kitty Kelley is known as one of the most controversial non-fiction writers as she often writes about celebrities without their consent, publishing books that are unauthorized. Having written works on Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor, Kitty's new book is sure to receive some negativity as its subject matter is one of the greatest American icons and treasures of all-time.
In "Oprah" Kitty documents the life of the one and only Oprah Winfrey. Having researched the book for over three years, Kitty performed over 800 interviews with people who have known Oprah, some of whom did not want their names disclosed. Kitty interviewed Oprah's father Vernon, and a cousin who stated that Vernon Winfrey is actually not Oprah's bilogical parent. Here, we finally get to see the real Oprah, from her humble beginnings in Mississippi to becoming the most famous talk-show host in the world. Kitty discusses how Oprah was raped at the hands of a cousin when she was young, the birth of her child that died in infancy, how she never knew her mother, her turbulent relationship with her dad, her years in school where she displayed impressive intelligence with academics, her thirst for being on television, and her eventual rise to stardom on a local Chicago TV station on an early morning talk show that went national and made her into the world's first African/American billionaire.
We also get to see the Oprah that we all love and know, witnessing her admiration for children and her hours of dedication in helping kids, especially girls, in obtaining an education which resulted in her developing a school in Africa for underprivileged youth.
Kitty discusses Oprah's personal life and why she has never married, a question everyone has wondered about. One of the most shocking statements is Oprah's love affair with former "Entertainment Tonight" co-host John Tesh who had a relationship with Oprah in the 1970's. It is revealed that Tesh ended the affair because he had a hard time dealing with interracial issues.
Thought-provoking and extremely well-written, "Oprah" has come out at a special time in American history as Miss Winfrey has decided to wind down her talk show after 25 years of broadcasting, so this gives the reader that special volume of info that they can look upon for research purposes.

Kitty Kelley has written an interesting but highly disjointed biography. There doesn't seem to be any coherent structure and no particular arc or themes emerge. Chapters start off seeming to be about one topic, lurch onto another and then end somewhere else again. This makes the book hard to follow. Basic dates or facts like when and how Oprah met and became friends with Gayle King/Maria Shriver or why she parted ways with Jeff Jacobs are skimmed over or left out.

In fairness to Kelley it's apparent that she did a lot of research, but most people don't want to go on the record about Oprah, either because they're friends of hers or because they're afraid of her. Consequently Kelley relied heavily on published sources and developed an obsession with catching Oprah out in every lie or inconsistency, rather than using the sources as guidance to develop an understanding of who Oprah is. So we find out that no, Oprah didn't have cockroaches for pets - she had a dog! No she didn't miss out on having a doll, she had lots of dolls! No she wasn't raised on a pig farm, there was only one pig! And so forth. Does it really matter? Intriguingly, Kelley claims to know who Oprah's real father is, but won't disclose it because she doesn't think that's fair to Oprah, who doesn't know. It seems hard to believe that she would choose to sit on a bombshell like that.

The book isn't a one-sided hatchet job. Kelley admires Oprah's instincts, her generosity, her incredible work ethic and her ability to go for the jugular even when interviewing friends. While she recognizes that Oprah steals ideas from other sources (eg Oprah's Book Club), she has the ability to make them her own - and an enormous success.

Essentially Oprah emerges as someone who grew up in a broken and poor family. After suffering sexual abuse as a child, she became promiscuous and experimented with drugs, but she was smart enough to clean herself up. She was highly ambitious from the start and while initially she was hungry for fame and money, later it became more about impacting people's lives. When she moved into media she was a quick learner and made some very smart decisions early on: surrounding herself with talented people and advisors (especially Jeff Jacobs), which meant that she owned her empire and was able to maximize how much money she retained. While highly charismatic, she is definitely not as nice and friendly a person as you'd think from seeing her on TV. She is extremely controlling with her staff and in fact with almost anyone who comes into contact with her and freezes out anyone who displeases her. On the other hand she is very generous with her friends. Less evolved and self-confident than she seems, she is highly sensitive to criticism, over-eats and has issues with romantic commitment.

It was particularly interesting to learn the way that the Oprah we feel we all know is a facade: yes it's her, but it's not entirely her. Her image is carefully controlled, and even seemingly spontaneous moments on her show are "as choreographed as a Kabuki doll".

At the end of the day I found the book interesting to read, but I don't feel like there were any major surprises or that Kitty Kelley got to the core of who Oprah is. She focuses too much on what she's done and not enough on who she is. Why is control so important to her? What is the nature of her relationship with Stedman? Why did she choose to end her series now? I've still no idea, but what is clear is that she is a far more cold, complicated and controlling individual than her public persona suggests.

Having pesonally been on the receiving end of one of Oprah's ten page "contracts" (read: legal threats) over a very mundane and ordinary pillow fabric she was purchasing to put in her home. I found her way over the top. It was fifteen years ago and I still remember how we all walked around the office with this docuement and thought "who the hell does this".... who cares?

Otherwise, I have been over "the Oprah" for some time now. Her "be greatful for all that you have speeches" to the masses seem a bit disingenuous coming from someone with billions.

Kitty Kelly....I hope you are getting the praise you deserve for your brave book. Oprah has made herself pretty tephlon, you did a good job exposing her and still respecting her.

I purchased this book last week and found it very interesting and not surprising. The book is an easy and enjoyable read, and at Amazon's price it was a bargin.

After looking at a few of the other reviews, it goes to show---America has a real "hero worship" problem. One must remember....when making one's way to the top, there are some things that one might not want everyone to know; and unfortunately it will come out, sooner or later.

No amount of money can "hide" any lies, embelishments or secrets. I'm glad Kelley wrote the book, now perhaps Americans that watch the her show will open their eyes and see her as she is....like everyone else...not above reproach.

Having purchased Oprah's biography on Sunday afternoon, I couldn't put it down until 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. Kitty Kelley's style is highly readable, smoothly and entertainingly interwoven with careful documentation. CBS Sunday Morning's interview with the author convinced me to purchase the book immediately when Kelley showed a room filled with 4-drawer file cabinets filled with documentation.

Oprah is only a few years younger than I am. The cultural context of this biography makes it a must not only for females but for anyone interested in social change since the 1950's. I was a fan of the Phil Donahue show and always thought that the popularity of his show diminished after he married Marlo Thomas a.k.a. That Girl. Oprah's biography clarifies that her interviewing skills filled the female niche in Chicago both quickly and decisively, which Donahue recognized and chose to move on.

I agree with another reviewer who commented that the book's "most critical comments were from people who had offended Oprah in some way and she 'closed the door' on them". I noticed that the author's handling of these critical comments was staccato: short yet clearly documented quotes that spoke for themselves. Biting negativity came from those who were in some way offended. Kelley shows that Oprah can be very, very good, and when clearly and unabashedly dissed face-to-face, Oprah either didn't honor with a reply or had a good come-back.

I bought the biography because it promised to fulfill my curiosity, and I was not at all disappointed. Am I an Oprah fan? Fanatic, no. I rarely watch the tv show (I rarely watch tv), yet I enjoy her magazine. I was one of the 18,500 people in Des Moines at the first big "O Show" rally for Obama and I shook her hand. Living close enough to drive to Chicago for a day trip, I would like to watch a live show before she quits.

I have never read any of Kitty Kelley's other books, although I did buy Nancy Reagan back in the 1980's (NOT because I liked Nancy Reagan). I never read it, just couldn't get into the first few pages and set it aside forever.

Kelley's biography of Oprah is vivid and does indeed reveal Oprah's lies in writing, copies of actual forms Oprah filled out. In addition to many photographs and a few clippings, a few interesting lists are scattered throughout the book to illustrate Oprah's consistency over the decades. This book brings Oprah to life for those who like her and those who do not. Before being tempted to speak ill of her, read this book.

Much of what is written here about Oprah simply reinforces what I have thought over the years. Once a fan of her show, I became disenchanted as her empire grew. She became "corporate" rather than the human being that I observed. I can't say how many years that I didn't watch a single Oprah show, but in the early 2000's I started to watch again. I enjoyed a few of her shows once again but my disenchantment recycled. It doesn't take too much thought to recognize that this woman has a huge need to be loved, over-comforted with recognition, and buried in money and toys. Her spirituality has always seemed complex and narcissistic. Her charitable gift-giving has always been suspect to me -- a billionaire is a billionaire is a...! The book does nothing to change my opinions there.

What did surprise me about the book was the descriptions of Oprah's desperate need to control. And, in that, it seems that many of her significant choices were absurd failures and/or hurtful to others. I found some of the anecdotes almost difficult to swallow. So, if you are an Oprah fan, perhaps this is a book to ignore. Wonder why I read it? Curiosity and the fact that I love biographies in general.

Note: I gave this book 3 stars but probably, given the option, would have given it 2 1/2. Oh yeah, let's get fussy! Anyway, it took me almost 3 weeks of reading snippets here and there, worried that I had another 200+ pages to go. In reality, much of the end of the book is Oprah Credits. On top of that, the book tends to ramble and get off track a lot of the time. Some information is actually duplicated in multiple parts of the book although I didn't find that tedious -- it just happens to tie in to the various ramblings. Sometimes it's hard to tell why there are chapters.