A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History [Library Binding]

Bruce R. Leiby (Author), Linda F. Leiby (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786410205 | ISBN-13: 978-0786410200 | Publication Date: September 2001

Bonanza aired on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973, playing to 480,000,000 viewers in over 97 countries. It was the second longest running western series, surpassed only by Gunsmoke, and continues to provide wholesome entertainment to old and new fans via syndication. This book provides an in-depth chronicle of the series and its stars. A history of the show from its inception to the current made-for-television movies is provided, and an episode guide includes a synopsis of each show and lists such details as the main characters of each episode and the actors who portrayed them, the dates they stayed with the show, date and time of original broadcast, writer, director, producer, executive producer, and supporting cast. Also provided are character sketches for each of the major recurring characters, career biographies of Lorne Green, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon, brief biographical sketches of the supporting cast, a discography of recordings of the Bonanza theme and recordings of the four major stars, and information on Bonanza television movies

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A season-by-season episode guide (more than 400 episodes over 14 years) is followed by biographies of Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe and the actors who played them. Similar information is supplied for the supporting cast. Mary Ellen Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Comprehensive...every bit of the show's history documented and described" -- Big Reel

"Excellent...tons of good information...a fine job" -- Classic Images

"Fastidious research...a comprehensive bibliography" --Western Clippings --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 376 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786410205
• ISBN-13: 978-0786410200
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,713,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment for the price, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History (Library Binding)

As a fan of Bonanza, I looked forward to getting this book. When I got it, my thought was: "Is this all there is?" There was no dust jacket; just a plain green cover. There was a short history of Virginia City, and black and white pictures of Virginia City as it is today. As a resident of the area, it did not show the any of charm and beauty Virginia City and the Tahoe area has today or in its past history. There were very few pictures of the stars and the episode locations, and all pictures were in black and white. They could have added more trivia regarding the location of the shows (which was very sketchy and assumed you knew where the "Golden Oak Ranch", for example, was located) and other tidbits about the episodes, which they occasionally provided at the end of the episode summary. There was a episode guide, but the summary of the episodes were incomplete. Perhaps it was an effort not to spoil the ending of the show for those who had not seen them, but it would have been better to have a complete summary of the episode. TV Land has better summaries of the episodes! That being said, it had excellent biographies of the stars and the supporting actors, as well as a complete filmography and discography and TV appearances of the stars and the supporting actors. ...

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money, May 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History (Library Binding)

I love Bonanza-its my favorite tv show. So one would think I would prrobably enjoy this book--wrong! Its not only dull, its totally inaccurate. Did the author ever watch the show? It looks like he read some bad fanfiction (the Calder books) and wrote his book from there. There is no excse for such poor research--and why the big price tag? It should be a nice coffee table book for that price. BTW, this book was totally unauthorized by the show's creator. I can see why!

Spend your money on the Greenland book--its the best Bonanza book out there. More entertaining and much better researched.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference material, August 2, 2005

By 

Martha Beck (Chicora, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History (Paperback)

Not a good read, but an excellent source of info on the series. I found it fascinating that they not only gave bios of the actors but the characters themselves - when they were born, and how they died. Lists all episodes along with guest stars, writers, producers and directors. Excellently arranged, very comprehensive.