Customer Reviews

A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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. ...

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.

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.

My review will accomplish three things:

1) It will persuade you that the Leibys' Reference Guide to Television's "Bonanza" is worth owning and/or consulting.
2) It will refute the January 22, 2004, review from "A Customer"
3) It will refute the May 4, 2004, review from "A Customer"

The Leibys book, published in both deluxe-hardcover Library Binding as well as paperback by McFarland--a company that specializes in bio-bibliographical books like this title--is superlative in terms of its content and organization. It provides research-intensive, detailed, comprehensive insight into significant facets of "Bonanza": the show's history, its every episode, and its creative contributors. It features numerous appendices covering a wide variety of interesting material: from the show's awards and honors to its related collectibles, musical recordings, newspaper and magazine references, and books.

In their preface, the authors state: "[We] hope this work will provide the reader with useful information and the researcher a foundation on which to further their research. "
They have accomplished this goal admirably.

Also in the preface, they state: "We welcome any additions or corrections and will make every effort to incorporate them in any future editions."
This invitation affirms the authors' responsible scholarship as well as their accountability.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Leibys' Reference Guide to Television's "Bonanza" for its superbly organized, detailed, and objective information.

The nameless "A Customer," in his/her January 22, 2004, review obviously entertained false expectations about this book. The book is everything its preface promises it to be: "an in-depth chronicle of the series and its stars to be used by libraries, researchers and those interested in classic television." It is NOT a Virginia City tour guide. It is not a lavish picture book.

The May 4, 2004, review by another nameless "A Customer" is completely unreliable. He/she makes one libelous, unsupported, unfounded, and even irrelevant declaration after another. I encourage you to dismiss this nameless one's witless comments with the contempt they deserve.

The book was just what I wanted. It has the history of Bonanza, discription of each episode and the personal lives of the main characters.

I love the book it's very comprehensive and a great companion while watching episodes. The sale was also quick , easy and reasonable I always buy from Amazon and/or associates.

So much has been written about other popular shows such as Star Trek, X-Files, and others, one wonders what can one say about older and less documented shows such as Bonanza?

The authors do an excellent job in establishing the history of the Bonanza era, a fairly comprehensive episode guide, the stars' lives both during and outside the program, and its merchandising. I had not realized how many Bonanza toys, records, comic books, etc, there were until I read this book.

However, the authors suffer from a handicap and that is not being able to glean more material from the writers, actors, and producers who worked on the show. Sadly, most of them have passed on, and most of the information has had to come from old interviews and such, rather than from first hand discussions. Hearing more stories about writing for and working on the second longest televison western would have been great.

It might have also helped it the authors had made some commentary of their own favorite Bonanza episodes at the end, or even pointing out how at least one plot from an episode showed up later on Little House on the Prairie.

Bonanza is still popular in many areas of the world. And with pop culture gaining more and more study, this text can help one gain an understanding of the show for its time.

Interesting irony, Bonanza's creater and executive producer, outlived all of of its major stars.

Hopefully, the authors might take a turn writing other such books on The Big Valley, The High Chapparel, The Virginian, and Wagon Train. I am sure afficanados of the westerns would appreciate more history of the genre in its heyday.

JThree
Williston, ND
[...]

Somebody should write a book about the making of BONANZA, the behind-the-scenes story of the writing and production of this long-running, beloved, television classic (along the lines of Gunsmoke: A Complete History book from the same publisher). Sadly, this book isn't it. A scant eight pages --- eight pages!-- are given to the creation, writing and production of the show. The bulk of the book is a workman-like episode guide to the 14 seasons and brief synopses of the TV movies, hardly worth the price of purchase. The only thing interesting and worthwhile about the book are the appendices listing various BONANZA merchandise, books, comics, and records. However, I wish the effort the authors put into gathering so much pointless information -- like listing all the shows available on video featuring Tim Matheson -- had been focused instead on giving us the definitive history of the show. Consider this a lost opportunity.

If you are a die hard Bonanza fan who would like all and any facts concerning this show, then this is the book for you. Not many photos but a great wealth of info and a great reference book.