Customer Reviews

The Spirit of Bob Hope: One Hundred Years - One Million Laughs

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

 

 

Richard Grudens once again does a teriffic job of writing and displaying a mans life in great fashion. As an avid collector of all music memorabilia and a musician, I am very humbled by this wonderful presentation of Bob Hope. I'm only a 24 year old guy, and in my time I have not seen a single man do so much in a lifetime of all the people I know and know of. I remember all the good Bob Hope did being at the USO shows for our troops and watching the reruns of the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies with my dad. My dad is also a huge fan of Bob Hope and all the old timers stuff, so we say(that would be coming from a young person like myself). This book belongs on the library shelves as a reference to Bob Hope. ---- an instant classic ----

Written especially to commemorate Bob Hope's 100th birthday, The Spirit Of Bob Hope is a meaningful and informative biography that ranges from his birth in England, to his youthful career as a professional boxer, to his long and talented journey toward becoming a vaudeville, stage, movie, television icon. Personal testimonies and tributes from fellow celebrities, in their own words, enhance this welcome tribute to a great entertainer and citizen. Over 100 black-and-white photographs illustrate this biographical homage to a truly great and enduringly popular comedian, a true icon of twentieth century American popular culture.

I read this book in one sitting, not because it was good, but because there is so little in it. There is no insight to the man, only a smattering of personal details. Did contain a lot of photos and which made it more of a scrapbook than anything else. Nothing new at all.

Boy, this is the best of the Hope books, and I've read them all. The photos are amazing and the book is a virtual encylopedia of information on one of America's best entertainers, the unselfish traveler who enterained our troops in every war since WW2. If you like Bob Hope, get this book and you will get to know Leslie Townes Hope as well as I do. Five Stars for this one. Honest.

I have read many books on and by Bob Hope and have been a fan since I was a kid in Cleveland. At least 70 years of fandom since my parents took me as a child to see a "Road Picture".
A lot of the material in the book was not new for me, however it tugged at my heart strings memory wise to again review the life of one of America's greatest, if not the greatest, entertainers. Bob is a legend and gave so much to our nation, especially the young men and women in uniform. I have had the privilege of seeing him in two live performances and meeting him in person. He is bigger than life. I have collected many of his films on DVD and can watch them over and over. Also enjoyable are radio shows on cassette and TV shows on DVD. I mention this for those who have not really had the experience of hearing the master of humor at his best.

Grudens, who focuses on celebrities from the 1930s through the 1950s, has written a starry-eyed story about entertainer Hope. What it lacks in depth it makes up for in its puerile descriptions of the man and his accomplishments. Hardly a biography, this book stands as more a puff piece written by an admirer.

I gave the book a 4 primarily for the subject. However, I found that a lot of the material was covered in depth in Mr. Hope's autobiography circa 1954 and which is in re-print to my knowledge.

Bob Hope has always been a favorite of me and my family. Bob Hope, the unselfish celebrity who entertained our troops in every war from World War II through the Vietnam War, dispensing songs, comedy and always brought along beautiful girls, all to help boost their morale. Richard Grudens book The Spirit of Bob Hope is the best of the Hope books because it covers every aspect of his career from his vaudeville days through his Broadway appearances, his great radio shows and his television specials. Also covered well is his association with Bing Crosby and those seven classic Road Shows, which are also narrated by Mr. Grudens in the special feature section of the DVD Tributes. The book features original comments from contemporaries and associates like Charlton Heston, Frances Langford, John Steinbeck, Rhonda Fleming, Doris Day, Sid Caesar, Jane Russell, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Rosemary Clooney,Tony Bennett, Shirley Jones, Ann Jillian and Les Brown, among many others. The opening contains a tribute prayer from his friend, Billy Graham. The Spirit of Bob Hope is clearly a wonderful tribute to a wonderful performer who was loved and who will be missed. This book is the Bob Hope Bible to keep on your shelf. The book is interspersed with over 100 terrific photos at strategic places in the book, many never before published, and the words to songs introduced by him over the years-the best of which is "Thanks for the Memory." A first -rank Bob Hope book. It get five stars from me.