Customer Reviews

Trust No One: The Glamorous Life and Bizarre Death of Doris Duke

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

 

 

After touring Doris Duke's summer home in Newport, RI, I became increasing intrigued with Ms. Duke. So I sought a book about her life and I came across Trust No One. At first, I felt the initial chapters were plodding and dry, but I realized after reading a few chapters this foundation was needed to understand the woman Doris Duke became. The first chapters did a thorough background on Doris' father and mother, Buck and Nanaline Duke. Doris' father was the love of her life and he taught her how to become an astute business woman before he died when she was 13 years old. Doris Duke was a very complex woman. She was a philanthropist, and a very saavy businesswoman who multiplied her fortune by billions. She was also an avid art collector, a self-taught botanist and, last but not least, a fine jazz musician. Doris was also very flawed: she was an alcoholic; a drug abuser; and, was anorexic. All of this is explained in great detail in the book. It was factual, but yet there was a human side to the story, and I found it to be a great read. In the end, money cannot buy happiness or love - not even for Doris Duke. (Written by Kathee Duncan)

The only reason I gave this one a '2' was that it's a very interesting look into Doris Duke's life with alot of insider perspective(one of the co-writers was her chef). However, this book looks entirely unedited and had atrocious spelling, grammer, mistakes ALL OVER and it was unacceptable.

BIGGEST EXAMPLE: The author's name is spelled differently on the front cover and side binding. Was there ANYONE proofreading this book?

Doris' was constantly spelled Doris'ss or Doris's and words didn't have spaces in between them.

Anything interesting in the content of this book is offset by how poorly written (and edited) it is. It repeats the same well-worn Doris Duke anecdotes included in any Duke biography, but it is riddled with so many typos and grammatical errors that I began to suspect I had been conned into buying a self-published book by a semi-literate Duke afficianado! I tried not to be put off by such errors, but after that tenth time I read the possessive "Doris Duke'ss". On the plus side, some of the errors make for the occassional unintentional laugh, such as when the reader learns that Duke's butler (who was with Duke when she died in 1993) died in "1966"! Spend your money on a real book...

I had a spark of interest about Doris Duke and the life that she lived, prior to the movie. I watched the movie and compared it will this book, which this book provides alot more information and detail that was left out of the movie. I feel you will enjoy this book and get a better look inside her life with the important details that the movie had no time to present or address.

Please don't buy this book. Its a rehash of info already covered in the mansfield and pony duke bios. Also the concluding chapters are just brutal as this clumsy author attempts to speculate on the motives of the motley crew surrounding doris at the end. An unconvincing, tacky, insensitive book that gives us no insight into the complex woman doris duke was.

Trust No One might as well have been an exact copy of the previous Doris Duke bio. "Too Rich". As a huge fan of the late heiress D. Duke, I was appuled at the pathetic effert to offer insight into this accomplished art collector,philanthrlopist, architectural preservationst and animal care activist. This book copies the same super rich sterotypes that all D. Duke biographers repete like broken records, portraying her as a materilistic, nieve, unhappy women. Not only is she unfairly portrayed but the authors repetely make historically inaccurate facts. My recomendation for those interested in her facinating life... Spend your next vacation in Newport R.I. Tour her soon to be opeaned estate "Rough Point". Ask the locals and do research to find accurate facts. Some tips- try the Newport Library, the Newport Presorvation Society and the Newport Restoration Society- founded in the late 60's by D. Duke herself.

It was very informative and much different than any movies I've seen on her life. I really enjoyed it.

After being appalled at the endless spelling errors and typographical mistakes in this book, I decided to look up the author, Ted Schwarz. He's a Cleveland resident who claims to have written over 100 books at the rate of 10 pages a day. No one should write 100 books in one lifetime. I would suggest that Schwarz spend a little less time writing, and a little more time proofreading. Lay some blame as well on Vivisphere Publishing, whoever they are.

The problem here is that, if you want to know something about Doris Duke, you don't have a lot of decent choices. She may be the exemplary personification of the problems of enormous inherited wealth in the U.S. Her life deserves a scholarly and respectful biography. Maybe one day a skilled biographer and a competent publisher will bring it to us.

As for the grammar errors inthe book,(in that review) that is life, full of mistakes! So, what! I appreciate this book...You say the first chapters are drab (the 4 star review, get familiar with them!) We may not be that far off again from having to resort to those ways on making a living again...selling out of the back of a wagon!the way things are going in this economy! this book is a great piece of history on how the west was won! How the greatest accumulation of wealth was ever cultivated, amassed! So, I urge you to embrace it!Also the movie "Bernard and Doris" buy it and watch it first...I LOVE it...I fall asleep to it nearly every night! the obsession will begin...what a life of luxury...with out love....

On vacation this year we toured Ms Dukes Estate "Rough Point" in Newport, RI. She had a fascinating, tragic and glamorous life. Her death was bizarre and even though she was the richest woman in the world, her money bought her no true happiness. A very good read.