Steve

Terrific first person anecdotes, Editor needed.

Revisado: 03-19-24

While this book is bursting with first person and at-arms-length anecdotes of the golden age of Hollywoodland, only available from this author's unique perspective, it might beggar belief that this tome came from a professional writer's pen.

It is certainly worth the while but the listener is warned of the whiplash they may get from the narrative's subject often changing mid-sentence, and not being told the name of the new subject until much later in the paragraph. This may "read" better in print since there may be paragraph breaks the eye could see that the narrator might barrel through here. Keep the "rewind 30 seconds" button handy so you can keep track of who is now being profiled when things stop making sense.

The biggest detractor however is the desperate need for a good sound engineer or editor. Sentences are often restarted, without these retakes being trimmed. Some beginnings and middles you get to revisit no less than four times in a row! (how like Hollywood; always eager for another "take"). A more professional reader would also help.

But... if you can grit your teeth past the sometimes clunky similes, annoying alliterations, confusing structure, and audio gaffs, beyond the seemingly scattershot use of adjectives (I don't think the author looked up their definitions after finding alternatives in the thesaurus; many do not fit at all: "inoculate" keeps appearing instead of "imbued", "inculcated", or various other "i"type words), or past the guffaw-out-loud passage where the author uses the phrase: "paragraph of purple prose" to describe clothing - with no hint of self reference or irony - then this is a worthwhile listen for any lover of Hollywood's golden-cogged machine at its zenith. Few have had such a privileged inside look as this author, and even fewer have put it down on paper for themselves.

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Excellent writing as one would expect but....

Revisado: 01-20-24

Significant family violence in the beginning 10 chapters of this book may be too much for some to handle (especially if they have been through similar circumstances). It's a credit to Straczynski's writing that it comes through so palpably; this though will be part of the problem for some.
Other than that, very very well written.

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Might have been fine if written 150 years ago

Revisado: 09-18-21

While the author has tried to conjure the style of 19th century writers (long before the rule "show don't tell), there is so much "tell" here as to remove any suspense. Yes, there are some terrific ideas here - very creative - but they all get short changed in the plotting.

James Langton does his usual excellent job of narrating, surpassing what he has been given to elevate.

If you prefer your novels told in the style of an author from the 1800's, where the entire book is either all descriptive retelling of events already settled, or presented in a series of letters with no immediacy, then this may satisfy. Unfortunately the title sums it up, or perhaps gives a warning; would you rather venture to exotic destinations by looking at a map, or, immerse yourself in actual travel. This is the former.

And it's a shame - the themes here are terrific: the conundrum of time travel and changing history, love across time, class barriers shattered for love, giving up all for a noble cause. After a few of these doors open on nothing, you start to dread the next door when it appears. Or perhaps" become annoyed" is better description, knowing where it will lead.

By modern standards, Wells, Verne, Stoker et al and their works can seem stilted in their tell-to-show ratio, but there is a reason they are still in the pantheon of great and influential authors. I don't think this book however will stand the test of time.

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One note narrator and fire-hose names and data

Revisado: 08-05-19

While the depth of research and information in this read is excellent, the way in which it's brought to light is less than palatable. There are ways to write history (Montefiore's "Jerusalem" for instance) and then there are reads like this. A different narrator might make all the difference (as it certainly does with Jerusalem)- every single sentence in this one ends with the same down-turn in pitch; probably excellent as a soporific.
It might even be better in print - thrown at you scatter-gun style are many, many names of middle eastern decent, including multiple (correctly) tacked on patronymics stretching back generations - these are difficult (at least for my ear) to come to terms with and make connections. Seeing them written might alleviate some of the bewilderment. There is also the usual burden of historians - the lack of creativity in European names of old: too many actors with identical names. This of course is not the fault of the author but I have seen this handled better elsewhere.
To its credit, the book tries to "storyfy" the history, following some key players who dragged books about and created translations to disseminate the knowledge to the west, but it suffers from the author having to cram so many centuries into a readable tome and creates name/date whiplash in a non-scholar reader.
One topic worth the read is the sheer volume of more correct knowledge held in the books of the middle east that took centuries to arrive in Europe, predating, for instance, a Copernican heliocentric solar system by many hundreds of years. How much farther ahead would we be as a species if that information had been propagated sooner. A weather bell for current nationalistic thinking.

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Overly melodramatic

Revisado: 07-30-16

To be fair, the details of the this novelization of a famous scandal have been taken from transcripts and testimony, so bringing them to life and not making them sound like a court reporter's read-back might be a no-win battle. And while the case may be interesting, it just came across false and dull.
The irony is, the narrator is the same as Sol Stein's excellent book on writing, who's author, and his garden-shear sized editing scissors, would have a field day with this book. After hearing Christopher Lane read Stein, (and assuming he absorbed even one tenth the book had to offer) I could imagine him rolling his eyes as he made his way through this overly florid text. Lane has a terrific PBS/NOVA kind of voice; so well suited for this type of book, however the book was not well suited for me - and I normally love this kind of thing..

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Corrected subtitle: Secret to Their Greatness: God

Revisado: 06-05-16

I will often read encapsulated biographies as they give me a quick snapshot of a great number of people, and then I can choose the ones that peek my interest and go and find a full length tome I can dive into. While these fast-developing Polaroids of seven men are well written, they have a significantly religious bent which was not clear from the title, subtitle or publisher's brief. (In hindsight it does seem obvious) And while it could have been a coincidence that all subjects herein were devoutly Christian, it feels like it is just the author's opinion that these men achieved greatness for that very reason.
Secrets to one's success stories are seductive enough to have plays and movies made out of them; and one tends to gravitate toward them, I would suggest, to bolster one's own path in life, provide much needed inspiration or to ease one's frustrations. We will often use these stories as a measuring stick or a mirror of one's own achievements, especially in rags-to-riches type genres or other Dickensian themes. And people without the dental deformities from silver spoons will often use them as excuses. But to have the reason for success be God, leaves an acidic taste in the mouths of those of us who's relationship with the Almighty is either tenuous, nonexistent or reviled.
I have not read lengthy biographies (auto or otherwise) of these men, but due to the author proselytizing and sermonizing at length (and off topic) it feels as if the reason for their greatness comes not from recorded evidence, or the subjects themselves, but instead from the author injecting his own faith to explain it away. Evidence may very well exist, even in the subject's own hand, but describing events that no one could have possibly seen or known about, combined with the end of chapter sermons, leaves one wondering what other liberties have been taken. I'm sure if I had known of this author beforehand I would have expected what I got.
Given the author's excellent research habits (discovered in later and further investigations), I am now sure that indeed the subjects of these articles would agree with him. But it just doesn't feel that way when one is reading. And that's odd, because I don't tend to question other biographers' facts who supply much less in the way of a bibliography. Is it purely because the Secret Sauce in these cases turned out to be Holy water?
To a practicing Christian these overt statements and God-induced cause-and-effects may not stand out as excessive, but this is the first biography collection I have read that had me squirming.
That being said, if you either don't mind, celebrate, or can get past these themes, the book does open interesting new windows on familiar figures we all thought we knew, and on a few figures upon whom light does not often shine or who have been forgotten. (For one figure however, the term "Great" perhaps should be switched to "criminal" - it is, mercifully, the shortest chapter of the lot, but an odd choice to be included).
To the faithful, the book will undoubtedly offer inspiration but for those who shut the curtains and ignore the doorbell when the evangelists come calling in the neighborhood, it might all be too much.

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If you can get by the narrator...

Revisado: 03-04-15

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not as deep as it should be given the subject matter and intended audience

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most: The rare behind the scenes info (rare not because it's new information, rare, because there is little of it here)Least: the endless, monotonous credit lists for each movie discussed - even when the movie is not discussed at all!

Would you be willing to try another one of Melissa Reizian Frank and Torry Clark ’s performances?

Melissa's yes, Torry's probably not - at least on this subject matter.

Could you see The Directors: Take Two being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I just love out of context unvetted questions like this.

Any additional comments?

It's a shame that they couldn't find someone familiar with Hollywood to narrate. The cringingly bad pronunciation of what are now household names makes the narrator a poor choice at best, and a major faux pas for the producer who let these pass (or, in keeping with the style of narration, should I say "fox paw"). It can lead to confusion. If read in print: "Lawrence Oliver" would certainly be corrected by the brain, given the subject matter (to Olivier of course - a name pseudonymous with acting), but when you can't see the text, the audio makes you wonder who was this famous actor, with the same last name as the first of a famous Dickens character. "Gee, I don't remember anyone named Mr. Oliver in that film". While this is the most egregious of them all, it's only one of many howlers; only once you get pulled out of the narration do you realize who they are truly talking about. It might make a good party game. Remember to stretch those eye muscles before listening - you will be rolling them in no time.While there is certainly good information here, it is neither as deep or broad as other books that have had one-on-one conversations with Directors (Bogdanovich's series for instance). While the cast list is a nice review of who was in each movie, when that list (that often contains names of the third water-boy to the left) is longer than the comments on the film itself, one has to wonder what other part of life one is missing while listening.And while not a criticism, be forewarned, it's not exactly current. If you haven't checked the publication date, you will be wondering where the latest films (say from the past two decades) are from these directors.A pleasant distraction to be sure, but serious movie buffs will probably not rave about the info, but, I assure you, they will rave over the narration - rave and rant!(The Sean Connery impression though is a hoot - but conspicuously singular - what, no Pacino impressions?)Certainly check out the others in the series - this narrator did not do the first in the series. That narrator was terrific! What a difference it makes

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