Rating: 
Summary: If you love Aretha, buy her music. . .
Review: but please don't buy this book. I have adored Aretha since I was a child, and as far as I am concerned, her voice and her interpretation of music are both unparalleled. Reading her book, however, is another matter. Here is a serious case of TMI--too much information--about someone you want to put up on a pedestal. I have read several other books on which Mr. Ritz collaborated, notably the recent B.B. King autobiography, and I have to assume that Ms. Franklin didn't choose to avail herself adequately of his services. The Aretha you will find here is no queen; she is all too human. Please, continue to love her and buy one of her CDs instead!
Rating:
Summary: Faded Queen's Autobiography is Big Cop-Out!
Review: I don't know who the Queen of Soul is now -- how silly the appellation is anyway -- but it sure ain't Miss Aretha. Badly written, uninformative, little more than a few PR releases sort of strung together in some vaguely arranged fashion. She comes off very, very poorly; unhappy, mean, disillusioned, overinflated sense of her worth in the world. I am so mad I wasted money on this.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointed!
Review: This book was easy reading because there was not much there to read. Story lines left unfinished and the book jumps back and forth. There is no doubt that Areatha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, but this book did not and could not have done her justice. I've read magazine articles that portray her as a more warm and complete person.The Queen deserves a better written biography.
Rating:
Summary: PR-fluff being passed off as autobigraphy
Review: Don't waste your time. I've loved Aretha since I was a child, but boy, it's getting harder and harder to justify the acclaim. I see why people are dissing her everywhere. Overrated, overinflated ego, coasting on a reputation. She may have been the Queen of Soul in the '60s -- whatever the heck that means -- but there are so many other fine vocalists who can out-sing her any day of the week -- Patti Labelle, Jennifer Holliday, Chaka Khan, just to name a few -- and this autobiography will do nothing to regain her crown. She comes off as a pompous, unlikable b-word. A very unhappy woman. And a very out-of-touch woman. Like someone said, the Norma Desmond of popular music. Don't waste your time with this tripe.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment from The Diva
Review: First, absence of a discography and even index is astouding for a major title from a major publisher. Second, Miss Franklin's reputation in the entertainment business is of a rather distanced person who tends not to think or speak in a straightline. This kind of oblique personality doesn't translate to the printed page. There's little sense here of real life. Third, the ego displayed in these pages is truly disturbing. Miss Franklin seems long ago to have lost touch with any reality. She is a great artist and a seminal figure in music history but she is still a human. Someone needs to remind her.
Rating:
Summary: Aretha loves food almost as much as she loves herself.
Review: Let me first state: I love Aretha. However, co-author David Ritz fails to curb the Queen's self-aggrandizement in this sometimes fascinating account, which is part self-promotion, part dining guide. While juicy, Franklin's comments about rival divas Gladys Knight, Cissy Houston, and Natalie Cole come off as unflattering and unworthy of her. Also, the book lacks detail about the men in Aretha's life (e.g., her stormy marriage to Ted White) as well as her children, who are given less ink than Aretha's favorite foods and grub spots throughout the country. Throughout these pages, Aretha seizes the opportunity both to give herself credit and to play the unsuspecting victim. While the title "queen" gives Aretha stature, it obviously doesn't buy her class.
Rating:
Summary: The Worst Auto-Biography!
Review: A 200 hundred page fact sheet, with no real feelings expressed. I mean getting preganat at thirteen is nothing to gloss over. This is how rumors get started,lack of information.
Rating: 
Summary: The Queen's Story
Review: I enjoyed the book, however, I found it to be rather short. My biggest criticism is that it had no index, no complete discography, no appearance itinerary and not enough pictures. After all this time, I think that Aretha could have been more candid by naming names and not continue to play games with her usual avoidance technique. Who was Mr. Mystique? What were the real names of her first two children's fathers? Why continue the mystery? Tell us, did you or did you not have a sexual affair with Same Cooke? Why did your mother and father separate? She didn't get into her marriages very deeply, just glossed over them (still hiding). The only "inacuracy" that she "cleared up" was that her mother was not a bum and did NOT abandon the family as has been reported for years. Plus, she didn't address the Gladys Knight problem. I thought she might, at least, speak on the Martha Reeves allegation that Aretha showed up at the Apollo to tell Martha to stop singing her (Aretha's) songs. Nothing. She left us hanging about what was "troubling Carolyn" (I know, but the world doesn't). I did enjoy reading about her early days travelling with her dad and the gospel people she perform with and enjoyed. But, I think Aretha, the greatest female singer alive, should write a sequel to this book and give hard, cold facts about her interesting life.
Rating:
Summary: Self-aggrandizement thy name is Aretha
Review: To my great dismay Ms.Franklin comes across as pompous and delusionally self-important. If one were to believe her she was the be all and end all in not just music but fashion,"firsts" and awards. she's quick to point out the songs she's turned down, that were not up to her standards, that other artists than recorded. Not very gracious in her assessment of other "divas". Ross had Gordy pushing her and Steisand had a publicity machine. but Franklin admires them both because they're "hard workers". could it be that they both had an inkling of talent Aretha? She's also very generous in her offer to Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston,letting both accomplished singers know that she's always there for them to ask her advice on any matters concerning the business. Speaking of Ross and Streisand,Franklin makes both look positively demure in their respective egocentric behavior. while i still have great admiration for Ms.Franklin's talent,after reading this book,she's not someone i would want to spend time talking to or even meeting.
Rating:
Summary: Major disappointment and thoroughly uninvolving.
Review: Although I have been an admirer of David Ritz's other books, this one is a tanker. Aretha, what is going on with you? Talk about an unexamined life. Shame on you, Sister 'Ree. You should have done a cookbook. We know you wouldn't scrimp on the details for THAT book. All that weight is covering up some deep emotional problems. Let's tell it like it is.
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