Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise

Rating:
Summary: best music bio i've read
Review: despite being a long time barry fan I was skeptical about the book when he first mentioned that he was writing it. but after reading Sweet Life I felt that I knew him personally. compared to other music bios i've read Sweet Life seemed to be more candid or should I say more human like. i gained a whole new respect for Mr. Manilow after finishing the book

Rating:
Summary: Cool Book
Review: I find this Book to Be very upfront&direct on His Life.I think Barry Manilow is a Very Underrated Artist.here He reflects on different things in his Life&whatnot.I found this Book to Be a Reallt Cool Read.

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Summary: Love Him or Hate Him, Manilow Is a Man of Integrity
Review: I have been a fan of Barry Manilow since my girlhood days. My friends were not; they steered in other directions, saying Manilow was "too hokey" even then in the 70s. But I held on, or should I say, Manilow held on to me. Now, in light of his unending rise and recent emergence into Tony Award territory, it appears that I'm the one among my friends with real taste.

Having just finished reading Manilow's "Sweet Life" I learned many new things about this man. I learned that he is full of flaws, poor choices, and yes, an extraordinary amount of selfishness, but guess what. My respect has grown, because Manilow doesn't lie about it. He acknowledges these qualities, then turns around and runs headlong toward that which is greater than himself . . . the music. I must admire that BECAUSE of the music.

When I stop and consider all the times I was low or lonely or even on top of the world, when I was in love or out of love, it was Manilow's music that marked the moment. For that, truly, I can forgive the man his weaknesses. What is left to say but, thank goodness it drove him so. His fans can smile contentedly and wait for the rest of the world to catch up, because we all know that the best is still to come from the musician known as BARRY MANILOW.

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Summary: Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise Barry Manilow
Review: I have been a fan of Mr. Manilow for 22 years and have always admired his music and his entertaining concerts. "Sweet Life" is a detailed autobiography which is written with great humor, describing how a shy and young boy from Brooklyn evoloved into one of America's greatest composers and entertainers. The writing style is informal, as if Mr. Manilow was sitting down in your family room, recalling the many stories and events in the book. The most cohesive factor in the book, is Mr. Manilow's enormous sense of humor. Even when he is relating a serious or sad event he is able to shroud the event in humor. Mr. Manilow had to overcome many obstacles to become the sucessful man he is today. And the vehicle that vaulted him over these obstacles was his infinite love for music. When I had finished the book, I felt, that I too, had become a member of the Manilow family, because of the detail he used to described each member of the family. I know more about the Manilow family than I do about my own family. "Sweet Life" is a very informative and entertaining book which can be read in one evening. (Actually you will not be able to put it down until you finish it.)

Rating:
Summary: A great book by a great musician!
Review: If you are already a fan of Barry Manilow, as I am, you will love and respect him even more after reading his book. If you're not...well, you probably will be! Mr. Manilow writes in a very honest, direct manner about his triumphs and trials, both personal and professional. This book is hard to find, but look for it and read it! It is well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: What a pleasure!
Review: in this book, which i finally NOW have, i was expecting to read a dark and gloomy rise to fame but there wasn't any. Manilow's fame came by accident and the pressures of the business and the reluctance to accept the fame, in the beginning, is a refreshing story. Barry talks about his early musical career in the '60s before being pushed into the spotlight by Clive Davis. all facets of Barry's career is talked about in here. there's a chapter called "Read 'Em and Weep", which was the title of his huge AC #1 hit in 1984. The story part of the book ends during the "Paradise Café" album in 1984 but the discography in the back includes his 1985 and 1986 material. the pictures contained in this book are rare...you see Barry with black hair, combed to the side, during his days with CBS prior to hooking up with Bette Middler. there's also a picture of Barry on a beach with no shirt on...there's another one where he has a small beard! if anything, this book helps paint the picture of Barry Manilow. It allows people who really never followed his career in-depth to know how the off-stage "barry" was always at odds with the on-stage "BARRY" throughout much of his biggest years. There's also chapters that talk about the commercial aspect of music and the heart-felt aspect of music and why Manilow's songs were poignant yet had a commercial "sound" to them. This is a complex story of a man living the life of a super-star. Being a writer, Barry was also stunned whenever a song he never co-wrote would become a hit for him. "I Write the Songs" wasn't written by Barry...but neither was a few other big songs like "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It", or "Read 'Em and Weep"...Barry said that it took years before he could accept their success. Barry has changed a lot of his personal opinions since the mid '80s. Nowadays whenever he does a CD he's performing "outside songs", as he calls them, even more than his own material, which wouldn't have happened in his past. above all else, this book shows that "Barry Manilow" is a human and has feelings, too. no artist should ever have to go through what he went through; and all he ever wanted was to spread joy and happiness through his music and even today he's still causing happiness with his style of pop music.

Rating:
Summary: What a pleasure!
Review: Mr. Manilow is a great inspiration.
I loved this book.
It's sincere, funny, interesting and sad all at the same time.
Not only does this man write beautiful music, he sure knows how to write a book too!
If your a fan I would say it's a MUST read.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Life
Review: This book is very well written. It reads like a good novel about a successful musician from his poor background, his struggles with his decision to pursue a music career and how he succeeded. He reflects on both his personal life and how his love of music, writing and arranging songs, and performing were developed. This is a very interesting and honest book to read, whether you are a big fan or not; are an aspiring musician or not. His story encourages people to follow their dream, whatever that dream may be. Barry is a very talented man both as a musician and performer and as a writer of songs and the written word. This book was written in 1987. Since then he has accomplished even more. I hope that he will write a follow-up autobiography soon. Until then, this book is an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a novel
Review: This book is very well written. It reads like a good novel about a successful musician from his poor background, his struggles with his decision to pursue a music career and how he succeeded. He reflects on both his personal life and how his love of music, writing and arranging songs, and performing were developed. This is a very interesting and honest book to read, whether you are a big fan or not; are an aspiring musician or not. His story encourages people to follow their dream, whatever that dream may be. Barry is a very talented man both as a musician and performer and as a writer of songs and the written word. This book was written in 1987. Since then he has accomplished even more. I hope that he will write a follow-up autobiography soon. Until then, this book is an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: howling at the milkman
Review: This book shows the world that mr manalow is without doubt a strange form of sea creature . From page one he tells us about his life on mars and how he nearly died as a child from racing with a sack of coal. I was however very dissapointed that he fails to elaborate on his love affair with president nixon, or why he tried to murder columbo's wife . The book though is a good read for those who are allowed crayons and I feel sure the lobsters in the tank will find it a great confort .