Ginger: My Story

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Summary: Ginger's memoir is truly a delight!
Review: According to one writer and critic 'Ginger my story' was greeted with 'critical yawns' upon it's publication in 1991. Personally I couldn't disagree more. Reading this book was a truly heartwarming experience from beggining to end. Ginger writes candidly about her upbringing, her early experiences on the vaudeville circuit, her hollywood film career (including the pitfalls of being a woman in Hollywood) and the sad story of her five marriages which all ended in divorce. Ginger tells delightful anecdotes about her encounters with other famous folk - George Gershwin, FDR, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Noel Coward, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra etc. It is wonderful to know how devoted she was to her mother Lela (to whom the book is dedicated) and the chapter where she describes how she coped with Lela's death is truly poignant. The most interesting parts for me was where she describes how christian science had helped her through life and how she had had used it to help others (she cured her third husband of warts and her fourth husband of boils!). I did feel quite sad though reading this knowing that Ginger was no longer with us (it's a shame she couldn't have used christian science to save herself from diabetes;she died from the disease in April 1995) for I would surely have written to her congratulating her for having written such a wonderful memoir.

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Summary: One of the Best Books I've Ever Read
Review: I am a great fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. When I learned that she had written an autobiography, I wanted to read it right away. This book was so good and informative, that I read all 450 pages within a few days. In her book, she talks about her childhood, her devotion to her mother, Lela, her stage career, her romances, and her movie career. I reccomend this book to any Ginger Rogers or Astaire and Rogers fan.

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Summary: Blah blah blah. What an irritating woman.
Review: I'm sorry that she's dead, but I have to say after reading this book that I found Ginger Rogers to be a self-righteous prig.
To hear her tell it, every cute scene in every one of her movies was her idea. Every glamourous dress she wore was her idea. And, of course, everyone loved her.
Particularly Mommy.
Ginger is obsessed with her mother. It's like she never moved past that "I'm gonna tell my Mommy!" phase of childhood developement. She never fought a battle of her own; she just called Mommy to do it for her, so that she could stay in her dressing room drinking milkshakes and praying.
I have respect for anyone in Hollywood, past present or future, who is willing to stand up and declare that they have a religious faith. But constant harping on how God healed the boils on her husband's butt gets a little wearying. Her constant determination to tell everyone how to live, coupled with her ridiculously childish practical jokes, leave me in no doubt as to why all of her non-drinking husbands became drinkers in a hurry.
She was a great entertainer, and some bits of the book were fairly interesting, but I think I finished it because I was fascinated by her ego and disastrous marriages than because I had fun with it.

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Summary: Realistic view of a fantasy world
Review: Pleasantly surprised to read Ginger Rogers autobiography about the golden age of Hollywood. She writes about her troubles with the hollywood biggies ( director Mark Sandrich...) and the price she paid for having not conformed to the hollywood social scene of drinking, philandering and ego stroking. Loved to read about her early broadway career and her romantic tangles ranging from Jack Culpepper to Cary Grant. There are times when she is not specific about certain events ( her later marriages) but does not make any apologies. Obviously this talented lady was a force to be dealth with seriously, or she would not have survived the harsh realities of show business. Much has been written about her mother Lela, and not in very sympathetic tones, but none of that in this autobiography- love, support and tenacity are what got these women through- a very entertaining book.

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Summary: My favorite book!
Review: This is my favorite book! Sweet, funny, sober, honest Ginger Rogers gives us a peek into yet another one of her many talents--writing. Her autobiography reads well, in fact, it is the only biography I could ever finish, let alone read multiple times. It gives a detailed (but not at all dull) look into her life in show business, FIVE husbands, her religion, and of course, her mother. Illustrated with lots of lovely pictures of Ginger and many of leading men, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, et cetera. Beautiful book, a must read.