Rating: 
Summary: Not a roaring flame; but still a great book.
Review: After reading Kanfer's bio on the the late, great Groucho Marx. I went into "Ball of Fire" knowing what to expect. And I was right. The reader gets a "blow-by-blow" rundown of Ms. Ball's life. From her simple upbringing in Upstate New York. To learning her survival skills during the early days in NYC. Finding success in her career and her lovelife in California. And later adjusting to the role of legend and icon during the last years of her life. I really think "Lucy die-hard" fans will find the book a tad boring because most of what is said has be repeated before in other periodicals.
Rating:
Summary: Good and straightforward
Review: After reading Kanfer's bio on the the late, great Groucho Marx. I went into "Ball of Fire" knowing what to expect. And I was right. The reader gets a "blow-by-blow" rundown of Ms. Ball's life. From her simple upbringing in Upstate New York. To learning her survival skills during the early days in NYC. Finding success in her career and her lovelife in California. And later adjusting to the role of legend and icon during the last years of her life. I really think "Lucy die-hard" fans will find the book a tad boring because most of what is said has be repeated before in other periodicals.
Rating:
Summary: Not a roaring flame; but still a great book.
Review: After reading Kanfer's bio on the the late, great Groucho Marx. I went into "Ball of Fire" knowing what to expect. And I was right. The reader gets a "blow-by-blow" rundown of Ms. Ball's life. From her simple upbringing in Upstate New York. To learning her survival skills during the early days in NYC. Finding success in her career and her lovelife in California. And later adjusting to the role of legend and icon during the last years of her life. I really think "Lucy die-hard" fans will find the book a tad boring because most of what is said has be repeated before in other periodicals.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT REALLY NECESSARY
Review: Although this book is well written and interesting -- it is more or less a condensed compilation of all the better books written about Lucy in the past 10 or so years. There is nothing particularly new or insightful here except the author's tendency to be a bit more cruel. Also, beware of author's homophobic barbs in the later chapters (what's that all about???). This book would make for excellent reading if you have not read anything else written about Lucy.
Rating:
Summary: Behind the Scenes Where No One Loved Lucy
Review: Ball of Fire concentrates on the I Love Lucy show, how it came about (and almost didn't get off the ground), behind the scenes tidbits, its effect on America. Kanfer doesn't stint on the rest of Lucy's life, both before and after the Show, but I Love Lucy really is the star of this book. Never having read a biography of Lucille Ball, this was all news to me, and I enjoyed discovering that Vivian Vance loathed William Frawley, and that Ball was such a stickler and control freak. Kanfer's style is easy and very readable, and there are plenty of photos to round things out, including an unexpected one of a young topless Lucille Ball. If you are in the mood for an entertaining and, let's face it, unimportant, book, this one is worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: If you love Lucy, you might want to skip this book
Review: By now, die-hard Lucy fans know about her early years as a model, her career in Hollywood as the queen of the B-pictures and her attempts to save her marriage by including her ever-wandering, hot-tempered husband, Desi, in the proposed TV show based on her successful radio show. We know that she was a complicated woman, driven to succeed, a person who would now be called a workaholic and that she credited Desi with being the brains of the operation. She could be arrogant and demanding and she could be loving. She was larger than life. And, we know about her intricate, not always happy relationship with Vivian Vance, her perpetual second banana. That Ethel and Fred did not get along off camera is not new, nor is the birth of Little Ricky on stage and the conflict that caused for the real Desi, Jr. Lucy fans already have read, and probably have in their collections, the various biographies and histories of I Love Lucy - not to mention a few pieces of memorabilia. So, what can Stefan Kanfer offer that we have not read before? Actually, not much. While "Ball of Fire" a readable and farily well organized, Kanfer covers much the same ground we have been over before, particularly in "Lucille" Kathleen Brady's authoritative study of this comic legend. His individual twist, which, to be fair, he sticks to admirably, is why was the moderately successful B-movie queen such a run-away success on the small screen. Unfortunately, he could have stated the answer in one sentence -- actually, he does -- rather than attempt to base a whole biography on that one point. Kanfer usually paints with broader strokes than does Brady, who is more attentive to detail. At times, the two diverge, for example in discussions of the possible causes of Ball's leg problems when she was a young model and the intricacies of her early home life. Post "I Love Lucy" Brady is much stronger, particularly in describing Ball's relationship with her children and her ex-husband, Desi Arnaz. Die-hard Lucy fans will probably want to read Kanfer, if only to glean an added tidbit of knowledge here and there. Anyone who has not previously read a Lucy biography, or who expects to read only one, would probably get more information by starting with Brady.
Rating: 
Summary: If you can't even describe the Bill Holden episode...
Review: correctly, you have no business being a Ball biographer. (Lucy had an 'argument' with Holden at the Brown Derby? As Ricky would say "Whaaaa????") A tepid rehashing of every Lucille Ball book ever written. We know every story by now, and his one original thesis )that she was more successful on television than in the movies) is never really argued or clarified. Rent it at the library if you must but I would save my dough.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Famous Soul Mates
Review: Do wealth and distinction necessarily produce happiness?
This book although generally accentuates the negative side of Lucille and Desi's relationship and their struggles with Desilu, can be considered a well-written and informative collection of biographical information.
Apparently Lucille, fascinated by the 22-year-old good-looking drum player,actor, singer and bandleader with a cute Cuban accent, overlooked the Latino macho thing.
In the Hispanic American cultures, especially during the 50s and 60s and 70s total submission in marriage was expected from the female side. It was considered a macho thing to lie, cheat on your wife, drink and stay late on weekends while expecting her to be submissive and passive.
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha (a heck of a name) although a charming man, and very clever for business management was not the kind of man suitable for a committed relationship. Even though a financially successful couple, she was not pleased with him; misery that ended in divorce, and the dissolution of their once successful joint venture.
Anyway we Love Lucy, and Desi as well. All in all this biography is well organized, absorbing, and a good read.
(See A Book by Desi Arnaz, which is superb)
Rating:
Summary: Lessons on How to Learn From Each Other
Review: Do wealth and distinction necessarily produce happiness? This book although generally accentuates the negative side of Lucille and Desi's relationship and their struggles with Desilu, can be considered a well-written and informative collection of biographical information.
Why did she marry him? Apparently Lucille, fascinated by the 22-year-old good-looking drum player, singer and bandleader with a cute Cuban accent, overlooked the Latino macho thing; or worse yet; she did not know. In the Hispanic American cultures, especially during the 50s and 60s and 70s total submission in marriage was expected from the female side. It was considered a macho thing to lie, cheat on your wife, drink and stay late on weekends while expecting her to be submissive and passive. The day he asked for a divorce Lucy angrily called him: a bum, a drunk, a cheat, a spick, and a wetback, showing there was more hate than "I love Lucy" attitude in those days. Desiderio Arnaz although charming at times, and incredibly clever for show business management was evidently not the kind of man suitable for a committed relationship. Even though financially successful, they were not pleased with each other; unhappiness that was reflected in their careers resulting in the eventual failure of their joint venture. All in all this biography is well organized, absorbing, and a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: Drawn entirely from secondary sources, there is nothing new to be found in this biography. I wouldn't even recommend it to someone who has read no other biography of Ball, as it is filled with the most elementary mistakes. The author doesn't even describe the "Lucy" episode with William Holden accurately. Just skip this one.
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