Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Lee's book was an illuminating look into Lucy's personality.
I wasn't too surprised to learn of her "control issues," and yet
it was disheartening to read about Lucy's great sadness in the
last years of her life. From Lee's description, it seemed he spent more quality time with her than did her own children or husband Gary Morton.
I felt Lee may have been star struck at times, but for the most part, had a genuine care and concern for Lucy. I have been a Lucy fan for many years and this is the perfect book for any Lucy fan.
Lee either has a wonderful memory for detail, or kept a journal as conversations are remembered clearly as well as facts/dates, etc.
Lucy wasn't always the nicest person in real life, but she will always reign as the Queen of Comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Here's Lucy!
Review: Lucille Ball played Mame Dennis onscreen and was savaged by the critics! As author Lee Tannen makes very clear in this book - Lucille Ball was Auntie Mame.
We learn firsthand how Lucy drove, cooked, swore, and lived. Tannen's word pictures place us front and center during the last decade of Lucy's life. We find out finally why she did her ill-fated series 'Life With Lucy.' We learn how she felt about her friends, her fame, and her life without work.
Bravo to Lee Tannen for sharing this story with us. Here at last is Lucy a living breathing human being - not Lucy Ricardo/Carmichael/Carter - and we love her all the more for being so human.
Rating:
Summary: If you love Lucy, you'll love this book
Review: Lucy-philes: this is a book for you.  The book focuses on the little known details of the last decade of Lucy's life.  Through family ties, author Lee Tannen became Lucy's confidant and backgammon buddy. The book provides new anecdotes galore of Lucy's day-to-day life, her opinions, her friends (famous and not so famous),  her relationship with her children (a little sparse here, but still interesting) and about her complex, sparkling and very unique personality. Bonus: the end of the book features several pages of Lucy's "favorites" - including her favorite movies, entertainers and best of all, her favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes. For those who've read Lucy in the Afternoon, there are also a couple of references to author Jim Brochu (who I see did an Amazon review of this book, too). (There're also some pretty funny anecdotes about Elizabeth Taylor which work themselves into the book when Tannen directs her perfume commercial.) The book absolutely flies and it's almost impossible to put down.  Although it's fun to see that Lucy's sense of the zany stayed with her until the end of her life, there are disconcerting insights, also.  According to Tannen, Lucy fought depression during this last decade, saddened by Desi Arnaz's death, by the "failure" of her last TV series and unconvinced that her fans were still interested in her (despite the fact that she couldn't even take a walk in her neighborhood without  cars and tour buses screeching to a halt.) I was sad to learn that this treasure actually had issues about her own value as her career slowed.  I suppose that's only natural -- Lucy was a real person, too, as hard as that is for me to grasp. And, that's where Tannen succeeds so well.  Tannen shows you the real life behind the legend.  True, at times Tannen is shockingly irreverent towards Lucy, teasing her about her driving, her singing and even ribbing her mercilessly when she comes back from presenting an Academy Award about whether the real Lucy is the glam-presenter-Lucy or the Lucy-in-curlers-and-bunny-slippers who flees Swifty Lazar's party to play backgammon at home with Tannen. (Lucy often developed "shpilkas" in crowds.) But, tough dame that Lucy was, she seemed to thrive on the banter.  True, Tannen can be a bit of an obnoxious braggadocio, but the "attitude" only makes the book more colorful. This is a poignant book, a terrific read and a "must-have" addition to any Lucy library.
Rating:
Summary: If you love Lucy, you'll love this book
Review: Lucy-philes: this is a book for you. The book focuses on the little known details of the last decade of Lucy's life. Through family ties, author Lee Tannen became Lucy's confidant and backgammon buddy. The book provides new anecdotes galore of Lucy's day-to-day life, her opinions, her friends (famous and not so famous), her relationship with her children (a little sparse here, but still interesting) and about her complex, sparkling and very unique personality. Bonus: the end of the book features several pages of Lucy's "favorites" - including her favorite movies, entertainers and best of all, her favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes. For those who've read Lucy in the Afternoon, there are also a couple of references to author Jim Brochu (who I see did an Amazon review of this book, too). (There're also some pretty funny anecdotes about Elizabeth Taylor which work themselves into the book when Tannen directs her perfume commercial.) The book absolutely flies and it's almost impossible to put down. Although it's fun to see that Lucy's sense of the zany stayed with her until the end of her life, there are disconcerting insights, also. According to Tannen, Lucy fought depression during this last decade, saddened by Desi Arnaz's death, by the "failure" of her last TV series and unconvinced that her fans were still interested in her (despite the fact that she couldn't even take a walk in her neighborhood without cars and tour buses screeching to a halt.) I was sad to learn that this treasure actually had issues about her own value as her career slowed. I suppose that's only natural -- Lucy was a real person, too, as hard as that is for me to grasp. And, that's where Tannen succeeds so well. Tannen shows you the real life behind the legend. True, at times Tannen is shockingly irreverent towards Lucy, teasing her about her driving, her singing and even ribbing her mercilessly when she comes back from presenting an Academy Award about whether the real Lucy is the glam-presenter-Lucy or the Lucy-in-curlers-and-bunny-slippers who flees Swifty Lazar's party to play backgammon at home with Tannen. (Lucy often developed "shpilkas" in crowds.) But, tough dame that Lucy was, she seemed to thrive on the banter. True, Tannen can be a bit of an obnoxious braggadocio, but the "attitude" only makes the book more colorful. This is a poignant book, a terrific read and a "must-have" addition to any Lucy library.
Rating:
Summary: I cried
Review: Never in my life have I ever read a book so moving. I never wanted to put this book down I Love it that much! I went skiing and brought the book along with me--After about 2o minutes I was ready to stop skiing and start reading again. This is a truley amazing book, I have never been so moved and touched by a novel. Lee did a spectaculor job in allowing us to see the real Lucy, I even cried in the last two "episodes" or chapters. Bravo Lee---Write more on Lucy, I Love Your Work!
Rating: 
Summary: Lucy's Last Decade
Review: Oh, I LOVED this book! It gives you a picture of the Lucille Ball you never knew.
Lee Tannen first started being friends with Lucy around 1980. This book gives you sixteen memoirs in Lee's own words from the year Lucy married Gary, to when Lee met Lucy, to when the friendship began--and ending with Lucille Ball's death. I almost cried at the end, and that's something I rarely do when reading a book.
Rating:
Summary: AN HONEST AND LOVING MEMOIR.
Review: She didn't like change, and until she died, had the only rotary telephones in Beverly Hills! A wonderful insight into the real-life personna of Lucy. Being a Lucille Ball fan, I have to congratulate Mr. Tannen for his honesty concerning Lucy's need to control, her thrifty ways with money among other things: it's a realistically refreshing book about America's favourite redhead. Lucy was indeed a complex and sometimes perplexing person who, paradoxically - in real life - seemed to be everything that Lucy Ricardo wasn't; then again......I have to admire Lucy for being such a strong, real person who didn't cry the blues or gossip about people like so many stars did. I agree that it seems hard to believe that this serious "realist" type woman could also be the immortal Lucy Ricardo! It goes to prove that Lucille Ball was indeed a sensational actress who found her niche after nearly twenty years in the movies. A bravura account of our beloved Lucy!
Rating:
Summary: Lucy, Lee And Her Last Decade
Review: The author takes you where few have been, up close and intimate with Lucy. It is evident from page one and woven throughout, that this book could only be written by someone that shared a special love with a special person. Written in a smooth, flowing, humorous style, the anecdotes almost forbid you to stop reading. It is an account of this icon's last ten years of her life that is a must read whether you were a Lucy fanatic or not.
Rating:
Summary: THE LUCILLE BALL YOU NEVER KNEW
Review: The Hanukah/Christmas holiday season really came early for this reader this year! Lee Tannen's memoir of his close friendship with Lucille Ball titled I LOVED LUCY is an incredibly sensitive, loving, real, amusing, touching, honest, candid and extremely well written insight into the unknown and fascinating final chapter in the life of one of America's most beloved personalities (probably now more than ever). The love, devotion and deep friendship between Mr. Tannen and Lucille Ball leaped off of the pages at every turn. I was engrossed completely from start to finish and was sad to get to the end of the book. I wanted more, more, more! This is a wonderful literary achievement! Mr. Tannen will make many, many readers and fans of Lucille Ball quite happy with I LOVED LUCY! Enjoy! PS. This book will indeed be the perfect Christmas gift for anyone who loved Lucille Ball (which seems to be EVERYONE)!
Rating:
Summary: Up Close and Personal
Review: This book is absolutely sensational for anyone interested in a behind the scenes peek into the private life of a very public lady. It read like the wind, made me laugh and made me cry. Lee Tannen has done a terrific job of giving us a simple story of friendship with a very complex star. It's obvious that Lee Tannen loved Lucy and the love was totally reciprocated. Don't miss it!
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