Rating: 
Summary: Worst piece of trash I have read.
Review: Most of the book is based on hearsay. I wanted to know more about his relationship with Linda Allen, his 2 bouts with money problems, more about what he is doing now. She portrays him as a very bitter and angry person. This is not the Barry that we all know and love.
Rating: 
Summary: NOTHING NEW AND DISAPPOINTING!
Review: Really, for someone who is expecting personal remarks of Barry himself given and researched by the author,this book
doesn't review anything new.
It is just a bunch of articles and internet material compiled by the writer and some supposed comments of people related to Barry somehow: friends, members of the band and even his stepmother! It seems that this author didn't have much interest in contacting the "subject" himself, since he is alive!!
Unfortunately, this research has been made basically on press articles and stuff! the only worth-seeing material is a set of never-seen photos.
I just have to remark that this book doesn't give Barry justice and could have been put more emphasis on his career instead of hearsays and unfair remarks on his personal life!
Rating: 
Summary: New Manilow Biography Offers Deepest Portrait Yet
Review: Since Barry Manilow's rapid rise to super-stardom in the early 1970's, many writers and entertainment watchers have attempted to unravel the mystery of the man that his fans love, and his critics love to hate. It took until nearly 30 years after Manilow's ascension to the pop-come-adult-contemporary throne for a lone, respected biographer to fill in the blanks left by Manilow's own 1987 autobiography, "Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way To Paradise." Patricia Butler has pieced together a fuller, deeper story than any of those before her, with the help of many of Manilow's closest friends, relatives and former band members. While Butler captures the same portrait of a reluctant-but-overachieving star that others have painted, she takes this book substantially further, systematically peeling away at the layer of awe that has blinded many of her predecessors to garner deeper insights. What results is a louder and more credible take on the topics that were previously only whispered and rumored. We learn about the women in Manilow's life: his grandmother's quest to distance a young Barry from his father, his mother's repeated suicide attempts and bouts with alcoholism, Manilow's short-lived and possibly unconsummated marriage, and an awkward relationship with Karen Carpenter. Butler offers stories and anecdotes from Manilow's friends and colleagues that paint an ego-driven perfectionist prone to temper tantrums. Through exhaustive interviews, she offers a variety of "that's-not-how-I-remember-it" clarifications that directly contradict the star's own account of certain events. ... Yet this thoroughly enjoyable celebrity "outing" isn't an expose of Butler's design. Former band members, particularly long-time drummer Lee Gurst, handle the brunt of the dirty work as it relates to Manilow's sexuality. Respectfully, though, Butler doesn't dwell too long on any of the "new" revelations, and in fact provides great balance in her account of Manilow's life and career. Appropriately, both the casual Manilow fan and the diehard fanatic will feel the pride of the icon's quick, enduring and unprecedented pop success. Against the backdrop of music history, Barry Manilow gets more respect in this book than one might rightfully expect. Still, some of Manilow's predominantly female fan base will undoubtedly plug its ears in "La-la-la, I can't hear you" fashion, in attempt to drown out anything that might paint Barry Manilow as a mere mortal. Their loss. Because this book truly succeeds where others have not.
Rating:
Summary: fairly basic
Review: this book didn't add anything into Barry Manilow's Career.it stopped at a certain point&was stuck there.it has some interesting blurbs but overall very tabloid in a lot of ways to me.it only goes to the Early 80's with Barry.He needs a new Book on His Career especailly after His Monster Year of 2002.
Rating:
Summary: A footnote in the Life
Review: This book is by far the worst unauthorized biography dealing with the life of a celebrity that I have ever had the displeasure to read. I truely thought that another point of view on the life of Barry Manilow would be a great read after having enjoyed reading Mr. Manilow's own account of his life in "Sweet Life". Obviously I found after a few chapters that I was wrong, wrong, wrong. The book in itself is poorly writen, hard to follow and filled with information found elsewhere that is used just to fill pages and make the book long enough to be published.
This book is thorough enough if all you want to know is what Barry did during the early part of his career or what his birth-father was like.A better title might have been Harold Kelliher: a Biography. The author relies heavily on already published information, that she quotes from freely. She did interview many people, including Harold's wife, although it appears that most have had no contact with Mr. Manilow since the early to mid eighties and because of this, the reader is better than halfway through the book before you are out of the third year of Manilow's solo career. The rest of the book, is spent quoting directly from several sources, including Manilow's own autobiography. Although there is information included from interveiws with A handful of people still working with Mr. Manilow, their contributions are mainly used as gloss. They elaborate on Manilow's long career and his talent, but provide little in the way of actual information on the man himself. The chapters depicting the fans were quoted directly from the book "Starlust" and go on for pages and pages. This is not only distracting to the reader, but has one questioning what this information does to further the biography of the subject.
Also irritating are the page after page footnotes that appear in the book, with information again having, in the majority of cases, NOTHING WHAT SO EVER to do with the subject. I have seen high school term papers written with better clarity.
Although the subject matter, handled by a better and more talented author, could be of great interest to the general public, this particular book is not worth the time nor the expense to bother with. If you are looking for a good read, I suggest reading "Sweet Life" and for more up-to-date information, join Mr. Manilow's Fan CLub. It will be in the long run, a better value for your hard earned money.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting to the truth??
Review: This book is written so poorly that I would not even know where to begin. All I have to say is, shame on the author, editor(s) and publisher! Yikes! A literary nightmare! It is really a shame, because I think the author started out doing some pretty good research........It wasn't in many ways completed, followed through with or organized very well. Too bad. As for the numerous comments in the other reviews, people need to wise up and wake up! Why are many complaining that there were no recent sources spoken with? Hello????? Maybe they would not have a job, friendship, etc... if they did. Ms. Butler obviously talked to sources that knew him, and that could actually DO some talking. One of my favorite comments in the "reviews" was the particular one stating that his relationship with his father or lack of one, you could say, was an issue when he was possibly growing up, but did not really matter later in his life.... WHAT??? Are they kidding? Psychology 101 would explain the significance of that relationship to a child or an adult.....please! I think that there is "proof-positive" results in the reviews placed on this piece of material that there are delusional fans on many levels. Many of the stories spoken in this book should be disturbing and at the very least, thought provoking to a "normal" fan/person??? I know exactly why the author chose to do some research on those message boards........you would not believe what you hear and see on those things??? Fans spend alot of what seems to be a bickering waste of time.
It is hard to believe some one as talented as he is could create such havoc. I respect his talent, but like many in the public eye, can't seem to deal with real life too often. He seems to have many issues that he has never dealt with...what a shame. The author at times seems to make him out to be very emotionally unstable. (Which would be explained, in part, by his turbulent family/personal life.) I in no way feel she was completely negative, I do think she was trying to be honest. If celebrities do not want books like this written about them, why don't they just fess up? Nothing anyone could say would take their talent away from them. Maybe someday Mr. Manilow will come out with his own version and then he will be able to do everyone a favor and stay truthful in art and in life.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly written and speculative
Review: This book lacks form and direction. I found it hard to follow. Judging from the content, the author clearly hates Manilow and Manilow's fans. I don't understand why a Barry fan would give money to a writer who clearly thinks they're insane and says so in this book. I borrowed the copy I read and I urge everyone else to do the same. Purchase "Sweet Life... " if you want to read a book about Barry Manilow. He wrote this one himself, so it's more accurate and detailed.
Rating:
Summary: Unauthorized and unfair
Review: This book makes Barry Manilow and his fans look like they're in competition for the outcast award. If you want to read all the negative articles and comments Butler could find about Barry all in one place, then this is the book for you! If you are a loyal fan, not a wacky, love-struck, "middle-aged housewife" (as his fans are often called) read this book if you dare.
Rating:
Summary: Look Elsewhere--No New Information About The Man
Review: This book presents no new information on Barry Manilow's life. Much of it quotes from Manilow's autobiography--you're better off reading it from the man himself. In fact, the "biography" portion of the book ends when Manilow's book was published (in 1987!)--there is no information about Manilow's life since then. The author dwells on the negative aspects of his life and career and gets into "he said/she said" discussions about certain incidents in his life. The more interesting part of the book comes with the last two or three chapters where the author interviews noted music journalists to determine reasons why Manilow has never gotten the critical acclaim he deserves.
Rating:
Summary: Unauthorized and unfair
Review: What a waste of time, A book about Barry Manilow, by somone that seems to dislike him, by her own addmission, third hand story's and step mother I believe Barry never even met.
I can't even go on about how bad this book really is, you would be better off reading the Enquierer or the Globe to get more accurate information on a Brilliant man such as Mr. Manilow
Please skip this one! and save your money, buy"Sweet life adventures on the way to paradise" and hear Barrys life story told by the man himself!
Ruby
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