Tiny Tim And Mr. Plym: Life As We Knew It

Rating:
Summary: Turkey of the Year
Review: Folks, if the Amazon rating system went into negative stars, this one would rate a -10. And the sad thing is that, being a huge Tiny fan, I was willing to cut it alot of slack. I would have been willing to forgive it's being very badly written (it is just desperately bad) I would even have been willing to forgive it's being a hopelessly shallow 'expose' type of thing. But what I can't forgive are the gross inacuracies. The book is full of so many little falsehoods that I have to wonder if ANY of it is true. For instance, Plym at one point talks about Tiny always being late for rehersals, when in fact Tiny was a fanatic for puctuality- one of his favorite sayings was 'if you aren't on time, you aren't worth a dime'. In his interviews and phone messages he always mentioned what time it was- it was a mania with him. Another example: Plym has Tiny talking about the joys of French kissing, when in fact Tiny was a germ freak with a life long aversion to the idea French kissing- no saliva exchange for Tiny! No way!. Those are small examples, but the book is rife with things that just don't sound right. Biggest among the things that smell funny to me is Plym's claim to be Tiny's 'best friend'. Strange, then, that while the book talks about Tiny's death, it makes no mention of the near fatal heart attack that Tiny suffered just a few months before. I have seen all of Tiny's personal effects, including get well soon cards and records of those who called him at the hospital, and Plym did not contact him. Nor was Plym's name in any of Tiny's several address books. He was just a guy who was Tiny's manager for a while late in his career, with a poor memory of what Tiny was really like and a desire to make money off a book. Good Luck, Plym. This thing is the Turkey of the year. For any reader who hungers to know what Tiny was really like, get ahold of 'Tiny Tim' written by Harry Stein. Now THERE is a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Tiny Tim deserves better
Review: Mr. Plym's book is a huge disapointment for Tiny Tim fans. Those looking for graphic detail of Tiny's sex life and masturbatory habits will find plenty to chew on, but those looking for a deeper portrait of the man better look elsewhere. I am suprised that Mr. Plym knows so little about Tiny's life and music. Especially the music!!! Tiny was a living archive of American popular song but none of this seemed to rub off on Mr. Plym who shows little interest in mentioning any of this. BTW, Tiny Tim had many many managers and agents during the last 20 years of his life and everyone claimed to be the "best" friend. Tiny's memory deserves better than this petrified hunk of wood fiber.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book.
Review: Reading this book, I learned all kinds of things about Tiny Tim that I never would have expected. Just when you think you've learned everything you could possibly learn about the man, Plym and Kooper reveal yet another surprising detail about this entertainment legend. I especially liked the warmth of the writing -- you can really get a sense of the strong, lifelong friendship between Tiny Tim and Mr. Plym. I thought the book was fun and interesting.