[.ca] I Loved Lucy: My Friendship With Lucille Ball (ISBN 0312302746)

The true Lucille Ball:
This is such a wonderful, heartfelt, extraordinary book. I picked it up at 9:00 in the evening, expecting to read just a chapter or two. I couldn't set it down until I finished it at three in the morning, crying, of course, at the luminous quality of the work that I had just experienced.

The best book on Lucy that I've ever read...:
... and I've read most of them! I sort of expected this book to be some tabloidish tale, an exploitive expose' about The Queen Of Television Comedy. I was completely wrong and am not ashamed to admit that. It was one of the only books about Lucille Ball that I had not purchased. I ran across it one day at the library so I checked it out. I ended up purchasing the book for my collection before I even finished it. The glowing letter of endorsement from Lucy's daughter Lucie Arnaz that graces the back cover should have been enough for me to make the purchase upon its release! Tannen dishes a lot of dirt here, but it's nothing that Lucy would necessarily be mad at him for revealing. His words give Lucy fans a complete idea of what Lucy's last years were like. Stories about how Lucy desperately wanted to make the movie "Driving Miss Daisy" (Lee says she would have been all wrong for it, and he's right); her disastrous last two projects (the TV movie "The Stone Pillow", and the failed ABC sitcom "Life With Lucy"); her obsession with backgammon and game shows (she loved Vanna White of "Wheel Of Fortune"), plus a lot of other stories let us in on a Lucy we never really knew. As the star of one of the world's most popular TV shows, most people would think that Lucy lived a grand life of luxury. She did, but she seemed mostly unaware that it was so grand- and that it could have been even grander. She did not enjoy change. Her homes are described in detail, down to what the furniture looked like. It's all extremely riveting, especially for anyone that is a fan of Lucille Ball. The thing that makes this book so wonderful is that you truly get a sense that Lee Tannen REALLY did love Lucy. He didn't write this book to cash in on anything. He just wanted to share a side of Lucy with her fans that they didn't know about before. She does't come out smelling so perfect at all times, but this book certainly will not tarnish anyone's image of her. If you have any interest in Lucille Ball at all, this is a book that you will not want to miss out on. It was extremely hard to put down.

Obessed Fan Stalks Fading Television Legend:
I couldn't give this book low stars because I read it very quick. Meaning that there was something very fascinating about this read. However I found this book extremely disturbing on many levels. First of all this author never ever found out what Lucy was really like or even who she really was. All he does is play games with her (at her request) and idolize her. He compares everything that happens to her in real life to an "I Love Lucy" episode. Which was not only boring to read but very very disturbing. He gets momentos from her (framed pictures) and sits around watching old "I Love Lucy" reruns while looking at the scripts while Lucy looks on. This is beyond creepy. The whole thing reminded me of MISERY - except Lucy was the one in control. Sort of MISERY in reverse. We never really get to know about Lee or his boyfriend. (Except they are rich) We only hear tabloid style mean jabs at Lucy's husband - very unfair because that is the ONLY way he got to know Lucy at all. It's sad when the only thing good about this book is the letter written by Lucie Arnaz to the author. It is such a sincere and nice letter. Much better than this fawning strange book. It was nice to see that Lucy had a soft sentimental as well as tough side. As Lucie Anaz put it she was "only human". Fascinating but gross!

Lucy's Last Decade:
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.

I Loved It:
This is a book about a distant relative of Gary Morton's relationship with Lucille Ball during the last ten years of her life. He spent a good amount of time with Lucy, and he shares with us their dinner dates, skiing in Colorado, going to the theatre and, of course, backgammon! I couldn't put the book down. The private life of Lucy after "I Love Lucy" is fascinating, no matter what she said or did - I wanna hear it all. The author tells the story always with love for Lucy and with a good sense of humor of his own. Lucy fans should treasure this.