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Customer Reviews (20)

Wonderfully Entertaining !
I've been a Russell Crowe fan since 2000 and when I read just a few of the stories of debauchery in this book I thought, 'These guys make Russell look like a choir boy ! '
Also mentioned in the book was a comment that Elizabeth Taylor could drink them all under the table !...Oh my....

I do have to wonder had there been the internet and the instant media coverage during their heyday like we have now.... would these 4 have been more INfamous than famous ?
Would their acting careers have been adversely affected after they got raked over the coals with every bad behavior exposed like celebrities are subjected to today ?
Who knows.
At any rate, this is a highly entertaining book and I recommend it for some fun reading.

One Hell Of A Last Word
This book essentially chronicles the lives of four celebrated anglo actors with the main focus on their addictive and destructive behavior fueled by drink and drugs.
The best aspect of this book was the biographical information that was provided about these actors because it provided a wealth of personal information. Obviously, drunken carousing was a certain component in those lives. Conversely, it was the emphasis on the excesses that I found interesting, but also a tad depressing. The drunken bingeing and general misbehavior which was the common thread in all of their lives seemed like overload times four. It left me wondering how they managed to function as they fried their brain cells with the addictive behavior.
End shot: this was an interesting book and it did what it promised and chronicled the lives of four legendary hellraising actors but it fell short because the primary focus was on their bad behavior.

Don't try this at home
Here's a collection that lets us vicariously enjoy the most outrageous and salacious adventures of the best party animal actors that ever lived? Personally, I don't think my own constitution could have matched or survived any one of these incidents or activities of mass alcohol consumption, barroom destruction, or insatiable sexual conquest. But there were some memoroable times that I tried ... God knows I tried.

Sloshed again, eh?
Almost immediately at the start of the book, author Sellers announces that his purpose here is not to cast judgment on or make excuses for the alcohol-fueled antics of his subjects. These four great actors lived and loved in a very different climate from the one that currently permeates Hollywood and the rest of society. Some people revered them for their commitment to "taking the piss," as the Brits call it, and some people claimed that the drink took amazing skills and subjected them to poor career choices.Like the author, I'm not going to cast judgment either.Were these four men (and the others glancingly mentioned) alcoholics?I'd say yes.But they were also brilliant, original, inspirational men.Three of the four were actors I still rever and wish I were a quarter as talented as.Burton and Harris -- I wanted to BE them when I was younger. O'Toole -- okay, I'll admit, I had a hard time watching Lawrence of Arabia as a kid, but I still looked up to him.Reed, I was scared of.Of course, the roles I was most familiar with Reed from was as The Wolfman in a Hammer Horror film I saw when I was very young, and as the evil Bill Sykes in "Oliver!"Of the four, he was the seriously dark and brooding one (by looks, at least) and I didn't follow him as closely.

The author's chosen format, dividing the book up into decades, keeps the book interesting and keeps the stories flowing. And while the focus is on the titular four hellraisers there are plenty of asides about actors like Robert Mitchum, Lee Marvin, Michael Caine and others. And of course, one cannot talk about Burton's career (and drinking) without talking about Elizabeth Taylor (who fueled the drinking, if not the best of Burton's performances).

The stories are by turns hysterical and heart-breaking, especially when Sellers recounts the last days of Burton, Reed and Harris. O'Toole, of course, is the "last man standing," as the final chapter is titled. I admit to crying when I read about Harris' final moments with his family, and I smiled a bit reading of Reed's death while filming Gladiator, because it seems he died doing exactly what he wanted to do.
Definitely a book worth reading, a glimpse at a different era of celebrity.Theirs is a mantle actors like Russell Crowe have tried (but not completely successfully) to inherit.

Affectionate, entertaining tribute
Unlike the reviewer who thought that HELLRAISERS was a mean-spirited hatchet job, I found this book to be admiring, and affectionate toward its subjects, than otherwise.

The author makes no attempt at psychological analysis of these four actors - as to why they drank to excess and/or behaved so self-destructively at times - and frankly, I found that absolutely refreshing.The book just pulls the reader in with story after story of the outrageous exploits of these four men.I couldn't put it down.It also brought back all kinds of memories since I grew up reading about the wild marriage(s) of Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor; the bar room brawls of Oliver Reed {so wonderful as Athos in The Three Musketeers}, and the consistent comebacks of Peter O'Toole.(Just when you think he's finished as an actor, the man pulls another Oscar nomination.)

HELLRAISERS was simply fun to read.Light biographical sketches are provided, and the ups and downs of the actors' careers are charted, but really the focus here is on story after infamous story of the drinking; the brawls, and the newsprint spilled about them.

If, as a reader, you prefer to look at the whys and wherefore's of the choices these men made, or find it sad to think about the wasted talents of these actors, lost to alcoholism, then don't read HELLRAISERS - but, I think you'll be cheating yourself.(I agree that in many ways, it's sad these men didn't realize what they were doing to themselves, yet, each man LIVED the way he wanted to, and for the most part, enjoyed their lives, even if they couldn't remember much of it later.)

I found this book very entertaining.The author states in his Forward that this is what HELLRAISERS is meant to be, and he delivers. ... Read more

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A member of the PH OD Series! The material in this text is essential reading for managers, consultants, and other executives experiencing the "change-stability dilemma." This dilemma raises issues such as an organization's commitment to change, organizational culture, and how to increase and maintain productivity, creativity, and innovation in the midst of change. This edition examines the changing environment and provides a contemporary look at how existing knowledge and technology can be usefully applied. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

OD Classic
This is one of the books that I've dog-eared, underlined, and referenced over and over, so much so that I'm on my second copy.It goes beyond the typical change management information, and gives valuable tools forassessing the readiness for change, identifying roles people assume in achange situation; charting responsibilities in a change process, amongothers.In my opinion, this isn't a book for scholars, it is a book formanagers and those who help them plan and manage complex organizationtransitions.

Pop-Psychology for OD
Beckhard and Harris' book on organizational transition is easily one of the worst I have ever read on the subject. It is not necessarily the kind of information that is conveyed here, nor is it the style with which it isdone. Rather, if you have even the slightest concept of the meaning of ODand related topics then your knowledge is perhaps well beyond the scope ofthis book. Though the book does represent a nice introduction to themanagement of change, it is hardly worth its price.It barely surpasses thequality of an average pop-psychology book but certainly is of little valueto scholars. ... Read more

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An intimate biography of one of the greatest eccentric spirits of the modern cinema, from his earliest days in Ireland to his memorable swansong as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films. ... Read more

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love richard harris
i have always been a big fan of richard harris.i would love to find a copy of him in "The Snow Goose" which was an outstanding performance by him and film generally.it was so outstanding.wish i could find it.

Its all here..and I like it
If youre a fan of Richard Harris, as I am ,you'll enjoy this biography very much. Richard Harris's life was eccentric on-screen and off; a truly gifted talent of cinema. I recommend watching Man in the Wilderness, Juggernaut, or the Cassandra Crossing. Watch Harris(in fine form) in the Harry Potter movies. Also, Pick up one of his music cds if you can. ... Read more

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A collection of humorous, witty, pro-atheistic essays that entertain as well as inform. ... Read more

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Drawings from the Cheap Seats is a collection of sports cartoons by noted sports cartoonist Richard Harris.Many of the cartoons in this book have appeared in his Newsday sports cartoon, "The Cheap Seats." Some of the cartoons are new and others were considered a little too racy for a family publication like a newspaper, but fortunately not for his book.Harris draws in a smooth free-line style that is provocative and eye-catching. The athletes look like athletes and the expressions on his characters are right on the mark. Harris also has a talent for taking a national news story or situation and cleverly tying into the sporting world. Harris' Drawings from the Cheap Seats, is a must read for any sports fan. ... Read more

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One of the most active and revealing approaches to research into the American political system is one that focuses on political development, an approach that combines the tools of the political scientist and the historian. A History of the U.S. Political System: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions is the first comprehensive resource that uses this approach to explore the evolution of the American political system from the adoption of the Constitution to the present.

A History of the U.S. Political System is a three-volume collection of original essays and primary documents that examines the ideas, institutions, and policies that have shaped American government and politics throughout its history. The first volume is issues-oriented, covering governmental and nongovernmental institutions as well as key policy areas. The second volume examines America's political development historically, surveying its dynamic government era by era. Volume three is a collection of documentary materials that supplement and enhance the reader's experience with the other volumes.

Customer Reviews (3)

CERTAINLY WORTH READING
With all due respect to the other reviewers, we Richard Harris fans should stick together, but I'd stop well short of calling this book a disappointment. Certainly, some pictures would have been a worthy addition, but by and large, the book is written in a detailed journalistic manner by someone who had clearly spent time with Mr. Harris. I've read all three biographies and learned something new in each of them. I read this book last, and yes, it was written well before his passing.One reaches the 'The Field' at the end of the book and realises, that at the time of writing, Mr. Harris had a good last run ahead of him. He was a rare bird, and fans can certainly read him back into life in the pages of any of these books.

There's a Better Biography!
In reply to Sara Cox's review of "Actor by Accident," there's a recent biography of Richard Harris, by Michael Feeney Callan, entitled "Sex, Death, and the Movies: An Intimate Biography of Richard Harris" (it's brand new, w/pictures). I bought it through Amazon's UK site (don't think it's available here in the US yet).It's a fantastic biography, written mostly in Mr. Harris' own words!Hope this helps!

A Big Disappointment
With the kind of life Richard Harris lived, this book could have been so interesting and anecdotal.His spirit was not captured.Friends and family are absent.But worst of all, there are no pictures of this handsome, masculine man.I bought it only because it was the only biography of Harris I could find. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Buy it now and thank yourself later
Well done. Despite being published over five years ago and is tough as nails to find, this book is a gem. If you get your hands on this, don't let it go.

The author has compiled 47 interviews of foreigners who all have one thing in common: Korea. If this seems just like a few North American English teachers who blog and have an opinion or two on the country, please disregard that thought because this book could not be more diverse. Interviews from ethnic Chinese living in Korea, Korean adoptees from North America and Europe, spouses of Koreans, former soldiers, missionaries, TV personalities and a truly breathtaking interview with Dr. Horace Grant Underwood III a few months before his passing. The book covers illegal immigrants, naturalized citizens, foreign language students and everything in between. I finished it within a week I was so interested.

The book has a few faults, though. Despite being translated and transcribed into English, there are small number of grammatical and spelling errors. In addition to being a few bucks more expensive than the average expat book, it's a bit difficult to find a copy. Lastly, although the book does cover all pertinent subjects with a phenomenal level of balance, I would have liked to see more jobs such as business owners, politicians, island dwelling foreign residents, graduate students, and the like.

This book is crying for a revision and a new pressing. Please don't let this book be the last of what could be a great teaching tool for prospective and current foreign residents of Korea. An eye-opening and brilliantly compiled text, I urge you to pick this one up at the first possible inclination of moving to Korea.

Recommended reading for those planning on living/working in Korea
This is a collection of accounts of a number of people who live, or had lived, in South Korea.The occupations of the people whose stories are relayed in this volume are varied, and range from those working as office workers, those who are students or who are serving in the US military, and of course those working as the obligatory ESL teacher.The nationalities are as diverse as the occupations - as well as people of Korean descent, there are also Americans, Japanese, Filipinos, and New Zealanders, all of whom have interesting stories to tell about various aspects of their lives in Korea.

The book is split into 6 main sections, each dealing with a particular general aspect of life in Korea. One section is about working in Korea, another discusses social relations in Korea.People of Korean descent share their experiences in one section, and students in Korea get another section.A particularly interesting section is dedicated to those people who have formally made Korea their home, including one white US male who renounced his American citizenship to become a Korea.The final section, which I suspect will be the cause of most people's interest in this book is teaching in Korea.This is hardly surprising since ESL teaching is a relatively high profile and popular occupation for many young foreigners in Korea.

All but one of the contributors to the teaching section have taught in Hagwons, the most common employer of ESL teachers in Korea.The sole exception was the contributor who had only taught as an university instructor, although a number of the Hagwon teachers also went on to teach at a university - again hardly surprising, since it is quite a popular gig, usually teaching 15 hours or so a week, for nearly twice the pay of a Hagwon teacher.This section will be of most use to those readers who plan on teaching in Korea, as a number of the contributors discuss the common pitfalls for a novice in this field, and tips to help get by.This isn't to say the other sections aren't of interest.Many of the contributors give interesting insights into life, love, work and play in the Land of the Morning Calm.Recommended reading for those wanting insights into life in modern Korea, as well as those considering teaching in Korea.

Steve A. Kuiack, Author of "Let's Talk Business"
The wealth of diversity in Faces of Korea is second to none. The author has well-researched and documented the experiences of foreigners living in Korea. From men and women to young adults and elder citizens, from migrant laborers and corporate professionals to teachers and writers, the interesting diversity in this book adds to its authentic credibility. ... Read more

Product Description
In Two Volumes. This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1880Original Publisher: R. BentleySubjects: Authors, EnglishBiography ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Richard Harris, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 1072 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

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Hidden Highways of Arizona shows the way to adventure along lost highways, through small towns, and in wilderness areas. It introduces the traveler to back-road adventures that follow carefully planned routes. Travelers will be guided down secluded side roads and onto dirt roads to find ghost towns, red rock canyons, and other areas of forgotten Arizona. Eight routes including the popular Grand Canyon loop drive and the little-traveled Hopi Mesa Trail are detailed. The book features the most distinctive or unusual places to stay, including one of only two surviving wigwam-style roadside motels. Presented in a multidimensional layout with illustrations, photos, maps, and sidebars, each chapter follows a single route, as the itinerary moves swiftly from point to point. The author spices up the narrative with articles on local lore, historical facts, and modern curiosity. He also recommends distinctive hotels and restaurants and suggests side-trip excursions that veer off the beaten track to areas few travelers ever see. Details on local events are included so readers can plan trips to coincide with unique fairs and festivals. ... Read more

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Hidden Highways Arizonia
WE like back roads and really enjoy finding some new ones.If there is such a book for Nevada would love to know about it. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Mexico vacation
This book is very interesting as it does not just give info on PV. It takes
in the entire area and give a lot of suggestions. Besides informative, it
is a good reference book.

Some good info, lots of mistakes
Overall the guide is only marginally usefull.It does contain a few usefull tips about what one might do off the beaten path.
There is something troubling about the book though.There a number of mistakes in the book that could only be made by someone pretending to have done things like riding city buses or searching out local fare without actually having done those things.
At one point the author suggests you can catch a city bus from the airport but need exact change.You can indeed catch a municipal bus from the airport, but you don't need exact change.The drivers all make change within reason as they do everywhere in Mexico.
In the dining section the author mentions that it's hard to find mexican food in Vallarta.This claim is absurd.There small mexican restaurants all over Vallarta.Vallarta is after all a destination for mexican vacationers too, and there is a solid demand for decent mexican food, especially Jalisciense food (e.g. birria), a demand met by hundreds of small to medium size restuarants all over town.There are even a couple of large fondas serving basic mexican food to hundreds every evening.
Another error in the book makes me think the author doesn't even spend much time in Mexico at all.He mentions the Cinco de Mayo holiday and says that it celebrates the battle of Puebla, which it does, but he says that the battle ended french occupation, which it didn't.The Battle of Puebla was a victory against the french, but at the beginning of the intervention.The intervention followed, with Maximillian installed as emperor etc.The battle is celebrated as a holiday becuase immediately after the battle Juarez declared it a holiday and no one has dared to remove it, even though the battle itself was ultimately of little historical consequence.
Overall the book gives the impression of a not so astute armchair traveller who really doesn't have that much to offer in terms of how to enjoy Vallarta in a less touristy sort of way.More troubling than the errors that pepper the book is the sense that one gets that the author is trying to pass himself off as something he is not: an expert in travelling off the beaten path in Mexico. ... Read more