Customer Reviews (1)

A worthy follow-up to "The First Decade"
Revisiting Barbra Streisand's 'first decade' in show business, and taking her career through to her 1981 comedy "All Night Long", James Spada has done another terrific job examining the multi-faceted, sexy, tempermental and talented diva. Each of Streisand's films is given its own chapter, complete with lots of photographs(some never before seen). Spada soft-peddles some of Streisand's more chaotic battles with co-stars or directors, but many are present in interviews to give their thoughts. As with Spada's "Barbra: The First Decade", Streisand's music career isn't quite as fully explored as her movie work, and some of Spada's details are askew(David Bowie didn't write "Space Captain", for instance). Still, this is a very fine collection of photos and stories and must be included in any Streisand collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Something different.
When I found this book years ago in a book shop in my town I realized thiswas some kind of jewel, something special, different. Why? Well, it's noteasy to find it in Spain, harder if you think of a small town like mine. Ifelt lucky, because the Streisand I found Through The Lens was differentfrom the one I've always seen through the lens, the photos on magazines Imean. More human and, moreover, much greater star. I think photographershave taken good portraits of her, as they reveal her body and soul. SirCecil Beaton's portraits are just worth it! ... Read more

Product Description
Written by professionals and peers, fans and critics, a tribute to the award-winning actress, producer, composer, director, and writer is a compilation of more than thirty years of journalism, illuminating Streisand's life and career from the early 1960s to the present. Original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book of articles and trivia
This book presents the readers with interviews, magazine clips, articles written by friends and fans, and much more to hail the greatness of Barbra Streisand.I started this book out of curiosity and walked away a fan of this very talented lady. ... Read more

Product Description
This year, 1998 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand's sensational first movie.To celebrate her plunge into world prominence and popularity, we give you The Ultimate Barbra.This book is an intriguing compilation of information and lore about this multi-talented and phenomenal star, with a special presentation of the people, places, and events of her headline-making life and career to date. The Ultimate Barbra is a unique, comprehensive volume and is unlike any other book to date on Ms. Streisand. It is an entertaining, bold compendium of test-your-knowledge quizzes, lists, directories of people and places, chronologies, trivia challenges, special appendices (including bibliographies, Web sites and fan club listings), and more. All aspects of her phenomenal talent are covered: her career on stage, film, TV, and in the recording studios; her love life which has ranged from Elvis Presley to Elliott Gould to Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau to Don Johnson to current husband James Brolin, being a mother, and her offstage activities in the arenas of philanthropy, politics, and environmentalism.This book is an informative and clever look at the richly textured life and career of the superstar who offends almost as many people as she delights. Readers and fans may be familiar with the details of her much-chronicled life, but they have not seen them presented in such an unusual and intriguing way as offered in The Ultimate Barbra. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

BARBRA AT HER FINEST!
Barbra is a charasmatic lady with a magical voice that stays with you long after the song has ended.In this book, readers will find a very in-depth account of her career, love life, dreams, expectations, tribulations and achievements.Barbra has had some very infamous men by her side.I clearly remember her visit to my home province, Prince Edward Island, manyyears ago on the arm of our now deceased, former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau; they made a stunning couple.When the public showed up to welcome her, she was cold, stand-offish and seemed truly elated to be putting herself on her own pedestal far above the public and her fans.Maybe she was having a bad day?However, as an actress and singer, she has certainly made in mark in this world.

There is a side to Barbra that is funny, witty and a side that appears cold and distant.The author tends to reveal only her positive nature, and I guess if someone was to write a book about us that is the side we would want to be revealed.In any event, Barbra is who she is and when her it comes to her musical career, most will agree she is a tremendously talented lady.

the title says it all
I guess the problem with books about celebrities is that they always have a bias. I mean, writing a book is an enormous undertaking, so for someone to write a book about Barbra they realistically have to love her a lot orhate her a lot. Mr. Cunningham, it seems, neither loves Barbra nor hatesher, he writes objectively not for himself, but for the rest of the worldwho very definitely has an opinion of her. I myself LOVE her. I don't knowhow to say it, but Mr. Cunningham has certainly helped me. He distilled herlife into fewer than 300 pages. I could almost formulate an admiration forher that has taken more than thirty years to create just by reading thisbook. ... Read more

Product Description
Features 18 songs from the fabulous live millennium New Year's concert event by the incomparable Ms. Streisand, plus her thoughts and reminiscences, and great full-color photos. Includes: Alfie * At the Same Time * Auld Lang Syne * Cry Me a River * Evergreen * Happy Days Are Here Again * I've Dreamed of You * Lover, Come Back to Me * Miss Marmelstein * On a Clear Day * People * Putting It Together * Send in the Clowns * Simple Pleasures * A Sleepin' Bee * Something Wonderful/Being Alive * The Way We Were. ... Read more

Product Description
In this unauthorized biography about Barbra Streisand, the late James Kimbrell cannot hide his enthusiasm and love for Ms. Streisand: “Barbra! The legendary Streisand. Greatness seemingly without trying. Difficult, demanding, driven, self-directed…only the natural traits of a historically-gifted genius. And is it not her life? Her work? Her legacy? The world should applaud her rather maddening sanity, and the fabled control.”
Told through an unusual reverse chronology, Barbara details the years of the 1970’s and 1980’s in the life and career of the woman generally acknowledged to be the world’s greatest female entertainer. Winner of every major performance award—two Oscars, seven Grammys, the Emmy, the Tony, countless Golden Globes—Barbra Joan Streisand is also the first person in Hollywood history to produce, direct, write, star and sing in a motion picture.
... Read more

Product Description
Matching folio to the live concert album from this legendary star. 12 songs, including: America the Beautiful * Guilty * Over the Rainbow * People * What Kind of Fool * Papa, Can You Hear Me? * It's a New World * Somewhere * Evergreen * and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Read the description
Most of this sheet music is available elsewhere, so 5-stars may be over-generous.However, anyone looking at the 1-star rating will get the wrong impression.Please, let's review what the product is, not what it isn't.

Not Pleased
I ordered what I thought was a paperback, and what I received was sheet music! I admire Barbra for what she has accomplished in her life. I would have liked to have read the book, for which I assumed was titled after her concert One Voice, which was amazing. ... Read more

Product Description
Singer. Actress. Producer. Director. Activist. Wife. Mother. Lover. Barbra Streisand has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the most talented, versatile, and influential women of our time. In STREISAND: Her Life, best-sellingbiographer James Spada delivers the definitive biography of this one-woman conglomerate.

Based on more than 200 interviews with Streisand's friends, relatives, and colleagues, along with never-before conducted research, Spada uncovers surprising and often startling details of this very private star's life."For 30 years she has surprised, delighted, angered, polarized, and riveted the public," Spada says. "She is still going where many tell her not to."

In STREISAND, Spadatraces the life and career of Barbra with equal depth. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Streisand began performing in her teens as an actress; she only began singing on a dare. But it was because of her voice, which brought her cabaret bookings in the early 1960s, that she initially became famous.

Never conventionally beautiful, she knew she had to make her talent outshine her looks, and always refused to remake herself to anyone else's liking. That sense of resolve and single-mindedness paid off in the years to come, as success followed success: a record deal, the big break in Funny Girl on both stage and screen, and the transition from Broadway darling to the toast of Hollywood. As her movie career developed, the appeal of branching out into production and then direction became even stronger. Her 1983 directorial debut, Yentl, and her second film The Prince of Tides earned both box-office dollars and critical acclaim. An avid supporter of AIDS research and other charitable causes, Barbra has become more involved than ever in recent years as a political and social activist, but always continues to grow and take risks as an artist.

In STREISAND, Spada delivers not only a thorough look at this celebrity's multi-faceted career but also an in-depth examination of herwell-guarded personal life. We learn about her lovers, including Elliott Gould, Jon Peters, Don Johnson, and Elvis Presley, among others; her parents, including her complicated relationships with her mother and her abusive stepfather; and her son, including how she dealt with his homosexuality. Spada also provides a complete filmography and an annotated discography of the star's work, along with 32 pages of photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Very Informative Book, on A Wonderful Entertainer
I am currently 12 years old and I am the biggest Streisand fan.I have been for over six years.I started to read this books in hopes to get an insight on how her life has been going, and what her dreams and aspects ofthe future where.As a result, I got exactly what I was hoping for.Thebook told about her childhood, and her ambition to become an entertainer,in a way that I could easily relate toI found this book very hard to putdown, and I finished the almost six-hundred page book in less than fourdays.You don't really have to be a diehard fan of Barbra to enjoy thisbook, but it is helpful if you are.I reccomends this book to anyone 12and up, because some parts may be hard to understand for younger children.

It's good
I found the strongest part of the book was the early years - growing up in Brooklyn, and the determination to build an acting career. I was surprised that it was almost a revelation to Barbra that she might make a career outof singing, undertaken in order to keep the wolves from the door. I'm notan obsessive fan by any means but I found this book about a woman who issuch an icon a good and meaty read. I kind of admnire her"obsessive" single-mindednessto achieve what she wants in herart. Not a hagiography, but a respectful look at an interesting andcomplex woman.

not a bad read
I am not a Barbra Streisand fan, so I went in with a biased mind set against the book from the beginning.I am happy to report that this is an informative and interesting book.Spada gave great detail into Barbra'slife and captures the essence of her persona both good and bad.It washard for me to put the book down.Worth a reading.

The best Streisand Biography out there!
I read this book when it first came out and found it both informative and interesting. I have since read many other Streisand biographies and none of them come close as far as accuracy goes. ... Read more

Product Description
The hit album from one of themost multi-talented singers of the twentieth century. Among the songs are the hit duet with Don Johnson, "Till I Loved You," as well as "What Were We Thinking Of" and "All I Ask Of You," from the Broadway sensation Phantom Of The Opera. Includes a full-color fold-out and complete lyrics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

sing along with "The Voice"
Though it might not be Streisand's best album, "Till I loved you" is filled with great songs and duets. If your wildest dream was ever to join her, then you must get a copy of "Till I Loved You". We simply never were true die hard Streisand fans "till we loved you" . . . Even the few pictures in the book are worth a look at. Streisand at her best! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (108)

Not A Bad Book
I had heard a lot about this book and I'm not big into Barbra Streisand.I could see why a true fan may not want to read it.It tells the good, the bad and the ugly about her.Christopher Andersen is known to dug up dirt just like Kitty Kelley.I felt this was a good book for me.I didn't know much about Barbra, so it was good for me to learn about her.I had no clue that she had slept with as many famous men as she had.I also didn't know about her son, Jason's fight with HIV/AIDS.I thought it was interesting to see the quotes from others and Barbra's own thoughts on different parts of her life.This is definitely an unauthorized biography.The last section dealing with Barbra's hatred of President George W. Bush and the Republicans was a little overdone.I felt Mr. Andersen at times dramatized some events and downplayed some others that I wanted to know about.Overall, it wasn't a bad book and I would recommend it to others that just want an overview.However, if you are a huge Streisand fan then you will be upset with the amount of dirt that has been dug up.

Great Book, Funny, Entertaining, Barbra is such a character
I loved the book. The author has done extensive research, and I actually read the whole book which i think some reviewers here did not. I loved some parts like Barbra saying "Do you think I'm Bugs Bunny?" when she was asked to play in the movie "What's Up Doc?" Barbra comes out of it as a very colorful, intelligent and savvy person. That is my opinion, this is a great book on Barbra, if only all great singers were like her, their life would be more realistic and more fun.

THE WAY SHE IS-- IS TELLING IT LIKE IT IS
I AM A BIG FAN OF BARBRA STREISAND, BUT HAVING MET WITH HER PERSONALLY, AND HAVING SEEN HOW SHE REACTES TO THOSE AROUND HER, AND THE OUTLANDISH REQUIREMENTS SHE PUTS ON THOSE WHO ARE INDEED THERE. IT IS PRETTY DARN CLOSE TO THE TRUTH. SHE IS TALENTED, NO DOUBT ABOUT. BUT JUST LIKE HER CO-STARS BLYTHE DANNER (WHO I HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH), BARBRA IS A LOONY TOON MEANIE DIVA. READ AND LEARN!!

The Way She Is Lies??
is it true that this book is all lies? Like, they got things wrong and the book is all wrong information? I think she is the most stunning, beautiful, gorgeous women there has ever been in this entire world and ever will be. Now thats a title to uphold. Shes simply amazing, although she is a very sad person. she has sad eyes.

A Hard-bound Tabloid Story
"Barbra: The Way She Is" isn't a biography so much as a 412-page National Enquirer story, offering more gossip than insight on its subject. The author and his editors don't even bother to check simple facts like who directed "Patton" and what was Jack Nicholson's debut movie, calling into question other assertions Christopher Anderson makes in his book, like all but claiming Streisand had affairs with Bill Clinton and Prince Charles. I'll admit I couldn't put the book down, but when I was done I wished I'd spent my time reading something else. ... Read more

Product Description
The years 1975-1988 contained big successes for Barbra Streisand, though she ran through an unsteady gauntlet of disco-fied pop and pseudo-Broadway show stoppers. This collection, originally released in 1989, brings together the hits of those years--like the two Barry Gibb duets, "What Kind of Fool" and "Guilty"--in a range of production scenarios utilizing the talents of Rupert Holmes, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phil Ramone, Dave Gruisin, and others. The two new recordings added to begin and end the package, "We're Not Makin' Love Anymore" and "Somewhere," serve as bookends of the dance and ballad style Streisand revolved around throughout her later career. --Stephen M.H. Braitman

1. We're Not Makin' Love Anymore

2. Woman in Love

3. All I Ask of You - (from "The Phantom Of The Opera")

4. Comin' in and Out of Your Life

5. What Kind of Fool - (with Barry Gibb)

6. Main Event / Fight

7. Someone That I Used to Love

8. By the Way

9. Guilty - (with Barry Gibb)

10. Memory - (from "Cats")

11. Way He Makes Me Feel, The - (studio version)

12. Somewhere - (from "West Side Story") ... Read more