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Dish: The Inside Story On The World Of Gossip (2000)

Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip (2000)

Book Info

Genre
Rating
3.42 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0380978210 (ISBN13: 9780380978212)
Language
English
Publisher
william morrow & company

About book Dish: The Inside Story On The World Of Gossip (2000)

If you don't think the world of gossip is bought and paid for by the people who are portrayed, think again. This was an eye opening book about the back story of publications such as People and the Enquirer and TV shows such as Entertainment Tonight. I was very much surprised at the deals that are struck by the stars and the rags, (If you'll give us a scoop about your alcoholic son we won't publish a story about your infidelities). All the popular names in recent history, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Bette, Whoopi, Trump, Ivana, etc. have really false public personas that have been well crafted by the media for the entertainment of the public. There is some truth but more of it is lies. For example, Donald Trump, through the media claimed to be worth $50 billion, then he was getting loans and doing business based on that amount. The real amount was closer to $50 million....but he didn't want anyone to know that. Not worth the read unless you are really into gossip about the stars.

I would read Jeannette Walls grocery lists, I adore her so. The history of tabloids - what's not to love? The thoroughness of this book is shocking, and in parts it was almost too thorough for me. With the early history, most of the people were unfamiliar, and I found myself flipping around to remind myself of who they were when the tabloid world began to overlap and become quite incestuous. When the people involved were familiar to me, I could not put this down. WOW. I will say I will rarely (I can't really say 'never' now can I) buy a tabloid, and will never ever trust anything they write. I rest assured that Tom Cruise is as weird as I previously thought, and I wish Julia Roberts would get over herself. With everything going on in the UK press, very very relevant.

Do You like book Dish: The Inside Story On The World Of Gossip (2000)?

If you read "Glass Castle" by this author, you know she is some kind of writer. That book states that she is a columnist for MSNBC, I think. I was surprised to find out that she's a gossip columnist, which seems too frivolous for her. She has a new book out that I was trying to get at my library and I think it's too new, so I'll have to wait. In the meantime I found this book, and it's fascinating. It's not about personalities so much as it is about the history of gossip, from "Hollywood Confidential" to the "National Enquirer". Along the way, however there are many, many tidbits about the rich and powerful.
—Mary

I had high hopes for this book because I adored her novels (Half broke horses/glass castle). At first it was very interesting, but then it began to feel extremely gossipy instead of factual. Then I arrived at a part in the book where she was trying to illustrate how extreme celebrity had become in the late 70's/early 80's. Saying how demanding celebrities had become, she cited a legendary story involving Van Halen and brown M&M's and I knew she had the facts wrong because I'd seen a documentary some years back. Here is another video I found on the subject. http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/20...From then on, I just didn't enjoy the book as much.
—Gina

I love Jeannette Walls and I thought I'd love this book, too. I thought it would be really intriguing. But I just couldn't get into it. There weren't any "characters " I cared about. Guess that's why I don't like to watch the news. I think the subject is fascinating, because the news really is just another gossip show. Just watching all those up-and-coming reporters as they fake their emotions makes me sick. I wanted the book to be a more scathing rant against what current news programming has become. Maybe it's that way towards the end, but I didn't even finish because I just didn't care.
—Heather

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