Forever Young: The Life, Loves and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend: Amazon.ca: Joan Wester Anderson: Books

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Review

"Loretta Young defied the years better than any actress I can think of." -- Charles Champlin, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 16, 2000

From the Publisher

The life story and faith journey of one of the last of the legends of Hollywood, Forever Young is an unforgettable, moving, funny, poignant account of a film and television star many admired for her grace, poise and beauty. Loretta Young's faith and determination come to life in this carefully researched biography of her life. For 30 years, Miss Young had refused overtures from biographers. In 1998, she met New York Times bestselling author Joan Wester Anderson and commented to her daughter-in-law Linda Lewis, "That's the woman I want to write the story of my life." When Linda queried Miss Young about the choice, her comment was, "Who better than a writer of angels and miracles to tell the story of my life?"

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

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1.0 out of 5 stars What a disappointment, Jan 3 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Forever Young: The Life, Loves and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend (Hardcover)

Whilst Loretta Young unquestionably lead an interesting life, you would not know it from this whitewashed, saintly version. This book would have been far better promoted as a commentary on Loretta Young and her relationship with god. Certainly those readers wanting to know about her experiences in Hollywood in the 1930s would be disappointed. Her screen career was largely glossed over - we are talking about a woman who worked with pioneers such as Lon Chaney - you'd barely know it from this book. Similarly, there was little on her relationship with her sisters or any comments of substance about their lives or careers. Even the more 'scandalous' elements of her life were only worth a couple of pages - the rest of the book was more like a conversion exercise. Whilst the religious element was obviously something that influenced who she was as a person, the author did not delve beyond this. It is an injustice if this is the best that can be offered in her memory.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great recovery, Nov 9 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Forever Young: The Life, Loves and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend (Hardcover)

She is not like you would have imagined from the TV Show. She had a lot more going on than the glamour that she displayed with her swirling entries each week.
She was not the angel one might think either but she was human and she faced it, or not, within the pages of this book. She sometimes came off as a saint and sometimes as naive but you did not always believe she could be THAT naive. Other times she came of as competent and adult, which, in my book makes her as real as a Hollywood siren can be.

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3.0 out of 5 stars The Gospel According to Loretta, Oct 30 2001

By

gail k. powers (homewood, il United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forever Young: The Life, Loves and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend (Hardcover)

This book is written through Ms. Young's eyes and appears to be her somewhat romanticized and (more importantly)spiritualized take on life. She tends to gloss over the tawdry or questionable aspects while dwelling on the spiritual aspects. Having read her daughter Judy's book, I can clearly see that there was a lot of moral conflict in her mind and this book was clearly a good way to absolve herself of most of the negatives in her life. That said, the book is an o.k. read once you begin to differentiate the truth from the romantic fiction.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant rendition of a human being
The author captures the triumphs and failures of one of the greatest actresses of all time, which include her human frailities. Read more

Published on Oct 24 2001 by Floriana Hall

1.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT DAME
LORETTA YOUNG WAS ALAWAYS A GREAT FAVORITE IN OUR HOME, SO NATURALLY I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BOOK. Read more

Published on Sep 10 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT DAME
LORETTA YOUNG WAS ALAWAYS A GREAT FAVORITE IN OUR HOME, SO NATURALLY I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BOOK. Read more

Published on Sep 10 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful tribute to a lovely lady.
I really enjoyed this book. It not only is a biography, on Loretta Young, but also talks about her faith in God. Read more

Published on Aug 26 2001 by Rosella Ann Myles

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and moving portrayal of a true beauty
Forever Young is a wonderful biography on a truly gracious and down to earth lady - Loretta Young. I admire Joan Wester Anderson's books and have reviewed several for amazon. Read more

Published on Aug 24 2001 by Judith E. Pavluvcik

2.0 out of 5 stars More Faith Than Hollywood
This book was given to me as a gift, so I guess I can't complain too much. My wife knows how much I enjoy reading Hollywood biographies, especially the early stars, so naturally... Read more

Published on Aug 15 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat sugar coated- but rewarding reading
Very revealing in some aspects of the life of my favorite star. This book was difficult to read in that it jumped from one aspect of her life to another with little cohesion. Read more

Published on July 17 2001 by Connie Hull

2.0 out of 5 stars A saccharine take on a gutsy woman
I admire many things about Loretta Young. Her choice of Joan Wester Anderson as her biographer, however, reveals Miss Young's weakness for carefully airbrushing her life story... Read more

Published on May 14 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Praise God!
JMJ

As a Catholic, I fully appreciate the beauty, authenticity, and honesty of this book. It's so inspiring to know not only that Loretta Young was a good woman, and a good... Read more

Published on April 3 2001 by Henry A. Chandler

2.0 out of 5 stars Limited Scope
I read this book primarily to learn more about Loretta Young the actress (as the cover states "A Hollywood Legend"), but found myself instead reading the story of a woman and her... Read more

Published on Mar 31 2001 by Pajamazon