3 out of 4 stars
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Are you a Baby Boomer? Do you ever wonder what happened to the stars from The Waltons, The Mickey Mouse Club or Laverne and Shirley? If so, you'll probably want to get this book while the getting is good.
Shooting the Breeze with Baby Boomer Stars contains snippets of interviews with famous stars from the 50s and 60s. From the Mouseketeers to the Beaver to Timmy from Lassie, I guarantee there'll be someone in here that you will recognize. For the full interviews, you'll want to check out www.babyboomerstalkradio.com. This book is more focused on what the star is doing now along with perhaps one or two choice memories from their days as a star. Of course, most of them also talk about how they got started in the business in the first place.
I admit that, perhaps, I was a bit young for this book as most of these shows I caught only in re-runs. However, I still recognized most of the stars and enjoyed getting to know them a bit better. There were so many great actors and actresses in this book that it's hard for me to choose a favorite. One of the interviews I enjoyed the most was of Angela Cartwright of Lost in Space fame. However, I know her better as Brigitta Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. Each year she leads a private tour through Salzburg where she recalls memories from her days on the set. Boy, would I like to be a part of THAT tour!
One of the things that I appreciated about this book was the links in the table of contents. If you are only interested in specific people, you can simply click on their names to view their interviews. It is not necessary to read the book front to back. It's also organized well and has pictures of each person in case you only recognize their face.
However, it seems that the author has forgone the requisite proofreading. I found 10 errors easily within the first 7% of the book. These consisted of incorrect words, missing punctuation and run-on sentences. One such error-laden sentence follows. "Solari's one-year contract as a Mouseketeer with Disney was quickly over which he had no control." For the most part, the book was still readable and enjoyable. Nevertheless, the errors were abundant.
Overall, Shooting the Breeze with Baby Boomer Stars warrants a 3 out of 4 star rating. The tidbits from these stars of old are entertaining and nostalgic, but the editing could use quite a bit of work. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys these classic TV shows or learning more about "show business."
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Shooting the Breeze with Baby Boomer Stars
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