Rating: 
Summary: The Weakest Link
Review: Anne Robinson is Irish--at least through ancestry--but beyond that, it's hard to find anything nice to say about her. Her family left Ireland during the famine of the 1840s and became part of the Irish community of Liverpool. With that kind of background, perhaps much should be forgiven, but what can you say about someone who makes her living insulting people?
According to the media, Anne Robinson enjoys the epithets "The Queen of Mean" and "The rudest woman on TV," and she brags about being labeled "The Host from Hell" and about Mike Tyson telling her--"You're one mean woman." Knowing all this, I picked up her recently published autobiography.
In it I learned that the only strong figure in her childhood was the dominating, pretentious, alcoholic mother that Anne wanted to please and emulate. The men in her life are cardboard figures--ineffective at best, abusive at worst--and we hear more than we want to know about the men who pawed her, seduced her, married her, abandoned her. We also read--in page after page of factual recountings--more than we want to know about her divorce and bitterly fought custody battle over her daughter, as well as Anne's own descent into alcoholism.
She becomes a newspaper reporter, and that is perhaps why we get facts instead of feelings. She must like reporting because she keeps going back to it, but we never learn how it feels to be a part of this exciting profession. She is sent to Northern Ireland to cover Bloody Sunday, but we get no idea of how she, an Irish Catholic, feels about The Troubles or of her role, other than her embarrassment at wearing the wrong color coat (emerald green) when interviewing Unionists.
She flirts with feminism after reading The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer and notices that all the newspaper executives are men, but she comes to the conclusion that "...feminism was never much good at addressing reality."
We must admire her courage in facing her alcoholism and doing something about it. Perhaps it is here that her fighting Irish spirit comes to the fore.
The most sensitive writing in the book is the letter, written to her by daughter Emma on Mother's Day 2001, in which we are assured that she is loved--not just by the "sad men in their fifties" who fantasize about her as a dominatrix with whips...
Anne--the cultural chains forged between the Irish and America are strong and binding, but in this chain, YOU, madam, are the weakest link. Good bye!"
Rating: 
Summary: No, Not The Next Harry Potter Book
Review: Despite the eerie physical resemblance to her equally popular English sorcerer counterpart, this is not a book you may want your young children reading. "Memoirs" chronicles the fascinating (and, at times, brutally honest) life of Anne Robinson from life as a young girl with a bullying career-driven mother through her own rocky personal life but wildly successful professional career. Americans may only know Robinson from television's "The Weakest Link." But Robinson is no overnight success. Here we discover the decades she spent working her way up the ranks of Fleet Street and the BBC. Robinson also offers some many insights on two other famous Britain women of the time, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the late Princess Diana.The memoir does a lot to dispel Robinson's image as just a nasty, insult-slinging witch. One certainly has sympathy for Robinson's struggles and respect for her ability to ultimately prevail time and time again. Nevertheless, Robinson is one tough lady and, like her game show persona, someone you would want to be on your side. All and all, "Memoirs" offers insights into the undeniable legacy of parents and the incredibly difficult balancing act between family and work - themes that should appeal even to those who are not fans of "The Weakest Link."
Rating:
Summary: Delightful!
Review: I always watch "The Weakest Link" here in Europe with sort of a fist in my mouth - how can that woman be so horrible to people, and what an utter delight it is when someone gets one up on her. This biography talks not only about the way in which a truly dedicated woman got to the top of her field, but also about the way in which this "unfit mother" really did turn out to be a wonderful mother, with a wonderful daughter and with a wonderful relationship with said daughter. I suppose that Anne Robinson must be feeling sort of like Boris Karloff these days - he wasn't really Frankenstein's monster, and she isn't really the iron-fisted dominatrix of the television show. I read every word with great pleasure, and I recommend the book to everyone. The reason for four instead of five stars is that there are about three paragraphs in the whole book about "The Weakest Link". I really would have wanted to hear a lot more about the author's thoughts about what is a phenomenal show. Other than that, though, it was a great, great read.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful!
Review: I always watch "The Weakest Link" here in Europe with sort of a fist in my mouth - how can that woman be so horrible to people, and what an utter delight it is when someone gets one up on her. This biography talks not only about the way in which a truly dedicated woman got to the top of her field, but also about the way in which this "unfit mother" really did turn out to be a wonderful mother, with a wonderful daughter and with a wonderful relationship with said daughter. I suppose that Anne Robinson must be feeling sort of like Boris Karloff these days - he wasn't really Frankenstein's monster, and she isn't really the iron-fisted dominatrix of the television show. I read every word with great pleasure, and I recommend the book to everyone. The reason for four instead of five stars is that there are about three paragraphs in the whole book about "The Weakest Link". I really would have wanted to hear a lot more about the author's thoughts about what is a phenomenal show. Other than that, though, it was a great, great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson...
Review: I bought the book yesterday and can already say that I love it. Anne Robinson sheds the "Host from Hell" image and reveals sensitive and touching stories about her roles as daughter, mother, wife, journalist and pop icon. A must-read for all "Weakest Link" fans. Goodbye!
Rating:
Summary: What a woman!
Review: I have listened to this book on CD's not once but twice. Anne Robinson reads her work and does it with wit, sadness, honesty, and intelligence. She pulled out all stops and doesn't give herself any slack. I found myself laughing in parts and even crying in parts. She talks about her life from childhood to the present and her success on The Weakest Link. She's my hero!
Rating:
Summary: Cheers to Anne Robinson!
Review: If you think you know all there is to know about Ms. Robinson, then you obviously haven't read her book: "Memoirs of an Unfit Mother". I found this to be one of the few - in a large selection of books - that I could not put down. In this autobiography, Ms. Robinson describes her early years as a young girl in Liverpool to working at a newpaper on Fleet Street. The difficulty she experienced as a woman, unprepared for marriage, and the heartbreak of losing a daughter. Her battle with alcoholism, and her comeback to the newspaper business. Ms. Robinson has lead a roller coaster of a life, and it's not over yet. Whether you love or hate her, there's no doubt we'll be seeing more of her, and I for one hope it will be for quite a long while. She may be the Queen of Mean, but she's quite a lady.
Rating:
Summary: Weakest Link, She Is Not
Review: In this brisk, mostly no-nonsense book, Ms. Robinson lays out her life like a feature story in the Sunday Times. She paints a witty portrait of her mother (who deserves her own book), a domineering, beautifully dressed, luxury-loving, hard driving businesswoman and a protective overbearing mother. Interestingly, this description fits author Anne like a glove. In affairs of the heart, Anne calls herself a "belligerent doormat." I loved this phrase! I doubt that many of her long-term love interests would have agreed with the "doormat" part, but she felt/feels she takes to heart every criticism made of her and goes into a passive/aggressive mode. Though she seems very bare bones honest in reporting her emotional entanglements, there are strange gaps. For instance, how in the world did she make her second husband-to-be so angry with her that he testified against her in the custody trial for her daughter? "Memoirs--" is worth the price if for no other reason than Ms. Robinson's honest and bleak reporting of her crippling alcoholism and how she gradually climbed out of this life-threatening spiral of devastation. And it did ruin her career and almost kill her. Interestingly, Ms. Robinson, though she spares herself very little, is a champion grudge holder. She clearly has never forgiven the court for the judgment that caused her to lose custody of her daughter. Yet at the time, she was a non-functional alcoholic who was totally undependable. She turned her life around big time, and went on to become a highly successful reporter, radio and TV personality, which I found quite inspiring. I admit I have not yet seen "The Weakest Link," but now cannot wait to see her. I am sure Ms. Robinson can triumph in any and all situations. The book is well written, just what you would expect of a top-flight reporter. She has an excellent, if acerbic, sense of humor that makes her story even more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Weakest Link, She Is Not
Review: In this brisk, mostly no-nonsense book, Ms. Robinson lays out her life like a feature story in the Sunday Times. She paints a witty portrait of her mother (who deserves her own book), a domineering, beautifully dressed, luxury-loving, hard driving businesswoman and a protective overbearing mother. Interestingly, this description fits author Anne like a glove. In affairs of the heart, Anne calls herself a "belligerent doormat." I loved this phrase! I doubt that many of her long-term love interests would have agreed with the "doormat" part, but she felt/feels she takes to heart every criticism made of her and goes into a passive/aggressive mode. Though she seems very bare bones honest in reporting her emotional entanglements, there are strange gaps. For instance, how in the world did she make her second husband-to-be so angry with her that he testified against her in the custody trial for her daughter? "Memoirs--" is worth the price if for no other reason than Ms. Robinson's honest and bleak reporting of her crippling alcoholism and how she gradually climbed out of this life-threatening spiral of devastation. And it did ruin her career and almost kill her. Interestingly, Ms. Robinson, though she spares herself very little, is a champion grudge holder. She clearly has never forgiven the court for the judgment that caused her to lose custody of her daughter. Yet at the time, she was a non-functional alcoholic who was totally undependable. She turned her life around big time, and went on to become a highly successful reporter, radio and TV personality, which I found quite inspiring. I admit I have not yet seen "The Weakest Link," but now cannot wait to see her. I am sure Ms. Robinson can triumph in any and all situations. The book is well written, just what you would expect of a top-flight reporter. She has an excellent, if acerbic, sense of humor that makes her story even more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Un-put-downable!
Review: Like me, I think that many mothers have a nagging doubt that they're in some way falling short. In some way - 'unfit'. Ann Robinson's memoirs is an honest description of her own roller-coaster experience of motherhood. It leaves you feeling that if she could go through all that and still create a balanced and happy daughter there is hope for the rest of us!
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