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Rating: 
Summary: Were You Expecting Eleanor Roosevelt's Autobiography?
Review: Carol Channing tells her life story (probably dictated with almost no editing) in her own style - delightfully mixed-up, carefree and uninhibited. Of course she skips around and even SHE forgets exactly what her point was. Is this disappointing? No, she's just being Carol Channing, a true zany. Not Lucille Ball, a very serious and level-headed businesswoman who just played a zany. The unabashed love she felt for her best pals- Mary Martin and George Burns in particular, is heart-warming reading. Her disdain for certain others never remotely comes across as bitter,
for example in the case of the nameless "Yenta" from one of her
Broadway shows. "Yenta" was a troublesome actress who, Carol later found out, wound up as a dental assistant. "It could have happened to any of us," Carol laments to us with a straight face. As if becoming a dental assistant was like dying in a plane crash! That's Carol... if you stray too far off Broadway you might as well be dead. Her love of life and love of the theater are one and the same, and it pours forth in every page. You will notice too that there's no photo of her husband/manager of 42 years, Charles Lowe, whom she divorced very publicly in 1997 after informing the world he was gay and in all that time they had intercourse on two occasions. All mention of him is less than she gives to describe the "pear-shaped" ass of agent Sue Mengers. So you know that there are some sad things the happy Carol would just like to blot out, or, at least not burden us with. She'd rather give us peppy and mixed-up Carol showbiz yarns in no particular order. The most controversial element of her tome is the impossible-to-prove assertment that her father was a light-skinned African-American. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, her father's "colored" birth certificate was destroyed. Now I could be wrong, but I think it is merely some of Carol's over-stimulated imagination at play, as when she saw-
I'm not making this up- a rainbow over Mary Martin's pancreas.
And of course, it's a little extra spice for selling books. And speaking of spice, the book is worth purchasing if only for the anecdote about a "Chinaman's mustache." I'm not telling, you'll have to read it. Those who complain that her book has no order, rhyme or reason just don't know Carol. But "Just Lucky" is a terrific way to get to know this one-of-a-kind theater icon.
Rating: 
Summary: Denial is a River in Egypt
Review: Carol Channing's memoir is not candid at all. This is the story of a lady that spent 40+ years on the road doing tour after tour after tour because she was in a loveless unhappy marriage. Her abusive husband was living high off the hog with his male lover while she was out performing all over America. She had a terrible life until her husband's death...and only recently she met her current husband, a wonderful loving millionnaire whom she dated originally in Junior high. It's a fascinating story which you will not find in the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Delightful Carol
Review: I eagerly awaited the release of this book, purchased my own copy, and sat down to read one of the most delightful memoirs in recent years. I could just hear the marvelously distinctive voice of Miss Channing as I read along and at one point, began to believe that I was part of a personal conversation between old friends.
Miss Channing writes with remarkable candor and insight gleaned from many years of experiencing life. Her remembrances of her great stage triumphs (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello, Dolly!) are mingled with tales of family life with her extraordinary parents and her later friendships and romances.
There is nothing salacious here, just good, fun reading by a totally delightful woman.
Rating: 
Summary: What a cover
Review: I showed this book to my children and now they can't sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Hello, Carol!
Review: Is Carol Channing actually 81? Good grief! She's still a lot more lively than almost anybody a quarter her age. No ghost is credited, and it would seem that this book is, in fact, directly from the pen of Ms. Channing. It certainly sounds like her: the book reads like an extended interview, delivered in her inimitable voice (which I kept hearing while reading it). It's lots of fun to read, but probably best enjoyed in short bits, since the high energy level of the writing is almost too much to take after an hour or two! She bounces around madly from topic to topic, but that's part of the charm. A few personal notes: I grew up in a Christian Science family, and we knew the Channings (and I remember as a child visiting the First Reader's house which she describes). Her hilarious account of the foibles of Lady Astor will resonate with any Christian Scientist from that period! When Gentlemen Prefer Blondes appeared on Broadway, I remember a bit of a scandal in C.S. circles over her performance: not because of the naughty escapades of Lorelei Lee, but because she smoked a cigarette on stage! Oh well!
Rating:
Summary: Liked It, But You Got to Keep Up with It
Review: There are those of my persuasion who feel that it is mighty convenient that Ms Channing has revealed that she has African American heritage. True, she probably wouldn't have had the success that she enjoyed on Broadway. But, glad to know that she is just the same. As for the book, one does get the feeling that it is definitely scatter brained. I like to feel that she wrote the book as she saw fit, and to be honest it could keep you on your toes. Especially if you didn't know who she was talking about or what.
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Summary: Delicious memoir by a Delightful LEGEND!
Review: This chatty, funny book is just the tonic for those who find little to admire in today's wasteland of celebrities. This lady has been there and done it all, and lived to tell the tale. This book would make a wonderful basis for a one-woman Broadway show, which is HOPEFULLY in the works. The Channing that emerges in this book is a warm, witty celebrant of life who has worked for decades and even managed to find true love, at long last. A book for everyone who loves the theatre.
Rating: 
Summary: Two bricks short of a load.....
Review: What a waste of money & time!!!!!! The author is obviously in her dotage & cannot complete a sentence or a thought.Where were her editors???? Very disappointing read!!!! I've always enjoyed Carol Channing, but it was a chore to get thorugh this book. A little of her ramblings goes a long way. I suspect that Carol thinks these non-sequiters are part of her charm. Boo to the publisher of this book. One would think they'd have known better than to try to foist this inferior book off on an unsuspecting public.
Rating:
Summary: Scatter Brained
Review: With all due respect to Ms. Channing, I found this book to be rather scatter brained. She changes subjects in mid-sentence!
It's also written for an industry insider. She drops the names of producers, set designers and costumers as if they are the big stars. There was one good bit at the end of the book where she talks about Ethel Mermann...but that's not enough. I read a LOT of entertainment biographies and was really looking forward to this one...but I can NOT recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Scatterbrained
Review: With all due respect to Ms. Channing....I found this book VERY hard to get through. She changes subjects on a dime, making it hard to follow a thought. It's also written for an industry insider. She drops the names of producers and stage managers as if they're the big stars. I read a lot of entertainer biographies and was really looking forward to this one...but I found my self skimming to get past sections that frankly I found made no sense. The few sections that did seem lucid...were entertaining, especially a part in the back about Ethel Mermann. But unfortunetly I can NOT recommend this book.
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