Rating: 
Summary: Suggestions
Review: Granted, this book is an expose, and as such there is always a lot of dirt to dig through, but i found too many instances where the author did not seem to be impartial on her portrayal of her subject. Here are my reasons:Example #1: On one of the first pages, Dr. Laura is described as being 'anti-divorce'. As anyone who has listened to her show for any amount of time, or read "Ten Stupid Things Women..." or read this very book knows, Dr. Laura clearly states that there are 3 reasons that warrant a divorce, and she calls them the 3 A's: Abuse, Addiction, and Affairs. The offending spouse breaks the covenant of marriage, so it is morally OK to finalize the union. However, she is very much against frivolous divorces, especially when children are involved. She has made that clear many times. Vickie Bane herself includes the 3 A's in the book, yet she makes the blanket statement that Dr. Laura is "anti-divorce". This is an obvious contradiction. Example #2: The book says that Dr. Laura's Ph.D. is in Physiology on every other page. Dr. Laura doesn't make it a secret, and Vickie Bane corroborates that. Why continue repeating the issue time and time again? Secondly, even though she is a certified therapist, she does not practice on the airwaves. She provides moral advice, not therapy. She says that about 50 times a day. Vickie Bane also makes a reference to that in the book. Why continue hammering the fact that her Ph.D. is in Physiology? Example #3: when her son was 2 months old, Dr. Laura went back to teaching her 90-minute long Tuesday evening class. Her husband would then have to baby-sit the kid. Vickie Bane mentions that this is a very hypocritical thing to do for someone who is so much against parents going back to work when the kids are little. Vickie Bane's choice of words surprised me, because it was my understanding that when a parent takes care of his or her child it's called parenting, not baby-sitting. Why did she choose the verb "baby-sit", when the baby was with his father? Example #4: Person after person interviewed complained that Dr. Laura made them do something they did not want to do. Like my Spanish grandpa used to say: "Against the vice of asking, there is the virtue of not giving". It is very likely that those people, in retrospect, are angry with themselves for doing things they didn't want to do but were too weak to refuse, and they liked talking about it with Ms. Bane. Example #5: Vickie Bane starts her book with the account of a visit to Dr. Laura's mother, yet not a word is written about why the distancing between them. There are thin references to the issue, but nothing concrete. Like in most instances, a relationship goes south due to combined efforts, but the readers of this book will never get that idea. Example #6: Vickie Bane includes the minutia about the divorce settlements, who got what car and what portion of the pension plan, as if that was very relevant. The space spent describing the asset division could have been put to better use explaining the nature of Dr. Laura's estrangement with her mother, for example. So this is it, when it comes to content. Regarding style, it doesn't get any better. I found the frequent "I felt kind of like...", "she kind of decided..." statements excruciating to read. I know that Ms. Bane is a journalist, but the fact that she had to include names, and past and current occupations every time she talked about someone was also very distracting and did not help the flow. Read the book (it's cheap) and form your own opinion. Those of you who dislike Dr. Laura will probably cheer all the way, those who like her will probably feel disappointed with the quality of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and Rather Entertaining Biography of a Sociopath
Review: I enjoyed this book for giving the history of Dr. Laura which she of course never references while telling others that they are wrong for the mistakes they make. Dr. Laura made the same "mistakes" or were they "on-purposes"? Having her tubal ligation reversed in order to become pregnant by a married man was an extremely manipulative act. And it seems that Dr. Laura has remained manipulative, not to mention sadistic, to the present time. What she did to Dr. Barbara DeAngelis (having the nerve to claim that her psychology degree was bogus, when Dr. Laura's OWN degree is in physiology, NOT psychology) is downright bizarre, yet she got away with it. Her audiences must consist only of masochistic idiots who believe that they deserve to be called stupid by a woman who doesn't practice what she preaches. Scary that there are so many morons out there trusting in a woman pretending to be something she's not.
Rating: 
Summary: Fair, meticulous--needs an update
Review: I've always been fascinated by people who move to California to "become" what they felt they couldn't back in their home town. Those who set out to reinvent themselves seldom fully succeed--and proof positive of this fact is Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Vickie L. Bane interviewed a great many people and carefully researched other press and anecdotal accounts of Schlessinger's rise to radio stardom. The picture isn't pretty, and time after time, Dr. Laura's own life completely refutes the ideas that she presses forcefully on her callers to her radio programs, some of whom appear acutely masochistic, if not unrealistic to believe that they can "fix" what ails them in a three-minute phone chat, often laced with sarcasm, hostility or even abuse from Dr. Laura. Dr. Laura doesn't believe in divorce, pre- or extramarital sex, or writing off one's family members, and yet she has done every one of those things: She became estranged from her father, mother, and younger sister. She dumped the nice Jewish orthodontist she married and never mentions. She engaged in an enthusiastic affair with Los Angeles radio legend Bill Ballance (who speaks very candidly with Bane), who helped her get into radio. Dr. Laura lured her current husband, Lew Bishop, away from his wife and three children, had her tubal ligation reversed in order to conceive out of wedlock. Eventually she and Bishop married and produced a child as goopily extolled (and, to my mind, as exploited) as Kathie Lee Gifford's kids Cody and Cassidy. Child of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, Dr. Laura converted to Orthodox Judaism, a choice that she uses as a bludgeon to people that she perceives as less "committed" to her brand of situational morality. Bane neatly debunks Dr. Laura's "I'm My Kid's [Full-Time] Mom" shtick by documenting how and when Laura returned to work after her son's birth. As a child, Deryk ran wild in the hallways of KFI. For quite awhile, Dr. Laura used her visibility as a radio shrink as bait for prospective patients, one of whom details a disturbing breach of professional ethics, that of respecting strict boundaries of behavior between therapist and client. This former client was also a "friend" to Dr. Laura, and went shopping and lunching with her, as well as babysitting for Deryk. This book, though complete as is, would benefit from an update with events that also reflect upon Dr. Laura's post-publication life--such as the failure of Dr. Laura's television show, her defection from Orthodox Judaism, and the fact that her mother, to whom Laura had not spoken for years, died alone in her apartment in Beverly Hills and wasn't found for days. Isn't it funny-peculiar how right-leaning cheerleaders for their own definition of morality extend the statute of limitations on their own personal "youthful indiscretions" well into their forties? Schlessinger is no exception(...)
Rating:
Summary: Fair, meticulous--needs an update
Review: I've always been fascinated by people who move to California to "become" what they felt they couldn't back in their home town. Those who set out to reinvent themselves seldom fully succeed--and proof positive of this fact is Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Vickie L. Bane interviewed a great many people and carefully researched other press and anecdotal accounts of Schlessinger's rise to radio stardom. The picture isn't pretty, and time after time, Dr. Laura's own life completely refutes the ideas that she presses forcefully on her callers to her radio programs, some of whom appear acutely masochistic, if not unrealistic to believe that they can "fix" what ails them in a three-minute phone chat, often laced with sarcasm, hostility or even abuse from Dr. Laura. Dr. Laura doesn't believe in divorce, pre- or extramarital sex, or writing off one's family members, and yet she has done every one of those things: She became estranged from her father, mother, and younger sister. She dumped the nice Jewish orthodontist she married and never mentions. She engaged in an enthusiastic affair with Los Angeles radio legend Bill Ballance (who speaks very candidly with Bane), who helped her get into radio. Dr. Laura lured her current husband, Lew Bishop, away from his wife and three children, had her tubal ligation reversed in order to conceive out of wedlock. Eventually she and Bishop married and produced a child as goopily extolled (and, to my mind, as exploited) as Kathie Lee Gifford's kids Cody and Cassidy. Child of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, Dr. Laura converted to Orthodox Judaism, a choice that she uses as a bludgeon to people that she perceives as less "committed" to her brand of situational morality. Bane neatly debunks Dr. Laura's "I'm My Kid's [Full-Time] Mom" shtick by documenting how and when Laura returned to work after her son's birth. As a child, Deryk ran wild in the hallways of KFI. For quite awhile, Dr. Laura used her visibility as a radio shrink as bait for prospective patients, one of whom details a disturbing breach of professional ethics, that of respecting strict boundaries of behavior between therapist and client. This former client was also a "friend" to Dr. Laura, and went shopping and lunching with her, as well as babysitting for Deryk. This book, though complete as is, would benefit from an update with events that also reflect upon Dr. Laura's post-publication life--such as the failure of Dr. Laura's television show, her defection from Orthodox Judaism, and the fact that her mother, to whom Laura had not spoken for years, died alone in her apartment in Beverly Hills and wasn't found for days. Isn't it funny-peculiar how right-leaning cheerleaders for their own definition of morality extend the statute of limitations on their own personal "youthful indiscretions" well into their forties? Schlessinger is no exception(...)
Rating:
Summary: If you are open-minded you will enjoy this book!
Review: If you are a big fan of "Dr" Laura and you do not see her short comings, read one of Schlessinger's autobiographies, for you have something in common with the subject. I found Mrs Bane's book to be very thorough, and fair. Mrs Bane states that she was comissioned to write the book about the good physiologist before she knew anything about her. I think this allowed her to be more objective. I did not find the book to be overly harsh against the subject, but layed out dozen's of friends/acquantances and ex-friends perspectives/stories and memories of Schlessinger. It appears she has left many people in her wake as she ambitiously made her way up to the top. The book is a real eye opener about the number of "indiscretions" committed by Dr L. I was able to do some research on the internet and find much supporting information to substantiate several of the book's stories (enter "Dr laura" in a search engine like Google and you will be amazed at the amount of data you will get). Even if you are a fan of Schlessinger and are aware of some of her neurotic behaviors, you could enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: If you are open-minded you will enjoy this book!
Review: If you are a big fan of "Dr" Laura and you do not see her short comings, read one of Schlessinger's autobiographies, for you have something in common with the subject. I found Mrs Bane's book to be very thorough, and fair. Mrs Bane states that she was comissioned to write the book about the good physiologist before she knew anything about her. I think this allowed her to be more objective. I did not find the book to be overly harsh against the subject, but layed out dozen's of friends/acquantances and ex-friends perspectives/stories and memories of Schlessinger. It appears she has left many people in her wake as she ambitiously made her way up to the top. The book is a real eye opener about the number of "indiscretions" committed by Dr L. I was able to do some research on the internet and find much supporting information to substantiate several of the book's stories (enter "Dr laura" in a search engine like Google and you will be amazed at the amount of data you will get). Even if you are a fan of Schlessinger and are aware of some of her neurotic behaviors, you could enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A One-Time Fan
Review: Initially, when Dr. Laura first came to prominence, I was very much in favor of her no-nonsense, take full responsibility message. I have read one of her early books and a fair number of her other writings, so I can definitely say I'm familiar with both sides of this story. I generally avoid these tell all "unauthorized" biographies as they tend to be salacious, sensationalized, mean-spirited, and overtly one sided against whoever the subject matter is about. I did not find this to be true with this book (surprising, considering the author writes for People, not the most highbrow publication out there)! Any dirt slinging or positive comments for that matter, are done by people who know or worked with Dr. Laura, not by the author, who simply reports it, and I felt, let the reader make of it what they would. Adding to the credibility of the sources is that most of them are quoted by name and specific circumstances, dates, etc., with the obvious exceptions of former patients. I won't bother wasting space extolling the examples of hypocrisy, nastiness, and other little known facts you'll discover here. I imagine if you're researching this book, you've already figured out on your own, like myself, that Dr. Laura is not the paragon of virtue she originally seemed to be.
Rating: 
Summary: picks at personality; lacks depth and substance
Review: The author spends most of the book, which makes for entertaining light reading, "revealing" incidents of Ms. Schlessinger's cranky and eccentric personality. These aspects of her personality are no great secret to longtime listeners. Dr. Laura is a human being, with strengths and weaknesses just like any other human being. This should not come as any great revelation to anyone, and is completely beside the point in attempting to evaluate Dr. Laura's on-air advice. For example, the author makes a big deal of Dr. Laura being fussy about a hotel room that "doesn't smell right." As an allergic person myself, on this issue I have to come down squarely in agreement with Dr. Laura. Allergens present in perfumes, cleaning solutions and so on can be threatening to the basic life functions of an allergic person, and Dr. Laura merely shows good sense by not allowing her health to be put at risk. My point is, the author presents a lot of one-sided incidents, and the result is a lack of dimension that is hardly believable. What the author almost completely misses is a confrontation with Dr. Laura as a religious cult figure. Just as this book's one-dimensional attacks on Dr. Laura's personality should be called into question, Dr. Laura's one-dimensional proclamations on morality require further examination, and the unquestioning acceptance of these proclamations by thousands of avid followers present, in my opinion, a serious danger to the ability of those followers to engage in rational thought and discourse.
Rating:
Summary: We all thought it, now we know it
Review: The author spends most of the book, which makes for entertaining light reading, "revealing" incidents of Ms. Schlessinger's cranky and eccentric personality. These aspects of her personality are no great secret to longtime listeners. Dr. Laura is a human being, with strengths and weaknesses just like any other human being. This should not come as any great revelation to anyone, and is completely beside the point in attempting to evaluate Dr. Laura's on-air advice. For example, the author makes a big deal of Dr. Laura being fussy about a hotel room that "doesn't smell right." As an allergic person myself, on this issue I have to come down squarely in agreement with Dr. Laura. Allergens present in perfumes, cleaning solutions and so on can be threatening to the basic life functions of an allergic person, and Dr. Laura merely shows good sense by not allowing her health to be put at risk. My point is, the author presents a lot of one-sided incidents, and the result is a lack of dimension that is hardly believable. What the author almost completely misses is a confrontation with Dr. Laura as a religious cult figure. Just as this book's one-dimensional attacks on Dr. Laura's personality should be called into question, Dr. Laura's one-dimensional proclamations on morality require further examination, and the unquestioning acceptance of these proclamations by thousands of avid followers present, in my opinion, a serious danger to the ability of those followers to engage in rational thought and discourse.
Rating:
Summary: Good, Could Have Been Better
Review: This book connects the dots and shouldn't come as a surprise to people who have followed her radio show. Whatever else one wants to say about Dr. Laura the truth is she's passionate and manichean (only recognizes shades of black and white). Now we know why. Every time she berates a caller it seems she's harping on some aspect of her past life which, she feels in hindsight, was unworthy. In this she resembles most authors who write popular self-help books (eg. Barbara DeAngelis, John Grey, it's quite striking). Emile Zola once wrote how every autobiographer, from Saint Augustine down, is at least somewhat intrigued by his or her sins. I suspect we're not going to get a memoir from Doctor Laura, who is too ashamed of her past. This book could have been written better but the author captures her subject. Those who think such books are "unfair" would have a point if Dr. Laura hadn't turned the Disneyland version of her life into a cottage industry. While I think Dr. Laura's advice, stripped of meanness and sanctimony, is still generally on the mark (with a few glaring exceptions), what the sum of her life shows, ironicly, is that a women who does the ten stupid things she wrote about in a previous book isn't destined to ruin. Some become quite successful. Some even get nationally syndicated radio programs.
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