Survivor : The Ultimate Game

Rating:
Summary: A beach story, with no color photos?
Review: "Survivor" the book is not your typical TV tie-in. It's got no color photographs, no pictures from the show or maps of the island where it was filmed. Basically if you haven't slavishly watched every episode of the show (fortunately for the book, most people did), the book will be nearly useless. Not once does it match the names of the contestants to their faces. Indeed, all the cast photos are candid black-and-white shots, and a couple of them don't even resemble the subject.

Without visual aids, the book relies solely on producer/author Mark Burnett's diary entries, supposedly written "as is" and not edited for content after the show wrapped. Is Burnett showing off? Occasionally, a dictionary might help your reading. His descriptions of certain show set pieces -- immunity challenges and Tribal Council -- are tense and engaging, but tellingly, the descriptions do not always match what aired on TV. Burnett's observation that a book named "The First SEAL" had been written about contestant Rudy sent me scurrying to Amazon.. where I learned that the book isn't about Rudy at all, it's about someone else. Named Roy.

You have to wonder who Burnett thought his book's potential audience was. Some passages are very literary, as by Howard Cosell (on Rudy's exit, 4 words: "And, eventually, he fell"). As I said, people expecting few words and glossy pictures, may wind up scratching their heads.

Also disappointing is the back cover blurb, which promises "expanded treatment of the final Tribal Council". Expanded, right -- barely a full page of text. The promised "in-depth" interview with Richard is a little longer but still seems as if it were conducted while walking briskly through an airport. At Christmas.

Since "Survivor" went off the air, the most interesting followup to the show was not the second series, but the round of lawsuits that followed. Burnett's book may not shed light on these, but it's an interesting document left behind in the wake of the show's success. Time may prove the series (and the book) to be at least partly fabricated, but then you can read "Survivor" as a novel, and it works well that way, too.

And best of all Nurse Tina, the winner of the second series, isn't mentioned. Not even once.

Rating:
Summary: Bland account of island life
Review: (I can't believe that I bought & read this book)

The book is written as journal of the producer's forty days on the island. It seems as if no editing took place beyond this time as spelling and factual errors are peppered throughout the pages. This is the main problem with the book - whereas the show was masterfully edited to maximize the engaging storyline, this daily account leaves much to be desired.

The book is a Burnett love letter to the older, meaner Tagi tribe and he seems to take pleasure in any failure of the Pagong tribe. Further, he seems obsessed with nicknames and characterizing behavior in terms of primate dominance (silverbacks, alpha males).

After seeing the show, I hoped that the book would provide further details about the interactions between the castaways that did not make the final cut. Instead, the book mostly glorifies the crew and regularly ignores most of what was covered on the show. Often the challenges and councils are mentioned only in hindsight.

The hasty manner in which the book was put together and lack of new information leave a quick, but mostly uninteresting read.

Rating:
Summary: Rushed to print
Review: As much as I enjoyed Survivor I did think that the book was just a bit took much -- especially right after the show. There are many factual errors based upon what was shown on TV and many typos (most notably when referencing the final tribal council where Richard Hatch was awarded the million dollar prize, Burnett wrote that Susan Hawk was preparing a speech where she compared Richard to a snake and Susan to a rat. Kelly was the one she referred to as a rat in her speech.). Although the book is highly informative and gives a new insight into the show, you can tell that Burnett did have an affinity for some of the cast members and a not-so-cheery attitude about others. In describing Stacey Stillman's exit from the game, he portrays her, pretty much, as an obnoxious brat.

It's not the greatest thing since sliced bread but it will give you a new dimension in which to enjoy the game.

Rating:
Summary: Outwit. Outlast. Outread.
Review: As others have stated, this was a quick read. Rarely do I finish a book in one day, but my love for the show and interest in this 'behind the scenes' written companion wouldn't let me put it down.

Lots of good stuff here. I enjoyed the frankness of the author/creator of the show. I wouldn't have expected him to be as candid as he was here (voicing strong opinions about the castaways). I'm sure there are things he is still choosing to hide from the general public, but for the most part, I'm satisfied with the amount of 'new information' I have gained.

As others reviewers have touched on, I too was disappointed that the book seemed to include fewer details as it pressed on. Several of the challenges were glossed over or mentioned after the fact. The final vote, which lasted about an hour on television was only covered on about 2 1/2 pages of the book (hardly the 'expanded treatment' promised by the back cover). Clearly these were the most dramatic moments on the show. And for all the psychoanalyzing this author does in other parts of the book, he barely mentions the infamous Sue Speech (which, to me, begs for in-depth analysis).

Something that also distracted me from time to time was the abundance of errors (spelling errors, spacing errors, misplaced names). I just chalked it up to pressing deadlines, but still... (there were 'editors' right?)

All in all, I was pleased. I think anyone, like myself, who was completely captivated by the show from day one... or even those who jumped on the bandwagon later in the series... would benefit from reading this book.

...Oh yeah, and I really wish there were more pictures of Colleen. Oh, my sweet Colleen. Ahhh.

Rating:
Summary: Survivor; a "novel" idea
Review: First of all, don't bother purchasing this book until you have seen the series "Survivor: Borneo", because, basically, the book won't have the same meaning to those who have yet to see the series on which it is based (What are you waiting for? Go watch it!). For those who have seen "Borneo", this is an ideal way to relive the moments of Pulau Tiga seen from an entirely different perspective; that of the producer, Mark Burnett. Burnett describes the activities of island life as they occured on the island, making this a descriptive insight into the personalities and personas of each of the 16 castaways as pictured by Burnett. He covers the backround of each "character" by actually attempting to see things from that survivor's point of view. The description of many of the things not shown on TV is quite interesting (to say the least), with backround information provided on the technicalities of the shoot and island living (including not only the cast, but the crew as well). I was extremely disappointed by the rather abrupt end to book, and that the final tribal council, one of the most pivotal moments of the entire series, was so swiftly covered, without even remarking on Sue's "Rat & Snake" speech (Oh good God, you just gotta see it!) or the other jury members' votes. (Now I'm told that all this comes in Burnett's next book, the Survival Guide for the Autrailian Outback. What in God's name is the point of that!). The interview with the million-dollar winner (the sole suvivor) is interesting, but could hardly be called "in-depth". The most important thing about this book, though, is Burnett's analysis of each of the castaway's mentality and strategies, and, like me, those of you who have seen the show and have appreciated the castaways' outer values will be most intrigued by the psychology of their mentality Burnett discusses here. This book is an absolute must-have for any Survivor fans (and any Colleen Haskell fans like me!), but will still be better appreciated by those who are actually familiar with the entire "Borneo" thing.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for a survivor fan!
Review: I loved this book. I bought it used off of Borders and had my doubts about it. But it came through. I was written by Mark Burnett while he was on the island as the filming progressed. Mark wrote about the game itself along with insights to what happens behind the scenes. Although the sotry is basically a recap of the show, it also give more. I learned many things like- the production crew and the castways know each other by names and intermingle and also I learned more about each castaway and his or her ideas about the game going into it and afterwards. I totally recommend this book for any fans (and even non-fans!)

Rating:
Summary: Behind the scenes fun in the sun on Pulau Tiga
Review: I picked up "Survivor" The Ultimate Game" at half-price so I was pretty much ensured of getting my money's worth from this one. When you have a show that whittles 3 days worth of fun in the sun to a single hour of prime time television, lots of interesting things end up on the cutting room floor. However, the book, like the television show, continues to filter everything through the mind of Mark Burnett, the great and powerful. What is most worthwhile in this book end up being the behind the scenes information, such as what happened with the video tape of Jenna's kids and how they faked out Kelly with a "trip" to a "Malyasian" bar. What you can take or leave is Burnett popping out from behind the curtain to tell you what he thinks of all the players (it comes down to the Gay Man versus the Wild Woman), all the contests, all the strategies, and basically everything that happens on his show. Fans of "Survivor" will find this book interesting summer reading, and while it will not change anybody's mind about anything, it will provide further proof that (to paraphrase Kelly), these were not bad people, they just played them on TV.

Rating:
Summary: A smart reinvention of the companion book
Review: I put off buying this book, figuring it was just another companion book to a pop culture phenomenon. However, I'm sorry I waited so long. This is a page-turner. Survivor isn't a sanitized version of island life, but a book full of surprises and insights. Burnett obviously took the time to interview the castaways and get inside their heads. The judgements and psychological nuggets he delivers about them don't come across as flip, but well thought-out. Yeah, the book had a few typos, but over the course of 240 pages, a half-dozen minor mistakes hardly constitutes a sloppy book. I realized, after reading, that the reason I waited so long to read it was that I'd fallen prey to the same arrogance many reviewers of this book have displayed in this forum. I assumed that since it was about popular culture the book was meant to be looked down on. I was wrong. Put this under "guilty pleasures." Not only was Survivor well-written (economy of language, crisp rhythm), but the pacing was deliberate and insights penetrating. Those reviewers that slam this book for the sake of sport and self-glorification are revealing loads about their pettiness and intellectual insecurities. I'm looking forward to Burnett's next Survivor book. The man can flat-out tell a story.

Rating:
Summary: A little thin on excitement
Review: I thought this book would be a bit spicier than what can go on TV, but I found details and stories to be a bit thin. It was as though the book was an after-thought to the hit show; another piece of merchandise not quite up to snuff. Not a bad book, but I think it could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Survivor Rules!
Review: Survivor is an amazing show. And this is a very involved, interesting and great book. Only problem is that's it didn't take too long to read. The descriptions of the final episode are especially short.