Rating: 
Summary: Touching
Review: Anyone looking for "dirt" on Miss Young won't find it here. It's just a very sweet, very touching look at the life of one of the last great movie stars. She was always my idol in so many ways. For me, this book confirms why.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Soul. But book needed indepth, balanced approach
Review: Certainly this book shows Loretta Young's best qualities, which are considerable. Still Joan Wester Anderson, the author (whose previous spiritual books I have enjoyed) does an injustice to herself and her subject. The author seems to have an agenda, promoting angels, inserting them, interpreting, according to her "angelic" philosophy of life. The author tries too hard to make miracles. She asserts that Ricardo Montalban miraculously came to meet Loretta's sister, the exact girl of his prior dreams and future wife. Yet other books show that Montalban had already met another of Loretta's sister, Sally, with whom he worked in Mexico. His friendship with that sister led quite naturally to meeting his beloved via natural, not supernatural, means of intervention. The book is written in a rather fawning, fanlike style, which is distracting. Also, many factual errors do occur, minor to be sure, but enough to unsettle the reader and create unnecessary suspicion about the author's perceptive abilities, and Loretta Young's true motives in life. (Also, for the author to assert that, due to Loretta's early good influence, stars like William Holden never were found to have a drinking problem was rather incredible!). Loretta's husband, Tom Lewis, and her daughter, Judy, are seen in too much of an unflattering light, as if the author were determined to please Ms.Young at all costs. I recommend your reading two well-written, thoughtful books on Loretta Young: one written by her daughter, Judy Lewis, called Uncommon Knowledge (1995) and a 1986 biography, Loretta Young: An Extraordinary Life, by Joe Morella and E. Epstein. Both these books are ruthlessly honest but not unkind, and both illustrate how Loretta and her daughter were caught in the circumstances of the times, whereby both needed to do what each felt was right. So I'm disappointed in this book, though I laud Loretta's courage in finally validating her daughter in acknowledging the truth of the latter's birth. Loretta Young really tried to do good in life, and I feel she deserves a more comprehensive treatment, bold enough to characterize her flaws, while illumining her radiant aspects.
Rating:
Summary: God Only Sees the Trying
Review: Every person who believes in God will benefit from reading this book. Every person who has no faith could benefit from reading this book. Anyone who is curious about Hollywood life will gain satisfaction from reading this book. In fact, I can't imagine anyone, of any age beyond 12, who would not benefit from reading this book. Of course,I loved this book! I grew up watching Loretta Young and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen coming out of their doorways and communicating with their angels. How special for me to find out that they were friends. However, something I never expected came out of this book and created for me a wonderful faith-confirming miracle. Loretta Young struggled hard, like I struggle, to keep my Catholic faith. She missteps and comes down on herself, then recovers again, only to misstep again. What a power example of living a life of faith "Forever Young" is. No book I have ever read epitomizes living an examined life as thoroughly and enjoyably as "Forever Young." She wasn't a priest or a nun or a saint or a Pope. Loretta Young was a secular person, just like me, working hard every day to follow in the footsteps of the Divine example God left for us in Jesus. Nothing preachy or teachy, just a good women with sinful human blood running through her veins, determined to avoid the sins that tempt and live a good life. Loretta had her man picking avacados and I had my coatless women to whom I did not give one of my three coats. Neither of us ever could forget our foolish selfishness. And, of course, I enjoyed reading about the stories of favorite stars. Richardo Maltalban married one of her sisters...Clark Gable's fathering her child.... But the one that really hit home was the Spencer Tracy romance. I had read "Tracy & Hepburn" and believed that Katherine Hepburn was the love of his life. Imagine my surprise that, rather, it was Loretta Young, who understood him and shared his struggles to keep true to his Catholic faith. It goes to show you that you can never just believe all the media hype. You can never assume you know without getting all the facts. The best part is the happy romantic ending where Loretta finally finds a relationship that works for her, brings her satisfying love and happiness. Another connection surprised me, hers and Nancy Reagan's. The surprise was not that they knew each other, but rather the surprise as to how alike they were in that they were first great ladies of grace, charm and tremendous personal self-discipline, never letting personal tragedy lead to self-pity. Both have had their share of troubles and disappointments with life and children making hurtful choices. Still, they remained focused on what would be the loving reaction. Sit yourself down with a soothing drink, have tissues ready, and spend some time with Loretta. You will know more about taking charge of your life for your investment.
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt and moving portrayal of a true beauty
Review: Forever Young is a wonderful biography on a truly gracious and down to earth lady - Loretta Young. I admire Joan Wester Anderson's books and have reviewed several for amazon.com, and was I most surprised when I saw that she had penned a biography. I am too young to know anything about Loretta Young, but after reading this heartfelt book on this amazing woman, I too, became a fan and now need to see her movies!!! I have to disagree with a lot of the reviewers here and do not feel for one instant that Joan Wester Anderson had any kind of agenda or motive with her writing of this biography. I can see why Loretta Young choose Anderson, for I don't think that anyone else but Anderson, could have captured the true essence of Ms. Young, nor the beauty of her soul. The portrayal is sensitive, filled with beauty and inspiration, and portrays a remarkable woman, who refused to compromise her values. Ms Young not only walked her talk, she breathed and lived it on a daily basis. Her devotion to her faith and her spirituality was truly refreshing to read about. I think that the only other person in this day and age that could even come close would be Gloria Estafan. Ms. Young stood up for what she believed in, and in the process gathered many friends and admirers. Her closeness to her family was most touching and revealing to the kind of person she truly was. Anderson uses a quote from St. Basil in the book and this, I believe, sums up Ms. Young, "He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." Ms. Anderson portrays a woman whose beauty radiated from the inside out. I was touched by her generosity, which seemed to be unfailing and never ending. Her wanting to make a difference in this world, was constantly shown, believed in, and made into reality. Yet, Anderson also portrays an actress, a woman, who had struggles of her own in her life, fought the adversity with a deep faith and surmounted even the most difficulties. No one is perfect; we all make mistakes, yet it is how we handle these challenges in our lives, which makes a difference. Ms. Young handled her challenges with her deep faith and love, which was a huge inspiration to me. In fact, this book was very inspirational to me and I came away with a deep respect for Ms. Young and I admire her immensely. There are wonderful messages to be gleaned from this story, and after reading the reviews here, I think that many people missed them entirely. If one is looking to read a story on yet another "movie star" in the hopes of reading as much "dirt" about them as possible, one will not find it here. Anderson leaves the reader deeply moved about this truly classic lady, with a rare inner beauty, as well as outer beauty. This book came to me in my life where my challenges were being tested and I am learning, once again, to have the faith and to believe. Thank you Joan W. Anderson for a truly wonderful and moving book!
Rating:
Summary: Forever Young, Forever Loretta the story of a great lady
Review: Forever Young is an excellent biography of the late great Loretta Young. The book examines in detail Loretta's faith and her decision to only portray characters that highlight the best of humanity. Miss Young was a true pioneer in the studio system who fought to get films made her way. This is detailed in foregoing a film to have her 3rd child. The 2nd film that she fought to get made her way was her oscar nominated film "Come to the Stable". Additionally,the book discuss how Loretta struggled to be a good chirstian and a popular star. This biography covers the highlights of Loretta's film and TV career with the main focus on Loretta Young the woman. I have met many major stars of the 30's and 40's, after reading this book, I regret that I did not get to met the wonderful woman that was Loretta Young. Yes,Loretta answers the question about Judy. For a wonderful reading experience about one of Hollywood's brightest stars, this is the book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A saccharine take on a gutsy woman
Review: I admire many things about Loretta Young. Her choice of Joan Wester Anderson as her biographer, however, reveals Miss Young's weakness for carefully airbrushing her life story. This book follows the contours of the truth but leaves out all greys and nuances, to qualify as a Reader's Digest inspirational read. The real story, with all its messy complications, would have been more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I have been reading Joan Wester Anderson for a few years now and have always Loved her books. This one was no different. It was written very well and let you get to know Loretta Young. If you were a fan of Loretta Young then this book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: At Long Last!
Review: I never thought a biography on my hero would ever be printed and now that it has happened, I am not disappointed. It would be a difficult task for any writer to chronicle 87 years of anyone's life, but the life of one of Hollywood's most productive actresses would be a formidable if not almost impossible task for most authors. Joan Wester Anderson rose to the task; she presents Loretta in a straight forward no-nonsense manner. Joan captures the essence of a great lady who avoided most of the pitfalls of Hollywood while striving to live according to her faith, the one constant in her life. You do not need to be a Loretta Young fan to enjoy this book. If you know nothing about Loretta Young, this book will probably lead you to acquire a couple of her movies or episodes of her Television shows to see the mesmerizingly beautiful actress for yourself. If you are an old fan of hers like me, it will bring back memories of a Sunday night in those innocent 50's when a beautiful lady opened her door to bring you a half-hour of entertainment with an uplifting theme. Just like its subject, Loretta Young, who was both beautiful inside and out, "Forever Young" is both beautifully written--easy to read--and beautifully packaged. "Forever Young" would make a great Christmas gift for yourself or the reader in your family.
Rating:
Summary: Limited Scope
Review: I read this book primarily to learn more about Loretta Young the actress (as the cover states "A Hollywood Legend"), but found myself instead reading the story of a woman and her deep faith. While this is inspiring, and Young was indeed known and loved for her christianity, it isn't much of a movie star biography. It's obvious that Young chose Anderson knowing that the focus of her book would be religion and not really the story of her life. I think a better format would have been serialization in a magazine, rather than published as a biography. While the author does relate the truth about Loretta's daughter with Clark Gable (Judy Lewis), she also makes backhanded assertions, like Spencer Tracy's daughter Susan telling Loretta, "There were only two women in my father's life. My mother, and you," in essence an attempt at de-legitimizing Tracy's long association with Katharine Hepburn. I've never read this author's work before, but it does seem to me that she's got her own agenda going with stories of angels and miracles and spirituality. I really wanted more about Young's life in Hollywood and less about the religion, but this is not the book for that (and the cover is a bit misleading). Bottom line: if you are a Loretta Young fan who wants to know more about her deep faith, this is the book for you. Hollywood fans, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful tribute to a lovely lady.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It not only is a biography, on Loretta Young, but also talks about her faith in God. It was one of the best biographies on a movie star that I ever read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, and would give it more stars if I could, it certainly deserves it.
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