A Book

Desi Arnaz is someone I've greatly come to admire as I've learned more and more about him and someone who I think never got the credit he so rightly deserved while he was alive. Was Desi a perfect person? No, it is well known he fooled around alot while married to Lucille Ball ( and even his second wife,Edie) and had a major problem with alcohol but he also is responsible for bringing about television how we know it today."A Book" is Desi's bio about his life from the time he was born until 1960 when the "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" ( the sequel to "I love lucy" series, if you will) ended in addition to Lucy and Desi's nineteen year marriage. Desi goes into fascinating detail about his early life in Cuba ( his maternal grandfather was actually one of the creators of Bacardi Rum) including he and his family having to flee their home when the Batista dictatorship took over, he also tells great stories about beginning his music career in Miami, going to work for Xavier Cugat and then starting his own band, and winding up in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls" that would not only kick off Desi's acting career but also ultimately be responsible for his meeting future wife and co-star Lucille Ball.Desi does of course have plenty to say about Lucy. However, despite the fact that at the time the book was written ( circa 1976) , Desi and Lucy had been divorced for many years and were then married to different people, readers of this book will be able to instantly sense the sheer amount of love and respect Desi still had for Lucy.In fact after reading this book, I strongly feel that Desi and Lucy remained in love to their dying days. Even when talking about the rough times during their marriage ( being separated alot during their first years of marriage, Lucy filing for divorce in 1944, their struggles to have a baby,etc.), Desi never once has anything bad to say about Lucy nor does he ever attempt to put the blame on her for their marriage ultimately ending. Of course Desi also has plenty to say about the creation of "I love lucy", and there are plenty of fun little tidbits in there for fans of the show as Desi singles out a few different episodes and what went on behind the scenes.This book can be incredibly hard to find due to it sadly being out of print ( thankfully I kept an eye on the Amazon marketplace and finally found it for a very reasonable price) but if you can find it, this books is totally worth the read. I also highly recommend reading it with Lucy's bio "Love,Lucy" as it's incredibly interesting to read about Lucy and Desi's points of view on the same events.

Wow, what a fantastic and revealing read! Not only was Desi Arnaz a handsome, generous, gifted man and a shrewd businessman, he was a talented storyteller as well. In a very easy way (in acknowledgements, Desi mentioned, "I could not use flowery language and large, many-syllabled words because I don't know them"), Desi wrote about his growing up in Cuba, moving to America, forming his first band, meeting and marrying Lucille Ball, working on I Love Lucy, and starting Desilu. He shared his feelings on having been in show business and discussed his struggles, successes, friends, mentors, and his celebrity. He also wrote about his carousing, gambling, and womanizing which were legendary and had ultimately led to his and Lucy's divorce, but were a part of his nature and the result of his upbringing. Throughout the whole journey, I felt as if Desi were sitting in front of me telling his story. It was as though I could see the sparkle in his eyes and hear humor in his voice. I could sense his zest for life, fondness for music, and great love for his family and friends. A Book drew me in from the first page and kept my interest to the very end.I read Love, Lucy, Lucille Ball's autobiography, just prior to this book. Both of those books had a traditional structure: they started with 'I was born on...', told about ups and downs of Lucille's and Desi's lives in a linear fashion, and ended in the early 1960s. They both were full of black-and-white photographs. Many times, Lucy and Desi talked about the same events, and it was very interesting to compare their viewpoints and see how similar, or how different, they were. However, while Love, Lucy was also a five-star read for me, I liked Desi's book a little more.A Book is a wonderful and rewarding story told by a fun and decent man, and it is not to be missed. Too bad Desi has never written Another Book, a promised sequel.

Throughout the pages of this book, one gets the impression that Desi really did love Lucy and she loved him, but they seemed to be one of those couples that could not live together. He was a philanderer and she had a hot temper and that (apparently) made for some rough living.The singular most interesting fact from this book that I will probably never EVER forget is this: After Desi and Lucy were divorced, he called her every night for the rest of his life. They were more than lovers, they were best friends and it seems that the relationship continued, even after the marriage ended.This book is really a manuscript-length tribute to Lucille Ball. Desi's love and admiration for her shines through its many pages. He is kind to her in this memoir and unlike the poison-pen style of today's celebs, it seems that Desi just wanted the world to know that Lucy really was the amazing, interesting and gifted soul she appeared to be.It also has some fascinating insights and background about the program and its sequels. Plus, if you want to know the scoop about William Frawley and Vivian Vance (Fred and Ethel), it's all in these pages. Those two really did NOT like each other.I bought this book (used, cheap) and my little paperback copy arrived tattered and worn , but I couldn't stop reading it. Very well written, very interesting and a real tribute to the star of "I Love Lucy."

When I purchased this book I already knew quite a bit about Lucy and Desi and have been an avid fan all my life. I've seen every movie and TV show including guest shots and interviews with Lucy as well as reading her autobiography but I was curious to read Desi's take on their lives together and even before he met her. It's more than clear throughout the book that his intention while writing it that he held true to being open and honest. He was more candid than I expected but this book allows the reader to come to appreciate Mr. Arnaz so much more. I'm glad I took the time to read this book and recommend it to anyone.

Read Love, Lucy so had to read this too. Paid a bit more than I would normally have for an unsigned book. It looks brand new and so far it has been a good read. Lucy would chide him about his English pronunciation but he was certainly a good writer.

As a fan of Desi & Lucy, I was happy to be able to get a copy of his book as a replacement to the one I lost due to a fire. Am really enjoying re-reading it.