History Corner / Book Review: I am Sophie Tucker by Susan and Lloyd Ecker

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from Prospecta Press, via netGalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

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Since I wont be blogging tomorrow, but enjoying the holiday with my family, I'm giving you this week's History Corner book today!

 I am Sophie Tucker  sover

Synopsis:

Meet the real life “Forrest Gump” of the first half of the 20th Century
Part fairy tale, part crime novel, part rags to riches Hollywood myth, I Am Sophie Tucker tells the outrageous story of one of showbiz’s biggest personalities.

From 1906 through the beginning of television, Sophie Tucker and her bawdy, brash, and risqué songs paved the way for performers such as West, Monroe, Midler, Cher, Madonna, and Gaga.

Sophie was like the Forrest Gump of the first half of the 1900s,” says co-author Susan Ecker. She was close friends with seven presidents, King George VI, young Queen Elizabeth, Chaplin, J. Edgar, Capone, Garland, Jerry Lewis, Sinatra and every other notable of her era.


Sophie TuckerTucker tried to get her story published for nine years, without success. Undaunted, Sophie hired half a dozen ghostwriters, but she still had no takers for her no holds barred autobiography. Eventually, Doubleday published a sanitized version in 1945.



After immersing ourselves in Sophie’s papers and surviving friends,” says co-author Lloyd Ecker, this initial volume is what should have been the actual autobiography of Tucker.”



Though she obsessively documented her life, Sophie loved to exaggerate for dramatic effect. Over the years, she told multiple versions of each important event. At the end, not even Sophie knew the difference between truth and tall tale. 



This volume is 85% fact,” Lloyd explains. The other 15% who knows?” 

Excerpt:


You can read the prologue HERE, just click the Read a Sample Buttion.


Review:

There is actually a movie coming out, based on this book and the wonderful research the Eckers did on a larger than life personality, many people who may never have heard of, except in passing, and not given more thought to. Yet, Sophie was responsible for helping so many people that later came to be fundamental in the modern entertainment industry, with every change that technology brought.


This was an amazing read! It was so wonderful to read about a woman who literally wanted something and went after it, even if she wasn't model thin or pretty. And she achieved the fame and fortune she sought, even if it came in a circular manner. There is a reason that so many older entertainers speak so highly of her- they owe her a debt for taking chances and going where women were not seen, much less heard from. You may find yourself shaking your head, wondering how she achieved so much! 
For anyone who loves reading about how the entertainment industry got started and about the early entertainers, this will be a read they can't put down! It is a fun read and you'll find yourself off to find out more about Sophie!


About the Authors:

In 1973, Ithaca College students Susan Denner and Lloyd Ecker went on their first date to see an up-and-coming new singer named Bette Midler. Over the course of the evening, the couple fell in love with the Divine Miss M., her Sophie Tucker jokes, and each other.
Over the last forty years, the Eckers got married and had three children, and developed Babytobee.com. The sale of that business in 2006 allowed Sue and Lloyd to pursue their passion for bringing Sophie Tucker’s life to the page, stage, and screen.
With one book, the first in a trilogy about Sophie Tucker’s life, and a documentary already under their belts, the Eckers now intend to take Sophie's story to Broadway with a musical, to Hollywood with a film version of that musical, and to the small screen in a long running television drama based on her unbelievable sixty-year showbiz career. Stay tuned to our website for these—and other!—exciting developments.




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