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| Home: A Memoir of My Early Years | 
 enlarge | Author: Julie Andrews
Publisher: Hyperion
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $11.73
You Save: $15.22 (56%)
New (58) Used (19) Collectible (5) from $10.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  52 reviews
Sales Rank: 893
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0786865652
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.4028092
EAN: 9780786865659
ASIN: 0786865652
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 JULIE ANDREWS: A CLASS ACT April 5, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I wondered if Julie Andrews, a very private celebrity, would ler her guard down in her long-awaited autobiography "Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years." To my surprise and delight, she does just that and much more-- writing about many personal and painful memories with more candor and courage than I expected. After reading this book, I realized that biographies by Robert Windeler and Richard Stirling did not even begin to do her justice. To begin with, Julie can write wrings around her other "biographers". She has a true gift for writing and providing details of people, places and eras that create very specific and clear images in the the mind's eye of the reader. Many of her memories are emotionally harrowing and filled with almost heartbreaking pathos. Yet, it is never a sad, self-pitying, or self-serving autobiography. Julie balances the sadness with perception, depth, and her own delicious, delightful, often bawdy, sense of humor.
Julie's "early years" were mostly spent touring around England in the last, dying days of British vaudeville. Most of the venues she played in were terrible and tacky; a few were gloriously fun. She never complains or despairs, but life at home was definitely not a Disney "Jolly Holiday"-- definitely not with her abusive and alcoholic stepfather; "Pop" Ted Andrews. She resented him from the start, and he quickly gave her every good reason to resent him. She must have terribly resented having to adopt his last name. Yet, she is very "matter of fact" about the turn of events: "my name was changed from Julia Elizabeth Wells to Julie Andrews...I didn't have any say in the matter, and I don't think my father (Ted Wells, whom she absolutely adored) did, either. He must have been hurt.' Her family was severely fractured and disfunctional; and she seems acutely aware of this. Writing of a visit to her boyfriend Tony Walton's house, she says, "Everything was soothing, pleasant and spoke of a real home--quite a contrast to my own rather sad and disorganized one." Her mother, Barbara, was a rather pathetic alcoholic as well. When Julie was 14, her very drunk mother dropped a huge emotional bombshell regarding Julie's "biological father," who was not, as she always assumed, Ted Wells. This revealation, understandably, knocked Julie sideways for years. Yet, she responded to every adversity with the iron will and resolve of a true survivor. She writes, "I committed myself wholeheartedly to assumming responsibility for the entire family. It seemed solely up to me now to hold us together, for there was no one else to do it."
Because of her dedication to keeping her family intact, she nearly passed on the opportunity to make her Broadway debut in "The Boyfriend" at age 19. She had to be literally shoved onto a plane to the U.S.A. Broadway provided her with a nurturing environment, an education, and another "home", of sorts. When Julie describes her lengthy, nearly three year marathon run in the megahit musical "My Fair Lady," guided by her great director/mentor Moss Hart, the autobiography is completely engrossing. After this, she details the trials and tribulations that plagued "Camelot," Lerner and Loewe's costly, often misguided follow-up to "My Fair Lady."
The book ends rather abruptly-- just at the point where the reader is totally capitivated and feeling we are just beginning to know Julie. Julie, Tony Walton, and their newborn daughter Emma, are happily flying off to Hollywood-- Julie and Tony having accepted Walt Disney's offer to work on "Mary Poppins." One hopes Julie won't wait too long before she offers a second installment. Whether writing about personal tragedies or professional triumphs, Julie displays the warmth and graciousness that have made her so endearing for over 50 years. Above all, Julie proves that she is, without a doubt, one of the last true "class acts" left in show business.
I Love Julie Andrews April 2, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Very touching and yet at times she had me laughing out loud. The photos in the book are wonderful. What man in his sixties can honestly say that he was never in love with this actress? She's led a remarkable life, and is a beautiful person. A must read.
Editor of Michele Cozzens' award winning women's fiction A Line Between Friends
GREAT April 1, 2008
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
As a fan of Julie Andrews, this book is a gem. If you want to know about her and her amazing life, buy it today.
Author of: Mr. NewHeart (New Heart): Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond
I also recommend A Step of Faith - an inspiring story to help get you through the month.
Engrossing, Entertaining Memoir! April 12, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
One of the most interesting, well-written memoirs I have had the pleasure to read. In spite of all of the sometimes sordid incidents in her early life, Julie Andrews writes with wit, and provides fascinating details of life in WWII and post war England.
The book really never fails to keep your interest, the photos are marvelous, and I enthusiastically recommend this as the best memoir of recent years.
Julie Is Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious! April 8, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Julie Andrews represents everything good in my childhood, and it's reassuring to know that she has persevered through her own difficult childhood to become a role model for the rest of us. This is one of the best written autobiographies I've ever read.
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