Alice Arlen

I registered this book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14598177

Biography of an adventurous woman, written by the niece who loved her and her husband, a notable writer in his own right.

Alicia Patterson was born into the newspaper industry, so it may not be surprising that she made her name running a newspaper. But the path there was far from smooth.

Always interested in exploring, she learned to fly a plane, hunted big game, wrote about her adventures, and finally started a tiny newspaper that became the popular NewsDay. Her love life was interesting as well. She went from husband to husband, finally staying with Harry Guggenheim. The first two husbands were chosen, encouraged, by her father. It does not appear that she actually loved any of them, although she certainly was fond of them at first.

It is hard not to notice that Alicia floated above the rest of us. Her way was paid. She was well-prepared, paid for by daddy or hubby. Her success with the newspaper is nonetheless remarkable, as the paper eventually had to pay for itself and she made the right moves to make sure it did.

I wasn't impressed by her hunting, as I, along with many others, am not excited about a person's ability to shoot a gun and kill an animal. There is hardly anything brave about it.

What makes this book remarkable is the "breezy", witty style of writing. The authors (actually the style is primarily that of Michael as his wife was too sick to write after doing years of research) write with lively humor, a detached yet fond perspective.… (mehr)

Not your typical garden variety biography. Once you have established that one of the co-writers is a niece of the Subject then the injection of opinionated observations and slightly snarky commentary is explained.

Alicia Patterson is a force to be reckoned with. forever trying to get her father's attention, and subsequent love, she doggedly follows in the family footsteps of political persuasion and swaying the opinions of the masses by becoming an editor of an influential newspaper. Ms Patterson built hers from nothing into a Pulitzer prize winning force.

Fitzgerald once said "The rich are different " and Hemingway countered "Yes they have more money" is a major part of this narrative.… (mehr)