A Lifetime To Get Here: Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl
by Thomas Adrahtas
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thomas AdrahtasEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-20
ISBN: 1425971407
Number of pages: 404
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Book Reviews of A Lifetime To Get Here: Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl
Book Review: At Long Last: Diana gets her due!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a Diana Ross fan for the greater part of my life. As I stare forty squarely in the face in three months, I am proud of the fact that I have honored Diana's legend for 31 years. My love affair with Diana began in 1975 with "Do You Know Where You're Going To" and has continued through her recent artistic triumph, "I Love You." I have ravenously sought out any literature or journalism that can provide insight into the elusive legend. Tom Adrahas' new biography of the legendary Diana Ross has finally provided balance to stories that read too much like maudlin soap operas to be credible. I strongly recommend Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl...A Lifetime to Get Here to anyone who may have heard the unfair criticisms that have been levied against this superstar for four decades and/or who has had the thoughtfulness to ask "Well then, how did she get SO far? " There has not been a great deal that has sated my desire to see this performer get the credit that she deserves for her place in American--and more specifically--international pop music culture. This is unfortunate. I was in College when Dreamgirls: My Life as A Supreme and the tabloid trash counterpart, Call Her Miss Ross were unleashed like toxic venom into the American psyche. Both of these books read like shady, suspect stories more befitting of the National Enquirer than useful biography with any historical merit or moral integrity. Unfortunately, these suspect pieces have stood as definitive sources of the Ross mystique and few have challenged the unsophisticated, immature, and vengeful tone that each author took in describing such a glorious superstar's career.
As I read these books twenty years ago, I was appalled, saddened, and angered that the American public lacked the critical thinking skills to see the spliced together accounts of two authors, each lacking a legitimate license to share HER legendary story, a story that would inspire so many millions of people across so great a time span: 1) an obsessively jealous, resentful, and disgruntled background singer (Wilson) whose star had rapidly fallen after Diana separated her magic from the group that DIANA had made famous, and 2) the shameless media gimmickry of a lackluster writer (Taraborrelli) who would capitalize on the enormous contemporary success of preeminent female entertainer of the early eighties to make a quick buck and to masquerade as a "Diana Ross expert" and long-time devoted fan less than five years after publishing a less economically successful tribute. Tom Adrahas' new biography FINALLY responds to their painfully obvious oversights and the many "missing pieces" of their accounts.
When I recently learned of the forthcoming publication of the new biography (from Dick Ketler's comprehensive Diana Ross tribute site) to be published by Tom Adrahtas, I was understandably skeptical. Another "unauthorized" biography, I lamented, would soon rehash the unfair and unbalanced gossip that had circulated for years about Diana Ross and for which there were only a handful of hearsay testimonials from those with frail egos, career regrets, and shameless desires to steal a moment of fame and a bundle of dollars from a public with an insatiable appetite for sensationalism. My fears were not justified. It is true that like other biographers, Tom Adrahtas, the author of this logical, carefully reasoned, thoughtful biography, does NOT have the benefit of Diana's voice, but at long last, there is an author that uses critical thinking and natural analytical powers to point out the glaring omissions and careless, mean-spirited inconsistencies that were painfully obvious to me in the texts alluded to earlier. He acknowledges, with great insightfulness and common sense, what Ross' detractors have never done: She is a superbly talented performer with an unrivalled work ethic who could have NEVER achieved such a level of success based mostly on her alleged diabolical personality tendencies. Moreover, he explains with compelling arguments that there is no way that a career could span 40+ years based on cunning and cruelty. Instead, he describes what others have glossed over. Simply: Diana worked harder than any other artist at Motown and perhaps harder than any other pop legend in a time when African-Americans were not embraced by mainstream America. This she did in pursuit of her dreams and the dreams of Berry Gordy. Diana honed her innate talent on the sheer force of will, self-determination, careful study of her fans and by taking the advice of her teachers to heart. Finally, Diana has on multiple occasions demonstrated compassion, generosity, and a magnanimity that precedes those of her petty, irresponsible detractors and has rarely publicly dignified their negativity with a public mudslinging contest.
As an African-American gay male who is a social psychologist by profession and has studied ethnic identity issues and gender identity issues at great length, it was most refreshing to see an astute author acknowledge that the burden of criticism that Diana has had to bear reflects the inescapable identity confluence of her Blackness and her Womanhood. Bravo to Tom Adrahtas for underscoring --throughout your thoughtful work-- that ignored barrier to her star's full luminance. The parallels between Diana's story and the legendary Bette Davis' story was something that I wrote about in a paper given at a gender roles conference many years ago. I was vindicated to see it supported with Adrahas' well reasoned arguments.
In sum, I enjoyed reading this excellently written work because her story finally makes sense. Unlike the writings of his pernicious predecessors, Tom Adrahtas acknowledges the "rumors" and places an alternative, and much more plausible explanation, for the fantastic myths which have sadly tarnished Diana's brilliance. I was heartened that this author was brave enough to do what so few others have done. He offered a humane set of attributions for behavior that is too complex to be simplified in the reductionist world of good/evil. With good writing that makes this book a great page turner, Adrahtas presents an "Oprah-alternative" to the "Jerry Springer" world of biography that characterized Wilson's and Taraborrelli's works. It is refreshing to see that there is someone willing to write with a penchant for positive journalism rather than giving more fodder for simple minds.
I take issue with the other reviewers who have argued that Adrahas'writing was replete with grammaticos. As a college professor, I am a fairly attentive grammarian, and I can assure you that these typographical errors were sparsely distributed throughout the text and that the content certainly took precedence over the existence of such benign errors. What is refreshing to me as a person who loves good prose is the stylistic elegance of Adrahatas' writing. I have always found Taraborrelli's writing lackluster and long winded. Wilson's text was actually painful to read as well--due partly to her sad prose but due mostly to the "poor, poor me" victim theme that ran throughout both of her novels of sour grapes and revisionist history. It is unfortunate that both of these authors will see their pathetic works revived in the wake of Dreamgirls hype. It is most fortunate that there will finally be an intelligent counterpoint to the wicked writing we will be bomarded with once more.
At long last, there is a comprehensive work that addresses the raging questions that have pursued Diana Ross, one of America's greatest inspirations, for far too long. At long last, there is a logic that does not take the cognitive path of least resistance and probes deeper to ask the question: "Can someone really form a career that spans four decades, unites the entire globe, produces 18 number one songs, solidifies international celebrity, garners sold-out concert halls, and attracts several generations of admirers based primarily on blind, insensitive, ruthless, ambition?" The answer is finally revealed in a compelling work that gives us the answer we all knew all along: Of course not! At long last, perhaps, Ross' detractors will have to answer for their shameless four-decade smear campaign and take some personal responsibility for their languishing careers, their mediocre talents, and their shameless exploitation of one of the most inspirational stories ever told. And finally, Tom Adrahatas' work may help the new generation of individuals to more fully appreciate the magnitude of Diana Ross' contributions to the limitless possibilities of the "American Dream" under the mentorship of Berry Gordy, Jr., whose business acumen has also been sadly eclipsed by misguided others who were trying to make a buck at the expense of desecrating the contributions of "THE Original Dreamgirl." It would be poetic justice if this text could be offered with a ticket to those interested in the TRUE story of Dreamgirls as the film takes wide release. Tom Adrahas' work of non-fiction finally tells the story as it should be told: with Diana Ross at the center, with Diana Ross as the star, and with Diana Ross finally receiving her just desserts.
Summary of A Lifetime To Get Here: Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl
This unauthorized biography of entertainment legend Diana Ross strives to give a balanced account of her life and career while giving her the historical due that seems to have escaped her previously. Captured in vivid detail are her groundbreaking performances leading the Supremes, the renowned concert in Central Park amidst a raging thunderstorm, and the peaks and valleys of the more than 40 years of her ongoing stage, studio, and screen career. The book steers clear of dry biography, in that it is interspersed with entertaining essays that capture the effect her life and career have had on fans throughout the years. This book is a must-read for anyone with an appreciation for popular culture over the last half century.Composers & Musicians Books
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