Diana's Dogs: Diana Ross and the Definition of a Diva
by Ed Ifkovic
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ed IfkovicEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-12
ISBN: 0595708935
Number of pages: 278
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Book Reviews of Diana's Dogs: Diana Ross and the Definition of a Diva
Book Review: Essence of a Singer
Summary: 5 Stars
I was at the Central Park concert in 1983. So I naturally gravitated toward Ifkovic's version of the events. He must have been in a different part of the lawn. I was on the fringe, and got out when things got messy. So I enjoyed what he had to say. For me, too, it was a memorable night. I didn't go back the second night either. I'm sorry I didn't.
This is not a biography in any traditional sense. Rather, it's labeled a commentary on music, specifically the musical career of ex-Supreme Diana Ross. Oddly, the lingering effect of reading the book, well after the last page is turned, is that of somehow coming to understand the life of this international superstar. What I mean is that, through the wide-ranging chapters--from actual history to analyses of music and fashion and even hairdos--the author captures the essence of the woman. I suppose that makes it the equivalent of a biography. Sort of. What I'm saying is that when I finished the book I felt I knew Diana Ross in ways I'd never considered before--and I've read the various biographies out there, from the scandalous to the benign. This book falls somewhere in the middle, truth to say.
The structure of the book--that is, three acts and an intermission--serves the book well. We meet the Supremes in Act One, then Diana solo in Act Two. The intermission deals with the world around her, like her relationships with Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, even Jackie Onassis, and the final Act takes us into her later years--her growing old, the aging fan base, a valedictory of a great career. Ironically, he ends on childhood--a look back at the child "Diane," that embryonic star before she was "Diana." It's a clever way to conceive of a book.
I have the feeling lots of fans will not like it. But they should read it.
The small, spitfire chapters propel the reader along, if only to see what he has to say about the very public career. I thought he was too harsh on Mary Wilson, but what do I know? His chapter on Berry Gordy, however, rang true.
Now I want to re-listen to my Diana CDs. I think I'll hear something I never heard before. Something even better than I expected!
Summary of Diana's Dogs: Diana Ross and the Definition of a Diva
The Guinness Book of World Records calls her the best-selling female singer in history. Billboard named her the Celebrity of the Century. Diana Ross, lead singer of the most popular girl group of the 1960s and later a consummate solo artist, has been in the public eye for over four decades. From 1964?when ?Where Did Our Love Go?? rose to number one on the pop charts?to the present day, she has been the ultimate diva, an artist worshiped by fanatical fans, yet pilloried in the press for her temper tantrums and untoward demands.Ed Ifkovic delivers his own spin on this international celebrity, an idiosyncratic collection of short pieces that create a portrait of the mercurial star. From a Detroit housing project to a Connecticut mansion?who is this woman who exacts such loyalty from her fans and such vitriol from her detractors? There are pieces on Diana?s tantrums, true, but also jottings on the homes she?s lived in, the food she eats, the cars she drives, even her role as muse for writers. There is a collection of poetic similes commentators have employed to describe her, as well as a mind-boggling catalogue of garish tabloid headlines. This off-beat book, admittedly an obsessive fan?s unembarrassed send-up?equal parts delight and censure?is a spirited yet sardonic tale that also explores the integration of black music into the white mainstream. Frankly, Diana led that noble charge. What the author delights in is the unorthodox observation and gossipy tidbit that accompanied that revolution.
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