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  • The Book of Joan

  • Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation
  • By: Melissa Rivers
  • Narrated by: Melissa Rivers
  • Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (25 ratings)

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The Book of Joan

By: Melissa Rivers
Narrated by: Melissa Rivers
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Summary

Joan Rivers was known all over the world - from the Palace Theater to Buckingham Palace, from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the footlights of Broadway, from the days of talkies to hosting talk shows. But there was only one person who knew Joan intimately, one person who the authorities would call when she got a little out of hand. Her daughter and best friend, Melissa.

Joan and Melissa Rivers had one of the most celebrated mother-daughter relationships of all time. If you think Joan said some outrageous things to her audiences as a comedian, you won't believe what she said and did in private. Her love for her daughter knew no bounds - or boundaries, apparently. ("Melissa, I acknowledge that you have boundaries. I just choose to not respect them.") In The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation, Melissa shares stories (like when she was nine months old and her parents delivered her to Johnny Carson as a birthday gift), bon mots ("Missy, is there anything better than seeing a really good looking couple pushing a baby that looks like a Sasquatch who got caught in a house fire?"), and life lessons from growing up in the Rosenberg-Rivers household ("I can do tips and discounts and figure out the number of gay men in an audience to make it a good show. That's all the math you'll ever need."). These were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to life in the family that Melissa describes as more Addams than Cleaver. And at the center of it all was a tiny blond force of nature.

In The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation, Melissa Rivers relates funny, poignant and irreverent observations, thoughts, and tales about the woman who raised her and is the reason she considers valium one of the four basic food groups.

©2015 Melissa Rivers (P)2015 Random House Audio
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What listeners say about The Book of Joan

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Funny, hilarious, devastating

If you could sum up The Book of Joan in three words, what would they be?

Wow Melissa really knows how to tell a story and being to life, some people just read the words from the page but I really felt like I could sit with a cup of tea and for Melissa to be just sat in front of me telling me these stories

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Honestly I laughed I cried. I loved this book so much. I listened to it straight after I'd finished it

Any additional comments?

Well done Melissa, can't wait for the next one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fun run through Melissa and Joan life.

really good story. funny and sad. rip Joan a true legend. Melissa tells the story well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great

Very good and very Joan Rivers. A lot of quotes. Numerated by Mallisa which made it special. Thankyou Mallisa.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

Im sorry to be writing that this book was boring but it so was. this is not a reflection of Joan Rivers whom i happen to be a great fan of (which is why i bought the book in the first place) but Melissa!!????.....lets just say there was this moment where she was describing something so mundane in so much minute detail that i can literally remember what i was doing that that moment and what i wanted to do when it got too much.... i was in my car and i literally yanked my headphones and cried "get on with it!!.."....Melissa knows that Joan was the one with the charisma and sadly it died with her. RIP Joan

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