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Paperback - 425 pages (May 5, 1999)
Renaissance Books; ISBN: 1580630510 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.11 x 9.15 x 7.40

The Lucy Book is a wonderful new tome from the author of the well- known jazz book First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald For the Record. His research is always well-done, and this book is no exception. Although his writing style can occasionally seem holier-than-thou (witness him smugly break many long-held beliefs, published in many other biographies of Lucille, such as the fact that Lucy mistreated Jack Benny during filming of the 1970 Here's Lucy episode "Lucy and Jack Benny's Biography.")

Overall, however, this is a well-organized, fascinating read, featuring synopses of most of Lucy's television appearences, as well as interviews with many of her co-workers. Oftentimes, this book is like a printed version of The Lucille Ball File. For instance, the chapters are organized by TV season, and some chapters are separated by little lists about the Lucy series'. Many of these lists can be found right here, such as guest stars, Nelisen ratings, and in which episodes Lucy managed to get into Ricky's entertainment act.

Fidelman does, however, have the occasional factual slip-ups. The most glaring are probably, first, that in Vivian's Vance's biography in the second appendix, it gives her birth year as 1909 in paranthesis. But then the very first sentence, on the first line of the biography, directly below this it says "Vivian Roberta Jones was born on July 26, 1912". Also, in Desi Arnaz Jr.'s biography, his birthday is listed January 15, 1953, when one of the greatest facts in Lucyland is that Desi Jr. was born January 19 of that year, the same day as Lucy Ricardo had her baby on TV. However, January 15 is also listed in the time line as both the date Desi Jr. AND Little Ricky were born. Other glitches:
        - Desi Arnaz did not attend Notre Dame High School
        - In the "Cuban Pals" episode summary, Renita is listed as "Rosita."
        - The ratings system is spelt "Nielson" instead of "Neilsen."

However, those are minor errors, and since the reader now knows of them, this is definitely a must-have for all Lucy fans. Not just as an overall guide and fact-checking work, but also as a biography (since so much of Lucy's life was spent around the television cameras). Pick it up cheap at Ted's Lucille Ball Bookstore (in assocation with Amazon.com) today! ~ Ted Nesi, Ted's Lucille Ball Bookstore, 7/10/99