Her Again audiobook

I used to stay in the same compound with a young actor - he was a student at the university then. Our place of residence was in the heart of a Nigerian city, full of life and teeming. Yet the general opinion at the time was that the actor was a mad man! One could hardly blame the denizens, as the young man was always somewhat "rehearsing" all alone, apparently speaking to himself, hearing voices, gesticulating with frenzy! Later on, after quitting acting we chanced to meet again, and he regaled me with lurid stories in the African acting world. Alas, such vignettes would almost certainly be lost to the world. How many books if any have been published on even illustrious African actors/actresses? Of course, as we can see from this work on Streep, the western world has so many books published on their own icons, even when as in the case here, the protagonist has no input at all in the published work! Seems bizarre from the African perspective, but, bravo to the author for the painstaking research done to produce this book. I have known about Meryl Streep for a long time, but hardly know anything about her. I remember having a dvd of the Bridges of Madison County, and admiring Streep's performance there. But Clint Eastwood - always a hard, tough guy in my mind - also did so well in the movie. Meryl was also magnificent in the film, The Devil Wears Prada - whatever this means! Anyway, I love reading all types of books, and I enjoyed this one too, despite its coming across as somewhat bizarre - since it is essentially research work. Just wish we could have such books on much more African icons... not only Mandela? Sorry.

I was a bit sceptical at first. I'm a big fan of this actress. Watched as many of her films as I can get my hands on. Including watching the first (and best) Mamma Mia over 30 times. I am not aware of who Michael Shulman is. Does he know Meryl Streep personally? What does he do as a job? Whatever it is, good writer.I will say I do think that there was a bit too much information about the other people in the book like writers, directors etc she came across. Ok tell us about them but 2 pages worth can get a bit confusing. We could have maybe got a little bit more of her story without them (hence 4 stars).I did however enjoy hearing about her relationships with John Cazale and Don Gummer.

Interesting overview of Streep's beginnings. Nicely done, in spite of no input from the subject herself.I do find it curious that people think that Streep is a sure-fire winner of Oscars each time she's nominated. The notion of "her again" can only REALLY apply to her being nominated so frequently; of 19 noms she's actually only won THREE Oscars. One Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Best Actress for both Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). For 19 nominations that is hardly a notable number of wins. Anyone who has watched film between the late 1970s and the present has to recognize the wonderful depictions Streep has offered. While noted for her ability to render "foreign" accents with amazing accuracy, she's certainly played plenty of characters who are American. Evidently, it's those stellar roles and performances that stick in movie-goers minds, many of which included "accents" . I appreciated insight to the origins of this tremendous actress. I now have some notion to the person as well as the performer. If a reader is interested in the beginnings of Streep's life and career, this is a worthwhile read. If you want "Hollywood" gossip, look elsewhere.

"Am făcut Kramer contra Kramer înainte să fac copii, a spus ea mai târziu. Dar mama care aveam să devin era deja în mine. Lumea spune "când ai copii se schimbă totul". Dar poate se trezesc lucruri care erau deja acolo"."Nu fusese niciodată de părere că actorii trebuie neapărat să sufere. Putea simula, cu o precizie aproape extraterestră, orice emoție era necesară. Dar dacă Meryl era acum o femeie zdrobită emoțional care juca o femeie zdrobită emoțional, ar fi putut spune cineva (inclusiv ea) dacă se prefăcea sau nu? Era posibil să fie "reală" și un simulacru, exact în același timp?"

Being just her age, and having long been impressed with Meryl Streep's extradordinary stage and screen performances, I delved into this book with anticipation. The author does just what he proclaims in the title; he shows how Streep "became" the actress who could so adeptly "become" a character. He shows us how her first role was as the cheerleader and homecoming queen in her New Jersey high school, a persona she studied and cultivated and mastered in her teen years. Her years at Vassar in Poughkeepsie encompassed the opening of the traditional, liberal arts women's college to men's enrollment and Streep's consideration of women's experiences and fulfillment. Her time at Yale's Drama School forced her to adapt to the directorial styles of some eccentric taskmasters, and experience in reperatory theater facilitated her ability to quickly switch back and forth between many strong character roles. Her early career allowed her some anonymnity as she honed her skills at Shakespeare in the Park and New York theater companies, and as she met and worked with the likes of Robert de Niro, Sigourney Weaver, John Lithgow, Sam Waterston, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Papp, and others. Her relationship with a dying John Cazale (The Godfather's Fredo) taught her about love, sacrifice, and profound grief. Her marriage to Don Gummer brought loving stability and the singular joys of parenthood. From the people she met to the books she read, to the bicycle she rode around the city, we see how Streep was building a backlog of experience that allows her to convey the identities of characters to theater and movie goers. The book ends as she has just received her first academy award for her performance as Joanna in Kramer vs. Kramer. She has become Meryl Streep and launched an incredible career.

English version:This is a great book to understand celebrity phenomenon and how Meryl Streep's legendary reputation was built. However, I have to say I thought the biography it would cover not only her first part of the career, so I finished the book with a feeling of wanting more.Spanish version:Este libro es una forma fantástica de enterder el fenómeno celebrity y cómo se construye una reputaicón casi legendaria como la de Meryl Streep. De todas formas, tengo que decir que creía que la biografía cubriría no solo su primera parte de la carera, así que acabé el libro con ganas de más.

Despite having seen many of her varied and accomplished performances, I knew next to nothing about Meryl Streep as she's not been the sort of person who does a lot of publicity or interviews. Michael Schulman's book gives us some background on this reclusive actress, talking about the childhood which shaped her and how she created the actress she's become through talent, luck of association with several powerful people, and the will and intelligence to make the choices offered to her count. It's a fascinating account of the education of a modern actor that will interest any fan of hers or one of theater and film in general. My only criticism is that it only takes us up to the evening of her winning her first Best Actress Academy Award for Kramer v.s. Kramer, leaving plenty of territory for another volume or another writer to explore. It whets the appetite for a more in-depth study of this most interesting of actresses. - BH.

I was fascinated to learn about the early days of my favorite actress, the one and only Meryl Streep. The author describes the cultural aspects surrounding her life in New York City in the 70's. I was delighted to read about how she got to play in her first movie I saw, Kramer vs. Kramer. I also learned about other actors such as Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. It was a pleasure to read her biography .

Very well written, engrossing study of early Meryl Streep's years in acting. I had no idea about all those Broadway shows and classic plays she took a part in, but the book describes them vividly and informatively enough to get an idea about her immense talent and the times (1970s in the New York City mostly).Also, I really like Meryl Streep. That added at least one star extra.

Here is a fascinating audio book about the life and background of Meryl Streep. I loved the storytelling and the detail in this biography. I heard the audio book from cover to cover and enjoyed it. I recommend this book.

Schulman writes so beautifully that this book doesn't resemble a biography that much. I felt as if I was reading fiction, always connected to the characters and their feelings. Then I snapped out of it and realised this is real life, which made me appreciate the marvellous Meryl Streep even more. Moreover, you can tell that the research for this book was very carefully done, ensuring the accuracy of its details. Hands-down one of the best biographical pieces I've ever read.

A well-researched account of the rise of Meryl Streep, but if you are more interested, as I am, in the latter part of her career (The Devil Wears Prada, It's Complicated, Mamma Mia) then don't look here. The book ends with Meryl winning her Oscar for Kramer v. Kramer. It doesn't even get to some of her best work (ie Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa, Silkwood). It does show the massive amount of theater work she'd done before transitioning (rather easily) into movies. This isn't the story of a woman who suffered rejection after rejection for years before catching a break. She was a star in high school, a star at Vassar, a star at Yale Drama School (despite one acting teacher who didn't like her at all and made her life miserable), and a star pretty much right after graduation! Meryl has never been my favorite actress - put me in the category of those who can acknowledge her talent while remaining somewhat untouched by her. She doesn't grab my heart the way other actresses (Kathleen Turner, Holly Hunter, Jessica Lange) do. I can't tell you why. She is very proficient, very precise, and also has a nice tenderness about her, but I can always sense her - as Jon Lovitz's SNL character would say - ACK-TING!And OMG how horrible is Dustin Hoffman? I don't think I'll be able to ever watch another movie of his knowing he not only slapped Meryl right before a big scene in Kramer v Kramer but repeatedly taunted her about the premature cancer death of her great love, the actor John Cazale (The Godfather). Who does that?! Even being a disciple of the Method, you'd think you would know that goes too far? Marlon Brando would have never done that? Dustin, you suck.

Cum a devenit Meryl Streep una dintre cele mai bune actrițe a prezentului?Ei bine, Michael Schulman, spre deosebire de alte biografii care se ocupă cu întreaga viață a unei personalități, se ocupă chiar despre această devenire, de la primele piese de teatru pe care actrița le-a jucat în liceu și până la succesul de pe scenele alternative din New York, punându-se, de asemenea, accentul și pe filmele sale până la primul premiu Oscar (pentru Kramer contra Kramer); nu sunt uitate nici relațiile personale și profesionale cu actori și regizori de prim rang, dar și primele pasiuni, inclusiv mariajul scurt cu regretatul John Cazale.

** 4 stars **Unlike the two other Streep biographies I've read that mainly just rehash all of her film roles-- Streep: A Life in Film by Iain Johnstone and Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson--this is an actual biography that includes interviews with people who knew, worked with, and/or dated Meryl Streep during the early years of her career. Schulman covers her early life and high school days through her time at Vassar and the Yale School of Drama to early theater roles to her first few movie roles, and ends with her first Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer. Really good picture of her early life, especially her relationship with John Cazale and her whirlwind romance with eventual husband Don Gummer.Would recommend if you are a fan of Streep and/or enjoy biography.

Very entertaining, and I feel like I learned a lot about Meryl Streep! The writer doesn’t mss add me her very flawed, but I guess his audience isn’t too interested in that. The stories told here were compelling, and Streep’s tenacity and talent is the major thread. I thought it was interesting that the book spent so much time on her love interests, though I found the John Cazavale section fascinating. I wanted to hear if she had female friends, and what those friendships were like. I also wish this book covered more of her life, but it seems it’s the first of at least two biographies. The parts about Streep honing her craft were terrific.

What a stellar biography!! I want a sequel, seriously (the book only follows her life through the Oscar win of Kramer vs. Kramer). Schulman’s writing was very engaging and I feel as though this may be the most enjoyable biography read I’ll ever do. I hope Meryl Streep publishes an autobiography one day because I would love to hear her thoughts and perspective of all the events described in this book. I found myself excited and grounded by this read. Thank you, Meryl!

I really like reading biographies when I am of a fan or am curious about the subject and I knew a lot of tidbits here and there about Meryl Streep. I compared it to the Maggie Smith biography that came out recently and as much as I thought that was sort of interesting, I only read about 70 pages because it seemed too actorly and high brow for me. Maggie Smith is more of a stage actress or wants to be known as such and seems kind of a snob about it, but reading this book about Streep I just thought it was so much more accessible and shorter and stuff I felt like could help me in my day to day life. If you've ever acted or were fascinated by the process, I think you should definitely pick up this book because Streep is always shown as the model to actresses everywhere and this book shows why!

Meryl Streep is a legend. We all know that. But how did she become the legend she is today? What led her to this incredible career? Michael Schulman answers these questions by going back to Streep's childhood in New Jersey in his biography on the star, Her Aga in . From there, Schulman takes us through many of the details that shaped Streep as the iconic actress she's known as today."Oh, my God. Oh, come on," she begins, quieting the crowd. She laughs to herself. "When they called my name, I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, 'Ohhh, no. Oh, come on-why? Her. Again.' You know?"— excerpt from Michael Schulman's Her AgainOne of the most interesting aspects I found with the book was Schulman's decision to label each chapter as the name of a character Streep has played in the past. In the beginning, Schulman describes who and how she was as a high school student; he discusses how Streep had to be someone else because of the boys and girls in her high school. She became a cheerleader to show everyone that she could be the "it girl" and not the tom boy she was growing up.In the following chapter, Schulman he also recounts her college years at Vassar College. She learned to be more confident in herself because it was an all-girls school. There was no pressure when it came to boys because they were all at Yale or Dartmouth, far enough away for Streep to act the way she wanted. Schulman does a good job with describing each stage of Streep's life, and it is refreshing to know that she, too, had self-esteem issues because who doesn't? Nowadays, you only see her as this confident A-list actress, but it took a lot of hard work to get her there.Another aspect that I liked was how each character she played impacted her life immensely. The first chapter is called "Mary," which Schulman choses methodically because that was the name she was born with, but only used when she was growing up. Mary was also the character she played in high school because she wanted to be popular and be liked by all the boys. A memory that Schulman describes about Streep in high school is when she won homecoming queen in her senior year. She realizes then that she completed her act; she had truly become the popular person in high school."I reached a point in senior year when my adjustment felt like me," Streep would recall. "I had actually convinced myself that I was this person and she me: pretty, talented, but not stuck-up."— excerpt from Michael Schulman's Her AgainThat was truly her first role when she changed everything about herself and became someone who was voted homecoming queen her senior year of high school."Mary Louise Streep spent four years trying to ace conformity and succeeded."— excerpt from Michael Schulman's Her AgainSchulman makes sure to show who Streep truly was before she became a star. She was this girl who struggled with self-identity and wanted everyone to like her. She is like every other girl in regards to just wanting to be liked. This helps explain what she does and who she is now after having so much success in her life. When reading this book, you get an in-depth knowledge on how she felt during some of her roles."It's like church for me," Streep once said, before stumbling on the question of where she goes when she is acting. "It's like approaching the altar. I feel like the more you talk about whatever it is, something will go away. I mean, there's a lot of superstition in it. But I do know that I feel freer, less in control, more susceptible."— excerpt from Michael Schulman's Her AgainYou also see how much it took for her to be so good at what she does. The only thing that puzzled me was that she never saw herself as a movie star. She has this immense gift but always doubted herself. I always assumed that she had it all together because when you see her in public, she is just flawless. She gives 110% to everything she does, so you would hardly be able to tell. But after reading this, you see all of the pressure she goes through to make sure people see her as this confident woman."Neither a classic beauty in the mold of Elizabeth Taylor nor a girl-next-door type like Debbie Reynolds, she was everything and nothing-a chameleon. One thing she knew she was not: a movie star."— excerpt from Michael Schulman's Her AgainIn all, I would recommend this book to someone who is as obsessed with Streep as they are of her work. She is an amazing actress who deserves to be written about. I hope you all pick this one up because I know that most of you have seen at least a few of her movies in your life. There is no denying her talent, but by reading this novel you will see the inside scoop on what it was like to become the Iron Lady herself.—Review provided by Contributor, Jessica DuffieldRead this and more over at Paperback Paris!