Cher: Strong Enough

This is a fantastic book. It is not for the casual fan who wants only an overview of Cher's life or career. Those books exist; the best is the Taraborelli. Others are mostly regurgitations of magazine articles and interviews and oft-told anecdotes that those of us who are serious, long-term fans can identify and probably quote. At least four of them are all entitled Cher! Some are catty (Bego), some merely comprehensive (Pellegrino). All of these books, while usually updated more recently, came out in about 1975, the time frame on which Strong Enough (despite its title coming from a more recent recording) focuses.Those of us who have followed Cher for enough years understand that this is the time when she really became CHER, moving from being a famous singer and fashion icon to being a true superstar-- in a time when that term was applied sparingly and to celebrities with serious talent and track records rather than to any random "personality" who has parlayed a sex tape into a reality show career.Following her divorce from Sonny in 1974, Cher moved into a solo career, and this is the focus of the book. While it includes overviews of her life and career before and after the years 1974-76, the book is really about Cher's amazing, groundbreaking, short-lived but much-admired (by her fans at least) solo television show.The research and effort on display are impressive. Although the author did not interview the three most crucial people in the evolution of Cher into literally the biggest female star of this period-- David Geffen, Bob Mackie and Cher herself-- he seems to have spoken with all of the other important figures (George Schlatter, Ret Turner, Jimmy Webb, and other personnel involved with the show and with Cher's recording career at a time when she made an effort to be taken seriously as a recording artist). Additionally, the comprehensive details of the contents and production of each show are a goldmine to those of us who remember it fondly or who would like to know more about it, scarce as it is on today's airwaves. As the author points out, perhaps because of the expense of music rights, the show has never been available on DVD, and only truncated half-hour versions have been shown on VH1.This show was a real high point of (and in many ways a conclusion to) the art of the variety show, along with Carol Burnett's show, but quite different from the latter. Between the "serious" musical guests who never appeared on television (David Bowie, Labelle, Bette Midler, Elton John) and the flamboyant and (for the '70s) risqué costumes, TV viewers before MTV had never seen anything like it.While other Amazon reviews complain that the focus is on this time period, and that the details of the shows are, I suppose, less interesting to them than yet another repetition of her larger biography, to me, that is the value of this book. As mentioned, there are plenty of other sources for the same old same old. And those books include relatively little about the Cher show, focusing more on the concurrent divorce from Sonny and the tabloid saga of her relationship with Gregg Allmann, Certainly all of that is included here, as it was part of the era that began her ongoing role (along with Princess Diana) as one of the most frequently featured faces on celebrity periodicals. But here these "scandals" receive more measured coverage.In fact, the book is notable for the lack of a salacious or bitchy attitude about the biographical details. Cher is given her due as a significant, unique cultural figure whose image, career and life were shaped by the events included in this book.Oh, and great photos-- and, again, not the same ones on view in the other books and magazines.

I have been a devout Cher fan for over 40 years. To date every book that has been published is always the same recount of her life. Don't get me wrong. Her life's story is interesting, but it's been told over and over a gazillion times. This is the very first book that it totally devoted to after leaving Sonny and beginning her own tv variety show. It specifically in chronological order takes you through every episode of The Cher Show. It tells you everything that happened behind the scenes. As an example......skits and musical numbers that never made it to television......happy times as well as big time disputes with some of her guests......and as Cher is fiming each episode, the book will give you very specific information about what was happening at the same time in her private life. This book to date, has been the only book about Cher that I read straight through without ever putting it down. I also sent a complimentary email to it's author Josiah Howard. He has personally written to me three times and has offered me one of the two copies available of the book cover minus the writing across Cher's torso. He is friendly, down to earth, and has dedicated many years of documenting facts in order to write this book. If you are a die hard Cher fan, you will love reading every page of this book because everything that you're reading has never been in print before. Cher herself is very pleased with the finished product, and states that it's facts are very true and accurate. On a final note, the photos in this book are great. You'll love every one of them. Get your copy and enjoy the journey!!!!!

First book I have ever read about Cher. A woman before her time. This was one of hardest working women in the music business. Well before her time and very underrated. Her story provides us with just how talented she was and the constant censorship battles over her style of close but they could not denied the talent she portrayed. I am not sure what Sonny did but ride on her coat tales because she was the one with all the talent.this book also covers Greg Allmon(sorry about the spelling. I just wish the book went on further. There was so much more it could have said,but I recommend this book about a American icon, that has kept her life very private.

I have always loved her, her programs, movies and her music. This book brought back memories of the career I have followed for most of my adult life. I rated this book a 3 because I didn't feel it was personal enough. Her shows and her outfits were documented well, but I wanted to finish also knowing Cher as a person. I would recommend this book to people who want to relive Sonny and Cher shows and Cher's career.

I loved how this book focused on Cher's life mid- to late-70s since I feel that is the most overlooked yet most fascinating portion of her career but it was a little too detailed. Every episode of the Cher show is detailed down to every outfit and sketch which is fun at first but it gets redundant pretty fast. I started to skip through those parts to get to the fun stuff.

The book is a Cher fan dream.It concentrates on the 70s period and the notorious Cher show in depth.There are some nice photos.Their are a few glaring errors ,such as "Baby don't go " was released on Atco records..Reprise...!The cover is gorgeous,,wish it was in hard cover.Extensive video-ography of her tv shows and discography. Pretty good,and many tidbits from the people who worked with Sonny,Cher and both.

I enjoyed the book. The pictures were very nice, although I have other books with the same photos. Not a lot of new information. A nice book for a collector. I believe Sonny Bono was responsible for her success. I wonder why she still bad mouths him. Sonny RIP.

Good book in good condition! Will order from them again. Thanks!

A little tatty after being squeezed through my door but still OK.

Very disappointed - too much rambling on about newspaper clippings and awards and very little about Cher

AN INTERESTING AND VERY THOROUGH BOOK ABOUT THE EARLY YEAR'S OF THE 'SONNY AND CHER SHOW'.VERY WELL RESEARCHED .

This is a book that is strictly for big-time Cher fans. I say this because the major focus of the book is Cher's 2-season solo TV show from the '70s, which is not available on DVD at this time. What this means is that, if you didn't see these shows back when they were aired, your only hope is to watch whatever clips are available on youtube. I did see those shows but only remember a few episodes - the ones with the big name guest stars like Bette Midler and Elton John. What I found interesting about the book was the thorough research conducted by the author. He interviewed virtually every living person who was in any way connected with the show - except Cher herself. He doesn't explain why he was not able to get Cher to sit down with him for an interview (I assume he tried, but this isn't disclosed). However, there are lots of quotes from Cher's interviews to other journalists from the time in question. Anyone who really wants to understand how Cher's personality evolved from the Sonny and Cher days to the CHER days, will really enjoy this book. The photos are really nice too.

No Brasil o livro veio apenas como "Cher" e não como "Strong Enough" como no lançamento original.A folha é branca, a gramatura da capa não é muito legal, mas, vem um photobook bem bonito no final com cerca de páginas.No geral é um bom conteúdo, bem escrito, mas, com foco maior na carreira da Cher entre o final dos anos 50 e 80.