Little House on the Prairie Forums

I don't know how many people here visit prairiefans.com, but just in case you haven't heard yet, Alison Arngrim and Melissa Sue Anderson have both written tell-all books that will be released in June 2010. I guess the fact that Melissa Gilbert wrote a book about a year ago has inspired some other cast members to do the same.

I was shocked to see that MSA was writing something, since she has been out of the spotlight for so long, but I guess it makes sense. Her book is titled "The Way I See It," and I imagine she will be eager to tell her side of the story after reading what MG wrote about her in her own book. MG didn't completely bash her, but she did talk about how MSA was tough to get along with, and how she and Arngrim made some jokes about titling MG's book "Nellie Isn't the B**ch, Mary Is!" Just stuff like that. I respect the fact that MG didn't go completely overboard with her claims, but if I were MSA, I'd still be pretty mad.

It will be very, very, very interesting to read what these two cast members have to say. I look forward to buying both books in June.

Wow, I guess I had better hurry up and get MG's book read before June. I kept putting off picking it up because I have 3 other books I haven't read yet, but this changes my priorities a litttle.

Verry Interesting....

I'm with you on that one, millerem. It's too bad that these hard feelings have to continue among the cast after so many years. For Melissa Sue Anderson to just up and write a book completely out of the blue, that says a lot, especially since she isn't a big-name actress who has been around for a long time. She pretty much just did LHOTP, and a few other really small things, but that's it. The title of her book alone suggests that she is really looking to defend herself now, and that's sad. Doesn't seem like a very good reason to come out with a book.

I am sure both she and Alison will also comment on the same old stuff about Michael Landon being "not so innocent", and that's what gets to me. I understand his real personality was different away from the camera, but I still don't care to read about that. Never did. I'm sure I'll read the books, but I'll skim over those parts. I don't do it to be naive - I just prefer to remember Michael Landon for the amazing work he did and how even though his personal life may have been rocky, he created beautiful television shows that touched people's hearts.

I do agree that it doesn't really seem right for actors to write revealing tell-alls just to make money. That's one thing Shannen Doherty always said - that she's been offered book deals before, but she doesn't think it's right to reveal personal info about former cast members in a book, and that's why she'll never agree to do it. Say what you will about Doherty--she's certainly not perfect--but that's one thing she never did, and I think it's for the best. If you have issues with people you've worked with in the past, making it public is a really good way to just make it worse.

I think MSA should put the Sue back in her name, Melissa Anderson sounds too much like Pamela Anderson, its a stage name, keep it, we all know her as that.

So who's going to be the next Prairie star with a book out? Maybe LSG? And it would be 200 pages of nothing but mumbling, and she could call it "I Was Just As Talented As Anyone Else On The Show", she can talk about all her trips to the outhouse!

ecgirl, I'm with you on the Landon thing...whatever his life, there's something to respecting the memory of the dead.

catsmeow, too funny!

Well, Melissa Sue Anderson's book is out now. I didn't buy it when I saw it in the store, because $23 seems like a little too much, but I will most likely pick it up eventually when I find a better price. I've heard it is about 80 percent episode recaps, and not really a "tell-all." I've also heard that a few unflattering comments were made about Michael - one of which I am not even going to bother including here, because it still bugs me. Plus, I haven't even read it for myself yet, so I'll do that before making any major comments. If Melissa did indeed write this one particular thing, though, I will be disappointed, because even assuming that it's true, there's some things you don't necessarily need to reveal, ESPECIALLY when the actor isn't here to defend himself. It sounds trite, but some things truly are better off unsaid. We all know Michael had a darker personality in real life, but the details? Personally, I wouldn't do it.

As for Lindsay and Sidney writing a book...I know that one of them (I forget which one) was working on something with never-before-seen cast pictures from the set. Last I heard, they were trying to compile a mailing list for the book, but I haven't heard anything else about it. I'd definitely be interested in reading it, although I'm sure we'd hear even more disappointing things about Michael through them, since they obviously weren't a big part of the show and were basically downgraded to props as the later seasons rolled around.

Alison Arngrim's book will probably be the mostinteresting to read when it's released on June 15. She seems funny and will most likely offer a different, less "drama queen" perspective on things.

Just finished reading Melissa Sue Anderson's book and it is about 80% recaps.Melissa Sue Anderson is a classy lady. Many not so positive things have been said about her from her former cast mates; In her memoir however, she responds in kind by being polite and respectful. If she writes anything negative about a cast member, (for example Ms. Anderson comments that Michael Landon could be "mean"at times), the next line has something positive. That said, I could have done with out the episode summaries which take up the majority of the book. She describes herself as being shy and reserved and the book is just that. We never really get to know the real person behind "Mary Ingalls" and we don't get too much behind the scenes info. I must say that I did enjoy it much more than Melissa Gilbert's memoir as Gilbert almost tells too much.

I probably won't read Alison's, I always felt that she and Melissa Gilbert always say the same stories about Little House and have heard them talk about it for years. Though, if anyone here does read it, please post. I'm curious if she says anything new

Hi there-

I read MSA's book yesterday at Border's. Okay, not every word, but I did thumb through it. I was really appalled that she recapped so many episodes and didn't really comment too much on what happened during these particular shows! It was just filler, IMO. Nothing personal was really added to much of what she wrote regarding the episodes she chose to give a synopsis of. Very odd that she would agree to write a book and not really provide much insight into her experiences...I read MG's book as well and it was much more chockfull of anecdotes about show business. And some juicy tidbits, as well. MSA never delved into how she fared in adolescence with boys and possible stars she dated, etc. I mean, come on! I didn't come away with a favorable impression of her at all. I will be looking forward to Alison's book because I know she will keep it real.

I picked up Melissa Sue's book at Borders because I had a gift card, and I knew I was going to want to get it eventually, anyway. I haven't read it all the way through, but I've read most of it, and it had its ups and downs. I actually kind of liked the way Melissa used script formats to recount the dialogue she had with certain people back then--it was different and something that set her book apart from others. The recaps were interesting when she shared her own thoughts about everything that was going on, but the straightforward episode summaries could have been omitted. I have to believe that most people reading this book have already seen every episode at least ten times over, so they end up skipping these summary sections anyway.

Some have argued that Melissa just talked mostly about Little House and not other parts of her life growing up, but I actuallyliked that. Too many child stars grow up, write books, and fill the pages with information about their relationships, drug addictions, and who knows what else. Melissa seems to be a little more grounded and managed to raise her family away from the limelight, which I admire. I wanted to hear more about the show, and in this particular case, that was Melissa's main focus...unlike Melissa Gilbert, who had so many other things she wanted to write about.

The only thing I didn't really like about this book was Melissa's attitude in certain situations. For example, the final line in "Reincarnation of Nellie, Part 2" still drives her crazy to this day, and while I understand her point, it seems that she was a little critical of Michael Landon's writing skills in the later seasons. I mean, yeah, the later years are never as good script-wise, but I actually enjoyed that two-part episode. Also, when she talked about "A Christmas They Never Forgot," she whined about how she only had six lines, and then Mary went to bed midway through the episode, so she wasn't even in it very much. She says she feels that she should have gotten a more proper send-off for that, which was her final episode. Why not just be grateful that she was asked to come back and be part of it? It's not like the episode was all about Mary--or any single character, for that matter. I think "Reincarnation of Nellie, Part 1" was more of her "send-off" episode, while the Christmas special later that season was mostly an opportunity for her and Adam to make an appearance and please the viewers.

All in all, I think the book is pretty good and definitely worth at least getting from the library if you're a big Little House fan. Aside from Melissa's occasionally superficial tone, I liked it. Now Alison's memoir is coming out on Tuesday, which I'm looking forward to. I'm worried that she might cross the line with some of her jokes, but she is definitely funny and likable, and I think she'll have a lot of interesting things to say. Personally, though, I'm a little tired of hearing about Michael's imperfections, since MG and MSA have both mentioned it in their books, so I hopeAlison won't go into too much detail over that. I hope she'll have some unique stories of her own to tell instead of repeating the same stuff we already know.