Prince Harry’s book

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read a lot of memoirs and biographies (my favorite genre) and I was really excited about this one after learning it was the same ghostwriter who wrote Andre Agassi’s memoir. Some of my takeaways:

The opening scene with Harry, his father, and William was a bit cringe, but the book gets much better from there. I guess what bothers me is how Harry often approaches his brother so openly and then gets treated with derision time after time, but comes back for more. When he knocked on William’s door to introduce Meghan, I knew that wouldn’t go well at all and I was embarrassed for him. William was so dismissive and standoffish to his little brother wanting to share and be open about his life and have a real connection with the people in his family.

The parts about flying an Apache helicopter were fascinating to me and that’s why I read memoirs - the varied life experiences people have and you never know what information is going to pop up. Same with all of the travel adventures and discovering a new way of seeing the world through his time spent in Africa.

It’s a great memoir - insightful, touching, honest - deals with childhood memories, grief, relationships, work, travel. I believe the book has been slandered in the press so much because they don’t want people to read it and come away with a different perspective than the media has carefully curated.

I agree with all of this, except that I think clearly people don’t believe the Palace spin because it has become a huge bestseller.

I hope he writes a sequel.

I am very close to getting this book from the library so I have not read it yet. But since I am so close, obviously, I have been interested for a while. But I will confess that I was completely put off by the frostbite/Elizabeth Arden disclosure. I assume it's better contextualized in the book and not utterly oedipal and TMI?

If you heard the description of that bit in his interview with Colbert, you’ve heard it all, and Colbert humorously took it a bit farther than Harry did in the book. It IS Oedipal and a bit TMI, but, for me, it read more as goofy-jock-has-an-adventure with unanticipated and extremely inconvenient consequences, rather than as something salacious. And I giggled at learning a new word. I think an editor wanted a funny story to balance out quite a lot of content that’s far from funny. DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many readers here are taking him at his word.

While I find it interesting that so many people don’t understand what a memoir is — as opposed to a biography. I also find it interesting that so many people are criticizing the book — without having actually read the book. I’m fine with taking Harry at his word. He’s describing his own impressions and experiences, with quite a lot of supporting context, and that’s what I expect from a memoir.

The book is very critical — in an understandable, straightforward, and detailed way — of the British tabloid press. Basing one’s opinion on cherry-picked bits and pieces from the book, particularly if those bits are being manipulated by the tabloids, is doing the book a great disservice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read a lot of memoirs and biographies (my favorite genre) and I was really excited about this one after learning it was the same ghostwriter who wrote Andre Agassi’s memoir. Some of my takeaways:

The opening scene with Harry, his father, and William was a bit cringe, but the book gets much better from there. I guess what bothers me is how Harry often approaches his brother so openly and then gets treated with derision time after time, but comes back for more. When he knocked on William’s door to introduce Meghan, I knew that wouldn’t go well at all and I was embarrassed for him. William was so dismissive and standoffish to his little brother wanting to share and be open about his life and have a real connection with the people in his family.

The parts about flying an Apache helicopter were fascinating to me and that’s why I read memoirs - the varied life experiences people have and you never know what information is going to pop up. Same with all of the travel adventures and discovering a new way of seeing the world through his time spent in Africa.

It’s a great memoir - insightful, touching, honest - deals with childhood memories, grief, relationships, work, travel. I believe the book has been slandered in the press so much because they don’t want people to read it and come away with a different perspective than the media has carefully curated.

I agree with all of this, except that I think clearly people don’t believe the Palace spin because it has become a huge bestseller.

I hope he writes a sequel.

Meghan needs to have her turn first, then he will do a second.

Setting aside all the interesting things that they might do in the future, are there really two more books worth of stuff already left unsaid?

I think there are — but I hope they don’t decide to publish them, at least for quite a while. Harry said that the book was twice as long as the published version, and that he also provided additional information to provide contexts to his ghostwriter, that he did not want published. I respect and applaud Harry’s decision— even as I hope it’s in a vault somewhere.

The story that I would like to read is Meghan’s. An American woman marrying her Prince; a biracial woman trying to navigate not just personalities and family dynamics, but an institution that’s a bastion of colonialism and white supremacy; someone who’s had an interesting life that includes quite a lot that would not have been possible for Black and biracial American women a generation or even half a generation older. I think it would be an interesting read even if Meghan didn’t reveal stories that aren’t hers to tell. I would buy the book just to hear Meghan’s take on her first meeting with Harry’s family — where a family member flamboyantly chose to wear an appallingly racist brooch.

BUT - I hope she doesn’t write such a book, at least any time soon, for multiple reasons, including her well-being and safety. Or rather, I hope she writes it and puts it in a vault, along with the other half of Harry’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He is such a whining attention seeker

Funny. no one says that about Diana. She is, instead, a martyr.
Secondly, there's no bad press about the other royals. Not Anne who left her husband, not her kids, and really low key reporting on Andrew with the Epstein case, nothing about Camilla, nothing about Beatrice's husband and his divorce- just passing references. They've been after Meghan like swarms of bees.

The ours used to say that about Diana all the time. And Camilla was roped to pieces for being a horse face marriage wrecker.

For a minute. That's it.

Sounds like you missed most of the 1990s.

I was living in England and the age of Diana in the 1990s. I didn't miss anything. Literally nothing happened to Camilla that has happened to Meghan. Nothing. And you can see there's nothing happening now. Nothing about Andrew. Nothing about Anne's adult kids and their respective spouses, nothing about Phillip who went unscathed for his entire marriage, but everything is piled on Meghan.

I thought the leak tapes about Charles wanted to be Camilla’s tampon sure were something. So we’ll have to disagree here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many readers here are taking him at his word.

While I find it interesting that so many people don’t understand what a memoir is — as opposed to a biography. I also find it interesting that so many people are criticizing the book — without having actually read the book. I’m fine with taking Harry at his word. He’s describing his own impressions and experiences, with quite a lot of supporting context, and that’s what I expect from a memoir.

The book is very critical — in an understandable, straightforward, and detailed way — of the British tabloid press. Basing one’s opinion on cherry-picked bits and pieces from the book, particularly if those bits are being manipulated by the tabloids, is doing the book a great disservice.

Very well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He is such a whining attention seeker

Funny. no one says that about Diana. She is, instead, a martyr.
Secondly, there's no bad press about the other royals. Not Anne who left her husband, not her kids, and really low key reporting on Andrew with the Epstein case, nothing about Camilla, nothing about Beatrice's husband and his divorce- just passing references. They've been after Meghan like swarms of bees.

The ours used to say that about Diana all the time. And Camilla was roped to pieces for being a horse face marriage wrecker.

For a minute. That's it.

Sounds like you missed most of the 1990s.

I was living in England and the age of Diana in the 1990s. I didn't miss anything. Literally nothing happened to Camilla that has happened to Meghan. Nothing. And you can see there's nothing happening now. Nothing about Andrew. Nothing about Anne's adult kids and their respective spouses, nothing about Phillip who went unscathed for his entire marriage, but everything is piled on Meghan.

Philip certainly didn’t go unscathed - he famously made many gaffes, frequently racist ones. I am British, lived in the UK during the 90s and Camilla was HATED! Zara got a lot of negativity for marrying a rugby player. Anne and her kids for being horsey. Charles for being dumb. Kate was “wait-y Katie”. Chelsy was hounded. Fergie got hate after hate (and don’t forget toe-gate, and Charles “I want to be your tampon”. Meghan is different because of the racism and because it’s now solely on them - perhaps because of a deal or collusion by the Royal press offices . I have no idea why Andrew, a pedophile allegedly has got off so lightly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He is such a whining attention seeker

Funny. no one says that about Diana. She is, instead, a martyr.
Secondly, there's no bad press about the other royals. Not Anne who left her husband, not her kids, and really low key reporting on Andrew with the Epstein case, nothing about Camilla, nothing about Beatrice's husband and his divorce- just passing references. They've been after Meghan like swarms of bees.

The ours used to say that about Diana all the time. And Camilla was roped to pieces for being a horse face marriage wrecker.

For a minute. That's it.

Sounds like you missed most of the 1990s.

I was living in England and the age of Diana in the 1990s. I didn't miss anything. Literally nothing happened to Camilla that has happened to Meghan. Nothing. And you can see there's nothing happening now. Nothing about Andrew. Nothing about Anne's adult kids and their respective spouses, nothing about Phillip who went unscathed for his entire marriage, but everything is piled on Meghan.

Yeah, you definitely missed stuff, honey.

[Anonymous]

What I got out of the book is that he's spoiled and entitled and has never been held or taken responsibility for anything. He needs to do a lot of work to fix himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, using a ghost writer means a person can't write and express information well.

For me, using a ghostwriter means a busy person chooses to outsource the work to someone else. No judgment.

But he's not busy. He's unemployed.

[Anonymous]

He made the right decision when he hired a ghostwriter - celebrities who write their own memoirs almost always do a terrible job. They might be talented in acting, singing, sports, flying an Apache helicopter or whatever but that doesn’t mean they should be the one to write their story. Writing is an art and a skill and writing a book isn’t easily done. He hired an excellent writer - Open (Andre Agassi’s book) was also insanely popular when it came out. I don’t care one whit about tennis but was engrossed with Open from start to finish. Spare is equally good. Harry does a really good job reading the audiobook though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He is such a whining attention seeker

Funny. no one says that about Diana. She is, instead, a martyr.
Secondly, there's no bad press about the other royals. Not Anne who left her husband, not her kids, and really low key reporting on Andrew with the Epstein case, nothing about Camilla, nothing about Beatrice's husband and his divorce- just passing references. They've been after Meghan like swarms of bees.

The ours used to say that about Diana all the time. And Camilla was roped to pieces for being a horse face marriage wrecker.

For a minute. That's it.

Sounds like you missed most of the 1990s.

I was living in England and the age of Diana in the 1990s. I didn't miss anything. Literally nothing happened to Camilla that has happened to Meghan. Nothing. And you can see there's nothing happening now. Nothing about Andrew. Nothing about Anne's adult kids and their respective spouses, nothing about Phillip who went unscathed for his entire marriage, but everything is piled on Meghan.

Philip certainly didn’t go unscathed - he famously made many gaffes, frequently racist ones. I am British, lived in the UK during the 90s and Camilla was HATED! Zara got a lot of negativity for marrying a rugby player. Anne and her kids for being horsey. Charles for being dumb. Kate was “wait-y Katie”. Chelsy was hounded. Fergie got hate after hate (and don’t forget toe-gate, and Charles “I want to be your tampon”. Meghan is different because of the racism and because it’s now solely on them - perhaps because of a deal or collusion by the Royal press offices . I have no idea why Andrew, a pedophile allegedly has got off so lightly.

You gave the 1 or 15 minute examples of criticism of each of the above, but it was not world wide condemnation for any. Kate is chronicalled as perfect on a daily basis, her family beyond reproach, Fergie still lives with Andrew, she is beloved by Brits. No mention of Anne's son's divorce to speak of other than a day's worth. Phillip's affairs have never been brought to the papers, only alluded to in various documentations. He nearly killed someone driving around a few years before he was too sick. His gaffes were only the butt of jokes. Charles and Camilla are King and Queen now. Andrew is ever present and will return to royal standing. Why wasn't he raked over the coals? That was the information trade off... that Harry implied.
Harry and Meghan-called narcissistic, whiney, attention seeking, ungrateful, unhinged, power seeking, dangerous- for years. One doesn't even need to read the book to understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many readers here are taking him at his word.

While I find it interesting that so many people don’t understand what a memoir is — as opposed to a biography. I also find it interesting that so many people are criticizing the book — without having actually read the book. I’m fine with taking Harry at his word. He’s describing his own impressions and experiences, with quite a lot of supporting context, and that’s what I expect from a memoir.

The book is very critical — in an understandable, straightforward, and detailed way — of the British tabloid press. Basing one’s opinion on cherry-picked bits and pieces from the book, particularly if those bits are being manipulated by the tabloids, is doing the book a great disservice.

Very well said.

He actually speaks lovingly of his family. No one has apparently read it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He is such a whining attention seeker

Funny. no one says that about Diana. She is, instead, a martyr.
Secondly, there's no bad press about the other royals. Not Anne who left her husband, not her kids, and really low key reporting on Andrew with the Epstein case, nothing about Camilla, nothing about Beatrice's husband and his divorce- just passing references. They've been after Meghan like swarms of bees.

The ours used to say that about Diana all the time. And Camilla was roped to pieces for being a horse face marriage wrecker.

For a minute. That's it.

Sounds like you missed most of the 1990s.

I was living in England and the age of Diana in the 1990s. I didn't miss anything. Literally nothing happened to Camilla that has happened to Meghan. Nothing. And you can see there's nothing happening now. Nothing about Andrew. Nothing about Anne's adult kids and their respective spouses, nothing about Phillip who went unscathed for his entire marriage, but everything is piled on Meghan.

I thought the leak tapes about Charles wanted to be Camilla’s tampon sure were something. So we’ll have to disagree here.

I did say there was nothing at all. I said it wasn't eventful enough or long lasting enough to change anything or make a difference. I said the comparison of their treatment paled in comparison to Harry and Meghan. And, we know that the monarchy puts the kabosh on anything going to far in the press. Hence, the problem Harry is writing about. There was nothing happening like that for them. They were not protected.

[Anonymous]

Literally nothing happened to Camilla that has happened to Meghan.

What happened to Meghan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read a lot of memoirs and biographies (my favorite genre) and I was really excited about this one after learning it was the same ghostwriter who wrote Andre Agassi’s memoir. Some of my takeaways:

The opening scene with Harry, his father, and William was a bit cringe, but the book gets much better from there. I guess what bothers me is how Harry often approaches his brother so openly and then gets treated with derision time after time, but comes back for more. When he knocked on William’s door to introduce Meghan, I knew that wouldn’t go well at all and I was embarrassed for him. William was so dismissive and standoffish to his little brother wanting to share and be open about his life and have a real connection with the people in his family.

The parts about flying an Apache helicopter were fascinating to me and that’s why I read memoirs - the varied life experiences people have and you never know what information is going to pop up. Same with all of the travel adventures and discovering a new way of seeing the world through his time spent in Africa.

It’s a great memoir - insightful, touching, honest - deals with childhood memories, grief, relationships, work, travel. I believe the book has been slandered in the press so much because they don’t want people to read it and come away with a different perspective than the media has carefully curated.

I agree with all of this, except that I think clearly people don’t believe the Palace spin because it has become a huge bestseller.

I hope he writes a sequel.

I am very close to getting this book from the library so I have not read it yet. But since I am so close, obviously, I have been interested for a while. But I will confess that I was completely put off by the frostbite/Elizabeth Arden disclosure. I assume it's better contextualized in the book and not utterly oedipal and TMI?

If you heard the description of that bit in his interview with Colbert, you’ve heard it all, and Colbert humorously took it a bit farther than Harry did in the book. It IS Oedipal and a bit TMI, but, for me, it read more as goofy-jock-has-an-adventure with unanticipated and extremely inconvenient consequences, rather than as something salacious. And I giggled at learning a new word. I think an editor wanted a funny story to balance out quite a lot of content that’s far from funny. DP

It really was just an anecdotal story that was humorous. That's all. Stop reading the comments of people who are twisting it up into something else. It was far more innocuous thar Charles' tampon comment.