Review: Moon River and Me

By Andy Williams

From the book jacket:

“When in the mid-1950s Andy Williams reached a low point in his career, singing in a series of ever seedier dives to ever smaller audiences, the young man from Wall Lake, Iowa, had little inkling of the success that he would one day achieve. But by the time his voice was declared ‘a national treasure’ by President Ronald Reagan he had charted eighteen gold and three platinum record albums, headlined at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for more than twenty years, and hosted an enormously popular weekly television series whose Christmas specials still occupy a tender spot in every baby boomer’s heart.”

I remember sitting down in front of the TV each week to watch my mother’s favorite TV show. She had such a crush on Andy Williams and, I have to admit, his show was fun to watch.

That’s why I jumped at the chance to read this book when asked by Turner Publishing if I would review it.

I was very impressed by the way it is written. Andy Williams brings out such a personal side of himself and by the time you finish the book, you feel as if you know him.

And he mixes in just the right touch of humor so as to make the book enjoyable without becoming corny.

It was fun reading about many of the famous people I used to see on TV regularly – Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Carson – and Andy spared no amount of honesty when describing their good or bad points.

I found his friendship with Bobby Kennedy particularly interesting and enjoyed reading about the man behind the political name.

Andy Williams also pulls no punches when describing what he sees as the mistakes he made in his own life and I truly appreciated that. It certainly made him more human.

I enjoyed reading this memoir and now that I’ve finished the book, I will wrap it in pretty paper and a bow and put it under my mother’s Christmas tree. I know she will be thrilled to get it!