The Amazing Careers of Bob Hope From Gags to Riches

The book is organized around Bob Hope's careers in vaudeville, Broadway, radio, film, television, and U.S.O. tours, and is studded with an ample supply of anecdotes, transcriptions, and personal recollections by Hope, and the colloquial biographical sketch preceding the description of Bob Hope's various careers sets the largely effusive tone. Hope's career as a film star is given most attention, with a brief discussion of each film including plot summaries, the film's importance to Hope's artistry or finances, critics' reactions, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes, very useful for the student of film history. The real depth of the man behind the great success is merely hinted at and while readers are tantalized by descriptions of Hope's enormous energy, prudence, and passion for precision, these descriptions often become springboards for a tangential discussion of social, national, or industry-related problems. Hope is treated as a phenomenon whose career coincided with the rise of various popular art forms, and as a man who capitalized on his talents.