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freckleduck's review against another edition
2.0
I have a lot of feelings about this book. First of all I didn’t realize until I had started that this was a memoir. Secondly it was published in 1948. That being said I found the racist comments to be a bit too much. They didn’t age well. The stories of the family were okay but I had a hard time seeing past the racism.
luvandkiwi's review against another edition
5.0
This book is nothing like that silly movie. It's a true story about this amazing family and this crazy father who tried to do the best he could with 12 kids
mschrock8's review against another edition
Reading this book made me mad at the movie. In the movie, all the children are alive at the same time. In the book, some of the older ones die before all 12 are born.
tschmitty's review against another edition
3.5
As a child coming from a large family, I was always interested in movies, books, and television shows that featured them. This book was one I decided to revisit from my childhood days. It had moments of charm, a father who decided the best way to raise 12 kids was to treat them as an assembly line along the lines of his occupation. The book is very much a reflection of it's time, there was some offensive language and tones that don't sit well today, but the story was enjoyable overall.
areidbarnes's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly it was exactly what I needed it to be, a refresher. I've been reading some very heavy books and I needed something light. This memoir definitely made me smile and laugh a little so can't ask for much more!
lil_zaddy_mango's review against another edition
5.0
What a lovely book. Charming, witty, joyful, fun. It seems to capture the essence their father even as it describes a day or event for the whole family.
I couldn’t recommend it enough.
God help any future children I may have. They will rue the day I opened this book. The sentiment of this book will certainly stick with me.
I couldn’t recommend it enough.
God help any future children I may have. They will rue the day I opened this book. The sentiment of this book will certainly stick with me.
mpclemens's review against another edition
3.0
I'd picked this up from our library giveaway expecting an autobiographical account of the Gilbreth clan, but was instead pleasantly surprised to find it a reminiscent collection of stories featuring the late Frank Gilbreth, Senior. A light, quick read, although the taint of casual racism and stereotyping stands out far more now than at the time of the book's publishing. Warm and entertaining otherwise.
soniapage's review against another edition
4.0
I must say that I learned from this book because I had to keep looking things up! A lot of the terminology of the early 1900's was lost to me. I hadn't known how much influence Frank Gilbreth, Sr. and his wife Lilian had on factories worldwide in the areas of performance and production. Typewriting also. It's actually an interesting book although there is a problem with being politically correct in some areas that made me wince.