Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops 1951–2014

The book digs into the dark side of Robin and does not paint Robin as a saint. Of course no one ever said Robin was a saint. The book actually paints a balanced picture of Robin's strengths or great points and his weaknesses. His weaknesses are not unusual. He struggles with women throwing themselves at him as he is famous and with his drug and alcohol problems. The book documents how he admirably stopped with the women, drugs, and alcohol when his first wife was pregnant with their first child. The author does a great job quickly profiling Robin's different TV shows and movies. The book also shows how generous and kind Robin was to everyone he met and worked with. He always had time for his fans. It also detailed his two other marriages. The author is straight forward with Robin's struggles with depression and Parkinson's. This is a short book which would be excellent for those who have not read any other sources about Robin Williams. Experts on Robin Williams might be quickly bored with the book. I have studied Robin extensively but I am always searching for more information to get an even more complete picture of who Robin Williams, the man, really is or was.

I will be using this book for my English class focusing on the theme of success. I also use Patti Duke's book Call me Anna. Both struggled with mental health issues--a problem many college students face as well. The book was honest and covered both Robin's professional and family lives. The part I liked best was the ending where the author stressed that Williams had earned a place in our film history because of all the variety of roles he played. People who saw many of his films will enjoy the plot summaries and critical reviews included. Those who suffer from drug or alcohol abuse will gain inspiration from the times he was able to stay sober. This book will remain on my reading list for my college English students.

I loved Robin Williams. I mean, I really adored him. And not just because he could make anything funny, but also because I sensed the tender, sensitive child behind the frentic comedian. His life and his work deserve so much more than this horribly written book. Had the subject been anything other than Robin, I would have put the book up by the third chapter. It's almost heartbreaking to read a biopic of someone of Robin's calliber that is so poorly written that you find yourself re-writing the entire book as you read it.Among the least of it's problems is that its written by a British biographer. The differences in British and American comedy are subtle at times, but remain despite the increasing growth of a global sensibility. Beyond this, Emily Herbert is simply a bad writer. So much so that there is a single paragraph in this biography in which she finds it necessary to parenthetically mention that certain events or relationships will be explored further later in the book. These statements run along the lines of, "(of this, more later)." I'm not sure writing can get much worse than this, in any culture.Robin Williams was a giant in American culture. A true Icon. I hope someone else will take up the pen and write the tribute to his remarkable life and tragic death with the style and substance Robin deserves.

A truly gifted person with a heart bigger than any other. A tragic ending to a grossly misunderstood tragic daily battle. It seems he was only truly happy when making others happy. Idle hands were not Mr Williams strong point unless there was a stage near by.... a great read, but a devastating story all in all.

Pretty good book. The first chapter starts with commendations about him from folks he knew or worked with. I feel this chapter could have been reserved for the end of the book.

Robin Williams has always been a family favorite of ours, and his death was so tragic that I wanted to gain some insight by reading this. It’s been very informative, and well written. Mostly, I learned that no one ever knows what’s going on in a persons mind.

This was a disappointing biography and even though I slogged through the whole thing, don't feel I learned much about Robin Williams. Lots of adjectives described him but the amateur psychoanalysis by the author about how lonely he was as a child, his parents were too busy, yada yada which created a "deep wound " that never left him was shallow and repeated endlessly. He did produce an amazing body of work and it is sad that he burned out too soon. But then he lived hard and dynamically as well as had self destructive streaks with drugs and alcohol. It is too bad the author couldn't do a better job of analysis and that she didn't include his real cause of death..a terrible nerve disease. Very light weight as far as I am concerned.

Story about a very sad man who has been without parents when he needed them the most. He had to make life on his own without guidance from anyone. A man who tried to be someone ,who tried to show he was ok with his life. He was crying so much on the inside. No one realized how very much he needed help. The is was a Robin he kept hidden all of his life. His comedy was what helped, but wasn't a remedy for what he really needed or wanted.