Guy Laliberte: The Fabulous Story of the Creator of Cirque Du Soleil

by Ian Halperin

pp. 226. Expanded 2nd edition, paperback edition.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Ian Halperin is a Canadian investigative journalist and writer whose 2009 book, Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, which was a number one best seller on the New York Times list on July 24, 2009. He is the author or coauthor of nine books, including Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale, Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story and Hollywood Undercover. He coauthored Who Killed Kurt Cobain? and Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain with Max Wallace. Halperin has contributed to 60 Minutes II and is a regular correspondent for Court TV.

Reviews

[John]

there seems to be very little about Guy Laliberte in this book. There is more about his estranged wife Moriea and the author, Halperin. Some day asomeone will realy write a biorgraphy about Guy Laliberte and Cirque Du Soleil, this was not it. Sadly I read the entire book hoping to find value in it. No stars on the rating.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this, and it does tell an interesting tale, but more than that it seems like a vehicle for Ian Halperin to remind us that he knows famous people - which gets a little tiring. There's an awful lot about Guy's ex-wife (Halperin's BFF for a while)... it almost seems like Halperin couldn't get close enough to tell the true story here. The timeline is kind of disjointed and the copy I had had some really distracting printing problems and could have used a copy editor also.

The story of Guy Laliberte is undoubtedly a good one, but the way it comes across in this book... enh.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not good.

[Melissa Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very poorly written and edited. I almost never leave reviews on here, but I don't even know what to say. Part 2 of the book focuses almost entirely on his ex-girlfriend and only him by association. Part 1 of the book is very dry and boring. And everything about Laliberte is written 3rd hand it seems. The author speaks frequently from what others have told him about Laliberte, not having talked to Laliberte himself. And he is very repetitive about the drugs, sex, and money spending which if you mention once, you don't have to beat the dead horse. I wish there was a more informative book that went further than just surface deep. I didn't learn very much about Laliberte besides that he was a busker, worked hard, drank, partied, drugs, fucked, and had a horrible ex. A waste of 200 pages.

[Marissa Genta Pineda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a biography and this feels more like a tabloid exposé wherein the author centers himself. It reads like a BuzzFeed article. Still, I couldn't put it down because I'm fascinated by all things circus and particularly Cirque du Soleil.

[Lloyd]

bad

[Ivanina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is divided on 3 quite very different parts.
I really enjoyed the first one where the entrepreneurial urge is described, where we read about transformation of lives, habits, visions. The second and the third part focuse on relationships and living environment decribed by too many repetitions and that is what I didn't like. It most probably is a purposive effect but for me it was getting tiresome and boring at times.
Very strong and intriguing end, though, especially the story by the luxurious prostitute.

[Pedro Alcantara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Creo que al autor se le olvidó que cuando se escribe una biografía se debe de hablar sobre el personaje principal, parece que solo buscaba un pretexto para contar al mundo que él se acostó con la ex de Guy lo cual me parece de pésimo gusto, tal vez si Halperin leyera una de las biografías escritas por Walter Isaacson podría darse una idea de lo que es una verdadera biografía.

[Huguette Larochelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

wow , not what i expect of that book .
the crap in there is unbelievable .
not much on the show itself,
but the dirt behind the scene.
that book should be ban