Ghost of a Chance: A Memoir

by Peter Duchin

Book Overview

"A tale told with wit and charm . . . It is a sprightly, engaging, and at times hilarious look back at a life spent in music, show business, and what used to be called society." The Boston Globe "A... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375751319
• ISBN13: 9780375751318
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Lovely book, great music!

Just heard him play the piano again with his orchestra and find him as ever on top of his game. Music and book entertaining. Would like to heartily recommend GHOST OF A CHANCE..

What we as a people have lost

Great Book and a great life. Peter's book cronicles not only the life he has led, but also a world that, for the most part, no longer exsists. We are ALL poorer for that loss.

A lovely look backwards --

Do you remember cafe society? Do you remember a time when celebrity was synonymous with personality and not just notoriety? When gossip was DE-licious rather than MA-licious? When you hear the names of Vanderbilt, Kennedy, Whitney, Harriman, etc., do you immediately conjure up visions in your mind of huge estates and bigger-than-life sporting heroes?Now in his sixties, Peter Duchin's memoirs quite naturally include the great names and personalities of the thirties and forties, as that was when his famous father ruled the keyboards as America's premier dance pianist. His society-born mother died within a week of his birth, and young Peter himself was given only a 'ghost of a chance' at survival.In a time when godparents had a viable position in life, Peter was therefore wealthier than most; Marie and Averill Harriman took on the raising of the young boy, while his father served meritoriously in the Army, and then toured with his band in order to support himself and his son.There cannot be anyone of any degree of celebrity who is not mentioned kindly in these pages--with one exception, Pamela Churchill Hayward Harriman. Ms Harriman, later the U.S. Ambassador to France, married often and well, and was never a friend to Duchin or his loved ones. Young people of today will only shake their heads in wonder at the tales told here, and the lifestyles, now sadly vanished, of the truly 'rich and famous'. Movie stars, classical musicians, sportsmen, artists, dancers, restaurateurs, politicians, writers--they're all here--even the Vanderbilt's own family ghost!You'll love this look at a world not likely to be seen again anytime soon. I surely did.

A fun look at a very interesting life.

Peter Duchin provides the reader with a guided tour of his often confusing but privileged life. There are several marvelous anecdotes about his life as a society bandleader. His one chapter on his view from the stage reveals much about the upper crust of American culture. For those interested in tid bits on celebrities, Mr. Duchin does not disappoint. He has known many famous people - in fact he had an especially close friendship with Jackie Onassis - and he shares his thoughts and experiences in those circles. "Ghost Of A Chance" is a fun book.

Charming, funny and surprisingly interesting!

What a marvelous read! Peter Duchin, son of the famous bandleader and a very distinguished musician and orchestra leader in his own right, has led an astonishingly interesting life, and has written about it gracefully, ruefully and with a becoming modesty. His mother died a few days after he was born, and of course his father was always on the road, so he was raised from infancy by his late mother's best friend, Marie Harriman, and her husband Averell, and knew many of the most influential Americans and Europeans of their generation. He went to Yale, chased skirts and immersed himself in music in late-50s Paris, and was present at the best parties in New York. Along the way he never lost his perspective; he is witty and engaging and never self-important. The politically aware will especially enjoy his accounts of life in the Harriman household and especially his no-holds-barred account of Averell's relationship with Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward (later Pamela Harriman), who made a name for herself raising money for Democratic candidates and was rewarded by President Clinton with the U.S. Ambassadorship to France. Pamela Harriman, it happens, is also the former stepmother of Duchin's wife Brooke Hayward, and neither Peter nor Brooke make any secret of their scorn for the courtesan who seduced Leland Hayward and Averell Harriman. I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir and recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in 20th century American cultural history.