Three Books Every Fan of The Young and the Restless MUST Own!

If you’ve always wanted to know more about the great Victor Newman, if you still miss the beloved Katherine Chancellor, or if you just want to know more about William J. Bell, the man who created The Young and the Restless, well, continue reading!

Soap Hub means that literally: We have some great reading recommendations for you; three tomes about CBS’ top daytime drama that will make for some summer “restless” reading!

“I’ll Be Damned!”
Victor Newman has employed the catchphrase “I’ll be damned!” so many times that his portrayer, Eric Braeden, decided to use it as the title of his recent memoir. The full title is I’ll Be Damned: How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America’s #1 Daytime Drama.

In this candid (would Braeden be anything but?) memoir, the Emmy-winning actor opens up about his life in Germany during World War II, coming to America, working in the film and primetime TV world, and, of course, his experiences playing Victor Newman on the top-rated CBS soap.

One particularly compelling chapter details Braeden recounting what it was like dealing with a co-star who was so problematic that Braeden decided not to even mention him by name! The book contains over 16 pages of personal photos.

“The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell”
Written by Soap Hub writer Michael Maloney (along with Lee Phillip Bell, Y&R’s co-creator), The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell tells the story of Bill Bell, Y&R’s creator, headwriter, and senior executive producer.

The 2012 tome chronicles Bell’s life from the time he was a young boy living in Illinois to his stint as an advertising executive before becoming the most successful soap opera writer of all time.

In addition to recounting Bell’s life in Genoa City, the book also tells how he saved Days of Our Lives from cancellation in the ’60s and how he and his wife co-created The Bold and the Beautiful, which debuted in 1987.

Not Young, Still Restless
Less than a year before she passed away in 2013, Jeanne Cooper, beloved as Katherine Chancellor, released her memoir, Not Young, Still Restless.

The book recounts not only her decades as “The Duchess of Daytime,” but also her years working in films and in the first golden age of television alongside such co-stars as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, and Shelley Winters.

Cooper’s trademark humor and no-nonsense tone shine through in this memoir that you won’t want to put down until after you finish it!

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