"A thought-provoking and absorbing read, Caryl Flinn's "Brass Diva" brings a fresh perspective to the legend of Ethel Merman. While she was easily dismissed as an exceedingly simple broad, Ms. Flinn's research into the nuances of her life reveal the complicated person that was my grandmother. More than once I was moved to reconsider the reasons for her enduring as a source of inspiration as well as notions about her life and career that I had taken for granted. I highly recommend it."--Barbara Geary "This book is long ...
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"A thought-provoking and absorbing read, Caryl Flinn's "Brass Diva" brings a fresh perspective to the legend of Ethel Merman. While she was easily dismissed as an exceedingly simple broad, Ms. Flinn's research into the nuances of her life reveal the complicated person that was my grandmother. More than once I was moved to reconsider the reasons for her enduring as a source of inspiration as well as notions about her life and career that I had taken for granted. I highly recommend it."--Barbara Geary "This book is long overdue. We've been told that Merman's reviews were glowing, but now we can read them for ourselves. Beautifully researched, this book will undoubtedly find its way into every musical theatre library. Merman has been at the center of so many apocryphal tales, it's thrilling to enter an era of serious exploration and analysis. "Brass Diva" starts to pull the myths apart and to put Ethel Merman in her proper historical perspective."--Klea Blackhurst, creator of "Everything The Traffic Will Allow: The Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman" "It is a pleasure to read Caryl Flinn's scrupulously researched and elegantly constructed biography. "Brass Diva" puts all other Merman books to shame. With her exhaustive knowledge of her subject, Flinn explores the meanings of Merman's life, her shows, her songs, her fans, and most intriguingly, her subtexts."--Krin Gabbard, author of "Black Magic: White Hollywood and African American Culture" ""Brass Diva" is a wonderful and important study of Ethel Merman's life and work, as well as a sophisticated reading of Merman herself. The scholarship is excellent, the writing is lively and engaging, and the research is detailed and absolutely new. "Brass Diva" will likely become the key primary resource for future Merman scholarship."--Stacy Wolf, author of "A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical"
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Add this copy of Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman to cart. $36.88, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by University of California Press.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 560 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Brass Diva to cart. $36.89, new condition, Sold by Paperbackshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bensenville, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by University of California Press.
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Add this copy of Brass Diva: the Life and Legends of Ethel Merman to cart. $57.50, new condition, Sold by EchelonBooks rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Thonotassa, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by University of California Press.
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New. Broadway star Ethel Merman's voice was a mesmerizing force and her vitality was legendary, yet the popular perception of La Merm as the irrepressible wonder falls far short of all that she was and all that she meant to Americans over so many decades. This marvelously detailed biography is the first to tell the full story of how the stenographer from Queens, New York, became the queen of the Broadway musical in its golden age. Mining official and unofficial sources, including interviews with Merman's family and her personal scrapbooks, Caryl Flinn unearths new details of Merman's life and finds that behind the high-octane personality was a remarkably pragmatic woman who never lost sight of her roots. Brass Diva takes us from Merman's working-class beginnings through the extraordinary career that was launched in 1930 when, playing a secondary role in a Gershwin Brothers' show, she became an overnight sensation singing "I Got Rhythm." From there, we follow Merman's hits on Broadway, her uneven successes in Hollywood, and her afterlife as a beloved camp icon. This definitive work on the phenomenon that was Ethel Merman is also the first to thoroughly explore her robust influence on American popular culture.
Add this copy of Brass Diva: the Life and Legends of Ethel Merman to cart. $74.97, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by University of California Press.
