From New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli comes the definitive biography of the most enduring icon in popular American culture. When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now. In this groundbreaking ...
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From New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli comes the definitive biography of the most enduring icon in popular American culture. When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now. In this groundbreaking book, Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress' life, including her mother, her foster mother, and her legal guardian. He also reveals, for the first time, the shocking scope of Marilyn's own mental illness, the identity of Marilyn's father and the half-brother she never knew, and new information about her relationship with the Kennedy's-Bobby, Jack, and Pat Kennedy Lawford. Explosive, revelatory, and surprisingly moving, this is the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the 20th Century.
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I have read many things about Marilyn's mental state over the years. Reading this book has given me some insight about her mental condition, pill taking and her relationship with her mother. It is interesting to know about that side of her life and how she was trying to deal with it. I enjoyed the book. Great price too! Keep up the good work!
Bellona
Mar 26, 2010
Not the Final Word
This is an obviously carefully-researched biography, with some new material about its subject?s family background and personal life. Unfortunately, it is sometimes made almost unreadable by a sentimental, syrupy and romantic style of writing.
Taraborrelli also has a cringe-worthy habit of ending chapters with lines that seem more suited to a bad Mills & Boon than a serious study of one of the 20th century?s most prominent women. Eg:
?It was when Norma Jeane returned to California from this trip that her entire world was changed by a fluke moment, in a dramatic way that neither she nor anyone in her life could ever have imagined.?
?This tactic worked ? for a while, anyway.?
?In the instant she extended her hand to shake his, a major shift took place in her world ? and things would never again be the same.?
?However, the sudden warmth for and pull toward this new fellow, Joe DiMaggio, felt different, unlike anything she?d ever experienced with any other man. Indeed, with this one, it would definitely be ? different.?
If you can stomach this mushy, twaddlish writing without laughing or groaning, by all means, read this book. It?s slow-moving at times, but still readable. But don?t expect any real analysis of the much-debated circumstances of Monroe?s death ? the author virtually ignores the whole matter, just abruptly ending the book with her death, and suggesting that she might have accidentally overdosed, or done so on purpose and meant to be saved. There is no reference to the cyanosis that books such as Crypt 33 and Donald Wolfe?s The Assassination of Marilyn Monroe claim her corpse displayed ? supposedly only the result of a sudden death from massive overdose, and impossible through slow death by ingestion. No mention of Donald Wolfe?s toxicology analysis. No mention of the coroner?s report, and the tissue samples that he claimed were destroyed instead of analysed, or of the bruising he found and of which he said, ?There is no explanation for it, and it is a sign of violence?. No epilogue. Just a sentimental, romantic fizzling out.
The back cover claims that this book is ?the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the twentieth century?. Don?t believe it.
