Marilyn Monroe Book:

Editorial Review:
This biography of Marilyn Monroe is written by Ted Jorden who knew her all his life. He was her teenage lover, and he was also one of the last people to see her alive.

Norma Jean: My Secret Life with Marilyn Monroe (Signet) Reviews:
Ted, not so sure
2009-02-20 - He was really smearing her in this book. He said that she talked dirty and slept with him just to get to her uncle who broke her in the business. He said all this stuff like her uncle slept with her in exchange for pills he could get her later. He told of all the times she talked dirty and said, " I want to sleep my way to the top!". What kind of person would say that? Not Marilyn, Marilyn was innocent and like a frightened child, in a woman's body. She had problems but was loyal to her friends life long. ALl this guy care about was bragging about it and spreading gossip. It's more of a look inside of him, a dirty mind.

A book to pass on if you're a Marilyn fan.
2007-05-14 - This would make a good fiction book... but as a factual book Marilyn it falls very short. I read this out of curiousity from the library, and I cannot tell you how glad I am that I did not buy this. There are so many errors in the timeline and such that I wondered if Mr Jordan did ANY research at all during the writing of this book.

Some of the pictures are cute, but that's the best aspect of the book. If you love Marilyn and are a stickler for facts and the truth- don't bother with this book.

Another Attempt to Gain Money and Notoriety at Marilyn's Cost
2006-07-31 - This is one of the least believable books about the life of Marilyn Monroe, which purports that the author was an intimate lover and friend to MM. By the way, Marilyn's father of record, Martin Edward Mortensen died in 1981 at age 85 of heart failure. The NY Times reported he had in possession a copy of his divorce papers from Gladys and a copy of MM's birth certificate.... Wouldn't it be nice if people would do a little research before they write this stuff and call it a 'memoir'?

If I could rate this a -2, I would. There are many superb biographies of Marilyn available. This isn't one of them.

Ted Jordan must have stepped on the wrong toes.
2006-01-01 - It has been several years since I read this book--well, 10 to be honest. Recently I looked it up again, and was appalled to see all of the smearing now on the net and directed at Ted Jordan. Among the most outrageous allegations is that he claimed to have fathered a child with MM. Certainly this claim is nowhere in this book. A more moderate allegation is that she aborted the child. I dont remember this incident either in the book, though I may be wrong here. What is saddest, however, is the claim Ted wrote the book just to capitalize. If this were true, he would have thrown fuel on the conspiracy fire, not done a very effective job of dousing it. This is the one book I have ever read about anything that made me forget any conspiracy theory in this American culture.

I remember the book as being amazingly well crafted for a work apparently written without a ghost helper. I remember being impressed that Ted took the time to write this book more than 20 years after Marilyn's death. I remember its giving the warm, fuzzy feeling that I really was there--not just a voyeur. I remember having the same feeling as Ted when the news of Marilyn's suicide came over my car radio one quiet Sunday morning. Most of all, the book was written with real feeling--a rare commodity in American literature. Even if the whole book is a lie, THIS MAN REALLY CARED. If you want to come away thinking you really understood anyone, this is one of the most satisfying, matter of fact, biographies ever written. Perhaps that is why mainstream Hollywood is so determined to rub it out. Jordan's quiet narration is more compelling than a whole room full of media caterwauling. Some of Jordan's pictures are almost naive in their simplicity. Do not expect to be unreasonably titillated, one brief passage where a 17 year old Marilyn asks Ted for sex on their first date excepted. Thank, Ted Jordan, you for a job extraordinarily well done. Marilyn, "As long as there are men that read and eyes that see--so long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

Questionable... Read with a grain of salt.
2005-05-21 - Ted Jordan may have been, as he claims, the most important man in Marilyn's life. However, he offers very little supporting evidence of this. He tells many interesting stories about Marilyn, and what it was like to make love to her. However, when it comes to illustrating the woman herself, he is somewhat less than generous. According to him, she had absolutely no talent. This is something that anyone who has ever seen Bus Stop or The Misfits knows to be false. Perhaps she did sleep her way to the top, as so many of her generation did. I cannot deny or affirm this. All I know is, for someone who claims to have been Marilyn's best friend, Jordan has not been particularly generous. On the back of the book, he promises a catalogue of Marilyn's strengths and weaknesses. I see plenty of praise, but only in the form of Marilyn's body and sexual prowess. This is not exactly new information. He also attests that Marilyn despised hard work and refused to go to any classes, which is completely against fact. He completely ignores one of the saddest parts of Marilyn's existence; her desire to be a real actress, and her fear that the world was laughing at ehr for her sexuality. She stopped doing films for a period to attend public acting classes, which Jordan makes absolutely no mention of. Jordan seems more concerned with expressing how, if Marilyn had only listened to him in every respect, all would have been better. The book is an expanded outlet for gossip and self-exaltation. What truth may be in it seems slanted. Read with caution, if you must read.