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List Price: $26.99 | | Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Salesrank: 6635
Released: August 25, 2009 |
| Our Price: $14.63 |
| Used Price: $14.27 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
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.
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe Reviews:
Detailed Personel History 
2009-10-25 - My wife just begun to read it but this is new information about Marilyn's family that gives new insight and my wife being such a big fan and reading many books about her already makes this book worth every penny.
Author Stays To The Truth
2009-10-24 - I was very happy with this book. Although I have only read a few other MM bios, I like this one the best. Some other books hint at scandals or unprovable things, while I feel this author has merely tried to stick to the facts as he found them. I too was a bit surprised to find out how disturbed she seemed to be but it only adds to her vulnerability. Fans will never agree en m asse about what happened "that night" but overall I strongly recommend this book. It is even good as a first bio for those unfamiliar with her life. And I still don't like Arthur Miller any better after reading this!
A mysterious icon, brought to light...
2009-10-21 - Movie star legend Marilyn Monroe had a much more difficult childhood than most people realize, including experiences with poverty, mental illness and abandonment. Her mother, Gladys Baker, who gave up her daughter, Norma Jeane (Marilyn) after having two other children kidnapped from her. Marilyn was bounced around in foster homes and learned some dysfunctional behavior as a result. The audio also explores Marilyn's so-called affair with JFK; and he reveals shocking information about Marilyn's relationship with Robert Kennedy. From [...]
Best Biographer Writing Today.
2009-10-18 - J. Randy Taraborrelli is a master writer and a biographical genius. He embraces his subjects with both love and wisdom. People matter. Lives count. There is a depth to his perception of the meaning of life. His unique gift is in revealing the blossoms and the thorns with loving kindness. He crafts each paragraph with unmistakeable truth while coaxing new life from old details that kidnap the readers attention chapter after chapter. The enigma that was Marilyn Monroe unravels under his pen. We are brought into the intimate circle of those who really knew her and more importantly, we reach a different understanding about this screen goddess. J. Randy makes sure we experience the dark and the light judgement free. Marilyn Monroe was fascinating, alluring, irritating and could drive you mad in the exact moment that she could seduce you and bring you to your knees. J. Randy approaches her mystery with respect and candor. Through his mastery, she lives again in our minds and hearts as we are caught breathless by this book. J. Randy is an artist. His canvas is the printed page, but his medium is the human soul. If Viktor Frankl was searching for the meaning of Marilyn's life; J. Randy Taroborrelli has uncovered it. Read and relive the life of Marilyn Monroe and you'll understand a lot more of why she lived as she did, her rise to fame and the tragedy of her untimely death. It all makes perfect sense. Thank you Marilyn and thank you J. Randy. - kac young
An objective and compassionate biography
2009-10-15 - I would not characterize myself as an expert on the life of Marilyn Monroe, but having said that, I do know a bit about her even though I was in grade school when she passed away. My interest in her started with seeing "Some Like It Hot" on television years ago. It intensified when I came across articles about her and interviews with people who knew her, which allowed me to understand that she was actually a bright and well informed person, and not the persona of the ditzy blond sex kitten of some of her film roles. As time passed I picked up bits and pieces about her life and came to understand the emotional struggles she went through. I was drawn to this book because it's focus was supposedly on her personal not public life.
Well I must say I was not disappointed. Mr. Taraboraelli has written an objective, well thought out, compassionate biography which goes a long way towards understanding the stuggles Marilyn went through in her life, and the profound psychological problems she was forced to deal with, I think, quite heroically, for a long time. The fact that she was so successful as an actress and a public personality is amazing when you begin to comprehend the tragic aspects of her childhood and her obvious mental illness which manifested itself at an early age. I found myself feeling pity for her, unfortunately the tools available to her psychistrists and their own understanding of her disease were inadequate. Even today, with the medications available and the new insights into neurochemistry all too often the outcomes of treatment are unsuccessful.
I felt that the author included just enough information regarding what was going on in her career and how that influenced and was influenced by her personal struggles with her mother, grandmother and others in her life. Marilyn was certainly a flawed person and sometimes unkind and thoughtless, but overall obviously in many ways a lost personality looking to ground herself to the family she never had. I think, had she lived, she would have been recognized as a major talent as her knowledge of her craft improved. Certainly she had the skills to be a very fine actress.
One comment which I think must be made regarding the sections of the book which deal with a lot of the controversial conspiracy theories regarding her death, her relationships with the Kennedy family and others such as Sinatra and the Rat Pack. The appendix goes into great detail regarding the many interviews Mr. Taraboraelli and his associates conducted with basically everyone surround Marily who is still alive. Some of the research was done for a biography of Frank Sinatra which he wrote a while back. We have to remember that a lot the people who would be the best sources are no longer with us, at some point a researcher has to rely on second hand information and try to assess the validity of that information. I was very impressed by the thoroughness of the research and it's scope.
Honestly, and it is just my opinion, I think the author's assessment of Marilyn's death and the events leading up to it are almost certainly accurate. It is easy to embelish historical incidents with all kinds of arcance theories and connections, but inevitably it turns out that the simplest explanation which covers all the facts is the correct one.
The sad fact is that Marilyn Monroe was a person who, despite her fame and beauty and intellegence and talent, was a mentally ill person whose disease was outside the scope of treatment at the time. Additionally, she was drug adict who had access to medications due to her fame and money, and probably an alcoholic as well. Did she mean to kill herself or was it an accident? I suspect the latter but we will never know of course. Having said that I feel that Mr. Taraboraelli has gotten as close as we ever will, barring some discovery of a cache of information as yet unknown, to the true personal events of her life and death.
