The Many Lives of Monroe prove biographers are NOT a Movie Icon's Best Friends!

books:


	• The Many Liv of Marilyn Monroe Sarah Churchwell Picador, 2005 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

A gem for those advanced in Monroe knowledge

This is a fantastic book for people who know Marilyn and her life well. It generally does not cover basic facts in depth, as it seems to assume that the reader already has some knowledge about the details of her life. Instead, it analyzes what different biographers have said about her, comparing and contrasting them, and providing different perspectives and viewpoints from people who knew her.
For those looking for the basics on Monroe, Barbara Leaming's book or Donald Spoto's book is perhaps a better choice, but for those of us who already know the main outline of her life, this book is genius and quite a find. I picked it up in the bookstore and I immediately fell in love with it. It is markedly different from other biographies, as it reads like an analytical essay instead of a chronological detailing of her life, and this format is marvelous for "Monroe experts," as there are so many theories that need to be discussed. She is fantastically neutral in her discussions, and presents the facts as they are and the speculations as they are. There is no bias. I would very highly recommend this book.

for more information click here

Good Book

This was a very informative book with plenty of references to biographies on Marylin Monroe in the past.

for more information click here

The Many Lives of Monroe prove biographers are NOT a Movie Icon's Best Friends!

Marilyn Monroe was born in Los Angeles in 1926. Her mother had mental health problems; her father was not in the picture for long. MM spent time in foster homes and orphanages. She became Playboy's first centerfold; she became the world's most famous blonde bombshell in post World War II America; she died at the early age of 36 on the night of August 4, 1962. Her most memorable movie roles were "Niagara:" The Seven Year Itch"; "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," "How to Marry a Millionare": "Some Like It Hot" and her final film "The Misfits" .
Other than these basic facts most of Monroe's life is the subject of conjecture, prurient interests and mysteries galore!
Dr. Sarah Churchwell is an American scholar teaching in England. This book is not a traditional biography of Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson). It is, rather, a scholarly examination of her most famous biographers and the various theories they posit as to the life lived by the sexy star. Many of these biographies, opines Churchwell, are based more on speculation than facts. Churchwell examines the biographies by such famed authors as Norman Mailer; Barbara Leaming; Donald H. Spoto; Donald H. Wolfe and others. Churchwell also looks closely at Joyce Carole
Oates fictional account of Marilyn's life entitled "Blonde".
Churchwell explores the various theories on the marriages of Miss Monroe to James Daughtery; Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller. When playwright Miller wed Marilyn it was called a coupling of Egghead and Hourglass. Dimaggio probably beat her up. We see Marilyn Monroe through the lenses and the biases of her various biographers. We still do not know for sure:
a. Whether she ever had an abortion or had at least 14 of them.
b. Was a dimwit or had a sharp intelligence.
c. Did she die of a drug overdose or commit suicide? Was she murdered by suspects ranging from the CIA to the Kennedy Family to the Mafia. Or was she murdered by her doctor and housekeeper or a Soviet Agent? We will in all likelihood never know for sure. Conspiracy theories abound.
This is a good book to sort out what is fact and what fanciful or speculative in the life of Marilyn Monroe. It is a good book showing fine research and adds insight to our understanding of the enigmatic star.

for more information click here

Finally, a look at the real woman!

This is one of the best books on Marilyn Monroe I have ever read, if not THE best. The author does a fantastic job of analyzing the various biographies of MM and strips away the myths, lies, improbabilities, and biased ways others saw her that have distorted her image and life for the past 40 years. Churchwell shows us that NO, Marilyn was not crazy, nor was she split into two people - Marilyn Monroe and Norma Jeane - anymore than Cary Grant was split into CG and Archie Leach (his real name). She shows us that MM was a complicated and intelligent woman and a successful actress who tried to improve her acting and her mind throughout her life. I deeply respect the author of this book for her objectivity, honesty, penetrating analysis, and scholarship, and for showing how so much of what has been written about Marilyn is either stereotypical, unfounded, nonsensical, or just plain untrue. I loved it!

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

There are many Marilyns: sex goddess and innocent child, crafty manipulator and dumb blonde, liberated woman and tragic loner. The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe reviews the unreliable and unverifiable--but highly significant--stories that have framed this Hollywood legend, all the while revealing the meanings behind the American myths that have made Marilyn what she is today.

In incisive and passionate prose, cultural critic Sarah Churchwell uncovers the shame, belittlement, and anxiety that we bring to the story of a woman we supposedly adore and, in the process, rescues a Marilyn Monroe who is far more complicated and credible than the one we think we know.

for more information click here

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Marilyn: The Biography of Marilyn Monroe
My Marilyn Monroe Book Collection

marilyn

Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting
Amy Number Seven (Replica 1)
The Discontented Season
Secret Clique (Replica 5)
Return of the Perfect Girls (Replica 18)

search for books
many liv of, liv, many, marilyn, monroe

Impressum / about us