Rating: 
Summary: A Moving Tale
Review: Noel Coward used to perform a song he wrote called "Don't Put Your Daughter On the Stage Mrs Worthington". It's a pity Natalie Wood's mother didn't take note when she first started coaching her little daughter to be nice to people (men mostly) so they would put little Natasha in movies. There is something obscene about about a child denied a childhood and normal emotional developement in order for a mother's selfish ambitions to be fulfilled - especially when that little girl is from then on the family bread winner. Suzanne Finstad's book was a best seller and deservedly so.No stone was left unturned to sus out the real Natalie Wood, her desire to be a great actress, her friendship with James Dean who represented acting as a serious craft, something Natalie had not been exposed to before. Her relationship with Warren Beatty, her two marriages to Robert Wagner and the real reason for the the fist marriage breakup with Wagner, and even a detailed account of the last day of her life and tragic death.
The ruthlessness of movie directors is aptly displayed here too, men driven by a need to bring the picture in under budget -resorting to behaviour that in one instance nearly cost Wood her life and in others displaying total insensitivity.
Natalie Wood amazingly survived the nightmares of her youth and was universally well liked by those who knew her and worked with her. She strove to have a normal life without ever really knowing what that was, and was a deeply caring, compassionate human being as, wife, mother and friend to those who loved her.
Suzanne Finstad interviewd hundreds of people, family, friends and colleagues who shared their vivid recollections of a great lady who was - Natalie Wood.
Rating:
Summary: Very well done
Review: I thought this biography of Natalie Wood was very well researched and quite absorbing. I see from other reviews that people criticized Finstad for her over-dramatic prose and repetition, but I found myself so interested in the story that I didn't notice these things while reading. Well, Natalie lead a dramatic life, so maybe some flowery prose isn't entirely out of place.I read on a Natalie Wood website that her oldest daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, has dismissed the book as "trash," saying the information was just "gathered from a lot of gossip columns," although in the same breath she admits she hasn't actually read the book. Actually, Finstad interviewed a large number of people who were close to Natalie both personally and professionally, from the time she was a small child, and the text is very well documented with her source notes. Such complete documentation is rarely found in Hollywood biographies these days, and is very impressive, in my opinion. All in all, I agree with Natalie's sister Lana that this book is "comprehensive, moving, shocking and riveting," and recommend it to both long time and new Natalie Wood fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Attention-Grabbing look at the life of Natalie Wood
Review: If you are interested in the life of Natalie Wood, this is the book for you. The book starts off by telling the story of Natalie's mother Maria and she came from Russia to China and then to the United States with her first husband and daughter Olga in the early 1930's. It then goes into how Maria met Nicoli Zakharenko and had Natalia or Natasha as Natalie was called. The book then goes into the early childhood of Natalie Wood living an idyllic life in Santa Rosa California playing with her best friend Edwin Canavari before leaving for Hollywood to be a movie star after appearing in Happy Land. The book then goes into Natalie's early life in Hollywood, being rejected for many parts before being cast in Tomorrow Is Forever playing a Austrian orphan raised by Orson Wells after the Nazis kill her parents. The book then goes into how the producers changed her name from Natasha Gurdin to Natalie Wood and the struggles Natalie had to find a part until at the age of six being cast in not one, but three movies shooting at the same time. The author tells about Natalie's adjustments to playing a New Yorker in Miracle On 34th Street, an English Child in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir as well as an orphan in Driftwood. The next part of the book is jam-packed talking about the different rolls that Natalie played in a short time. The book also describes how an accident on the set of her movie Scudda Hoo Scudda Hay changed the way she felt about her mother and acting forever. During a scene Natalie was supposed to cross a bridge in the pouring rain and the bridge was supposed to fall and she was supposed to land in the water underneath. Somebody dropped the bridge too soon and Natalie's left wrist was broken. The next section of the book details Natalie's relationship with men, making more movies and her increasing fixation on a man she met when she was 12 and told everybody that she was going to marry-Robert Wager. During her teens Natalie rebelled against her mother and started dating boys-sometimes men and more than one at a time. During her teens, Natalie was even engaged to several of these fellows. When she was 15 though she started on an affair with 46-year-old Nick Ray and constantly bugged him to be in his new movie Rebel Without a Cause. He was reluctant to cast her though, but after a car accident with one of her girlfriends and Dennis Hopper (whom she was also sleeping with) Ray gave her the part. Ironically, the part that made her a star might not have had the same impact except for the untimely death of lead actor James Dean. The book also describes a very traumatic event in Natalie's life. The rape she experienced at the hands of a very famous movie star. When Natalie was 18, she had a plan to meet and marry Robert Wager. Her plan was to have his agent become her agent as well. This plan worked. They met at a party shortly after Natalie turned 18, but nothing came of it, they danced and that was it. A year later however, they met again and sparks flew. They spend that night on his boat. Several months later, they were married. The marriage did not last very long and they slit up after only five years. The next part of the book Natalie is again catapulted into stardom with the movie West Side Story. Even with this, though Natalie is depressed because she could not get her marriage to RJ (Wagner's nickname) to work. She dates several men before meeting and marrying Richard Gregson and having daughter Natasha. Natalie is not happy at this point and separates from Richard before doing Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice. Soon after Natalie broke up with Richard, she re meets Wagner and they remarry in 1972. Shortly afterwards they have a daughter named Courtney or as Natalie called her "The most wanted baby in the world." The last part of the story Natalie is contented. She is married to the love of her life the mother of two and the stepmother of one (Wagner's daughter Kate) and is making movies. Fast forward to Thanksgiving weekend 1981. The Wagners go out on their new boat The Splendor with Natalie's recent costar Christopher Walken. The threesome spend the weekend drinking and on Friday night Natalie disappeared after a fight with Robert. Wagner and Walken waited at least 1.5 hours before calling the coastguard to tell them about the disappearance and at about 8:30 the next morning Natalie was found not far from the boat dead of hypothermia. The author of the book make a point several times that RJ was stupid to wait that long to contact the coastguard because of the fact that Natalie was deathly afraid of water and had since birth, a fact reiterated constantly in different stories and events told about in the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Moving Tale
Review: Noel Coward used to perform a song he wrote called "Don't Put Your Daughter On the Stage Mrs Worthington". It's a pity Natalie Wood's mother didn't take note when she first started coaching her little daughter to be nice to people (men mostly) so they would put little Natasha in movies. There is something obscene about about a child denied a childhood and normal emotional developement in order for a mother's selfish ambitions to be fulfilled - especially when that little girl is from then on the family bread winner. Suzanne Finstad's book was a best seller and deservedly so.No stone was left unturned to sus out the real Natalie Wood, her desire to be a great actress, her friendship with James Dean who represented acting as a serious craft, something Natalie had not been exposed to before. Her relationship with Warren Beatty, her two marriages to Robert Wagner and the real reason for the the fist marriage breakup with Wagner, and even a detailed account of the last day of her life and tragic death.
The ruthlessness of movie directors is aptly displayed here too, men driven by a need to bring the picture in under budget -resorting to behaviour that in one instance nearly cost Wood her life and in others displaying total insensitivity.
Natalie Wood amazingly survived the nightmares of her youth and was universally well liked by those who knew her and worked with her. She strove to have a normal life without ever really knowing what that was, and was a deeply caring, compassionate human being as, wife, mother and friend to those who loved her.
Suzanne Finstad interviewd hundreds of people, family, friends and colleagues who shared their vivid recollections of a great lady who was - Natalie Wood.
Rating:
Summary: Waited YEARS for this book!
Review: As a Natalie Wood fan of the first order, I've found it hard to understand the lack of biographies offered on this international super star. One book by her sister Lana years ago, but felt that one may have had a one-sided slant because she obviously worshipped her well known sibling. Another biography years ago on Natalie and RJ, the man she married twice, seemed to be a bit sugar coated in detailing the hollywood dream couples life. But, this book hits all her peaks and valley's, her sometimes tenacious hold on reality and all the grit along with the glitter that made up Natalie Woods life until it ended at the age of 43 in a controversial drowning accident. The author obviously did her homework if her account of how many of Natalies close friends and acquaintances she interviewed is accurate. She gives us, the readers, information that as far as I know hasn't been offered up before, and I think I've read almost everything ever printed about Natalie. Ms. Finstad, the author paints a picture of a powerhouse superstar that has her fame and fortune balanced out by great loneliness, insecurities, and sometimes overwhelming unhappiness. However, we get a strong image of a woman that despite living her life in a fishbowl as a beautiful, rich and famous movie star, was actually quite earthy, likeable and eager to help others. I was so wrapped up in this book I finished it in one day, figuring laundry can always wait. But, the laundry may have to build up a wee bit higher because I think I'm going to start reading this book all over again just because I enjoyed it so much. "Natasha" was definitely worth the wait!
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time
Review: This book is trash. It exploits and sensationalizes the life of one of Hollywood's most charming and fascinating people. There's a reason the Wagners didn't participate in the production of this biography. I'm certain Finstad's disregard for the truth is it. Of course Lana Wood likes this bio. She was always as out to get her sister as the tabloid press! If you have any respect or admiration for Natalie Wood, don't buy this nonsense. Rent her movies instead.
Rating:
Summary: Attention-Grabbing look at the life of Natalie Wood
Review: If you are interested in the life of Natalie Wood, this is the book for you. The book starts off by telling the story of Natalie's mother Maria and she came from Russia to China and then to the United States with her first husband and daughter Olga in the early 1930's. It then goes into how Maria met Nicoli Zakharenko and had Natalia or Natasha as Natalie was called. The book then goes into the early childhood of Natalie Wood living an idyllic life in Santa Rosa California playing with her best friend Edwin Canavari before leaving for Hollywood to be a movie star after appearing in Happy Land. The book then goes into Natalie's early life in Hollywood, being rejected for many parts before being cast in Tomorrow Is Forever playing a Austrian orphan raised by Orson Wells after the Nazis kill her parents. The book then goes into how the producers changed her name from Natasha Gurdin to Natalie Wood and the struggles Natalie had to find a part until at the age of six being cast in not one, but three movies shooting at the same time. The author tells about Natalie's adjustments to playing a New Yorker in Miracle On 34th Street, an English Child in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir as well as an orphan in Driftwood. The next part of the book is jam-packed talking about the different rolls that Natalie played in a short time. The book also describes how an accident on the set of her movie Scudda Hoo Scudda Hay changed the way she felt about her mother and acting forever. During a scene Natalie was supposed to cross a bridge in the pouring rain and the bridge was supposed to fall and she was supposed to land in the water underneath. Somebody dropped the bridge too soon and Natalie's left wrist was broken. The next section of the book details Natalie's relationship with men, making more movies and her increasing fixation on a man she met when she was 12 and told everybody that she was going to marry-Robert Wager. During her teens Natalie rebelled against her mother and started dating boys-sometimes men and more than one at a time. During her teens, Natalie was even engaged to several of these fellows. When she was 15 though she started on an affair with 46-year-old Nick Ray and constantly bugged him to be in his new movie Rebel Without a Cause. He was reluctant to cast her though, but after a car accident with one of her girlfriends and Dennis Hopper (whom she was also sleeping with) Ray gave her the part. Ironically, the part that made her a star might not have had the same impact except for the untimely death of lead actor James Dean. The book also describes a very traumatic event in Natalie's life. The rape she experienced at the hands of a very famous movie star. When Natalie was 18, she had a plan to meet and marry Robert Wager. Her plan was to have his agent become her agent as well. This plan worked. They met at a party shortly after Natalie turned 18, but nothing came of it, they danced and that was it. A year later however, they met again and sparks flew. They spend that night on his boat. Several months later, they were married. The marriage did not last very long and they slit up after only five years. The next part of the book Natalie is again catapulted into stardom with the movie West Side Story. Even with this, though Natalie is depressed because she could not get her marriage to RJ (Wagner's nickname) to work. She dates several men before meeting and marrying Richard Gregson and having daughter Natasha. Natalie is not happy at this point and separates from Richard before doing Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice. Soon after Natalie broke up with Richard, she re meets Wagner and they remarry in 1972. Shortly afterwards they have a daughter named Courtney or as Natalie called her "The most wanted baby in the world." The last part of the story Natalie is contented. She is married to the love of her life the mother of two and the stepmother of one (Wagner's daughter Kate) and is making movies. Fast forward to Thanksgiving weekend 1981. The Wagners go out on their new boat The Splendor with Natalie's recent costar Christopher Walken. The threesome spend the weekend drinking and on Friday night Natalie disappeared after a fight with Robert. Wagner and Walken waited at least 1.5 hours before calling the coastguard to tell them about the disappearance and at about 8:30 the next morning Natalie was found not far from the boat dead of hypothermia. The author of the book make a point several times that RJ was stupid to wait that long to contact the coastguard because of the fact that Natalie was deathly afraid of water and had since birth, a fact reiterated constantly in different stories and events told about in the book.
Rating:
Summary: An ironic tribute
Review: I didn't discover Natalie Wood until just before Suzanne Finstead's novel was released. I saw a preview for the E! True Hollywood story of Natalie (or 'Natasha') and was mesmerized by her incredible stare. Although many critics focus on the controversy of Finstead's carefully worded descriptions of the last weekend of Natalie's life and subsequent events, the author provides an incredibly well-researched view of the life of an intense yet ill-fated superstar. As for the material regarding Natalie's drowning, Finstead's argument presents a multitude of room for reasonable doubt that her death was 'accidental.' The irony exists before, during and after Natalie Wood's life, and is very thought provoking, not only in Natalie's case, but in general that life is beyond control, particularly for those pushed into (and cursed with) fame. Regardless of any position on Natalie Wood's work, her talent, and the events leading to her death, this book is entirely enjoyable and should be appreciable to any reader.
Rating:
Summary: natural beauty
Review: I am fan of Natalie Wood since I saw, as a child, movie "Splendor in the grass". She was beautifull and so much different then the other "star-system" actresses. A long time I could not find some interesting article regarding her life and tragic death so I was surelly suprised when I read "Natasha". I have read it in one breath. I have read it earlier that she was famous in all the hollywood parties and that she was rebel. Thats why I was suprised when I`ve read that she was connected to her family and children. Maybe she was captivated by her mentally abused childhood as the author presented, and she was searhing for true love. I was very suprised when I heard the editors preview regarding the bisexual activity of Robert Wagner. The author was just indirectly show us the possible, "shocking" divorce reason of their first marriage. I was more suprise that she returned to him after that "compromised position" she saw. The book is very interesting but only thing it is not such clear to me is RJ. According to the author, they were really in love and he was quait and nice man. But Finstad is not paid so much attention to him, as he was not interested her. What is still question for me is that relationship with C. Walken on that day when she drowned. Is in Hollywood really ordinary thing to be bisexual?
Rating:
Summary: Timeless Beauty
Review: I read "Natasha" in late February of 2003, immediately after being introduced to "West Side Story". I have always known OF Natalie Wood, especially since I was named after her, but I have never really seen her adult work. Furthermore, unlike other screen legends of yesteryear, Natalie Wood's star has not been exploited and endlessly marketed, like it has been with other screen greats (ie Marilyn Monroe), so the allure surrounding her and her seemingly mysterious demeanor lured me into reading this insightful and honest biography.
At best, "Natasha" is a labor of love. Suzanne Finstad has clearly done SOME research, be it gossip magazines or not. You can't blame her either, because Natalie was a very private person. It's hard to dig up interviews or "objective" features on her. The good part is that Finstad knows this, and as a result has put in effort to interview many people close to Natalie, like actors Robert Blake and Robert Redford, as well as "insiders" in the film business (publicists, hair dressers, agents, casting directors, etc.). Perhaps the most interesting anecdotes and tidbits are given by Lana, Natalie's own sister. Lana has written her own memoir about her famous sibling, but the writing was a tad vapid and bland. Finstad presents Lana's stories in a better light.
My favorite thing about this book is its division into different parts of Natalie's life, from child actress to legendary movie star, from rebellious teenager to dedicated mother. Finstad does this by drawing a unique parallel between the three Wood sisters and Chekhov's own characters in the Russian fable, "Three Sisters". Also, the rare pictures and photographs featured in between the novel's chapters would delight any fan.
All in all, "Natasha" is a very touching biography written with close attention to detail. Suffice to say, Ms. Wood lived a dramatic life, ended by a most tragic occurence. But her memory lives on through her wonderful films and her talented family, as well as through the many children (like myself) lucky enough to be named after such a ravishing, talented person.
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