Rating: 
Summary: From Russia With Love
Review: Despite the turbulence of an express-lane childhood, and the overwhelming presence of her overbearing and manipulative mother Natalie Wood rose to the top of her profession with her grace and humility intact. Author Finstad ably reconstructs Wood's early triumphs in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "West Side Story".
We get the real human story behind the camera and find a haunted fragile beauty who always seemed to steel herself in front of the camera, and to deliver her lines on cue and on the money. Wood was the ultimate professional on the set, often arriving early. She treated her film crew with respect and genuine affection, an uncommon trait for a child star who rose through the Hollywood System with all of its excesses and blind adorations. This is not a cheap run of the mill Movie Star bio. Finstad brings a serious research regimen to the project conducting over 400 interviews. The attention to detail is riveting, never boring. We learn that Natalie Wood was offered the lead in "Bonnie and Clyde" BEFORE Faye Dunaway. By the time we find our way to the inevitable murky shores off Catalina we have come to know Natalie Wood as flesh and blood, aware of her frailties and her strengths, impressed with her drive and ambition, but saddened and angered by here needless and wasteful death. This is the story that had to be told, and Finstad has told it with great skill, and understated emotion. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: The dangers of tabloid journalism.
Review: People need to be aware of the dangers of believing tabloid journalism.
The writer's main aim is to have a top selling book so if an artists life is 90% good and 10% bad,then the writer will make the 10% bad seem more like the 90%.
They will sensationalise trivial facts,exaggerate or even make it up based on gossip or comments from vindictive people or disgruntled employees.
Tabloid newspapers do this all the time.
It is the same with movies.
For example anyone thinking that movies like The Right Stuff,Braveheart or Gallipoli are "real history" are kidding themselves as they are movies,not documentaries.Movies are fictional renderings as are tabloid books.The aim is to entertain,not to tell the boring truth.
Natalie Wood was a beautiful movie star who had a great life.
That's all,but that kind of book wouldn't sell would it?
Rating: 
Summary: A book for those with short term memory problems
Review: I was always in awe of Natalie Wood. She was a beautiful woman and a great actress. I was hoping to find out what she was really all about. I was througly frustrated by this memory practice exercise called a biography. About 100 pages of repetition and repetition of facts could be eliminated. Enough is enough of the wrist problem. Did ANYONE proof read this book? Did Finstad ever look at what she wrote after writing it? Finstad should stick to research (which she does well)and give the results to someone who can write. If you have a short term memory problem you will enjoy this exercise.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Biography
Review: As a biologist, I was in awe of Ms. Finstad's amazing ability to use a carefully detailed, scientific research approach to the study of the beautiful Natasha. I can state, without reservation, that Suzanne Finstad is one of the great biographers of our time. I felt as if she had gifted me with a fine microscope to delve into the exquisite detail of the life of Natalie Wood. I enjoyed every minute of reading her book. I recommended it to all my colleagues. They experienced the same dilemma I did..."We can't put it down!"
Rating: 
Summary: Getting to know Natalie...
Review: I strongly recommend this book for any fan of Natalie Wood. I always liked her. Who wouldn't after seeing her films? The author kind of goes overboard by being very repetitive at times...but once you get past that you can get into what matters. The author gets good insight via interviews from various contacts which allows one to decipher what is true & what probably is not. I found it fascinating to learn that Natalie divorced her husband, Robert Wagner, (the first time) after she found him in a compromising position with another MAN. Everyone knows she was a victim of child stardom...but I'm not sure everyone knows about what an obsessive stage mother she had. All in all...there are a lot of names dropped in the book that make it very interesting for any fan. It was sad that the world lost her at such an early age. She was bound to win an Academy Award eventually...she had that excellent acting ability "in" her. I liked her more after reading the book because I could tell she was a unique lady. I was surprised to learn how she 'slept around' in her early years. Then again, the end of her life still has an aura of mystery. You, the reader, are left to determine what really happened with the tidbits of facts given.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story but badly written
Review: While Hollywood types are not my cup of tea, Natalie Wood had an undeniable impact on my generation. The writer beats to death the notion that her mother set her up for a fall. It's almost as if this book was written in small segments over time, and then fused together - the repetition of this notion was repeated over and over. However the story content is riveting - although her meeting with Khruschev was omitted, and I am sure lots else was also - you can plan to read this over a long weekend because you won't be able to put it down. But you'll never feel the same about Hollywood, or the Catalina police dept.
Rating:
Summary: Turgid
Review: I finished this book,but it was a struggle.The author seemed more interested in Natalie's mother than her.(Maybe she should've written a book about Maria,instead.)She seems to think of Natalie as a victim.I found the book repetative,especially in the telling of Natalie's childhood and teen years.I also felt that the actor who raped her might have been Kirk Douglas.He fits the bill!All in all, a disappointment.I read Lana Wood's book about Natalie several years ago,and don't recall it being this boring.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written
Review: I was very excited to purchase Natasha, but found the author so repetitious. She repeated over and over the many character defects her parents had constantly all through the whole story. It was like, in case you forgot Natalie's mother was phychotic, and her father a crazed alcoholic, as if I needed to be reminded of the constant dysfunctional behaviour of her parents. However, I appreciated really finding out who Natalie Wood really was. She certainly was a survivor through it all and managed to get lost in her fantasy of roles and even a better actress with her real life.
Rating:
Summary: From one Natalie to another
Review: I guess I have always felt a connection with Natalie wood, but since she died three years before I was born I never knew that much about her. Most of my friends haven't heard of her, and parents weren't that informative. When Suzanne Finstad's biography came out I was certain I needed to read it. I am so glad I followed my instincts this time. This book was informative, interesting and so fun to read. I could hardly put down the book. The quotes to address the topic of each section were amazing. The depth of the book can be seen in the simple parallelism of the acts with the sections. Correlating to the events that are typical in Greek Tragedies. The book allowed me to see into a person who I have always felt close to. Instead of telling me a about a stranger Finstad introduced me to a friend. Finstad allowed me to respect Wood in a way I never knew I could. The novel makes me proud to be associated with the famous star. If Natalie had been my mom, I would be touched to have this beautiful book about her.
Rating:
Summary: So Poorly Written...
Review: This is a poorly written book. The editor should be taken out and beaten along with the author. I don't quarrel with the content (I'm halfway thru and plodding very slowly) but the style, choice of words, sentence structure, adjectives, etc., etc., etc. are horrible. The author keeps repeating the same facts again and again. A high school sophomore could have written a better book. I am so disappointed, especially since I just finished Blind Assassin which was probably the BEST written book I've ever read.
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