Marilyn

Rating:
Summary: Insightful & reverent
Review: Gloria Steinem explores Marilyn's life through an empathic and feminist perspective in one of my favorite Monroe biographies. Ms. Steinem respectfully addresses the Marilyn's life within the context of her era and retrospectively. She also addresses the impact of Marilyn's childhood sexual abuse and family history on her functioning. Marilyn would likely be proud of this intelligent, compassionate, historical and cultural treatment. I place this book in league with biographies by Carl Rollyson, Graham McCann and Fred Lawrence Guiles. Of course, the timeless photographic images by George Barris accompanying the brilliant text are refreshing, delightful and touching. Steinem truly strives to understand Marilyn, celebrate her strengths and re-evaluate her for our times. Marilyn seems "to speak" through Steinem's insights and in Barris' photographs.

Rating:
Summary: THIS is the Marilyn I love
Review: Having recently read the axe-grinding Marilyn Monroe "biography" by Ted Jordan, finding this gem by Gloria Steinem (with beautiful photograhps by George Barris) was such a relief. Whether kind or unkind, most Marilyn biographers are men; it makes sense that a woman (and a feminist) would have a much different understanding of her. Steinem pays much attention to the remaining Norma Jeane personality in the grown Marilyn, a little girl who was abandoned, abused, shuffled between the orphanage and foster homes, and married off at 16. This, Steinem writes, explains much of Marilyn's troublesome behavior: she still had the insecurities of Norma Jeane, but tried to get the love she needed by being the sex symbol Marilyn.

This larger sized paperback is split into chapters, for example: "Norma Jeane," about her childhood and background, and "Work and Money, Sex and Politics" about Marilyn's battles with the Studio, her marriages, and her affairs with powerful men. Each chapter is a complete essay unto itself. And the accompanying photographs, most taken by George Barris the month before her death, show a natural, cavorting, and thoughtful Marilyn at 36 years old.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious about the REAL Marilyn Monroe. In truth, she had many realities, but I think that Gloria Steinem captures the most important one.

Rating:
Summary: THIS is the Marilyn I love
Review: Having recently read the axe-grinding Marilyn Monroe "biography" by Ted Jordan, finding this gem by Gloria Steinem (with beautiful photograhps by George Barris) was such a relief. Whether kind or unkind, most Marilyn biographers are men; it makes sense that a woman (and a feminist) would have a much different understanding of her. Steinem pays much attention to the remaining Norma Jeane personality in the grown Marilyn, a little girl who was abandoned, abused, shuffled between the orphanage and foster homes, and married off at 16. This, Steinem writes, explains much of Marilyn's troublesome behavior: she still had the insecurities of Norma Jeane, but tried to get the love she needed by being the sex symbol Marilyn.

This larger sized paperback is split into chapters, for example: "Norma Jeane," about her childhood and background, and "Work and Money, Sex and Politics" about Marilyn's battles with the Studio, her marriages, and her affairs with powerful men. Each chapter is a complete essay unto itself. And the accompanying photographs, most taken by George Barris the month before her death, show a natural, cavorting, and thoughtful Marilyn at 36 years old.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious about the REAL Marilyn Monroe. In truth, she had many realities, but I think that Gloria Steinem captures the most important one.

Rating:
Summary: i loved the pictures of marilyn
Review: i loved this book "marilyn " because of the most beautiful pictures of marilyn, these pictures were the last pictures ever taken of marilyn and they show the real true beautiful person and that is norma jeane and the glamor beautiful star marilyn monroe. these pictures show two people one the shy , beautiful, loveable, true, norma jeane and the funny , glamor, beautiful, free, loving marilyn monroe, but it really shows the true norma jeane in these pictures. this book is for the marilyn fans like me, but i am more than a fan of marilyn's , marilyn is my idol my icon and she is real . i reccomened this book to whoever loves marilyn. this is a collectible. what i did not like about this book is the author gloria she says marilyn had killed herself, which i DO NOT BELIEVE , which i beleive is not true, but i ignored that , but the pictures are amazing.

Rating:
Summary: i loved the pictures of marilyn
Review: i loved this book "marilyn " because of the most beautiful pictures of marilyn, these pictures were the last pictures ever taken of marilyn and they show the real true beautiful person and that is norma jeane and the glamor beautiful star marilyn monroe. these pictures show two people one the shy , beautiful, loveable, true, norma jeane and the funny , glamor, beautiful, free, loving marilyn monroe, but it really shows the true norma jeane in these pictures. this book is for the marilyn fans like me, but i am more than a fan of marilyn's , marilyn is my idol my icon and she is real . i reccomened this book to whoever loves marilyn. this is a collectible. what i did not like about this book is the author gloria she says marilyn had killed herself, which i DO NOT BELIEVE , which i beleive is not true, but i ignored that , but the pictures are amazing.

Rating:
Summary: Last photos of Marilyn
Review: Inside is a jewel of pictures by George Barris who was the last photographer to take the last pictures of Marilyn and they capture her innocence. The climax is definitely the colored pictures of Marilyn. We see the last faze of Marilyn's life in the book but evidently she looked very happy. Obviously, something had to give and it was Marilyn. The book is like a last tribute to Marilyn showing her pictures and describing her childhood and life.

Rating:
Summary: Marilyn - (Abridged)
Review: This is a beautiful photo expose' of Marilyn just six short weeks of her tragic and untimely death. As the first reader/reviewer has stated, this book was written with references to the stars' sexual abuse and family history, which lead to her emotional problems dating from adolescence. Gloria Steinem wrote this work without any 'bias' to this movie legend. I found her writing to be sensitive and understanding throughout. George Barris' photographs are as beautiful and will forever be timeless images of this very remarkable screen star of the 20th century throughout the next millenium. This book should be considered a "must have" for the Monroe fan and collector.