Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words: Marilyn Monroe's Revealing Last Words

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Summary: Marilyn Still Fascinates and So Does THis book
Review: I am a Marilyn Monroe memorabilia collector and have been for almost 20 years. I have a house full of Marilyn and I still can't get enough. This is one of the better books I have read, and it has a fresh new approach and some wonderful pictures. The photography is excellent and captures that "look" only Marilyn had. It is definitely going into my collection. Another book I recently added is just for fun, but it is going into my collection to: Deadly Diamonds, by Pamela Troutman. It is for Marilyn fans who like mysteries.

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Summary: An astounding book on an astounding subject
Review: Born Norma Jeane Mortensen on 1 June 1926 c.e. and died 4 August 1962 under conditions still not well known, the woman called Marilyn Monroe was the most famous individual in the world at the time of her death. She still well may be.

Any attempt to describe her career during her life, and the subsequent notoriety and attention to her image after her death, quickly becomes like describing the latest oil tanker, a study of superlatives. What is clear is that she was stunningly beautiful, quite intelligent, and rather troubled. However, much of the population of the United States is "rather troubled" and the vast majority do not commit suicide. Neither, believes Barris, did she, and nor do I.

This isn't a book on Marilyn Monroe's tragic death: it's a photo-essay centering on the last months of Monroe's life, a time when she was certainly in a state of change, but one in which she optimistically looked to the future. I suspect that is really Barris' motivation in publishing this collection, to establish that the memory of this woman, who he obviously had a great affinity with and affection for, should not be stigmatized as a suicide.

Although her life was taken from her at far too early an age, an age at which her best years were clearly ahead and which invites speculation on what she would have done in the decades to come-indeed,she might still be working, as Lauren Bacall still is and Tony Randall did up until December 2003-I think MM should be thought of as a success rather than a tragic victim.

These pictures are magnificent,a study in photographing people in general and women particularly, and technically astounding. The color images, almost certainly shot on the Kodachrome of the vintage, and thirty-some years old when the book was prepared for litho, have a lovely vintage tonality. A great model, a great photographer, great cameras and films, and some beautiful scenery in Southern California all add up to photos that would be worthwhile even if Marilyn had never been famous and were still alive baking cookies in Ohio.

Shortly, it will have been 42 years since Marilyn Monroe lost her life in her small house on Fifth Helena Drive. Nevertheless,she is still the most famous of all movie stars, and she will be remembered and recognized on film probably as long as our species exists. This book evokes her triumph and her loss-and ours-as well as a book can, and few readers will not be reduced to tears at some point while studying it. Ultimately, though, we all must visit the place where she so early went to, and few of us will have had her impact on the world. Thank you, Marilyn, and George Barris too, for letting us see this beautiful creature as, for so short a time, she was.

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Summary: Marilyn at her vibrant, beautiful best
Review: George Barris, a very wonderful man and wonderful friend to Marilyn, had collaborated with Marilyn to make this book, which they had discussed for some time prior to her death. So here is Marilyn, at her very best, in one of the best settings for Marilyn to be photographed - the beach. Very early on in her career, many photos were taken of Marilyn at the very same beach by Andre deDienes, and they, too are fabulous photos. Something about Marilyn and the beach bring out the very best in her. She appears at ease, belonging to the ocean as her vibrance shines through. At this point in Marilyn's life, only a few weeks prior to her death, Marilyn appeared very fit, happy, healthy and ready to move on in her career. Sadly, that was not to be. But here with this book, we are shown the true Marilyn, young Norma Jeane still there, posing not only for Barris, but for us. This is a beautiful book with pictures that have quite affectionately been named "The Last Photo Shoot," as it was. And the very last picture of Marilyn, wrapped tightly in her Mexican sweater, blowing us a kiss goodbye is a wonderful reminder of her beauty and sensuality.

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Summary: Marilyn-Her Life In Her Own Words:
Review: I found this book to be truly unique in its context. By this I mean, that it not only has photos of Marilyn Monroe taken shortly before her most untimely death, but, her own narrative on life, her career, her former marriages, and her future aspirations. (So taken by her mysterious death, cited by the LA Coroner's Office as probable suicide, that the author dismisses this and cites it to be probable murder!) When the news of her death hit author/photographer, George Barris, went into complete shock, and moved to Paris, France and began a new life. It was only years later and at the insistance of his spouse that he returned to the United States (back to L.A.), and resumed his lost quest to republish Marilyn's photo-bio. Through casual perusal, one can easily see that Mr. Barris has a deep affection and respect for Marilyn. At the end of the book, he explains that there were takes and retakes and that towards the end of a long photo-shooting session, Marilyn promised that the following day she would put-forth her every effort to obtain the very essence of what he wanted for the final closure of the photo session. Monroe as always, the "professional" delivered as "promised", and gave a last personal touch to Barris by "blowing" him a "hauntingly" last kiss!

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Summary: Getting to Know Marilyn Monroe
Review: I read "Marilyn HER LIFE IN HER OWN WORDS" by George Barris. This book really made me feel as if I knew her myself. The book talks a lot about the struggles that she faced and how in the end she came out on top. It didn't just focus on her as an actress, model and well-known sex icon but on her as a normal person. George discussed how she was when she was at home, how she treated people and what she wanted in and out of life.

The thing that I like the most about this book would have to be the way it was written. It was so well written and thought out that anyone could understand, relate, and get hooked on it. I felt as if I knew her and what she was going through, as if I had gone through the same challenges she had. I never thought that to be in showbiz you would have to work so hard to be successful. I always looked at it as an easy and fun job. In reality, it is just as hard, maybe even harder than any other job. Showbiz is actual hard work and not just fun.

What I disliked the most about this book would have to be the fact that they didn't talk that much about her career when she was successful. Although there is a list of movie credits and appearances at the end of the book, they really didn't get as much into detail about her career as I would of liked to know. The book did talk about her making it and then not making it over again. And then the last time she made it and stayed and that's when she began staring in the movies instead of 60 second clips that she was known for before. Not only that but the book also talked a lot about her marriages. I personally didn't care to know as much about her marriages as they told and then so little about her career.

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Summary: Fantastic book!
Review: I think It's a great book with spectacular photos. Every MM fan have to buy it! Ciao

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Summary: marilyn at her beautiful best
Review: In the plethora of books out there written about and containing pictures of Marilyn Monroe, I feel that this collaboration between friend and photographer George Barris and Marilyn herself is truly special, and is as essential to own as _Legend_ by Guiles or the photography books of Bert Stern or Andre de Dienes. In some of the last pictures of her taken before her death, Marilyn is natural and luminescent, appearing happy, calm, and at home in her body.

The text is also highly interesting, containing the words of Marilyn herself as told to Barris. Like her ghost-written _My Story_, this book contains the fragments of Marilyn's life she saw fit to share at that time, and therefore captures her public mindset during the summer before her death more than anything I've read. For example: "When I was a small child, my fondest memories were being around my mother and her friends. It made me feel like we were one big happy family." And even sadder: "As far as I'm concerned, the happiest time of my life is now. There's a future, and I can't wait to get to it. It should be interesting." Barris' conclusion is that Monroe did not commit suicide, and reading her statements contained in this book, it's easy to see why. A beautiful representation of a beautiful woman (inside and out).