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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: "Fascinating Subject Leaves Many Questions"
Review: Natalie Wood was one of my favorite actresses and I was shocked by her drowning death at such a young age under such strange circumstances. I was anxious to read this book and had mixed feeling about it once I was finished. The writer dealt excessively with the obsessive behavior of the Russian mother who acted like Natalie/Natasha was part of her own psyche. The woman was truly evil, as evidenced by a horrifying tale of her plucking the wings off a butterfly to get her child to cry on cue. As a reader, you need to patiently plough through a lot of overwrought writing to glean interesting facts like that. In addition to a brutal description of the rape itself, there were several references to the "Hollywood star" who attacked Natalie and is apparantly still alive since the writer "can't believe he can live with himself." I find it hard to believe that hotel records could not have been researched for a stronger clue to this man's identity. Was the writer paid off by the actor's children? If you are at all a Hollywood follower, you can pretty much figure out who this person is (at least I think I have anyway) and indeed his family name is very powerful. Another weakness is that the drowning sequence stories drag on for pages, are ultimately inconclusive, and focus excessively on Natalie's fear of drowning in dark water. We read about this fear throughout the book in excessively purplish prose. I found it amazing to read how much alcohol was drunk by the four people on board, however, over the days leading up to the tragedy. And the image of RJ leaning over the boat and mocking a drowning Natalie is truly chilling, though not totally convincing. Overall, a pretty good read -- chock full of details that, while meticulous, are repeated so often that you get tired of reading them. I wish there was more information about how her children fared after her death. She seemed to be a wonderful mother and I wonder how the daughters have reacted to all the rumors that continue to swirl around her death. The book definitely helped me to see more sides of Natalie and to understand why she always looked so serious in her movies; she did not have an easy life, despite all the furs and glamour. I wish she had received an Academy Award for "Spendor in the Grass." She certainly deserved it.
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.
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