Rating: 
Summary: Great photographs, but very little substance.
Review: "Vamp" was a disappointment on several levels. I read the book in hopes of gaining insight into the life of one of the cinema's true icons, but was frustrated to discover that the narrative merely glossed over Bara's personal life. Furthermore, the anecdotes and stories behind her film career were no more insightful than most of the stories written in the fan magazines of the era.The photographs were the saving grace of the book. Rarely seen, the photographs provided a look at the woman that the narrative failed to support. "Vamp" is a wonderful introduction to Bara for those who aren't familiar with her work, but for those who want to know more of her life's story, this isn't the book for them.
Rating: 
Summary: At last! The true story of the vamp Queen!
Review: After re-reading this sensational book for the third time, my only disappointment is in the lack of more details of La Bara's personal life and yet, one understands how lucky we are to have this book! Only an autobiography by Ms. Bara, herself, could've possibly topped Ms. Golden's masterpiece. The more-than-generous collection of photographs - both on-screen and off - are priceless. The book is an absolute triumph.
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Summary: Too Tongue in Cheek to Be Taken Seriously
Review: Eve Golden, semi-famous for her acid reviews of bad videos in MOVIELANE and for her more affectionate if sometimes fey profiles of cinema legends in CLASSIC IMAGES writes in her "Eve Golden" style her rather than attempting to write a serious biography on the silent star. That's not too bad but one can overdose on her sarcasm and cutesy commentary in book form. Her style here is somewhere between Norman Mailer's MARILYN "factoid" biography and weak Dorothy Parker. The best thing is the collection of truly rare photos. It's not terrible by any means, but please Ms. Golden next time get a little more serious when writing a biography.
Rating:
Summary: First Rate Biography of the Silent Movie Queen
Review: How does one even begin to tell the tale of the great, the irreplacable, Theda Bara, the first femme fatale of the silver screen? Although only four of her films survive, and although even the most dedicated movie buff has probably never seen her on screen, her image and her screen character (a heartless, sex-mad destroyer of weak men) linger in the popular imagination. Unbelievably, this is the first complete biography of the star, and what a tale it is that Eve Golden has chosen to tackle! Exactly how ordinary Theodosia Goodwin, daughter of a tailor from Cincinnati, Ohio, was transformed into the exotic, foreign screen siren Theda Bara is a story that could only happen in America, and in the movies. This book is an enjoyable, well-researched account of Theda's life and films, illustrated with lots of photos of Theda on screen and in private life. Eve Golden is to be commended for her efforts to revive the memory of the screen's first "created" personality. Joyful as the rediscovery of Theda is, it is inextricably mixed with the trajedy of how much of our firm heritage has been lost (an estimated 75% of all films produced before 1930 have vanished). Golden makes an eloquent plea for increased efforts in the struggling area of film preservation. The sad story of how Theda Bara's film legacy all but got away throws a brilliant spotlight on the fragiity of pop culture. An excellent book for the film scholar and movie fan alike.
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Summary: Great Look Into Hollywoods First Bad Girl
Review: I have always had an interest in the Silent Era this was one of the first books I read on this era.Theda Bara was the movies first bad girl in reality the book will show that she was happiest with a book in her lap. What I mostly enjoy about Eve Golden and her work is her ability to write a biography without showing bias.This is a great intersting account into the life of Hollywoods "Vamp".
Rating:
Summary: beautiful balance
Review: I loved this book. Ms.Golden's style is witty and accessible, but never glib. What distinguishes it from most movie star biographies is the wonderful sense of time and place she evokes. There is a wealth of small detail about the movie industry of the time, which enables the reader to understand not just Theda Bara, but the society which in a way created her. The only frustrating aspect of the book is that you immediately want to run out and see all Theda's films, most of which, alas, have disappeared. This is easily one of the best film biographies I have ever read. It is beautifully researched and written with charm and style. Thoroughly recommended!
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Summary: This is a Gem
Review: I thoroghly enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed Ms. Goldens' biographies of Anna Held and Jean Harlow. In the case of Anna Held and Theda Bara, Ms Golden has rescued from obscurity two fascinating women who deserve to be remembered. IO agree that the reader from Tenn. seems a bit severe in their criticism. Personally, I like Eve Golden's method of writing. I enjoy the asides and her dry sense of humor (which actually, in some way, seems to reflect the women she is writing about). Who said biography must be dry and boring? I think Eve Golden does a great service in writing these fascinating biographies. By all means, read about Anna Held. Very highly recommended. I look forward to the next book.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Woman
Review: I'm not sure where or when I first heard of Theda Bara, but ever since I did, I thought it was a 'cool' name. The name --- and that she was an actress in the distant past --- was about all I knew about her ... until I read Eve Golden's excellent book. I got this book more or less on a whim; but from it I learned a great deal about this fascinating actress with the cool name. It turns out that she probably was a pretty 'cool' person as well! In fact, this book led me to seek out copies of the few remaining movies Miss Bara made --- such a pity that more examples of her work don't exist. The examples I've seen are, it is often said, not her best; but she seems to have been quite a capable actress. This is not a review of Miss Bara, however, but of Ms. Golden's book. And a great book it is: informative, well-illustrated (I agree with the author's philosophy that 'a biography without pictures is like a cake without icing'), and with a clear writing style. It is extremely well-researched too --- the numerous quotes from contemporary reviews of Miss Bara's movies shows that Ms. Golden did her homework. I don't know exactly what some reviewers meant when they noted Ms. Golden's 'sarcastic' attitude. I enjoyed her writing. Her book was informative, not too scholarly, and written with good humor. I think it's a book Miss Bara herself might have liked. It certainly succeeded in sparking my interest in this actress, and in the genre of silent films in general. In this book you will learn not only about Theda Bara's life and work; you will also discover much about the early film industry, and about Hollywood publicity operations too. And here's an interesting tidbit: the 'cool' name was not really an invention of a Hollywood studio at all; in fact, the 'Arab Death' story came about as an afterthought, long after the name itself had stuck on Theodosia ('Theda') Goodman.
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Summary: Movie Star Vamp: Available for Dinner Parties and Scrabble
Review: My exposure to Theda Bara and her career in silent films was very minimal when I decided to pick up this book. Basically, I knew she was the original "Vamp", that Theda Bara was not her birth name and that her name was an anagram for Arab Death. My knowledge, for lack of a better word, was encyclopedic. All I knew was that she had dark haunting eyes, reeked of glamour and was so, so Silent Film-ish. I had to know more. Thankfully, the first book I picked up on this underappreciated film legend was "VAMP: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara" by Eve Golden. Ms. Golden's well-researched material is nicely presented through a gauzy veil of wit, aptly aimed sarcasm and insight. She presents the new film industry as it was at that time-assembly line production of films mixed with bizarre PR schemes, a now far outdated style of acting, tedium and excitement. Theda Bara may have been one of the first actresses to be treated like a true movie star but off-screen she was no "vampire"; on the contrary, she was college-educated bookworm Theodosia Goodman from Cincinnati, OH. Off screen, Theda Bara much preferred a good book or a small dinner gathering to "vamping" it up. (In contemporary Colleen Moore's autobiography "Silent Star", Ms. Moore praised Ms. Bara for her delectable wit and lack of pretentiousness. With her interest in entertaining, Ms. Bara ended up being one of the most sought after hostesses in Hollywood, as mentioned in Anita Loos' "The Talmadge Girls".) Eve Golden does a praiseworthy job of combining the "otherness" of the film industry with the surprising pragmatism of its first star-Theda Bara. The inspired, sometimes sarcastic writing of Ms. Golden seems only appropriate when one thinks of how Ms. Bara was known by her contemporaries for her snappy witticisms. So many books written on the Silent Era take on the tone of a college lecture and I commend Ms. Golden for giving the subject matter a life and vibrancy due the often under-appreciated Theda Bara. And lest I forget, a comment about the included photos: they are simply stunning. A myriad of Hollywood movie stills and personal photos, the included pictures bring a realness to the era and to Theodosia Goodman/Theda Bara that is often overlooked. These shots become even more of a treasure when one learns that only 4 of Theda's many films are still in existence-and none still exists from her most lavish and sensational performances, like Cleopatra, Salome, and Kathleen Mavoureen.
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Summary: Short and Sweet
Review: The problem with most biographies is that the authors seem to always have to prove how brilliant they are by rambling on about boring, unimportant things. NOT Eve Golden in her great book about Theda Bara! In the beginning she does make a disclaimer that Theda was a very inaccessible star and her research was exhausting, but she somehow managed to keep the book somewhat short and very, very sweet! Her wit and sarcasm ADD to the readabilty of the book! All the facts of Theda's life and career are interesting and fresh and never once does she drag something out just to make the book longer/more impressive. Reccommended for silent film fans!
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