Rating: 
Summary: I recommend it, notwithstanding all the negative reviews
Review: Although I do not consider myself the world's foremost Judy Garland expert, I am nevertheless a fan and would easily recommend this book to anyone interested in her life. I was surprised by all of the angry one and two star reviews of this bio. As far as I could tell, most of them were written by huge Judy Garland fans who were simply angry that Mr. Clarke was not sufficiently hagiographic towards their hero, and that he was not sufficiently appreciative of her talent. I do not agree with those conclusions. I thought that he repeatedly emphasized her unique and immense talents over and over. I also felt that while there were certainly a number of tabloid-y details in the book, Mr. Clarke's overall tone was still quite balanced towards his subject. My only gripe was that I wished he had spent a bit more time discussing "The Wizard of Oz". Admittedly, this was not a book about the making of that movie, but it was still such an important event in her life (and the one for which I feel she will be most remembered 100 years from now), and such an important event in film history, that he could have given it more than the passsing discussion he did. Anyway, I would recommend the book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Bio on Judy
Review: A masterpiece. "Get Happy" is brilliantly written and weaves a rich and detailed portrait of the greatest talent of all time, as well as vividly recreating her surroundings and those in her life. Even if you think you know the whole story of her life, you'll be amazed at the revelations, which are backed-up by a stagering 50 pages of Source Notes. The book is not a hatchet job written by a hack, though : it is compassionate towards Judy, and praises her artistry again and again (the pages on her triumphs at the Palace and Carnegie Hall are astounding.) Devistating at times? Of course. Judy did not lead the life of a "Donna Reed" or out of an "Ozzie and Harriet" episode. But this feels like th truth, as told to the author by the 500 people he spoke to, and the 10 years spent researching legal papers, documents, etc. A must-have book that, at 512 pages, ends too quickly. You will not forget the small and large details here, nor the stance taken on the players in her life. Likely to remain the best straight biography of Garland, and one of the best ever written, period.
Rating: 
Summary: Give Me A Break!
Review: Now, I have loved Judy scince I was two. Gerald Clark's book is nothing but a tabloid make money biography! Now, don't get me wrong,there are 1 or2 good stories but 99.9 percent of them are pure fiction! if you want to read a good Judy book, read Lorna's book!!!
Rating:
Summary: Get Happy, and get the book!
Review: Gerald Clarke tackles a very difficult subject, Judy Garland, in his newest biography "Get Happy". We all realize that probably one of the most complex lives in modern times has been that of Judy herself. She was a singer extraordinaire, gifted actress, beautiful woman, and a human, none-the-less. What Clarke's biography manages to capture is her humanness. There is a succinct danger in deifying someone so much that they lose those essential qualities that endear us to them in the first place. Judy was troubled, had drug issues, marital problems, all true and well-documented, and she also could belt out a song like no one else. I loved Judy Garland since childhood, and now, knowing her foibles and follies as well as her gifts, makes me love her all the more. Clarke's book moves very quickly. He doesn't dally on any points, and the chapters are organized into short sections. I rated it four stars because I wished he had "dallied" a little bit more in certain areas, especially in her later singing career!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Bio on Judy
Review: A masterpiece. "Get Happy" is brilliantly written and weaves a rich and detailed portrait of the greatest talent of all time, as well as vividly recreating her surroundings and those in her life. Even if you think you know the whole story of her life, you'll be amazed at the revelations, which are backed-up by a stagering 50 pages of Source Notes. The book is not a hatchet job written by a hack, though : it is compassionate towards Judy, and praises her artistry again and again (the pages on her triumphs at the Palace and Carnegie Hall are astounding.) Devistating at times? Of course. Judy did not lead the life of a "Donna Reed" or out of an "Ozzie and Harriet" episode. But this feels like th truth, as told to the author by the 500 people he spoke to, and the 10 years spent researching legal papers, documents, etc. A must-have book that, at 512 pages, ends too quickly. You will not forget the small and large details here, nor the stance taken on the players in her life. Likely to remain the best straight biography of Garland, and one of the best ever written, period.
Rating:
Summary: Judy Garland by Clarke
Review: The reviewers who believe that this is an accurate portrait of Judy Garland are pathetically misinformed. To begin with nearly 85% of this book - if not more - is based entirely unpon speculation and conjecture, from both the author and his sources. The number of unnamed, unsubstantiated and uncorraborated sources is astounding, but then again, you couldn't write the type of salacious, tabloid "Confidential magazine-like story that Clarke has using named, credible and reputable sources. As for the tapes and the so called autobiography; do your research admirers of Clarke's tome. The so-called autobiography is only an 80 page outline of notes which Judy never edited or reviewed. The so-called most scandalous details were revealed and worked though by others only AFTER she died. All of the other stuff in the notes were previously published in McCall's magazine during the 1960's. Sorry, but Judy never spoke about the most "deliciously scandalous" items printed in this and other books. The person said they were Judy's words, but could never show any proof. Those tapes....listen to them for yourself. They say nothing of the stories told here. That's the way it is throughout the book. Just read his sources, one after another anonymous source. Do yourself a favor and read World's Greatest Entertainer, Judy Garland The Golden Years and Judy Portrait of a Legend or even Judy by Frank and Rainbow by Finch.
Rating: 
Summary: Good But Ho Hum
Review: This book is what made me a Judy fan, where before I had only been a Judy admirer from afar. I read this book without having read any reviews or knowing anything about the controversy surrounding it. I found Mr Clarke's treatment of Judy candid and sympathetic, but not sentimental or rose-colored - which is what I have a feeling Judy fans didn't like about it. In spite of the sordid details, and as the trajectory of her life story spiraled downward, I found myself liking Judy the Person more and more - flaws and all. I appreciated the quotes Clarke used from Judy herself to describe her life - they show how refreshingly honest and humble she was, especially toward the end. I did not appreciate his long-winded, professorial essays about various side subjects and the sex-obssessed leaning of the book. I did not appreciate the $10 words he uses that leave you running to a dictionary to figure out what he means. I ended it feeling that I wanted to know a little more about the making of her films than just start and end dates and a little less about the sex. Where the book excels is at the beginning, where Clarke really did his research into Judy's parental history, unhappy aspects of her early life, her father's pederasty and her "love affair" with her Dad. It explains much about her subsequent histrionic behavior and constant striving for normalcy, especially in the romance and marriage departments. Controversial or not, trashy or not, I still recommend the book. If you can't love her, or at least sympathize with her, by the end of this book, you're probably not a true fan.
Rating:
Summary: LITTLE GIRL [BLACK AND] BLUE
Review: Somewhere over the rainbow, Judy Garland ain't very happy. That's because her entire life---and we mean her entire life---has been laid out, in minute detail, in Gerald Clarke's latest biography. We all already know about the evil stage mother, the gay father, the hospitalizations, the pill popping, the marriages to gay husbands, the abortions, the mean managers.. Here we learn about Judy's lesbian affairs and about the one (unnamed, of course) male lover who made her she sing "Over the Rainbow" after giving him oral satisfaction. Yikes! Still, even though Judy has been the subject of too many books already, Clarke manages to write with candor and clarity, thanks to interviews with sources who kept mum before, as well as the benefit of an autobiography Garland herself had started, but never finished. Wonder if Liza still thinks life is a cabaret after this one.
Rating:
Summary: What a life...
Review: Clarke's book, though sometimes turning towards the tabloid journalism route, has much to say, and there's a lot of things that will jar some Garland admirers. On the whole, however, the book is riveting, and gives quite a bit of insight into her early years, which explained much of her erratic behavior later in life. Once started, it was hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: It had to much detail...
Review: I think that Gerald Clarke put to much detail in to this book. He would go into detail about everything, and about things that wern't that interesting and some not even about Judy. He would talk about people's lives that she dated and stuff and it just became a little boring. But the book did have good facts in it and a lot of information, i think if you a Judy fan you should definetly read it because it is very informational, it's just that it gets a little boring at times.
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