Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, compelling reading
Review: Stenn's biography is a great work that reveals its compelling subject with compassion and genuine scholarship. There IS only one real biography of Clara Bow, and this is it. The sleuthing that went into uncovering the true story of this tremendously talented actress is an important contribution to film literature. To top that, the book is a page-turner. I greatly enjoy it every time I re-read it. I recommend it to frieds without qualification. It's a heartbreaker, just like Clara, herself.

Rating:
Summary: Bow Bio a Knockout!
Review: Stenn's portrait of Clara Bow is fascinating - thorough and complex, he truly brings her to life on the page and provides a detailed glimpse of the Hollywood studio system at its worst - devouring talent in a mad race for profits. From her nightmarish childhood, through the many ups and downs of her career and finally marriage and children, Stenn guides the reader through a rollercoaster of a life with stylish and witty prose, which is never academic. The book reads (in the best sense) like a breathlessly paced bestseller.

Rating:
Summary: Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild
Review: The story of Clara Bow is a fascinating one and David Stenn tells it with honestly. It is a well written and interesting account of a woman that continues to intrigue us. He obviously did a tremendous amount of research.

Rating:
Summary: Clara the Brave
Review: There she is, Clara Bow, the most magnetic presence to ever come across on film (if you haven't seen her, you don't know what you're missing!) The icon of 1920's flare and flash. We've all heard the nasty, whispered rumors about Clara. Then you read this book and you finally understand she's just another pitiful abuse victim trying desperately to find some love and affection in this world. Takes all the air out of that wild flapper image...
But don't think its all just a pity pot story. This girl is strong, sweet, independent and puts up a real fight to the crazy forces whirling around her. If she had never been the Queen of Gibson Girl mold breaking, the human struggle of her life
still makes an incredible story. READ THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: Clara's Silence is Broken
Review: This book offered such insight into Ms. Clara Bow's life that I felt like I had been a fan of hers all along. What a charming creature Clara was and how tragic was the way she was treated.Today, no one could do a 1/3 of the things that people did to and said about Clara. A victim of circumstance, environment, family and mental disease, Clara still reigned supreme and should be recognized as one of the greatest actors in history. Too bad she could never realize the impact she made and the power she yielded.

Rating:
Summary: Clara's Silence is Broken
Review: This book offered such insight into Ms. Clara Bow's life that I felt like I had been a fan of hers all along. What a charming creature Clara was and how tragic was the way she was treated.Today, no one could do a 1/3 of the things that people did to and said about Clara. A victim of circumstance, environment, family and mental disease, Clara still reigned supreme and should be recognized as one of the greatest actors in history. Too bad she could never realize the impact she made and the power she yielded.

Rating:
Summary: Essential film history AND a damn good read
Review: This book was not only a fun read but great research material. If you are a fan of early Hollywood lore it is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and well written bio
Review: This is a readable and well-organized biography that gives a vivid impression of Clara Bow's personality and the predicaments into which that personality repeatedly and unwittingly led her. Born into abject poverty in conditions where she was neither wanted nor nurtured, Bow led a scrappy survival-driven existence which was entirely free of artifice or pretension or social grace. This unthinking and natural vitality was at once her greatest gift (as a screen personality) and her ultimate curse, as it enabled the naive actress to be repeatedly exploited and betrayed by everyone from her career managers to her lovers to her friends. Her tragic life is told in a style that keeps you engaged and conveys the pathos of this really likeable person's life.

Rating:
Summary: The It Girl true to life
Review: This is the second book I have read by David Stenn. The first Bomb Shell about Jean Harlow was given to me as a gift. A great read and well-presented look at a Hollywood idle. I just finished Clara Bow and thought Mr. Stenn did a wonderful job portraying the life of this Hollywood star. I became emotionally attached to Clara Bow's life as we learn the twists and turns she faced behind all the glamour. The book tells her story with style. You imagine and live the glamour of old Hollywood, while understanding what an individual gives up to live life as a star. I thank Mr. Stenn for the effort he takes and a job well done in giving us another honest portrayal of one of Hollywood's most important stars.

Rating:
Summary: Will Move You to Tears
Review: This was the most moving, well-written and empathic film biography I have ever read. The author's in-depth research and personal interviews read like a detective story with riveting characters, shocking revelations and heart-wrenching results. A great story about one of Hollywood's most memorable stars, and about how talent, independent thought and strength of will can triumph against all odds.