Hollywood Divas : The Good, The Bad, and The Fabulous

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Summary: top notch entertainment title
Review: Parish continues to amaze, with both a wealth of information and a highly polished, enjoyable writing style.

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Summary: Nearly 100 Years of Divas
Review: Seventy essays on colorful female performers who have titillated the public fancy since 1915. James Parrish covers such a broad range of ladies that one finds Jeanette MacDonald sandwiched alphabetically between Jennifer Lopez and Madonna, while Demi Moore is flanked by camp queens Maria Montez and Mae Murray. You may be miffed that some of your favorites didn't make the cut, but there is plenty of dishy gossip to make up for your disappointment.

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Summary: Changing Divadom!
Review: The master of film books has done it again! Combining the glamorous, eccentric Divadom of Hollywood's Golden Age with the eccentricities of today's female stars is a fascinating trip. Parish knows well that the movie fan base is growing younger and includes profiles on all of today's controversial female celebrities along with the classic ladies of the silver screen. He also gives the reader a fascinating overview of how tempermental and demanding star behavior gives celebrities fodder to be included in today's "Inquirer/E!TV" mindset media coverage. The profiles are concise, fun and well-researched. I only wish I really cared about the ladies of today the way I do about the female stars of the 30s-50s. They just don't make 'em like they used to! But, If it is a book by Parish, get it.

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Summary: Hollywood "Confidential"
Review: The term "high maintenance" used to be a liability for movie stars; now it's a prerequisite. At least, that's one of the two attributes of Diva-hood in motion pictures, the other being talent. As chronicled by James Robert Parish in his latest book, "Hollywood Divas: The Good, the Bad, and the Fabulous," such women have always been the mainstay of movies, they were just known by their own above-the-title names: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, and Elizabeth Taylor, right up through Cher, Whitney Houston, Sharon Stone and Drew Barrymore. Here is a clever sorority roster of nearly a century's worth of unforgettable screen women from Theda Bara to Jennifer Lopez. What they have in common is that they can dominate a scene simply by entering it (that and make their male co-stars go crazy for them). Parish -- the dean of American film historians with over 40 books to his credit -- has the knack of writing in a tone that is both confident and confidential without sounding pandering, like a friend at a party who happens to know the inside story. We learn, for example, that Miriam Hopkins -- who almost played Scarlett O'Hara -- was smart enough to negotiate her own contracts but too volatile to keep them. We shudder at Demi Moore's contract demands yet admire her for her devotion to her child (if not her husband). And we read how Cybill Shepherd trumped the trash-mongers by the "simple" act of having character. But that's not to say there isn't enough scandal in these pages to grease the gossip gears: unwanted pregnancies, substance abuse, divorces, loonies and lovers abound. Yet it's not embarrassing to read about them. Each essay -- there are 70 plus an introduction -- is well-focused and individual, yet finds the quintessence in each great lady of the screen. An index and huge bibliography wrap up the package.

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Summary: Tough Women in a Tough Business
Review: This is a great companion piece to Mr. Parish's Bad Boys of Hollywood book. Now it's the women's turn. From Theda Bara and Clara Bow to Britney Spears and Drew Barrymore, the world has never lost it's fascination with the stars of Hollywood. This book traces the lives, backgrounds and careers of many of show business's most famous women. Through ups, downs, scandals, and personal problems, they have survived in a tough industry. This is a very enjoyable read, full of details, photos,and quotes.

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Summary: Essential
Review: Very comprehensive look at Hollywood's female stars from the silents to now. You'll turn to it time and again. Great photos, too. A MUST for every Hollywood collection. Anxiously awaiting a second volume from Hollywood's top entertainment writer.