Liberace : An American Boy

Rating:
Summary: The DEFINITIVE Liberace Biography
Review: Carefully researched and well written, this extensive volume details the life of Liberace, peeling away the layers and layers of half-truths, deceptions, and publicity machine myths. A well-loved and talented entertainer, Liberace lived a double life protecting his public image with a fierceness that caused much private agony. Liberace could not even tell the truth in his own biography, lest he be labeled as a liar and countersued by publications he had sued when they reported he was gay. This book details his relationships with friends, family and lovers. Pyron also gives wonderful detail on how Liberace got his start, tracing his career from his start in sleezy Wisconsin dives to his lavish Las Vegas productions. Liberace was smart enough to know his limitations and to exploit his strengths. This books gives a balanced view of the man and the entertainer; in addition, the author gives a detailed historical/sociological background about the lives of gay men in general, which provides an informative backdrop and better understanding of how and why Liberace functioned the way he did. The book may seem rather monotous and dry at times, but that is the author's style; this is a serious, intelligent book, not some gossipy tell-all. Unlike many biographers who write about celebrities, Pyron has great regard and respect for his subject. A must for all Liberace fans and for those interested in the lives of famous gay entertainers.

Rating:
Summary: An Uninspiring Read
Review: Darden Asbury Pyron has a rather dry style which made this a rather boring and long-winded read for me. He has done little but assemble historical facts and comments and package them up in his own uninspiring style - rather reminiscent of school history textbooks - and added a few of his own little presumptions and snide remarks about Liberace's ambitions, achievements and lifestyle.

Rating:
Summary: An Uninspiring Read
Review: Darden Asbury Pyron has a rather dry style which made this a rather boring and long-winded read for me. He has done little but assemble historical facts, comments and reports from the time, package them up in his own rather uninspiring style - rather reminiscent of school history textbooks - and add a few of his own little presumptions/subtly snide remarks about Liberace's ambitions, achievements and lifestyle.

Rating:
Summary: Liberace. Seriously, folks -- Liberace
Review: Far be it from me to take issue with the esteemed Kirkus Service, but references to the ceremonies of the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece, as well as the Antinomian and Arminian heresies are inevitable when you're dealing with a phenomenon like Liberace. Well-researched and extensively footnoted, "Liberace: An American Boy" is a serious attempt at (as Oscar Levant would say) cutting through all that phony tinsel to find the real tinsel underneath. Just why is it that that this curious carnival figure -- odder with each passing year -- so captivated the American public? There's no way to neatly answer such a question, and this book, thankfully, doesn't try to. What it does is delicately take Liberace apart in order to reassemble him with as much of his chintzy glory as possible left still intact. While the author takes issue with the conclusions I came to in my book "Open Secret," he does quote from it copiously and accurately. Consequently I'm not about to carp. Suffice to say, however, that "An American Boy" isn't the last word on Liberace. It's only the second. Let's hope there's more to come.

Rating:
Summary: too much too much
Review: if this book were half of it's 420 pages, it would've been an excellent read. overall, i think the book is a great study of America in mid-century and especially of gay culture at that time. Anecdotes and quotes are repeated frequently in the book which gave me a sense of deja-vu as I was reading it.

Rating:
Summary: too much too much
Review: if this book were half of it's 420 pages, it would've been an excellent read. overall, i think the book is a great study of America in mid-century and especially of gay culture at that time. Anecdotes and quotes are repeated frequently in the book which gave me a sense of deja-vu as I was reading it.