The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

ByJ. Randy Taraborrelli

Release Date: 2009-08-25
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs

Score: 4

From 137 Ratings

Description

From New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli comes the definitive biography of the most enduring icon in popular American culture.

When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now. In this groundbreaking book, Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress' life, including her mother, her foster mother, and her legal guardian.

He also reveals, for the first time, the shocking scope of Marilyn's own mental illness, the identity of Marilyn's father and the half-brother she never knew, and new information about her relationship with the Kennedy's-Bobby, Jack, and Pat Kennedy Lawford. Explosive, revelatory, and surprisingly moving, this is the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the 20th Century.

Reviews

Simply amazing
5
By Sarah Wynde
Couldn't put it down!
Amazing reading!
5
By JamileSJ
For those obsessed with The Legend, this is a great book... Very realistic, dark, excentric. I loved every word of it!
So intriguing...and so, so sad.
5
By LookItsAlex
Such a great read. Found myself not wanting to put it down. I tried watching some of the movies as I got through the book and it really made the book that much more poignant. This being my first Marilyn biography, I felt it gave me a lot of information and really painted the picture of her "secret life". Definitely recommend!
Enjoyed most of this, but felt it could have been more comprehensive!
1
By hoving
This is the first book on Monroe's life I have read. I primarily picked this one from reviews I had read. While I appreciate the work that went into this biography, I could not help feeling the writer seemingly took many short cuts and left out many details.

The first part of the book flows nicely and maintains the readers interest but in the later part of the book he dismiss's various accounts in her life based on "new research", which he never once explains to the reader what he is referring to. Why not tell your reader what this new research is?

This was a particularly annoying habit and after the second time I came across it I lost all respect for the writer and anything further interpretations of Ms. Monroe's life he had to offer.

In the end, his book is shallow and was either written very quickly, or was very badly edited and then rushed to publication.
It lacks any meaningful clarity and depth and certainly this women deserved much more than what was offered by this author.