Marilyn Monroe

by Maurice Zolotow

For this book, originally published in 1960, Maurice Zolotow interviewed Marilyb Monroe several times, and also spoke at lenght with her co-stars, producers...

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Film

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maurice Zolotow wrote one of the first biographies about Marilyn Monroe; it was published during her lifetime. He used various sources from friends and family to Monroe herself. Surprisingly, not much of the information has changed since the years after her death, so this is a very reliable source. He captures Monroe's life in and out of foster homes as a girl, her first marriage to Jim Dougherty, her start in Hollywood, fame, her marriage to Joe DiMaggio, her transition to New York, and her marriage to Arthur Miller.

What is most wonderful about this book is how realistically Zolotow paints this bright star. He never lets the reader forget that this woman was far from perfect, not only by illustrating her notorious problems on set, but also by showing how self centered she could be. Fans of Monroe often make her out to be a god-like creature who could do no wrong. In fact, she was human just like the rest of us. This does nothing to discredit her; in fact, it makes her seem more endearing.

Zolotow does compare Monroe to Garbo quite a bit which can be incredibly annoying, especially since the two are so very different screen legends. Overall, though, this book is great.

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curiously addictive especially interesting as it was published in her life time.I enjoyed his early attempts to psychoanalyse her .Seems honest but also able to see her flaws.She is such an interesting actress/model

[Cazlam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes finally finished a book...! The actual story of Marilyn Monroe is really interesting, and there were a lot of interesting facts about her in this book, but overall it wasn't written very well. The author seemed to be kind of infatuated with her and what annoyed me the most was that the book ended after her third marriage failed. It didn't go into her supposed affair with JFK or even her death! I guess I did pick this up on sale at Samuel French.. but still, it was kind of disappointing in the end. I think if I were to read about Marilyn Monroe again, I'd choose a book that focuses on a certain point of her life (e.g My Week With Marilyn) as opposed to a complete biography.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed re-reading this Monroe biography. Obviously part hagiography, it still displays a more complex, interesting individual than the two-dimensional celluloid shadow that had come down to us. I am sure a competent psychiatrist would find grist for the motivation mill in the fleeing bio-dad, the orphanage and the instiutionalized mother. I appreciated the intellectual desire Marilyn expressed in her constant reading, but it certainly appears her body wrote checks her mind couldn't cash.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books seems to take a look at Marilyn - for Marilyn, not what the Hollywood world wants you to know about Marilyn. Written and published prior to her death, there is none of that to weight the story down as well. This was a great jumping off point in the lesson of the lady that was Marilyn Monroe.

[Cindy Bokma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to read and reread the library copy over and over. Once I ripped out a photo of Marilyn so I could keep it!

[Vesna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book.. I was lucky enough to have purchased the first edition..

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the distinction of being published during Marilyn Monroe's lifetime, so there are no conspiracy theories or rumors about how she died or who she may or may not have slept with. That alone is worth the five stars I gave the book, because if you've read as many Marilyn biographies as I have, you've certainly come across claims from less-than-reliable sources that the ill-informed will accept as fact. Even more attractive was the fact that Marilyn herself was interviewed by Maurice Zolotow as he worked on the book.

There are some long, rambling sections that I don't feel added much to the overall narrative of Monroe's life, but they weren't distracting or tedious enough for me to knock this rating down to four stars. Occasional dialogue is present, (which is, according to the introduction, an invention of the author's mind) and it makes certain passages read almost like a novel.

I wouldn't recommend this book to a new Marilyn Monroe fan because some of the information in it is outdated (to give one example, Zolotow states that Marilyn's father was certainly Edward Mortensen, which is a claim we know now to be false) but longtime Marilyn devotees will certainly find it enjoyable.

[Tim Pieraccini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penetrating, extremely readable and intelligently written, if subject to occasional flourishes and tics that seem very much of their time. One thing: Zolotow clearly had immense respect for Monroe's raw talent, but one could question whether he actually liked her at all.

[Inam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very realistic book about Marilyn Monroe. The author does a great job at describing her insecurities and her flaws, he shows us that she’s a normal human like the rest of us. A good book for anyone interested in Marilyn without the idolized image of the media.