Marilyn: In Words and Pictures

by Richard Havers, Richard Evans

Marilyn Monroe continues to be an identifiable cultural figure over 50 years after her death.  Marilyn  is a photographic history of her career, from Norma Jeane to stardom.

Marilyn Monroe always felt like she lived her life on the outside. She was never fully accepted by Hollywood, and across three marriages, she never managed to find what she was looking for in a man. And since her untimely death in 1962, there have been countless conspiracy theories which have overshadowed her talent as an actress.

This exquisitely designed, photographic history of Marilyn's life is filled with some of her greatest portraits, most famous shots, candid pictures, and images rarely circulated. In Marilyn, you will see this cultural icon’s life and history as she went from "poor little orphan girl" to a worldwide celebrity. Required reading for any fan of modeling and classic Hollywood, this is the story of how Norma Jeane became Marilyn Monroe in a way you've never seen before.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene detalles de la vida de Marilyn que son interesantes de abordar
Sin embargo me parece que el libro tiene una opinión respecto a ella bastante machista
Además publican elementos de su vida privada que nada tiene que ver con su carrera y que no tenemos porque saberlo, sobretodo hablando de su sexualidad.

[Merja Pohjola · Rating 1 out of 5]

Throw together some pretty, but mostly seen photographs, a CD with songs everybody has heard and that you can buy for one dollar at any supermarket (or a better one), take truths here, lies there, lies there, lies there, add one more truth, take more lies and mix it together in maybe two weeks and call it "Marilyn" - it'll sell, trust me. Marilyn sells. I am AMAZED and saddened that the average amount of stars is three, when a book that uses Slatzer, Pepitone and Jeanne Carmen(albeit she is only mentioned as "a girlfriend" as believable witnesses - it should immediately set alarm codes buzzing. Please please read ANY biography with a grain of salt, especially if you have not read or studied your subject further. If I were to correct and point out all the flaws in this book I would have to write another one. Also I am wondering if these "authors" have even SEEN any of her movies or fallen asleep before the end? For example... none of the men in How to marry a millionaire are millionaires (next page there's a picture of one of them holding a huge amount of cash...) Really? Did they really SEE the movie? Was a light comedy THAT hard to understand? Also, they seem to have NO IDEA about what acting is all about - and here even some of the WORST biographers disagree with them... they seem to think Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl were among her worst performances and light comedy was more suitable for her. I think light romance novels bought in a kiosk are more suitable for these gentlemen than writing a book; a biography is NOT something you throw together lightly by taking stuff from other books without checking their sources, it takes years to study. I remember when my literary teacher was appalled at my idea of writing a thesis criticizing Marilyn biographers... she asked me who am I to discredit them, they are, after all, AUTHORS. Well, so be it, but I have CLEARLY studied her life much longer (probably 25 years now) than many of these "authors" that just wanna make a buck have. The sad and pathetic end note to the book says: "Marilyn was a lot more than blonde and red lipstick, yet for most people all they know is that image, the illusion fabricated by Hollywood." I would like to add that that was THEN, of course people who only see her pic on coffee mugs and handbags it might be so; but for the literary ones out there, several other illusions (cause there are so many BAD bios out there, each carrying out a different agenda) are being CONSTANTLY fabricated AND maintained by the biographers"... then again - where there is demand, there are vultures, but hopefully more people with dignity jumped in to this Marilyn mystery and simply admitted... "it is not known"... "I cannot verify this, but..." etc... It is then and only then that we should start putting biographies on the non-fiction shelves.
One star for the pictures of the era. Kinda liked them.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lovely book visually, with lots of photos and info on the era and places Marilyn lived in. But the biographical text is riddled with errors, hence only 2 stars.

[Nichole Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has some of her greatest hits on the cd in my opinion and the book has a lot of information. I rate it 5 stars.

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book. Marilyn the icon that she was is better understood from this writer's point of view. It's worth the read. I really enjoyed her story.