Marilyn Monroe: The Defiant Broad Disguised as a Dumb Blonde

by in60Learning

Smarter in sixty minutes. Get smarter in just 60 minutes with in60Learning. Concise and elegantly written non-fiction books and audiobooks help you learn the core subject matter in 20% of the time that it takes to read a typical book. Life is short, so explore a multitude of fascinating historical, biographical, scientific, political, and financial topics in only an hour each. Marilyn Monroe was famous for playing naïve, “dumb blonde” film characters, but she herself was anything but that. Born to a psychologically unstable mother, she was passed between foster families and orphanages, and was molested on more than one occasion. She married at age 16 to escape this cycle, and while her first husband was deployed, she began to make a name for herself as a pin-up model. From there, Monroe’s career in modeling and film took off, culminating in her establishing her own production Marilyn Monroe Productions. While she did everything she could to escape the circumstances of her youth, her family’s predisposition to mental illness caught up to her at the end of her life; this biography of Monroe’s personal and professional life reveals the resilient broad behind the winking blonde.

38 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2018

Reviews

[Laura Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was riveted by this exquisitely written book that quickly provided me with the biography of Norma Jeane and brought me closer to understanding the ups and downs of her life, loves, struggles and ultimately her untimely death. Often misunderstood she was a strong woman who had goals and dreams. This sixty-minute read will be loved by young and old, and I highly recommend this fact filled read. -The Voluptuous Book Diva


{I requested a review copy and made no guarantee of a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In60Learning reached out to me to ask if I'd like to review one of their books. I think that the premise of their company is really interesting, but I'll admit that I was dubious, which is why I agreed to do this review.

In60Learning provides non-fiction books that it claims can be read within 60 minutes. Quite the claim right? Well, they're absolutely telling the truth. I requested their biography of Marilyn Monroe, sat down, and set my phone to time how long it took me to finish. My time was just over 20 minutes (I'm a fairly quick reader.)

The other thing I was a little concerned about was how much information can they really fit into such short books? Admittedly, there isn't as much info as you'd get from a full-length book, but that just wouldn't be realistic for them. From reading the biography of Marilyn Monroe I felt I got a good amount of information, and they really provide a great timeline of events. I also really liked the short paragraph at the start of the book that gave a brief profile of Marilyn before diving into her biography. Obviously, these books wouldn't work for say, someone who wants an in-depth knowledge of a person or event, but they are good for those who have little time or even students who only need to know the basics. In fact, I can see these books being absolutely perfect for students especially if they expand into things like theory, I'd have killed for books like this on literary theory when I was a student.

One thing I would have liked to see in the book would be an extended bibliography at the back, to recommend further reading. But of course, there's nothing stopping anyone from just doing their own research and just using these books as a jumping off point which they're absolutely perfect for.

*All opinions in this post are my own, and in no way influenced by the publisher.*

[Mayu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly appreciate this idea of publishing biographies that could be devoured in under 60 minutes. It is especially beneficial to people like me who prefer fiction over non-fiction and would like to spend not much time reading non fiction, plus it would also be good to people who don't like to read long books or don't have time to read long books.

This biography of Marliyn Monroe was brief but not lacking in information (at least in my opinion). This book touched upon almost all aspects of Marliyn's life in both her professional and personal sphere. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this short biography of Marliyn Monroe.

“I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night, 'There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of being a movie star.' But I'm not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest.”~ Marilyn Monroe

I had one problem with this book. I felt that the certain parts of the book got confusing sometimes. I just wish the book was organised a bit differently. I felt that it would have been better if they had gone by years, that is, describing what happened in one year of Marliyn's life and then moving to describe next year of her life instead of going by categories (Marilyn Monroe’s Childhood and Young Adulthood, Marilyn Monroe as a Model, Monroe’s Rise to Stardom, etc).

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad

Poor girl. Had a horrid life growing up. It is amazing that she was able to become a star. All she ever relly wanted, imho, was to be loved.

[Jessa Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was asked to review this title, I wasn't really sure what I'd gotten myself into. I don't generally enjoy reviewing nonfiction. But, I saw that this was a rather short read so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm glad that I did.

This was an incredibly informative book! It was so jam-packed with facts that I found myself want to keep reading to find out more things that I never knew I didn't know I didn't know. Instead of reading like an exhausting and dry biography, this felt more like a story which helped to keep my interest.

I was also fascinated by the many pictures included. Because of friends in college, I'd heard a lot about Marilyn Monroe but these images really brought the facts and rumors to light. Not only did it include some of the more famous pictures that she is known for, it included images of her with Joe DiMaggio and even as her body was removed from her home.

I think that this may be the gateway piece that someone like me needs to enter the world of non-fiction. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other titles in60Learning puts out. If you think that this would work for you as well, I strongly encourage you to visit https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pa... where you can sign up for amazing updates from in60Learning!