Taraborrelli is an excellent author who not only has a good writing style but really checks his sources and does good research. Interviews with those who knew and worked with Marilyn are a big part of this book and having this accounts add credence to the book. The book also featured some never before published photographs. Monroe's childhood actually wasn't as bad as portrayed in other books. The foster family who raised her, while strict, loved her and kept in touch with her through the years. She was just so insecure about almost everything which is what caused so many problems - from being late on the set, to not being able to maintain relationships. The author had extensive notes on different sections as Marilyn and the Kennedy's as well as a complete filmography. He also mentioned some other books on Marilyn as other good sources for more information. ( )

Loved it! ( )

I was disappointed that the Michelle Williams movie "My Week With Marilyn" treated Monroe so superficially (although to be fair, the movie was about the young guy, not Monroe)so I wanted to find a book that would be a psychological study of her and not a movie star bio. This was the wrong choice! Imagined dialogue, over the top conjecture, yuck. Didn't get past page 2. ( )

An immensely tragic story of a truly amazing woman. Mental illness is so real and can affect everyone, even Marilyn Monroe. ( )

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read (not that I have ready many), but I have no complaints. The author takes you on a journey through Marilyn’s life from beginning to after her death. He focuses on everything I wanted to know about: her mother, childhood, men in her life and the movies. I felt that I got a complete picture of Marilyn’s life and I found it absolutely fascinating!


Source

I now fully understand the fascination with Marilyn Monroe! She went through so much heartache and setbacks in her life, and yet she is was one of the biggest movies stars of all time. The men in her life treated her like property, they tried to control her, and some even attributed to her paranoia. And yet she kept on trying, she kept on looking for love and I wish with my whole heart that she would have found it in time.

At the back of this book there are images of Marilyn and the people in her life – I found these very interesting and I loved seeing everyone that was talked about in the book.

I also found the writing thoughtful and the author presented the facts to me, so I could form my own opinion. The author also tried to be fair to everyone that affected Marilyn’s life and I came out feeling that this was a job well done!

I couldn’t help but completely falling under Marilyn’s spell while reading this novel – I even watched a few old movies and started Tumblr’ing. So count me among one of Marilyn Monroe’s fans and I will definitely be reading more about her. And even more biographies, I can only hope that they are as great as this one was! ( )