She was born Norma Jeane but the world knew and loved her as Marilyn. Her life was one of unprecedented fame and private misery, her death a tragedy surrounded by mysteries. Drawing on first-hand interviews Anthony Summers offers both a classic biography and a shockingly revealing account of the screen goddess's relations with John and Robert Kennedy. 'The definitive story of the legend ...more convincing at every page - told with all the coldness of truth and the authority of the historian, but at the end of it we still love Marilyn' Maeve Binchy, Irish Times
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About the Author
Anthony Summers formerly covered wars and other world new events for the BBC. He has written five previous books, including Goddess, a best-selling biography of Marilyn Monroe, and Conspiracy, an acclaimed study of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Summers lives in Ireland with his wife and principal colleague, Robbyn Swan. He has four sons and a daughter.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Mrs. A. Hunt
Format:Paperback
This is my 5th copy of this book, so it must be good!!
I have read many books on Marilyn's life and death, but this is by far the best I've read. Ok, so we get a warts and all view of her, blowing out of the water the sweet little thing we saw on the screen but it gives a better overall view of this vulnerable, disturbed young woman.
He takes us through the problems suffered by Marilyn(or Norma Jean's) mother to Marilyns untimely death and beyond.
Anthony Summers, being the king of Conspiracy books, finds information which smacks you in the face in places, I found my jaw dropping on more than one occasion, even after reading this book time and time again.
There is more than one conspiracy thread running through it, even more suspects in her death, but Summers gives us information that could well hold water if viewed more carefully.
We all knew Marilyn had her demons, and we find out about how this coloured her relationships with both men and women, friends, collegues, her fans, teachers, no one escaped. Yet I found that no matter what she did, or how strange her actions, how she hurt people, these people still love her.
If you want a good read, one which makes you think, shows her in a new light, or if you have your own ideas on what happened, please read this. See if you come to the same conclusions as Anthony Summers. I didn't, far from it. This guy has done his homework and come up with a book which the conspiracy theorists will be rubbing their hands over.
To me, this book showed Marilyn as a human being like the rest of us, not iconic figure we all know. She became more real, she had the same dreams, hopes and fears as we all did, but she had to fight her own demons.... Read more ›
I have read many books on Marilyn's life and death, but this is by far the best I've read. Ok, so we get a warts and all view of her, blowing out of the water the sweet little thing we saw on the screen but it gives a better overall view of this vulnerable, disturbed young woman.
He takes us through the problems suffered by Marilyn(or Norma Jean's) mother to Marilyns untimely death and beyond.
Anthony Summers, being the king of Conspiracy books, finds information which smacks you in the face in places, I found my jaw dropping on more than one occasion, even after reading this book time and time again.
There is more than one conspiracy thread running through it, even more suspects in her death, but Summers gives us information that could well hold water if viewed more carefully.
We all knew Marilyn had her demons, and we find out about how this coloured her relationships with both men and women, friends, collegues, her fans, teachers, no one escaped. Yet I found that no matter what she did, or how strange her actions, how she hurt people, these people still love her.
If you want a good read, one which makes you think, shows her in a new light, or if you have your own ideas on what happened, please read this. See if you come to the same conclusions as Anthony Summers. I didn't, far from it. This guy has done his homework and come up with a book which the conspiracy theorists will be rubbing their hands over.
To me, this book showed Marilyn as a human being like the rest of us, not iconic figure we all know. She became more real, she had the same dreams, hopes and fears as we all did, but she had to fight her own demons.... Read more ›
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Wow this is excellent! It may be long but every word was essential to make it the book it is. It gives an in depth account of her childhood all the way through to her death and includes very rare pictures along the way.
This book makes you look at her in a whole different light. After reading it you'll realise she wasn't just a sex symbol; but a real person with great emotial problems.
BUY this book, I promise you will not be dissapointed. It's probably the best out there.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This was a real page turner, despite the fact that it is incredibly long. I could not put it down. It has a great subject, which is a bonus, but is well written, informative and so interesting. I can't say that I'm any nearer understanding the mystery surrounding her death, but I finished it with a real sense of Marilyn as a human being rather than an screen icon. At times it was extremely touching, and at others horrifying. Never mind what other people wanted to do to her, it was nothing compared with what the poor girl did to herself. That was the real tragedy. Unforgettable and compelling.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By "janexxx77"
Format:Paperback
The title say's it all, Marilyn Monroe was a goddess. This book is great so good that i coulden't put it down. I gave it to my sister to read and now she is also hooked on MM. This book goes into great detail about Marilyn's career and personal life but still the author had respect for her and her privacy and went to great lengths to research his work. A brilliant book that i highly recommend any fan of Marilyn Monroe (or not even) should read this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Vale
Format:Paperback
This was the first book I read on Marilyn and it was a great place to start. It was a real page-turner (a complete cliche, i know), and very insightful also. Yes some of the claims have been proven as untrue over the years (it was published in around 1985), but non-the less it was truly very interesting if not slightly too scandalous and gossipy. However, it has paved the way for numerous other Marilyn bio's, and was the first to really take the the JFK affair and make if fact. A really good place to start I feel, even if Summers' is slightly judgmental at times. However, if you are more interested in fact try Donald Spoto's book (even though I felt his writting was duller).
P.s. To the reviewer below me, the book was first published in 1985, and this is a re-issue. It brought most of the main facts about Marilyn to light and is very important,as I've said, in paving the way for other biography's on Monroe. I've also read that Summers' gave thousands of hours of his time into research for this book and thus I cannot agree that his intention was to merely cash in on the Monroe phenomenon.
P.s. To the reviewer below me, the book was first published in 1985, and this is a re-issue. It brought most of the main facts about Marilyn to light and is very important,as I've said, in paving the way for other biography's on Monroe. I've also read that Summers' gave thousands of hours of his time into research for this book and thus I cannot agree that his intention was to merely cash in on the Monroe phenomenon.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Very thorough descriptive biography about MM. It explains every detail throughout her life from childhood to death, her character, family, film career, personal life, including all her relationships with men, marriages, colleagues, associates and friends. It even brings up all the filth and gossip about her, again we still do not know if any of it is true. Explanations of her death is well balanced, could be murder, could be suicide or accident. At the end of the day we still do not know what really happened. I would recommend this book even if you only want to read one biography of Marilyn.
18 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Bookaholic
Format:Paperback
I first read this book during the 1980s when there weren't so many biographies of Monroe to choose from. It was one of the earliest books to tackle Marilyn's alleged affairs with the Kennedys and their implication in her untimely death.
It's a gripping read, much like a good detective novel. But it really should be treated as speculation rather than hard evidence. Having read extensively about MM over the last 20 years, I realise that she was more complex, intelligent and stronger than Mr Summers would have us believe.
Rumours of Monroe's promiscuity during her early years in Hollywood are reprinted here, with no concrete proof. He writes of her problems on movie sets without making any attempt to explain the frustration she felt. He even portrays her as a highly disturbed,borderline schizophrenic although there are no medical grounds to support this.
In the section on Marilyn and the Kennedys, Summers relies heavily on the testimonies of sources like Robert Slatzer and Jeanne Carmen, but it has been widely disputed whether they knew MM at all.
It's a fascinating read for the conspiracy theorists, and always controversial. However, Summers fails to shed any new light on Monroe's true character, and has done her image a lot of harm. I would urge fans to read other, very different biographies, like Donald Spoto's, before making up their minds about Marilyn.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Addictive!
As a 16 year old, I thought this book was great! I found it difficult to put down at most times and spent whole days of my easter holidays reading it! Read more
Published on 24 May 2011 by Marilyn_Monroe2011
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Monroe Bible
Well researched when many of the leading participants were still alive. No other narrative touches this production and no other author has even come close.
Published on 19 May 2011 by Boo Boo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Goddess - the best Marilyn Monroe biography out there
Goddess: The Secret Lives Of Marilyn Monroe
Having been a fan of Marilyn Monroe for a long time, I've found this to be the most interesting of her biographies. Read more
Having been a fan of Marilyn Monroe for a long time, I've found this to be the most interesting of her biographies. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2011 by Emma Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Book
Loved this book - i couldnt put it down, has to be one of the best books about marilyn i have ever read. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2010 by Dawny11
4.0 out of 5 stars
this book should have named the rise and fall of Marlyn monroe
this book reads like a thriller novel , and it should had been named the rise and fall of Marlyn Monroe as it descibes in greate detail her transformation from just a country girl... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2010 by Omar Farid
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wrong title
Having read several biographies of Marilyn Monroe, this must be the worst so far. Nothing new has been added to previous publications so why bother to write it? Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2008 by Linda Dunning
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read, Best Marilyn Book So Far!!
I love Marilyn Monroe and this book tells the sad story of a very disturbed woman. Wonderful pictures and excellently written, A sad story about the worlds most best loved... Read more
Published on 23 May 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling read.
This is arguably the most authorative account of the life and death of Marilyn Monroe.
Anthony Summers spent 4 years researching this book, speaking to around 650 people who... Read more
Anthony Summers spent 4 years researching this book, speaking to around 650 people who... Read more
Published on 20 May 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best marilyn monroe book ever.
If you a big fan of Marilyn Monroe. You have to own this book. The autherAntohny Summers has really done his reasurch, it's some of the best work ihave read in years. Read more
Published on 27 April 2004 by "sugar2marilyn"
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