Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star by William J. Mann ISBN: 0-670-87155-9 Publisher: Penguin USA Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.76 (25 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: WONDERFUL Biography of a Star!
Comment: I got much more out of this biography than I expected. I wanted to learn more about Billy Haines, and his struggle to be openly gay in Hollywood, and about his long marriage to Jimmie Shields. But, what I learned was how alot of people in Hollywood were gay, and openly so, but then became closeted later. Stars I never knew were gay, Cary Grant, Claudette Colbert and many others. The book was fascinating. Lots of gossip, Hollywood stories, movie star information, but more than all that its a book about the amazing life of Billy Haines, and more than 50 year love affair with his companion Jimmie Shields. The book was well researched and never really left me wanting more. I recommend this book as a source for Hollywood lovers, and for gay men and women. A story all would enjoy, and a life worth reading about.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Star with Class
Comment: William Mann gives us quite a gift in his book "Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star". He paints for us a picture of Hollywood in its hey-day, and in the aftermath of scandal. He allows us insight into the fascinating world of silent films. But mostly, he gives us a long forgotten but much endearing star, Billy Haines.
Prior to reading this book,I knew nothing about Billy Haines and his remarkable career, and I am somewhat of a movie buff. Billy once was an MGM top star, and the #1 Movie Star in 1928, only to give it all away for love. He went on to become one of Hollywood's most respected interior decorators, styling the homes of many stars and even an occasional conservative politician! What makes Billy full of class is not his brief but glorious movie career, but his attitude towards his life and love.
Through Mann's extraordinary research, thorough examination of sources, and testimonials, he brings to us the life of an incredible person. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enojys biographies, or life stories!
Rating: 1
Summary: A sloppy job
Comment: This book was a major disappointment. It could have been good. Unfortunately, once you throw out all the regurgitated gossip, conjecture, and seemingly endless repetition, there's not much real information on William Haines. It doesn't help that Mann doesn't seem to know (or care) that he frequently contradicts himself. Potentially interesting topics - that Haines may have been a manic depressive, to name just one - are touched on, but Mann prefers rehashing old publicity to attempting any real insight.
One of the more irritating aspects of this book is the repeated emphasis on how "cultured" Haines was. He quit school at age 14; how and when he acquired the "culture" he was so famous for is never really made clear. It's possible that he educated himself in art, music, literature, etc., which would be laudable as well as interesting, but if this side of Haines existed, Mann does him a huge disservice by ignoring it. Apparently it's enough for Mann that Haines was well-versed in antiques and Emily Post's Etiquette.
As has been pointed out in other reviews, Mann's research leaves a lot to be desired. Take, for example, his reference in Chapter Four to Gloria Swanson's "marriages to European royalty." Supposedly Mann read Swanson's autobiography; of her six husbands -and she discusses each one-only two were Europeans and neither one was a member of a royal family. Sounds like nitpicking, but that's just one of several statements based on slipshod research.
Then there's the question of style. Mann's prose is, on the whole, pedestrian, except when he tries to be imaginative, and then the results are laughable. You may be amused by Barbara La Marr's "extravagant green eyes," but my personal favorite is "Already movies [sic] stars like Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino were building outrageous castles to their absurd fame." Say what?
Overall, I think Haines probably deserved better than this. There may be, buried in all the muck, a truly interesting and even admirable man. Mann tries to tell that there is, but he's too fascinated by the muck to present a clear picture of the man.
 |
Title: Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 by William J. Mann ISBN: 0142001147 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro by Andre Soares ISBN: 0312282311 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: Split Image: The Life of Anthony Perkins by Charles Winecoff ISBN: 0967282233 Publisher: Lightning Bug Press Pub. Date: 15 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
 |
Title: Hollywood Gays: Conversations With : Cary Grant, Liberace, Tony Perkins, Paul Lynde, Cesar Romero, Brad Davis, Randolph Scott, James Coco, William Haines, David lewis by Boze Hadleigh ISBN: 1569800839 Publisher: Barricade Books, Inc. Pub. Date: 01 August, 1996 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
 |
Title: Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood by Mick Lasalle ISBN: 0312284314 Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
