Maurice Leonard

This book is jam-packed with facts, people, events, and deep analysis of Mae's life, life choices, fibs, and various presentations. So it's an invaluable resource if you are researching Mae West's life.

My main problem with it is that Mae was FUN, and this book was not. It takes itself Very Seriously, and though I was intensely interested in the subject matter, it kept putting me to sleep. Additionally, there were sometimes British terms or ways of phrasing that were confusing; a reference to Mae gaining or losing weight in stones, for example. Yes, that's how they describe weight gain/loss in the UK, and I wouldn't quibble about it in a book about a British or Irish film star, but Mae was an AMERICAN icon; seems like her weight fluctuations should be described in pounds, or both terms used.

But mostly it's just that the writing style was so very dry, compared to Mae's wit and humor, that made it a hard read for me. (Your mileage may vary.)… (más)