Marilyn Monroe

"Barbara Leaming's uneven new biography attempts to strip away the accretions of myth that have grown up around the actress to give us a portrait of Monroe the woman: a deeply troubled and unstable individual, who never managed to overcome the sense of abandonment she experienced as a child growing up in a succession of foster homes....In relating this story, Ms. Leaming creates a novelistic narrative, animated by dramatic set pieces and vivid cameo portraits. But while this method makes for a highly readable story, it frequently sidesteps the standards of serious biographical research. In her role as an omniscient narrator, Ms. Leaming displays a troubling penchant for sweeping generalizations without providing the reader with the sort of detailed footnotes that might back up such insights into the protagonists' states of mind...."Leaming, Barbara is the author of 'Marilyn Monroe' with ISBN 9780609805534 and ISBN 0609805533.