Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography [Hardcover]

Andrew Morton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 31, 2010

"I like to collect knives," says Angelina Jolie, "but I also collect first edition books." At first glance, she might seem to be someone without any secrets, talking openly about her love life, sexual preferences, drug use, cutting, and tattoos--and why she kissed her brother on the lips in public. And yet mysteries remain: What was really going on in her brief, impulsive marriages to Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, and what is going on in her partnership with Brad Pitt? What’s behind the oft-reported feud with her father, the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight?  What drove her to become a mother of six children in six years? And—perhaps most puzzling of all—what about the other side of Angelina: How did this talented but troubled young actress, barely 35 years old, become a respected Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations as well as the "most powerful celebrity in the world" (unseating Oprah Winfrey) on Forbes’ 2009 Celebrity 100 list? 

The answers that Andrew Morton has uncovered are astonishing, taking us deep inside Angelina’s world to show us what shaped her as a child, as an actress, and as a woman struggling to overcome personal demons that have never before been revealed. In this spellbinding biography, Andrew Morton draws upon far-reaching original interviews and research, accompanied by exclusive private photographs, to show us the true story behind both the wild excesses of Angelina’s youth and her remarkable work with children and victims of poverty and disaster today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If there is a celebrity today who merits the spadework of an unauthorized Morton biography, it's Jolie, with a potential audience that includes just about anyone who has gone through a supermarket checkout line in the last decade, glanced at tabloid headlines about Angelina, say, open- mouth kissing her brother or swapping vials of blood with Billy Bob Thornton and wondered: "What was she thinking?"

If there's anyone to blame here, according to this book, it's the parents, since the bitter relationship between actor Jon Voight and Marcia Lynne (later Marcheline) Bertrand runs as a subplot throughout. Her father left Bertrand for another woman when Angelina was 2, and her mother/manager is portrayed as vacillating between being a laissez-faire hippie mother and a pushy sort of stage mom who, according to Morton, tried — among other things — to push her daughter into a relationship with Mick Jagger.

It's at this point [after Jolie and Brad Pitt come together] that the book seems to move into hyperdrive, with endless rounds of globe-trotting, location shooting, child-acquiring and philanthropic efforts. But the faster it seems to move, the harder it is to put down. Maybe that's because, like salt, we have a craving for explanation, for back story, and Morton's book offers a satisfying dose of both. While the healthier approach might be to limit the intake by vowing to pick it up occasionally and flip to the index for a snippet like: "Haven, James…relationship with" or "United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees," that's not likely to happen.

Chances are you won't be able to put this book down until your mouth is dry and your blood pressure is racing." —Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Andrew Morton is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking biography Diana: Her True Story was a #1 New York Times bestseller, as was Monica's Story, an authorized biography of Monica Lewinsky, and Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year, his other New York Times bestsellers include an unauthorized biography of Madonna, as well as William & Catherine: Their Story. He lives in London. 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (July 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031255561X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312555610
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( J ) > Jolie, Angelina

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 58 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A collection of tabliod headlines and previously published articles August 11, 2010

By Alex Alterman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was very dissapointed with this book. I was hoping the book would give me more insight into Angelina as a person. As a reader of celebrity tabloids and websites (I know, I know) I found that most of the book was lifted from these sources and contained very little new material. A greater section of the book was spent detailing her parents life than her relationship with Brad. I have to say ths is probably the worst Biography I have ever read. The book provided no new information, insights or information about Angelina. I could have written this book over a long weekend using Google.

157 of 201 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars BUNK! August 4, 2010

By Forest 4 Trees

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the most misogynist book I have read in a very long time. Clearly most all of Morton's questionable sources are Jon Voight and his friends. Most of the book focuses on a very, very negative portrayal of Angelina Jolie's Mother -- a woman who is conveniently (for Voight, Morton, his "sources" and the publisher) -- DEAD.

If you read between the glaring factual errors, lies, verbatim lifts from PEOPLE Magazine, tabloids or the obvious animus the author had before he started this "project", what you find is the truth -- what Angelina has been telling us for years -- she has only been with a very few men (two of whom she married), she was in a a sexual relationship with a woman, she tried a lot of self-destructive stuff before finding a purpose in her life with UN-HCR work and the adoption of her baby son in 2002. She likes to learn, explore, travel and she is an actor.

What you won't find is what Morton said he was going to write about -- the real woman. How do you write a biography of someone and leave out any mention of the five charities she has founded (and FUNDS) in the last 7 years? How do you write a biography of someone and leave out any mention of the Millennium Project she established in Cambodia or the schools she funds in Africa, Asia and Afghanistan? How do you write a biography of someone and leave out any mention of the HIV/AIDS/TB clinic she and Brad Pitt are building in Ethiopia. No mention of the work she is doing in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida or Missouri. The wildlife refuge in Namibia she supported in 2002. No discussion of her status as the most powerful and highly paid actress in the world.

What is the point of this screed other than to line the pockets of Morton and smear a young woman who is doing what harm in the world? Fascinating? No. Just pathetic really.

I seriously can't fathom why anyone would buy this book!

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I was DYING to read this book, and you may be too, but.... September 13, 2010

By April E. Lewis

Format:Hardcover

First I have to start off saying not only do I read extremely fast- a novel about every day or two- I pretty much never put a book down once I start EVEN IF i don't like it. I guess I may be compulsive haha. I am a huge closet celebrity/tabloid fan, (Guilty pleasures and all) and normally devour all written word on celebrity. I was so excited for this book to come out because even though Angelina has been very upfront about her wild past I thought it would be fun to read it in a timeline form all in one place.

Okay so now that you know how fast I read and that I can never put a book down- let me put it in perspective: This is the first book I have not been able to finish since 8th grade. (I'm 25 years old now) It just goes on and on and on in the beginning about her great grandparents and how fame and money hungry they were and it's like what? you knew them? They told you all of this? It takes FOREVER for him to even get to Angelina Jolie. (At least thats what it seems like when you are reading all this speculative crap that you didn't buy the book for).

*** It's just like you're waiting and waiting for it to get good and it really doesnt until you're almost to the end. And even then it's not that great. His writing style is extremely annoying. Seriously, this book is so speculative and he passes off his opinions and speculations as fact. and you get the feeling when you are reading that the source is just ONE source- most likely her father or someone very close to her father, as the whole tone is set as Jon Voight is a victim. He writes like he's trying to sound like a neutral party when in fact it comes off more as he favors Jon Voight and Jon's opinions on things. He'll say something like "Angelina told her mother that blah blah blah in secret" Okay, how does he know what Angelina says to her mother in private? How does he know what Angelina talks to others about in private? Anyone can tell that at least some of the book is just pure made-up. You'll see what I mean if you choose to read it. If you are interested in reading about her, you can get as much authentic information on the internet, you really, really don't need to get this. If you're just curious, go ahead and get it, that's why I got it, but you'll probably be disapointed. HOWEVER I gave it more than one star because there is some material where he actually talks about her charity work and gives REAL quotes from her that can be backed up (not just stuff that he CLAIMS she "says" to other people) that give you a peek into her character and who she is.

**********To sum it up, if you are interested in ONLY Andrew Morton's opinion of her, (not actual unbiased fact) you will like this book. But if you are interested in learning about her endeavors and her as a person from a neutral source, or an actual Biography of her life, not just one persons opinion of it, look elsewhere.