In this revealing biography, Ellis Amburn taps into primary sources to expose the tragedies and triumphs of the life of Elizabeth Taylor, including the removal of golfball-sized brain tumour, the lauch of a highly successful fragrance range, and a tangled web of lovers and husbands.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Salacious, outrageous and nauseating,
This review is from: Elizabeth Taylor (Hardcover)
One sentence came to mind as I closed Ellis Amburn's biography of Elizabeth Taylor: "Why didn't Liz sue?" Amburn puts new meaning into "bad taste" with his biography, which revels unashamedly in gory details, sex secrets and every diva moment that Taylor ever had.
Taylor's childhood is treated with more or less indifference -- it's her teen years that begin to spark Amburn's interest. He studies the relationships she had with men from adolescence onward, particularly the asexual ones that she had with attractive heterosexual men, and the "a-loving" ones that she had with gay ones. That tendency, Amburn argues, took her through several unhappy marriages and plenty of explosive relationships, including ones that shattered assorted marriages. In the midst of all this, she also weathered health crises and worldwide censure with plenty of guts, becoming a sort of grande dame of the filmmaking business. Love her or hate her, Elizabeth Taylor is a larger-than-life figure, and there's plenty in her life to fuel a biography. Many biographers have managed to describe her lifetime with grace and taste, despite her sailor's mouth and tumultuous love life. She doesn't have to be portrayed as squeaky clean, just human. Unfortunately, Amburn usually chooses to focus on the more grotesque aspects of Taylor's life. She delves into the sex lives (complete with sometimes disgusting details) of everyone who had been involved with Taylor, especially the gay men. Which, by the way, make up a lot of the book -- Amburn attaches the "gay" tag to quite a few men, including Taylor's two-time husband Richard Burton. That particular preoccupation hangs over the entire book like a stormcloud. Taste is nowhere to be found here -- Amburn has an almost obsessive interest in Taylor's breasts, and the penile details of her husbands, lovers and pals. What these things add to the history, she doesn't bother to say. The sledgehammer writing is that of a tabloid reporter, but without the restraints of an editor, Amburn appears to have gone wild. Taylor herself comes across as a blowsy diva, without a single redeeming characteristic except her acting skills. Not that she's alone; her husbands are all portrayed as walking disasters of alcoholism, gambling and physical abuse, and her kids are nonentities. The only person Amburn seems to have any liking for is Taylor's costar and friend Montgomery Clift, who is shown as a suffering saint. Ellis Amburn's "Elizabeth Taylor" is practically a how-to guide on how NOT to write a biography. Don't even bother, except for a laugh.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Who is Ellis Amburn anyway?,
This review is from: Elizabeth Taylor (Hardcover)
Other than through the name of Elizabeth Taylor, I have never heard of Ellis Amburn and I hope never too again. Was he an early version of David Bret or Darwin Porter? Avoid this book at all costs. There really is no need to point out all the inaccuracies here. According to Amburn, everyone Taylor knew was gay (gee just like David Bret's book on Taylor). Do we have to go through all that again?
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