Customer Reviews

The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

When I first started reading this book, I thought to myself, "Oh no, not another book re-hashing the already revealed inconsistencies surrounding MM's death!" Boy, was I wrong! This book is one of the best ever written on the subject of MM's life and, especially, the mysterious and sinister circumstances surrounding her death. Someone should send a highlighted copy of this book to the LA District Attorneys office because this womans death screams out for justice! What amazed me was how Marilyn had no one in whom she could place her trust. The circle of people surrounding and insulating her in her last years were people who had known each other for years. They formed a tight circle around Marilyn and slowly but surely cut her off from people that really cared about her. Little did MM realize that anything she told one person in that circle (supposedly in confidence) was being shared with everyone else. The two most important new voices heard are those of John Minor (who strongly suspects foul play) and Mrs. Murray's (the maid's) nephew, who states that he was at Marilyn's home the night of her death. Their revelations alone are reason enough to re-open the investigation. History should reflect an accurate portrayal of past events, even if that accuracy serves to cast dark shadows on people that were once shining in the public spotlight. The people involved in the death of Marilyn Monroe should be no different. To this point, the "official" story as to MM's death has been nothing more than a piece of fiction. The question now is whether the LA District Attorney's office will have the courage to re-open the case with the new information provided, knowing that some big names might be implicated in a heinous crime. Let us all hope that they will find the strength of character and fortitude to do so.

I must agree with the other people who have offered reviews about this book. If you have been teetering over the suicide/murder scenario since that fateful day in August, 1962...then this book should put to rest any questions you may have over how Marilyn Monrie died. There is no question in my mind that it was murder. It's right there in black and white and it is totally infuriating that a new, honest investigation has never taken place. Wolfe thoroughly researched this with all resources he could get his hands on. It's disgusting that so much vital evidence has mysteriously disappeared. A new investigation needs to take place now. We've already lost some major witnesses over the years and survivors like Pat Newcomb and Norman Jeffries won't live forever. As far as the book itself. It is hard to put this book down. However, the only reason I don't rate it a "5" is because a lot of pages are spent on Marilyn's life story. I've read that all before. But these new revelations from Jeffries cannot be ignored.

This book begins with a spellbinding account of the considerable evidence that independent investigators have amassed over the decades following Marilyn's death. Parts two to five are devoted to the star's life, and the final chapter reconstructs the terrible events of her last day.

Wolfe presents abundant evidence that the Kennedy brothers, John and Robert, then U.S. president and attorney general, had a hand in murdering Marilyn Monroe to protect their own reputations. The Los Angeles police department responded to the Kennedys' power and influence by covering up the murder and refusing to conduct anything resembling a proper investigation.

One example of this is that none of the many witnesses was ever compelled to testify under oath. Independent investigator William Woodfield, for example, quotes key witness Dr. Ralph Greenson saying, "Look, I cannot explain myself without revealing things I don't want to reveal. You can't draw a line and say, 'I'll tell you this but I won't tell you that.' I can't talk about it because I can't tell you the whole story....Listen, talk to Bobby Kennedy."

It is an outrage that the LAPD allowed Greenson, Kennedy and others to remain silent. Thank you, Donald Wolfe, for researching Marilyn's murder and its coverup and giving us the truth.

I would like to comment on questions raised by another reviewer, Thomas Hughes. He asked, "Why would Murray and Greenson, who spent so much time spying on Marilyn, do that for the sake of the Communist Party?" I was baffled by this too. The communist party was powerless by 1962. My own guess is that Murray and Greenson, like Pat Newcomb, were keeping an eye on Marilyn to protect the Kennedys.

Incidentally, the FBI also classified Marilyn herself as a communist. This was probably just an all-purpose label that J. Edgar Hoover applied to everyone he didn't like.

Regarding Greenson's injection at the death scene, Wolfe wrote that ambulance driver James Hall said it was a shot of adrenaline to the heart intended to revive the fallen star. What killed Marilyn was a previous injection containing enough chloral hydrate and pentobarbital to kill from nine to twenty people.

It is certainly one of the three best books about Marilyn. As for the other two, one is Maurice Zolotow's book that was published while she was alive (many libraries have it) and Anthony Summers' paperback "Goddess" that's still in print after 13 years.

Mr. Wolfe fits together many pieces of the puzzle, such as the bizarre role Patricia Newcomb has played in covering up the murder for 35 years. As late as the 1990s, when elder statesman Ted Kennedy had given up running for president, Patricia helped Donald Spoto write a wimpy book that tried to exonerate the Kennedys in the murder. Wolfe takes it apart very well. It is clear that Patricia, who now handles publicity for Barbra Streisand, never will divulge the truth unless a good district attorney puts her under oath.

May I please liberate us Marilyn fans from the book review format here and ask a question? Someone please post a "book review" to explain the following. Mr. Wolfe goes on for many pages about Eunice Murray, Ralph Greenson, Henry Weinstein and Walter Bernstein all belonging to the Communist Party. It's the one part of the mystery I don't get. Did these people's party memberships make them pro-Kennedy, anti-Kennedy or some shades in between? All right then, forget Weinstein and Bernstein, who were busy making silly film comedies that few people watch today. Why would Murray and Greenson, who spent so much time spying on Marilyn, do that for the sake of the Communist Party?

Also, Mr. Wolfe neglects to explain something about the day of the murder. Did Dr. Greenson push that needle into her chest with the intent to kill her? Maybe he was unaware of the drug that Bobby Kennedy and intelligence agent James Hamilton had given her a short time earlier. Maybe Dr. Greenson was trying to resuscitate Marilyn, and his needle hit the wrong place. We don't read about him using needles in other parts of this book or in any other Marilyn book. Maybe he was your typical 1960s psychoanalyst who spent 99 percent of his practice talking with patients and giving them pills, which they voluntarily swallowed. So the cause of Marilyn's death could be the homicidal dose given by RFK and Mr. Hamilton complicated by the clumsy resuscitation effort of Greenson. Mr. Wolfe doesn't explain how or if Greenson allied himself with the Kennedys before the moment of death. All we get is an alliance that started immediately after the death. True, an LAPD officer stopped their car for speeding as they sped away from Marilyn's house that night.

But that still makes it possible that Greenson accidentally finished her off, totally unaware of Bobby, and *then* Bobby approached him to say, "It's not your fault, doc, you just help us cover it up, please. The public is too stupid to understand your diagnosis of her mental state, so we'll make Mrs. Murray look like a kindly bespectacled old lady with no connection to show business or politics. Reporters aren't going to ask her about us Kennedys, J. Edgar Hoover, the telephone company records, Frank Sinatra, etc. Let Mrs. Murray and the coroner handle everything. They'll bore the Dickens out of everyone and the reporters will go away after a few days."

That's exactly what happened. Robert Slatzer and two newspaper people did some digging in 1962 (Florabel Muir and Joe Hyams, both based in New York), but no one published anything then.

Can anyone shed light on these issues of the Communist connection and Dr. Greenson's motive? The odds are great that never again will we get a book that addresses these issues. Future books on Marilyn will focus on her movies. Norman Jeffries, Eunice Murray and Ralph Greenson are all dead. Patricia Newcomb is still a professional liar, now doing damage control for Barbra Streisand. (Patricia doesn't want Bahh - bra to make a fool of herself over Vice President Lieberman.)

So, in the absence of another book on the Marilyn murder, and in the absence of a magazine or television piece, could someone please explain what the Communist memberships of Eunice Murray and Ralph Greenson have to do with Marilyn's death? And what was he doing with that needle as the Schaefer ambulance crew watched helplessly? Please post a "book review" with your thoughts. Thank you. If you haven't read the book, please do so. You can order it via the Web.

MR. Wolfe presented the details of Marilyn's life and death in an honest manner without exploiting her. It is a very intriguing book that details the people most likely responsible for her death.Many facts are included to back up the information. It explores deeper her relationship with JKF, and shows that it was possibly an affair that had been going on for over a decade.

It delves into the communists surrounding her life. These included Eunice Murrary, Dr. Greenson, and her attorney.

The police conspiracy and cover up of her death.

Very interesting reading. A must for the true MArilyn fan who believes she was murdered!

When I picked up this book I was convinced of nothing. From the opening pages the book was very compelling. The life of the lady was fascinating and the evidence against suicide convinced me. How could she have downed all those pills when the officer who searched the room found no glass of water? Why was the body positioned with face to the bed with arms by her side, when victims of barbituate overdose suffer convulsions until they die in a contorted position? The autopsy evidence seemed pretty incontrovertible. The barbituates in her blood analyzed by toxicologist Abernathy showed it would have been enough to kill 9-20 people! But the examination of the victim's stomach incredibly revealed No Trace of the drug. While this makes the case for suicide seem flimsy I have real reservations about the conclusive theory that Robert Kennedy actually showed up at MM's with two thugs and did her in, personally, (when he could have just ordered it) eyewitnessed by Norman Jeffreys and his mother. If they are eyewitnesses then why the heck are they still alive? RK must have been not only deranged, but a reckless imbecile. My loyalties are firmly with Norma Jeanne over the lot of the Kennedy's any day. She was truly a great and wonderful woman. She is fascinating and sad in that she never attained what she wanted most in life, and was denied as a child- to give and recieve love. Whatever the truth is it is clear that evidence is being kept from us, and a true investigation has not yet been allowed to come forth. I wish I could do more than just hope for the truth to come to light.

I am barely halfway through this book, and yet, I am compelled to write this review. This is the most evidence compiled in one book to support the fact that Marilyn Monroe was murdered. I hope that, within my lifetime, the district attorney in L.A., has the guts/balls to order another autopsy on Marilyn and discover the truth. With today's forensic technology, I'm certain they could discover the true cause of her death. But, even now, the forces that hid the truth all these years will, most likely, prevail, and continue to obscure the truth with bribes, money, threats, and blackmail.

Even before I read this I was convinced that Bobby and JFK had something to do with Marilyn's Death. This book just help to bring the rest of the general public or at least, the fans who have read it, closer to the truth. The truth that Marilyn didn't commit suicide. This book really went into a lot of detail to show that it couldn't have been suicide. It went into too much detail also, of things that didn't pertain to marilyn or her death, that was the only thing I didn't like about it. Who cares about arthur miller's problems? I read enough about him in the other most recent Marilyn bio, if you could call it that. This book gave you alot of facts, some that shocked me greatly. The Cal-Neva weekend was gut wrenching to read. I feel that us true fans know that marilyn isn't a suicide victim, but a victim of murder. cold-blooded murder.. I never had much respect for the Kennedys before but after reading this, I find them repulsive. If they didn't want to her know about all those political things going on, and their plans, why did they tell her? What makes me truly ill, is there will never be justice done for marilyn. maybe by me and other fans that believe the same thing. But the Kennedys did a really good job at getting rid of evidence, and covering up so well that there is no way it could ever be proved. I am glad that this book was written, it was well written and it has helped me find some answers about MM's untimely death. thank you, donald wolfe!

Mr. Wolfe's book is the best book on the death of Marilyn Monroe that I've ever read. Due to difficulties in determining what actually happened, we may never know the truth. However, Mr. Wolfe has presented a compelling explanation for Marilyn's death. Some of the unanswered questions raised by Mr. Wolfe's book could still be answered even today IF the powers that be in Los Angeles County would convene an inquest and take testimony under oath. ... Marilyn deserves better.

This book may fall short of absolutely proving to the public that the Kennedys were responsible for Monroe's death- but that is because in the post-O.J. period, we are accustomed to bizarre conspiracy theories being propagated and accepted on behalf of the accused. Logic and common sense are not enough for us; nothing but watertight DNA evidence suffices to convince us of anyone's guilt (and sometimes even that doesn't suffice.) That is what will blind many readers to the fact that, by 1962 standards, the case this book presents against Robert Kennedy is absolutely overwhelming.

After this book, Kennedy apologists will have to assume a conspiracy of monumental proportions was constructed by unrelated persons to defame the late RFK, by many individuals, over a long period, who had no obvious motive to do so.

Then again, if there were a videotape of Kennedy personally injecting the needle into Monroe, the most vociferous Kennedy defenders would more than likely shrug their shoulders and say "Well, she had it coming anyway." For the rest of us, Wolfe has finally drawn all the strands of evidence into a consistent whole, and proven to most reasonable people what had once been dismissed as tabloid gossip. Five stars.