For millions of people, the great soprano Maria Callas (1923-1977) remains the focus of such unparalleled fascination that there is still no higher praise for singers than "…the best since Callas." In this biography, Callas' career is brought brilliantly to life, from her transformation from a chubby, painfully shy girl into a magnificent, celebrated soprano, to her conflict with her larger-than-life image. Huffington makes this struggle, which was at the center of her life, also the center of the biography. Using a wealth of previously unpublished material and numerous first-hand interviews, Huffington documents Callas' interminable conflict with her mother, her deeply emotional relationship with her voice, the gradual unraveling of her first marriage, her passionate love affair with of Aristotle Onassis, her agony and humiliation at his leaving her, and her secret abortion.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
The most readable and by far the most illuminating biography to date of Callas the woman...Compulsive and convincing reading (The Times, (London) )
The author has entered the complex and contradictory mind of Maria Callas in an extraordinary way, and the result is a powerful story told movingly yet without exaggeration. It is unquestionably an important book, and surely the finest biography of Callas ever written. (John Ardoin )
She will have the people of Cailornia in her heart. I know that becasue i experienced it. (Pauline Lubens San Jose Mercury News ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
The author has entered the complex and contradictory mind of Maria Callas in an extraordinary way, and the result is a powerful story told movingly yet without exaggeration. It is unquestionably an important book, and surely the finest biography of Callas ever written. (John Ardoin )
She will have the people of Cailornia in her heart. I know that becasue i experienced it. (Pauline Lubens San Jose Mercury News ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Arianna Huffington, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Picasso, How to Overthrow the Government, and The Fourth Instinct, divides her time between Los Angeles and Washington, D. C.
Arianna Huffington, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Picasso, How to Overthrow the Government, and The Fourth Instinct, divides her time between Los Angeles and Washington, D. C. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Arianna Huffington, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Picasso, How to Overthrow the Government, and The Fourth Instinct, divides her time between Los Angeles and Washington, D. C. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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More About the Author
Arianna Huffington is a nationally syndicated columnist, author of eleven books, and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. She is also co-host of 'Left, Right & Center,' public radio's popular political roundtable program.
In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely read, linked to, and frequently cited media brands on the Internet.
In 2006, she was named to the Time 100, Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people.
Originally from Greece, she moved to England at the age of sixteen to attend Cambridge University. She graduated with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.
Her latest book is ON BECOMING FEARLESS . . . IN LOVE, WORK, AND LIFE. Her other books include:
' FANATICS AND FOOLS: THE GAME PLAN FOR WINNING BACK AMERICA, offers a scathing portrait of our contemporary political landscape with a bold, inspiring, and practical approach to restoring America to the promise envisioned by our greatest leaders. It was published in 2004.
' PIGS AT THE TROUGH: HOW CORPORATE GREED AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION ARE UNDERMINING AMERICA, became a New York Times bestseller when it was published in 2003.
' HOW TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT, on the corruption of our political system and the need for reform, was published in 2000.
' GREETINGS FROM THE LINCOLN BEDROOM, a political satire, was published in 1998.
' THE FOURTH INSTINCT, on the longing for meaning in a secular world, was published in 1994.
' PICASSO: CREATOR AND DESTROYER, a biography of Pablo Picasso, was published in 1988. It was a major international bestseller, translated into 16 languages. The book was also made into a film starring Anthony Hopkins as Picasso and produced by Merchant-Ivory for Warner Bros.
' THE GODS OF GREECE celebrates the power of myths as guides to forgotten dimensions of life and ourselves. Atlantic Monthly Press republished it with paintings by Fran'oise Gilot.
' THE WOMAN BEHIND THE LEGEND, a biography of Maria Callas published in 1981, quickly became an international bestseller.
' AFTER REASON, on political leadership and the intersection of politics and culture, was published in 1978.
' THE FEMALE WOMAN, on the changing roles of women, was published in 1974 by Random House and translated into 11 languages.
Huffington has made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including "Charlie Rose," "Oprah," "Nightline," "Real Time with Bill Maher," "Inside Politics," "Larry King Live," "Hardball," "Good Morning America," the "Today Show," "Countdown," and "The O'Reilly Factor."
She serves on several boards that promote community solutions to social problems, including A Place Called Home, which works with at-risk children in South Central Los Angeles. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Archer School for Girls, and on the board of the Reform Institute, which works on campaign and election reform issues.
Arianna Huffington lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters.
In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely read, linked to, and frequently cited media brands on the Internet.
In 2006, she was named to the Time 100, Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people.
Originally from Greece, she moved to England at the age of sixteen to attend Cambridge University. She graduated with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.
Her latest book is ON BECOMING FEARLESS . . . IN LOVE, WORK, AND LIFE. Her other books include:
' FANATICS AND FOOLS: THE GAME PLAN FOR WINNING BACK AMERICA, offers a scathing portrait of our contemporary political landscape with a bold, inspiring, and practical approach to restoring America to the promise envisioned by our greatest leaders. It was published in 2004.
' PIGS AT THE TROUGH: HOW CORPORATE GREED AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION ARE UNDERMINING AMERICA, became a New York Times bestseller when it was published in 2003.
' HOW TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT, on the corruption of our political system and the need for reform, was published in 2000.
' GREETINGS FROM THE LINCOLN BEDROOM, a political satire, was published in 1998.
' THE FOURTH INSTINCT, on the longing for meaning in a secular world, was published in 1994.
' PICASSO: CREATOR AND DESTROYER, a biography of Pablo Picasso, was published in 1988. It was a major international bestseller, translated into 16 languages. The book was also made into a film starring Anthony Hopkins as Picasso and produced by Merchant-Ivory for Warner Bros.
' THE GODS OF GREECE celebrates the power of myths as guides to forgotten dimensions of life and ourselves. Atlantic Monthly Press republished it with paintings by Fran'oise Gilot.
' THE WOMAN BEHIND THE LEGEND, a biography of Maria Callas published in 1981, quickly became an international bestseller.
' AFTER REASON, on political leadership and the intersection of politics and culture, was published in 1978.
' THE FEMALE WOMAN, on the changing roles of women, was published in 1974 by Random House and translated into 11 languages.
Huffington has made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including "Charlie Rose," "Oprah," "Nightline," "Real Time with Bill Maher," "Inside Politics," "Larry King Live," "Hardball," "Good Morning America," the "Today Show," "Countdown," and "The O'Reilly Factor."
She serves on several boards that promote community solutions to social problems, including A Place Called Home, which works with at-risk children in South Central Los Angeles. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Archer School for Girls, and on the board of the Reform Institute, which works on campaign and election reform issues.
Arianna Huffington lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Biography I've Ever Read,
By
This review is from: Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend (Hardcover)
I can't believe no one has reviewed this book...so although I have never written one before here goes....Critics say that this is the best book on the intensely private yet captivating Maria Callas. I'll go farther than that and say that it is the best biography I have personally EVER read and I am a huge fan of biographies. Yet, I can't quite put my finger on why its so good. Maybe its because Arianna Stassinopoulos shows a profound empathy for the diva or perhaps it's because she interviewed practically every living person who knew her. Maria Callas, the love interest of Aristotle Onassis who later dropped her for Jacqueline Kennedy, and of course the greatest dramatic opera singer who ever lived, is brought to life right in front of you in this fantastic, well ..... just read this book. You'll love it as much as I do.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a page-turner,
By ronaldbrian (Quezon City, Philippines) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend (Hardcover)
(To the reviewer before me: Now we're two.)I have not read any other biography on Callas, but I listen to her avidly (her La Wally aria is particularly addictive) and have her Tosca performance on DVD as well as the documentary Maria Callas: Life and Art. But Callas's music alone has always made me wonder about her. Such deeply mined emotions in her singing, such ferocity, such purity, such power. How does she get all these in her performances? Where does she mine them? Zefirelli has compared her to Michelangelo, Bernstein has called her the greatest artist in the world. This book answers these questions and explains why. I have to say that it is a compulsive page-turner, even now in the twenty-first century where opera is no longer mainstream. There's always something interesting in each page. At the same time the biographer doesn't belabor a particular episode or detail in Maria's life as to make it boring or overly dramatized. And Arianna Stassinopoulos is no Kitty Kelly: everything seems very well-researched and reliable.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent biography. Read it when it first "came out!",
By Barbara Stienstra (Goshen, New York United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend (Hardcover)
The number one recall I have about this book still haunts me to this day... her abortion. Onasis giving her the choice, him or the child.Haunting. Horrible. Above all, this book was a major "undertaking" for the author which she executed superbly! What a story! What a book!
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