From School Library Journal
Gr 6-Up--A rehash of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the film star's death. The theories put forward range from the ludicrous to the truly distasteful. Beginning with a brief overview of Monroe's life and career, Woog provides a fairly detailed retelling of his subject's final night alive and the events that followed. Works consulted are listed at the end. Extensive quotes have been taken from these sources and set off in boxes throughout the book. Since they most often duplicate the information provided in the body of the text, they are redundant and reinforce the feeling that the book is largely a paraphrased retelling of other sources. Black-and-white photos give faces to the many different characters who participated in the sordid drama. The content is interesting to a certain point, but it is hard to say who beyond hard-core conspiracy buffs would be engaged by the detail provided here. The preponderance of theories presented has a numbing effect and may leave a "who cares" impression rather than instill a desire to come to one's own conclusions.
Tim Wadham, Dallas Public Library, TX
Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
