Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown : The Complete Guide to the Miss America Pageant [Hardcover]

Ann-Marie Bivans (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The mother of all beauty pageants had its start in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1921, although it has not enjoyed 70 years of continuous operation--it skipped several years in the '20s and early '30s. Over the course of time the emphasis has changed from mere good looks to talent and, most recently, to concern for social issues. Many winners have gone on to fame in other fields, notably Bess Myerson, Phyllis George and Lee Meriweather. Bivans, a longtime preliminary judge, covers seemingly every aspect of the affair, including the vast network of volunteers across the nation, details of the judging and the road from local contests to the Boardwalk, not omitting the few scandals that have occurred. With an estimated four million women now participating in beauty pageants annually, there should be a large audience for this paean to female comeliness. Photos. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Master Media Pub Corp; 1St Edition edition (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094236127X
• ISBN-13: 978-0942361278
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ANN-MARIE BIVANS

Ann-Marie Bivans is the author of three books on pageantry: 101 Secrets to Winning Beauty Pageants, The Miss America Cookbook, and Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown - The Complete Guide to the Miss America Pageant.

The author has been interviewed on some 300 radio and television programs including Larry King Live, The Jenny Jones Show, The Joan Rivers Show, Hard Copy, American Journal, Real Life (NBC), Lifetime Television, Hard Copy, The 700 Club, TV Food Network, America's Talking, A.M. Canada, A.M. Los Angeles, A.M. Philadelphia (interviewed live from the Miss America Pageant), Live From Universal Studios, and an Arts & Entertainment documentary special, Beauty Pageants: Bright Lights and Big Business.

The author and her work have been quoted in newspapers and magazines nationwide, including Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, Harper's magazine, Washingtonian, New York Daily News, Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, New York Post, New Woman magazine, Woman's World, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia News, Miami Herald, Birmingham News, Detroit News, Mobile Register, Press of Atlantic City, San Antonio Express, Fort Worth Star, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, The Globe, Inquirer Magazine, and Boca Raton magazine.

Due to Bivans' expertise she has served as a consultant for pageant-related features and documentaries including the A&E network's "Beauty Pageants: Bright Lights and Big Business", Clio's "Miss America" which aired at film festivals including Sundance and South by Southwest, The American Experience, the 700 Club, American Journal and TV-Asahi (Japan).

A seasoned pageant judge, Ann-Marie has judged the Miss America Pageant, Cinderella International Finals, the Miss Cayman Islands Pageant and scores of local and state pageants including the intensely competitive Miss Florida and Miss South Carolina pageants.

Her two decades of research on pageants has included 250 interviews with titleholders, judges, emcees, contestants, officials, and 35 Miss Americas. She has conducted exclusive interviews with pageant legends including Lenora Slaughter-Frapart, founder of the Miss America Scholarship Program, Albert Marks, who ushered pageants into the television age, and Adrian Phillips, the only person to personally view the crownings of seven decades of Miss Americas (1921-1990).

Bivans has also served as a columnist for Pageantry magazine and written feature articles for Miss America national program books. Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown was the first guidebook authorized by the Miss America Organization and was a Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss America book, November 24, 2009

By 

George B. Vieto "Dee pizza guy" (Lake Charles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown : The Complete Guide to the Miss America Pageant (Hardcover)

The book was an excellent read about the history of the Miss America Pageant with photos of all of the former Miss Americas from the beginnings of the pageant thru the time the book was written. Good reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First Runner-Up of Miss America Books, June 10, 2001

By 

Fred in Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown : The Complete Guide to the Miss America Pageant (Hardcover)

I say first-runner up, because as an avid Miss America fan, I don't think the winning tome had yet to be published. In the meantime, Ms. Bivan' book is a treat. Very thoroughly researched, and nicely illustrated. Many black and white photo. Some color photos, but it definitely could use more, and from a larger range of years. My complaint was that it seemed a "puff piece", written by someone a little too closely involved with the MAO program -- and therefore lost some objectivity in reporting of some pageant scandals of yore -- and let's face it, those are some of the most fun in a pageant history book. Nonetheless, this is clearly a work of love on Miss Bivan's part, and a must for anyone who is a Miss America devotee. But I'm still waiting for the MAO book that will take the tiara.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History in the Making, September 21, 2000

By 

"isblessed" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown (Hardcover)

This book is a must read for all Miss America Fans. People often make judgements about things they do not know. This book is a true account of the history of the Miss America Orgainization. It is refreshing to have facts and be able to learn the truth. This books shows what an awsome organization Miss America really is. Great history lesson.