Shelley II: The Middle of My Century [Hardcover]

Shelley Winters (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Resuming her autobiography, following Shelley, Also Known as Shirley , the 60-year-old actress recalls her life after divorce from Vittorio Gassman. Readers will learn about her as a Broadway star fighting her "blond bombshell" image in films during the 1950s and '60s, and about her near-religious devotion to the Actors Studio and to liberal politics. The memoir is largely a gossip-lover's feast. Winters reports on Tony Franciosa, her second husband and his lovers (Ava Gardner, Lauren Bacall, among others), and tells of her own affairs with Sean Connery, Albert Finney et al. Her merrier stories include reminiscences of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. No celebrity, seemingly, is missing from the autobiography of this Oscar winner (for her role in The Diary of Anne Frank ). Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Good Housekeeping; BOMC selection.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Continuing the story of her life begun in Shelley: Also Known as Shirley ( LJ 5/15/80), Winters takes us from the early 1950s through John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. During this period she made two successful appearances on Broadway and won an Oscar for The Diary of Anne Frank . In a prefatory note Winters says she has been somewhat less specific about her amatory exploits in this book, but she still relates affairs with Sterling Hayden, Sean Connery, and Albert Finney, among others, and adds some steamy episodes from her marriage with Tony Franciosa. Much of the fascination of the book stems from observing Winters's naive egocentricity, and wondering what scatterbrained thing she's going to do next. As usual, Winters is not too concerned with accuracy, but the readers who made her previous volume a best seller won't be disappointed by this entertaining follow-up.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 494 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671442104
• ISBN-13: 978-0671442101
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,176,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shelley II :The middle of my century, February 15, 2005

By 

book man (Tucson zz usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shelley II: The Middle of My Century (Hardcover)

I absolutely loved this book. Shelley tells her wild and crazy story of an actor's life in the 1950's. This includes the intense and gratifying work of being an actress and the world famous people she worked with, socialized, lived with and loved. I can say that there is drama, tragedy, humor and love on almost every page. What an exciting life she lived and she's still a young beautiful woman at the end of this book. Buy this book today!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shelley 2 - Gift for my Mother, February 20, 2011

By 

Susan L Cleaves (Little Rock, AR) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shelley II: The Middle of My Century (Hardcover)

I sent this book as a gift to my mother. She has Parkinson's Disease; however, as a former librarian, she still has a passion for reading. Years ago, I had read 'Shelley I' and loved it. Knowing my mother is a huge movie-star trivia buff - I knew she would enjoy Ms. Winters' bios. I have not read 'Shelley II' - but plan to borrow it from her when she completes it.
Note: When you read Ms. Winters' bio - it is like talking with her in person - filled with many antedotes of other huge celebrities in her life and much humor. I laughed out loud many times at her vivacious wit.
Thank you - Susan

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo Shelley, August 17, 2003

By 

J. Kertesz "julie70 on the web" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shelley II: The Middle of My Century (Hardcover)

I liked this even more then the firt memory book.
It makes a light on all of a period and point of view, I do like to read about words different of mine.
She is (was?) a hard worker, a survivor, and as she recognises in her book not always a nice person to be with. But I like her and was very interested in how she sees the world.