For the first time, New York Times bestselling biographer Anne Edwards tells the story-behind-the-story of the legendary Barbra Streisand, revealing the inner demons that have driven her career -- and shaped her tumultuous personal life. Based on interviews with more than 140 of Streisand's friends, family, lovers, associates, and enemies -- many of whom go on the record for the first time -- Streisand takes you on a revelatory journey, from her Brooklyn beginnings to the controversies surrounding her latest movie, The Mirror Has Two Faces. Through it all, we come to know the real Barbra Streisand as we've never known her before.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Fans of the singer/actress/director will devour all 600 pages of this book, and even those less enamored will admit that it takes a hefty volume to do justice to the tangled psyche of a star as legendary for her temperament as her talent. Anne Edwards, who has infused the celebrity bio with class in a dozen previous books, does her usual thorough research and manages to combine plenty of juicy anecdotes with a thoughtful, generally favorable evaluation of the super-diva's career, from early fame in Funny Girl to labors of love like Yentl.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Veteran celeb biographer Edwards's life of Barbara Streisand is a sterling example of diva lit. The book is energized by the author's love/hate relationship with her subject. Streisand's well-known story is recounted in compelling and evocative detail, from her escape from an emotionally withholding mother, through her early stardom in Funny Girl and Hello, Dolly!, to her current status as film auteur and pop icon. Edwards (Vivien Leigh) portrays a performer convinced of her own star quality even as a beginner?stealing the Broadway show I Can Get It for You Wholesale in a small part and battling for control of her movies with veteran directors like William Wyler, Gene Kelly and Vincente Minnelli (and winning as often as not)?and generally turning every song, performance and motion picture into an ode to herself. Streisand has not endeared herself to colleagues. Walter Matthau is quoted as calling her "a boa constrictor" and, in her acknowledgments, Edwards cites "over a hundred people" who spoke to her but did not want their names used. Throughout, Edwards mixes breathless awe at Streisand's talent and indomitable willpower with obvious contempt for what the author sees as the actress's narcissism, arrogance and lack of concern for others. Thus, Edwards can condemn "the extraordinary meanness of the press" only 20 pages after thumping Streisand for her "strikingly egotistical manner" in taking sole credit for The Prince of Tides. In the end, the book seems a lot like Streisand herself: many times far from lovable, but never less than fascinating. The book includes full listings of Streisand's film, recording, TV and theatrical credits, as well as photos, not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Passive Writing, Aggressive Subject,
By
This review is from: Streisand: A Biography (Paperback)
First off, I love Barbra Streisand. She is an electrifying, complex, multi-talented woman with incredible drive and tremendous style. And, like many women, she is abrasive, needy, egomaniacal, picky, and prone to anxieties and self doubt. That's pretty much why I admire her--she's so much like me, except, of course, she can sing, act, make movies, write songs, and so on!
As much as I enjoyed reading this book, the first Streisand bio I've read, I found the writing itself rather lacking. Over and over the author explains and re-explains Streisand's need for motherly approval, her urge to become famous to prove wrong anyone who ever said she wasn't attractive enough for stardom. The author's passive writing style sometimes literally put me to sleep: "The star-lit night was warm." Oh, please! So, while I did like finding out details about one of my favorite performers, I felt the text could have used a good editor's touch.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Filled with fun facts but the end falls short,
By rlaurita@rocketmail.com (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Streisand: A Biography (Hardcover)
After reading, Edwards book on the famous singer, I found that Edwards has definately done her homework. There were many interesting and fun facts and factlets about Barbra's life and, especially, the people in them. However, the last few chapters fall apart and I couldn't help but wonder what the big rush seemed to be in not paying as close attention to detail as Edwards had early on in Barbra's life. Clearly, she holds Streisand in high regard, since Edwards presents her life as if she is one of her biggest fans. The book opens with the Las Vegas concerts and ends about 5 years after, giving the reader no sense of closure. A flaw in writing the biography of a person who's story isn't over yet.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A very good, and intimate portrait of Barbra Streisand,
By A Customer
This review is from: Streisand: A Biography (Hardcover)
I really enjoyed reading this book about Barbra. I was getting to the end of the book, and I was thinking, "this book has been fab!" But the end of the book was all about how difficult Barbra was to work with in The Mirror Has Two Faces. Not a nice way to end a book. The majority of people who are going to read this book are Streisand fans, and we don't want an ending like this, do we?
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