Valentino [Hardcover]

Irving Shulman (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 499 pages
• Publisher: Frewin (1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0090901207
• ISBN-13: 978-0090901203
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,450,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ick!, June 7, 2002

By 

Pajamazon (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Valentino (Hardcover)

Dismal and overwrought bio of silent cinema's first Latin lover. Casts Valentino as the victim of scheming women at every turn. Offers no new information, and rehashes lots of unproven allegations, like Rudy worked as a gigolo in NY before his film career. If anyone can recommend a good biography of Valentino, I would love to hear from them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This biography is more fiction than truth, March 12, 2003

By 

MICHAEL BUSCH (Ithaca, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Valentino (Hardcover)

Shulman's "biography" of Valentino is certainly more fiction than truth. It's an interesting read if you're looking for the flavor of the 1920s, but other than that, forget it. It is equally as florid as his "biography" of Jean Harlow. Does he make this stuff up as he goes along?

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!!!, February 6, 2003

By 

Thomas H. Gorey (Germantown, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Valentino (Hardcover)

This outstanding biography of Valentino, which I've read twice, is extremely well-written, entertaining, and insightful. Shulman's thorough and well-organized reporting, keen observations, and critical commentary on the film industry and American culture make this compelling reading. The biography begins with Valentino's dramatic funeral in New York in August 1926, then moves back to Rudolph's birth and life in Castellaneta, Italy. Shulman then narrates the fascinating odyssey of Valentino's struggle to succeed in America, his rise to stardom, his two failed marriages, his (and second wife Natacha Rambova's) occult beliefs and practices, his death, and his posthumous deification as a love god. Shulman appreciates and sympathizes with Valentino, but does so in a manner that is neither lachrymose nor condescending. A terrific read!!!