Customer Reviews

When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The author has stumbled onto a gimmicky trick to get herself published, but one as old as time: Iconoclasty. In other words, she picks a subject almost at random. Today its delta blues music, tomorrow its Mae West. Next week it might be The Beatles or Picasso. It doesn't matter. Then write a book "shattering" everyones image of said topic. Wow, see how wrong you were about that. I must be a great author to point that out. Problem is, its all in her head. Why only a few reviews of each of her books? Because not many people give her any credibility. Even less care. Notice the cliche'd academic style title too: Statement, colon, three words. Always three words. Here's a title for you, I'm Trying Too Hard: Academia, Pretension, and the Desperate Need to Get Published.

Made me wish I was there back then to see some of those (now) obscure and (now) little-remembered performers!

Although the book follows Mae's career, and reveals her exceptional talent and her extremely creative ability to be able to Think On the Run and/or In the Paddy Wagon, (so to speak) it does not give us the essence or the character of Mae the Woman. In many places it bogs down with critical analysis instead of narrative.

However, I DID find it interesting enough to read through to the end, AND the book piqued my interest enough to make me go to my local library and pick up other books on Mae West that have more of her "personality" in them.

This book uncovers every detail of Mae Wests early career. Though Hamilton seems to accent on the negative, those who love Mae West will relish in the new details and great photos. The author is the exact opposite of Mae West, one can easlily surmise, so every triumpth of West's is quickly dashed with a failure, indicating an almost peciliar jealousy on behalf of the author towards her subject! THAT is what makes this book so interesting.

If you are interested in films, plays, censorship, New York, street life, sexual politics, life, oh yes, and Mae West, you just have to read this amazing book.

Witty, savvy, sophisticated, informed, nuanced, and in parts, just plain brilliant, this is a not-to-miss literary treat that emulates the style of its subject. Changed my life.

Atrocious is the word for this horribly researched, terribly written piece of "fiction." This book in no way reflects anything very accurate about the true Mae West. It is totally unfair, and amounts to a vicious attack designed to assassinate the character of the legendary film star Mae West. No fan should read this disastrous hodge-podge of disinformation, and for that matter, no one should read such an unfair book at all. Having known Mae West and knowing a tremendous amount of information about her career and her life, I found this diatribe completely without any kind of merit. The "author" (if that is what one would call this nasty writer) has no sense of balance at all. This is one of the most unfair, one-sided, pathetic excuses for a "biography" I have ever had the displeasure of reading. It is no wonder than when this piece of crap was released it was stillborn. It was and is a colossal failure both in sales and in what it set out to do.

Very early in West's career in this book, the author loses all credibility by her constant and horrendous assault (and that is exactly what it is) on West. The whole second part of the book is nothing but an angry, bitter attack against West, which leaves out so much about West, but delves up nothing but one constant, angry attack after the other. It is NEGATIVE beyond comprehension!

When I finished reading this mess, I felt like I had been assaulted myself, and was ashamed that I even read anything so negative to the extreme. The "author" attacks West on ALL levels, for any and ALL reasons, and guesses at alleged "facts" rather than revealing anything new here. The entire book is just a simple-minded rehash of other previously published material and ALMOST entirely in the negative. No fair-minded person could give any credibility to a "work" so vicious, so obviously full of just plain hate! I was offended to the 9th degree. Never have I read a book full of such venom, untruths, and consistently inaccurate information. Anyone could have performed better research than this 4th rate writer. This mockery of an autobiographical account is submerged by the bitter, twisted and demented mind of the pathetic excuse for an author (not to mention human being). A TRULY, uncompassionate, possibly insane witch wrote this nasty piece of crap!!!

You won't find out anything that is true or accurate about the great Mae West here, but you will find distortions, countless information about other plays and actors (that have nothing to do with West) and an appalling lack of feeling and humanity. One of the LOWEST, CHEAPEST pieces of trash ever written, and one of the most UNSUCCESSFUL too!!!