Bette: An Intimate Biography of Bette Midler (Paperback)

by George Mair (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
In Bette, biographer George Mair tells how Bette Midler at 20 went from a pineapple factory worker in Hawaii to a regular gig in the Broadway hit, Fiddler on the roof in less than a year. Bette Midler blossomed into "The Divine Miss M", the diva once described as one of the "raunchiest and funniest live acts going. " Her movies range from the portrayal of the doomed Janis Joplin-esque character in The Rose to comedies like Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Ruthless People. Her many hit singles include The Rose, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Wind Beneath My Wings, and From a Distance. But there is another Bette Midler out of the spotlight: insecure, uncertain, vulnerable, overweight, never at ease with herself and frightened of relationships with men and money. Bette reveals the cruel relationships and family tragedies throughout her life. Bette examines the continuing appeal and loyalty between her and a vast audience of gay men. And, finally, it describes the great joy she's found in her unlikely marriage to Martin von Haselberg, A German commodity broker and performance artist. Bette Midler's instincts and courage vaulted her from obscurity to the top of the entertainment business. She's someone who has gone from a not-very-pretty, not-very-lucky teenager to one of the most sought after entertainers in the world today. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Recounts how Bette Midler went from a pineapple factory worker to a Broadway star in less than one year, discusses the family tragedies that shaped her youth, and profiles her relationships with her husband and business associates. Tour. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Citadel Press; Rev Upd Su edition (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806580062
• ISBN-13: 978-0806580067
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,250,408 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time!, October 29, 2002

By A Customer

First off let me say I am a huge Bette Midler fan and I was really looking forward to reading this book. However once I started to read it I realized how absurd this mans writing is. I can see writing a book about someone whom perhaps isn't your favorite person in the world but why waste your time writing a book if all your going to do is put the person down? There were many things that ticked me off in this book, the fact that he refers to Bette's daughter as "the princess," the fact that he has a hole chapter on Aaron Russo's life after Bette whom if your a fan of Bette's you'll know wasn't the nicest man in the world to her. I mean if your writing a book on Bette Midler why throw in a chapter on some slime balls life once Bette broke away from him? It just seems that in every chapter this man tried to take something that Miss M has said or done and turned it around. The book just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. As a Bette Midler fan I would defiantly NOT recommend this book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Somewhere in this mess is some good stuff, July 25, 2001

By	Laura Hope (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bette: An Intimate Biography of Bette Midler (Hardcover)

I knew this book about this fantastic talent was in trouble almost right away. The credibility of Mair's account had to be questioned when I found a huge blooper - he states that "Janis Joplin died on stage in San Francisco". WRONG GEORGE. She was found dead in a motel. If this info is wrong - and it wasn't even dependent upon anyone's personal recollections, but rather could have been verified in numerious reference materials readily available to any layman - then I wonder how many other "facts" in this book are also incorrect. And were we kissing up to Aaron Russo a bit here - like, why the chapter about him at the end? Who cares if he started a political party. Par for the course for this book which repeats itself over and over (count how many times George mentions that "now that Bette had a good marriage and a daughter..." in various forms).

Inevitably, bios that depend so much upon quotes from people whose 15 minutes of fame was during the time the author spent interviewing them, are bound to be caught up in their own sudden value. Like does anyone who's now 50+ really remember such significant details about classmates in 3rd grade? This could have been a great bio - it was the author who messed up.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READING, FASCINATING CAREER!, December 18, 2001

By	Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Not everyone over fifty may be able to remember the significant details of their third grade classmates, but I can, and Bette would remember, too. Her memories run long and deep. Bette Midler is talent, creativity and pizzaz unlimited. We all must start our careers somewhere, and Bette has come a long way from a pineapple factory worker in Hawaii to a illustrious, top-of-the world entertainer. She has played a host of characters, and often odd, characters over the years, but the one constant in her career has been her musical ability. She can belt out a song with gusto and enthusiasm or mellow it down to an emotional, heart-rendering performance. Who can forget the, The Rose", the infamous "Wind Beneath My Wings" from the movie, "Beaches" or the poignant rendition of, "My One True Friend" from the movie, "One True Thing?"

This book is jam-packed with nostalgia, information and events in both Bette Midler's personal and career life. She is the type of lady one would like to get to know better, both for her compassionate side, her strength and perserverance, and her endless witty humour. Overall, this is a great biography and well worth reading.