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Edie: An American Biography Hardcover – June 12, 1982

by Jean Stein (Author), George Plimpton (Editor)

4.4 662 ratings

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The short life of Edie Sedgwick and her rise to become one of the Warhol superstars, as viewed by her family and personalities including Capote, Vidal, and Warhol

Print length

455 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Knopf
Publication date

June 12, 1982
ISBN-10

0394488199
ISBN-13

978-0394488196
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf; First Edition (June 12, 1982)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 455 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0394488199
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0394488196
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.06 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,750 in England History

Customer Reviews:
4.4 662 ratings

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George Plimpton
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George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review. He was also famous for "participatory journalism" which included competing in professional sporting events, acting in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Nancy Wong, cropped by User:Lemuellio (See below) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Jean Stein
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Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
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4.4 out of 5

662 global ratings

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Wes Steenson

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024

Verified Purchase

I bought a copy when it was first released back in 1982 but unfortunately lost it in moving. Looked for it occasionally over the intervening years and am so glad it has been reissued. Would recommend it highly to anyone who watched The Andy Warhol Diaries on Netflix (which deals mostly with Warhol's post-Factory post-Valerie Solanas-shooting life). The middle third of the book interviews many of the people involved directly or indirectly with Warhol's factory who were still alive at the time and who collectively give a picture of what life was like in the Warhol circle at the peak of his fame.

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carrie w.

A very good bio of Edie Sedgwick

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2016

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The book definitely gave you a true feel of the sixties and Edie’s era. Edie comes across at first as a mover and someone who was capable of overcoming her mental instability and building herself a career. She appears likable and impressionable. As you get farther into the book, you see that she was not only faced with personal challenges but the whole group that she associated with hindered any chance that she might have had to get on track. It quickly moves toward the unfortunate climax and keeps your interest despite the fact that one knows how it will end. That always a good quality in a book. it would have been a bonus if there had been more photos of Edie and friends but that’s a minor point. This is was written years ago but it still is worth reading today. I have seen parts of Ciao! Manhattan, which was made shortly before her death and is mentioned in the book, and it shows the strain and desperation she suffered through in her New York years.

28 people found this helpful

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Bob

Excellent, very detailed book.

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2021

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Very, very good, well researched book on Edie's life and the milieu in which she grew up. Her speed addiction is very well detailed with a few unforgettable, very descriptive telling moments told by her brother who was interviewed at length. There is a lot of detail of her family, the book paints a picture of just how dysfunctional the family was and the probability of that dysfunction molding her later life but it just tells the story letting the reader decide. I have read several books on her life and this was by far the most detailed and the best, for me this is the definitive Edie Sedgwick book.

17 people found this helpful

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Book and music lover "Jane"

Edie Sedgwick: American Girl

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2009

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I enjoyed the style in which this book was written, with excerpts of conversations of siblings and friends, people who knew Edie personally and the Sedgwick family history and revelation of mental illness that ran through generations. This book is excellent in getting to know the truth and is well written by Jean Stein and George Plimpton and is articulate in exposing the dynamics of this complex family and dysfunctional problems that existed within the family long before Edie entered Radcliffe and moved to New York City. The authors did an excellent job of chronicling every aspect of this generation of the Sedgwick family and introduced the reader to the famous "Sedgwick Pie" and is a personal perspective of this family's lineage. Even though it was written in 1982, this book does not read dated at all. In recent years it has been suggested that Edie may have suffered from a type of personality disorder, but there is no denying the mental illness that affected her father and two brothers. Interesting pictures of family, Edie, and friends are included as well. This is probably the best book ever written about this troubled girl.

10 people found this helpful

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Monica

Not about edie

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2020

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Product is in great condition. The book itself? It's not about Edie at all. It's about her family and friends opionins on the Sedgwick family and Lord is that family full of themselves and the lies they live by. Jean Stein is no writer. Only good thing is the photos. Fuzzy was an abusive nut job and all those kids would have faired better in the foster care system. Kids don't go running through plate glass and bleed without saying a word (twice!!) unless they have been horrifficly abused.

3 people found this helpful

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Alondra Pineda

Oh I loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2014

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Oh I loved this book! I loved Edie the second after I saw that everyone's hype over how special she was was indeed true. I wasn't alive for her era-not by a long shot-but she's fascinating and that's really enough to keep anyone's interest. If just viewed as the superstar she was, you could say she was just a beauty and a trendsetter with a hell of a smile but no, she was also very troubled, very abused and taken advantage of. I really loved how this book told her life from every angle. It covers the few generations of Sedgewick's before her own, giving you a picture of how privileged and proper a family she came from. Her life and the lives of her siblings are all very tragic and I feel that's part of the draw, though her life shouldn't be treated like some joke it sure is a pleasure to marvel at it. For someone who's life was so brief, Edie sure made some mark.

8 people found this helpful

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Jim M.

Slow start, but takes off quickly after it finally gets to Edie

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020

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Seems excessive to trace her family back to the 1700s. It’s difficult (and unnecessary, really) to keep track of the various family members from 100+ years ago. Edie is barely mentioned in the first 100 pages, but if you make it that far, the book picks up and her story takes off quickly. I like the oral history aspect - getting multiple perspectives of the same scenes, usually from people who were there. Very sad, but interesting story. It certainly takes the shine off the mythos of the Factory scene, that’s for sure.

9 people found this helpful

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rosesalve

I didn't grow up knowing who she was and spending my teen years thinking it would be so cool to be some tragic

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2015

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I am not some Edie fan girl. I didn't grow up knowing who she was and spending my teen years thinking it would be so cool to be some tragic, drug addled, trust fund dropout. When I picked up this book I knew nothing about her (I'd had her as the background of my myspace [heh] for a few months without knowing it was even her. Just that it was a cool Andy Warhol picture).

I was completely blown away by this book!!! If even 20% of the things written in this are true, it is EXPLOSIVE in my mind! I mean, wowza! Liquid LSD straight from Sandoz labs, IVing LSD, JUDY GARLAND GETTING SHOT UP IN ANDY WARHOL'S BATHROOM!?!? I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sordid, salacious things. Anyone who likes, art, the 1960s, history, books, craziness, comedy, tragedy, etc. etc. This book is totally whackadoodle and it blew my mind every time I picked it up.

9 people found this helpful

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Luis CB

Super cool!

Reviewed in Mexico on June 13, 2021

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Llegó bien, la calidad es buena en relación al precio. Una gran lectura.

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TanLab

Great read!

Reviewed in Canada on March 20, 2020

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If you too have watched Factory Girl or knew of Edie from a different source and wanted more information on her story then this is the book for you in my opinion. There are interviews from family, friends and others who knew her.

They are put into a relatively good chronological order so that you can follow her from childhood up until her passing. For me it was an insightful read not only about Edie herself but also about the decades that she lived in.

Client d'Amazon

OK, but...

Reviewed in France on March 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

> a 10-day delay in delivery
> some marks in the book that were not mentioned and should have led to a less expensive price (cf. picture).

Cliente Amazon

Love it

Reviewed in Spain on March 20, 2018

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Love it it's a thick book so many pages it will take a long time to read but I love it

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Jodie Jackson Carroll

Epic!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Incredible biography!
Told through transcripts of people who actually knew her, this is epic and seamless. I didn't think I could have mustered up any real sympathy for someone from such a seemingly privileged and pampered upbringing who succumbed to a drug death even though I always was fascinated by her after watching some of her Warhol films. This biography places her in her own timeline rather than solely in Warhol's and as a result you understand her history and fragility more deeply. Set aside some time to fall in love with Edie Sedgwick!

7 people found this helpful

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Edie: An American Biography Hardcover – June 12, 1982

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