Wow! I really enjoyed learning about Elizabeth Taylor. I'm fascinated by her lifestyle...and some parts of her I adore, like her steady determination, wry sense of humor, and willingness to fight for a cause (like AIDS). However, as in every person, Elizabeth clearly has her flaws. I absolutely loathed reading continually about her strict anti-feminist attitude. Being someone that is fiercely feminist and tends to get angry at wives who kowtow to husbands, I was shocked. She continued to accept horrible traits of her husbands, like continued physical and emotional abuse, obsessive controlling, and even husbands using her fame to their advantage (I believe this to be true with Warner, who used her presence to gain political popularity during the first part of their marriage, and then virtually ignored her for the remainder of their marriage. I also resented the way that Elizabeth completely changed herself just to please Richard Burton! True love or not, changing your entire being to impress someone is not admirable, to say the least.Despite my shock and irritation at such factors in Elizabeth's life, I felt that this book was supposed to be well-written. The author seems to have respect for Elizabeth, as do I, so they write accurately. However, I feel that a much more powerful book, with fewer words, could have been written. Instead of focusing on the raw, dynamic emotion of Elizabeth's life, he reports facts in a manner that I perceived to be somewhat dull. In other words, his style bored me.I actually read this book for summer reading for school, and I'll admit that at first, I sorely regretted picking out a 400-something page book to read. However, it turned out to be worth wading through useless information for the detailed inside look at her life.
My favorite old Hollywood actresses are Marliyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Out of the three, however, I think I would've gotten along best with Elizabeth Taylor. She had that same compelling Marilyn Monroe did, but she was more down to earth. Well, not down to earth, but she certainly didn't live in the clouds like Monroe did. I found Taylor's life fascinating. She was definitely a woman with passion, and she knew what she wanted. She tried not to regret too much, which I can appreciate. Favorite Taylor quote: “I don't entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me.” J. Randy Taraborrelli did an excellent job with this biography. It was well reasrched and well structured, and all his information seemed fairly accurate. Mostly, he kept it interesting. The great thing about writing about Elizabeth Taylor is that there's not much need for embellishments. After all, the woman was married six times. She was gorgeous practically her whole life, but she was also smart. (In addition, we have Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to thank for the first real "it" couple. Take that Bragelina!) I've come to enjoy and trust Taraborrelli's work, and this is no different. Definitely recommended if you're interested in Elizabeth Taylor or even old Hollywood.
What do You think about Elizabeth (2006)?
Since reading Blonde, I've been developing an affinity for reading biographies. This book is a biography about Elizabeth Taylor. It's not written that well, but it's well-researched and filled with juicy tidbits of many famous people (Nicky Hilton - oh my!) that I really enjoyed it. However, it's also in some ways a sad story of someone who became famous very early, but as you know, this woman emerges triumphant. A really interesting book about not only Taylor, but also how Hollywood treats its actors, especially women.
—Sera
Elizabeth Taylor has to be the most extravagant and willful person Hollywood has ever endorsed. And I love her for it. This biography chronicles her life in physical and emotional ways. You get the facts and also the stories and opinions that went along with them. You laugh in amazement and wonder and think to yourself "No effing way" when you hear of some of the truly ridiculous and over the top things that she did just for the sake of glamour. You also get to see the very quiet and insecure side of the famed and beloved actress as she wrestled with her demons (Physical and psychological) and tried to find love (even if you think she went about it all wrong.) It astounded me when I found out that she was in several physically abusive relationships even if that was the norm back then. I mean she was Elizabeth Taylor for christ's sake!As with all biographies you should take it with a little salt, but whether you believe it or not (And why wouldn't you believe it? Why would they lie?) you cannot argue that it is a very entertaining read. Laughter and anger will wash over you as you take in the life of one of the most fascinating actresses of all time. 4/5
—Iris
I found this book on a fence post on the sidewalk in Center City, Philadelphia. I had just moved, and didn't have a library card yet because I didn't have an address at the time. So I was desperate for reading material. I knew three things about Elizabeth Taylor: her name, her face, and her job. I can't say I was particularly interested to find out more, either. But I'll give any book a chance.Elizabeth is well-researched and well-written. It's also 464 pages long. I enjoyed parts of it, and parts of it bored me. I'm sure living Elizabeth Taylor's life was thrilling, outrageous, and enjoyable. Reading about it? Not so much.One thing I did take away from the book was a few movies I'd like to see: classics of which I'd heard and was reminded to actually try to watch. I'll be looking for a few of them at the library, like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." (The only film of Taylor's I've seen, that I know of, is "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".)In summation, this is probably an excellent read for a fan. For anyone else, I'd say skip it, unless you're desperate for a book and you happen to find a copy on the sidewalk. ;)
—Dysmonia Kuiper
