Best books...chosen by Ty Burr
Ty Burr’s new book, Gods Like Us, is a meditation on the evolution of fame and stardom. Below, the longtime film critic for The Boston Globe names his favorite movie-star biographies.
Chaplin: His Life and Art by David Robinson (out of print). An epic biography for the movies’ first epic personality. Robinson traces Charlie from London poverty to global fame, from adulation to backlash and back again, with detail and clarity. What emerges is a portrait of an artist caught helplessly in the web of his own fame. A model of the form.
Swanson on Swanson by Gloria Swanson (out of print). The life of a screen diva as seen from the inside, with all the dirt and colossal ego intact. Published in 1980, it remains one of the most deliciously readable yet intelligently clear-sighted takes on the celebrity bubble. Worth it for Swanson’s thoughts on Norma Desmond alone.
Marlon Brando by Patricia Bosworth (Nook Book, $15). You could read Peter Manso’s 1,100-page doorstop, Brando, or the actor’s own, 480-page autobiography, Songs My Mother Taught Me. But Bosworth somehow gets to the knotted, self-loathing heart of Marlon’s darkness in 228 elegant pages. By the time you get to the epilogue, you feel as if Brando’s in the room with you.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Becoming Mae West by Emily Wortis Leider (out of print). West is one of those screen icons who seem fixed, unchangeable, and forever. Leider deftly shows how West’s most interesting years were on the New York stage and how Hollywood captured only the final ossification of her sexually licentious persona.
The Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Book by Arlene Croce (Educational Publisher, $30). Originally published in 1972 and long out of print, this title resurfaced in 2010 to the rapture of dance fans and lovers of classic musicals. It looks like a picture book, but it’s much, much more: Croce breaks down the films, and the individual dances in them, in ways that make you appreciate them in wholly new ways.
All the Available Light: A Marilyn Monroe Reader edited by Yona Zeldis McDonough (Touchstone, $14). With contributions from Gloria Steinem, Joyce Carol Oates, Molly Haskell, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Clare Boothe Luce, this book comes at Marilyn from all sides—and still never gets to the bottom of her mystique.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 11, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - bathroom blues, family feud, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 blustery cartoons about the Stormy Daniels testimony
Cartoons Artists take on gag orders, lurid details, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Idea of You review: 'impossible escapism' starring Anne Hathaway
The Week Recommends Steamy romcom about a 40-year-old who falls for a boy band singer
By The Week UK Published
-
Tom Crewe's 6 favorite works that challenge societal norms
Feature The novelist recommends works by Margaret Oliphant, Patrick White, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Keith O'Brien's 6 must-read books about significant moments in sports history
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Eig and more
By The Week US Published
-
Lauren Oyler's favorite collection of essays that will leave you deep in thought
Feature The author recommends works by Elif Batuman, Mark Greif, and more
By The Week US Published