This is a thorough retelling and discussion of a very complex person. Bosworth does a good job of drawing on interviews with people who knew Diane Arbus, and the reader does a get a vivid sense of what the burgeoning photography community was like in the 1960s. One concern I have is that this is very mucha re-telling of a life, not really an in-depth analysis. There is a certain lack of introspection about this, and the book fades off and becomes more episodic toward the end. I can't quite decide if that is intentional--an attempt to show a life coming apart at the seams--or just some final exaustion with the subject.

If you study the following two books you likely will realize that Diane Arbus was a genius: "An Aperture Monograph" and "Diane Arbus: Magazine Work." If you've ever tried to be a good photographer, even as a total amateur, you will appreciate her genius even more.

Bravo to Patricia Bosworth for interviewing so many people who are gone now! The following people who knew Diane or who studied her work while she was alive made comments to Bosworth shortly before *they* died: Andy Warhol, Lisette Model, Garry Winogrand, John Putnam (art director of Mad magazine for many years), Bernard Malamud (a friend of Diane's brother Howard Nemerov) and Irving Mansfield (immortalized in an Arbus print as an insecure, greedy man letting his sleazebag wife Jacqueline Susann sit on his bare thighs).

Ever heard of Gail Sheehy, author of the 1970s classic "Passages" that all women pursuing careers in social work and medicine used to read? She's still alive, and you can read in Ms. Bosworth's biography about her encounters with Diane before she (Gail) became famous for "Passages."

Bosworth presents eyewitness testimony about Diane's clinical depression along with medical records. But Bosworth wisely declines to speculate on why the depression persisted for so long or why Diane refused to take lithium shortly after it hit the market in 1970. (Come to think of it, Bosworth omitted that "lithium" detail from the book but divulged it in an interview she did with Popular Photography magazine for their December 1984 issue.)

I'm glad Bosworth annoyed people by presenting evidence but no insight. Here's the only insight she could have provided, and it would have annoyed readers even more. The insightful truth is that Diane was very depressed because her talent made her very lonely. Something inside her drove her constantly to approach new people even though they might have refused her offer for a photograph. Sometimes Diane herself decided after a lot of talking that the person would make a bad photograph. She told one reject (as you can read in the Bosworth book): "I'd never get you without your mask on."

But Diane, with her remarkable curiosity and empathy, just had to keep finding new people. How could she possibly have maintained a close relationship with anybody, even nice guy Allan Arbus (father of her children), when so many fascinating people lurked outside her home? Ergo, you get loneliness and depression.

That doesn't mean another photographer alive today can use genius as an excuse for clinical depression. You can't possibly have that genius because you're living in an age of the Internet when we all can "surf" the way Diane did on foot 35 years ago. What about the other legendary female photographers who were Diane's competitors during the pre-Internet era? Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cummingham, Margaret Bourke White, etc.? None of them committed suicide or did stupid things, and the careers of them all were much longer than Diane's. Even Lisette Model, to whom Diane wrote a suicide note, kept teaching photography until she was 75. So these women didn't use male chauvinism as an excuse to screw up. Neither did Diane. Diane's genius is her excuse for doing everything she did.

I'll close with two observations on Diane. The first you will find in the Bosworth book: "Nobody had such an enlarged sense of reality."

And here's one that's not in the Bosworth book. It's from Richard Lamparski, a writer whose name turns up many times in newspaper databases because he specializes in "whatever happened to" books and columns about actors of the 1950s. You've never heard of Jean Peters, Richard Webb aka Captain Midnight or Anthony Steel? Neither have most people before they read Richard Lamparski. He ain't wealthy as you can imagine. He may or may not have met Diane (his name is absent from the Bosworth bio), but he evidently knew who she was when she was alive. He put the following epigraph at the beginning of his annual catalog of has-been actors in 1972:

"To Diane Arbus (1923 - 1971), who did so much to enlarge the standards of her art and the consciousness of us all."

Diane Arbus was the child of immigrant parents, and grew up exploring her potential set against the backdrop of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Her husband, actor Allan Arbus was also an artist looking for his potential. Hers in photography, his in acting.

If there is a down side to the book, it is that it is pretty well factual, with very good and close sources, but the book starts to fade when the author explores Diane's later years. Was this woman, born into a family where depression had been discovered in her mother really depressed because of a failed marriage? The author opines to the affirmative. Or was it something more? The book only gives us a glimpse of Allan's troubled reaction to her depression.

I believe a more indepth study into the soul of this woman would have shown dramatically the tragedy of her death. Set in the time period, our society was not cognizant or nor able to recognize signals in mental depression. There are many examples in the book of how Diane was attempting to overcome the demons.

All in all, I found the book interesting and well written.

when i purchased this book i was beyond excited, already being a fan of clift's, but after reading it the way i look at Montgomery Clift will never be the same. this book was insightful, truthful and most of all SAD. i have never cried after reading a book but i did after reading this one. he lived such a tragic life and this book in no way hides or covers that up. i always saw clift as an attractive and extremely well-gifted actor and he is all of those things but i also see him as as a man who hid and faught with a lot of pain and heartache(drugs, homosexuality, his looks, women, and his career). patricia bosworth has done an excellent job telling the story of his life and she also did a great job touching mine.

Montgomery Clift is unfortunately one of those stars that not many people remember or know about nowadays. In fact, before reading Montgomery Clift : Beautiful Loser by Barney Hoskyns I did not know whom he was at all. This book sparked a keen interest in me and I therfore also read the following title: Montgomery Clift : A Biography by Patricia Bosworth. The biography is very moving and does describe a moving scene in which MArlon Brando tries to get Clift to stop drinking; but Clift denies that he actually has a problem and keeps on drinking his double vodkas. Mr. Clifts life is very tragic, sad and part of this was because of his sexual deviance and his fear that people and Hollywood would shun him if they knew the truth. Highly Recommended.

Montgomery Clift. It evokes such powerful images and connotations. The name itself sounds like royalty. The man it belonged to in many ways lived up to such regal ideals. Part of a midwestern family like so many famous actors, his childhood was quite exotic; traveling abroad and learning the ways of the world. The rest of his life only got more exciting. Up to the very minute of his death, Monty was a source of intrigue and respect. Paving the way bravely for Brando and Dean, Clift came first with an honesty that riveted onlookers of all kinds. His strength and helplessness, rebelious yet ingratiating, awoke the world around him to a new kind of man, and a new way of life. Patricia Bosworth does a splendid job in making every moment of Clift's life easily accesible to the reader. The book begins with a hearty(but pleasant) family history going back two generations. For those who've found other star bios uneventful and boring during the "growing up" chapters (namely because the actor was an ordinary kid), here you will find the opposite. Almost from birth Monty's days were unpredictable and full of travel and minor adventure. His acting ability was recognized early and a career followed quickly. The book itself is large indeed-some might find it excessive. But considering this will be most readers first look into Monty's life (their first bio on him), it comes across moreso as just very thorough. Ms. Bosworth's literary craft is quite exquisite, thus making the already fascinating story a joy to read. Following his every triumph and failure with equal attention, one gets a sense of who the man was-not just the celebrity. In fact his personal life makes up 85-90% of the book; as it should! Of course there is more than enough time devoted to the events during his Plays and Films-but it's not simply a shooting schedule pasted into the book. The process of Monty's growth personally and professionaly-and the connection between both-is painted beautifully in the words. One sees also the source and always present fuel of his trademark "turmoil"-that wounded sense that drew audiences and still does. There are no cliche`s to find-no tabloid generated fallacies in the telling of this life. Only a full circle understanding of not only the subject's life, but how to tell it rightly. There are always those readers wanting little more than a brief overview of someone-'was he gay, was he strait, how much money, who'd he know,when'd he die'. But even those readers should surrender some time for this book and let it engulf you. Naturally all those highlighted points are covered-but in a surprisingly respectful and yet also brutally honest portrayal. This book is a quinessential addition to any personal library-especially one containing biographies-and is a masterful collection of one man's life's events. Truly a great book.

Hey, I like Brando tremendously as an actor and have read his biographies for years. I particularly like his autobiography SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME. There is certainly nothing wrong with Ms. Bosworth as a writer. The book is an interesting, easy read. My objection is not to Ms. Bosworth but to the constraints of the format of Penguin LIVES. It appears to me that a writer cannot do an in-depth examination of someone's life in such a short book-- assuming that anyone will ever get much into the inner recesses of Mr. Brando's mind. Perhaps his private life should remain private. For instance, do I need to know that he has taken the drug librium for years? I think not. Additionally I would have liked to see footnotes. Ms. Bosworth makes a lot of statements about Brando with not the slightest hint of where shes got such information. Granted, she does list other biographies she consulted as well as the people she interviewed for writing this bio. I assume that extensive footnotes would have make the book too long. Having said all that, I am now in need of a Brando film festival, having finished the book. Ms. Bosworth made me want to revisit the Brando movies I've seen and see others for the first time.

A vivid portrait of the man and his acting genius. Bosworth does a bang up job depicting his life and the development of his enormous talent. He is one of the world's greatest artists and we get a clear unencumbered picture of the man and his life in clear, practical, prose. Really fascinating.

Marlon Brando, whom is best known for his roles as the motorcycle rebel who epitomized restless youth in The Wild Ones, the loser/boxer in On the Waterfront and as the powerful Don Corleone in The Godfather, has captured audiences for the last 50 years. Eventhough many biographies have been written on Brando this book in question, i.e., Marlon Brando (Penguin Lives) by Patricia Bosworth offers a fascinating look into his charismatic and misunderstood genius. Though she gives a glimpse into the personal conflicts that influenced his work, Bosworth focuses her attention on Brando's professional achievements/career and does not delve into his excentric charachter as much as previous writers. She creates a sensitive portrait of a man so uncomfortable with his celebrity status that he decided to embark on a course of self-destruction (which shows that he is probably suffering from neurosis at times). Highly Recommended.