"Marilyn, a Biography" was Norman Mailer's first attempt at biography, but this is really much more than a meditation on the woman who was the major sex symbol of 20th Century American Popular Culture. Mailer's goal is to attempt to understand a beautiful, complex, and tragic woman, and he is particularly taken with the contradictions Monroe's life presents to us. He also presents her as a symbol of the bizarre decade of the 1950s in which she made her impact. What you have to keep in mind it that Mailer makes no distinction between fact and speculation as they are merged his mind. Mailer has the novelist's desire to connect the dots and complete the picture, and certainly the splash the publication of this book made, a quarter-century after the publication of "The Naked and the Dead," would appeal to the author's legendary ego.

However, in addition to being a biography this volume is also a pictorial retrospective of an actress whose greatest love affair may well have been with the camera. During the 1950s Marilyn Monroe was the most photographed person on the face of the planet. During that time Lawrence Schiller was a young photographer who would take the celebrate color photographs of a nude Monroe frolicking in and around a pool on the shot on the set of "Something's Got to Give," the film from which she was fired shortly before her death. Years later Schiller arranged a photographic exhibit from the stills of many major photographers who had worked with her, such as Richard Avedon and Bert Stern. The exhibit was called "Marilyn Monroe: The Legend and the Truth," and toured the United States and Japan. The photographs arranged arranged here as a photograph essay to offer a counterpoint to Mailer's text.

The resulting combination is certainly provocative, and, one can hope, insightful on several points. The problem is that we have no way of really knowing which points are the valid ones in this speculative biography. This is not a book to be read to know about the life of Marilyn Monroe, but rather an attempt to capture her essence and have it make sense. "Real" biographers and historians will dismiss "Marilyn" as mere sophistry; but the Sophists maintained that truth could not be known, if known it could not be understood, and if understood it could not be communicated. Ergo, all biographies and histories are sophistry, and Mailer's "Marilyn" just blatantly embraces the charge.

I loved this book. Norman Mailer wrote this book like poetry. I could not put it down.

I am so glad you found it for me even though it was out of print. I would have hated to miss reading this book.

Also, the book was used but was in perfect condition. Thanks for everything.

Everyone who loves Marilyn Monroe should read this book.

Lovely lights and colors I found invading silently into my heart while I turn on a photographer's book.
Have ever seen the book 'Bay/Sky' ? - Maybe/Surely that would be another expression of 'Do you know what photographic ecstacy is ? '.
Joel Meyerowitz reveals off a tremendous tales from the Nature with none of words ; Only with Lights. Colors, Darkness, Mists, Waters, Clouds, Sky ... . More over it, ultimately What a living on Earth is all about ... .

After anyone whoever see this book, then he/she should ask to others - Have you ever seen the book Bay/Sky ?

Joel Meyerowitz's lightworks are in silence, yet it's echos are standing as perpetual existence !

A MUST-SEE photographic masterpiece it is.

hello
i finally found one no one has reviewed! anyway i strongly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in norman mailer but maybe doesnt want to go thru a novel to get his ideas. Norman is an articulate person and the format of interview and dialogue here places his ideas and opinions in the center without allowing to much superfluity.
he talks about...running for mayor of new york, making films, women and men, vietnam, media(there is a good discussion with m macluhan too) politics, sex, art, writing...
that said i should say that i rented it from the lib, but it really is concise and informative with a minimum of repetition.
(and if you want a similar read but more essayish find "cannibals and christians").

Leon Edel said this about my biography: "A low-keyed narrative of the novelist and journalist from enfant terrible to grizzled sexagenarian designed to seek out the literary artist behind the mask of self-advertisement. Complete with domesticity--sweethearts, wives, progeny, and four-letter words. A very good read."

Believe it or not, Abbie Hoffman has written an inspirational classic. In his chatty boasts and anecdotes, Abbie offers a paean to a life spent seizing the moment and experiencing everything life has to offer. If you're attempting to do anything that goes against the grain, read this for a wealth of inspiration. It's really a wonderful testament to living up to what you want to be, regardless of society's expectations.

Sally Soames is one of the greatest portrait photographers working today. Her style has been widely copies but nobody betters her ability to show something of a person's soul in a photograph. Her work mainly appears in the UK so take any chance you get to look at this book.

Much has been made of Pablo Picasso's huge ego, but never more so than here, where it would seem that only Norman Mailer's considerable esteem for himself could give Picasso's a run for his money. Yet, that having been said, I still give this book a 4 star rating ... after all, what could be more interesting than the self-absorbed genius writer presuming to reveal the inner thoughts of the equally self-absorbed artistic genius, Picasso?

Both blustering,rowdy boy geniuses...Both with their ups and downs with women. Mr. Mailer does his usual terrific job here,and admits a longtime obsession with the great artist. Anyone doubting Picasso's genius will have no doubts after reading this one. The author's descriptions of the great artist's youth leave one feeling that artistic genius is inevitable.From Spain to Paris,we are led on a jaunty trip.And he kept at it even into his nineties! In short,this must be among the classic special bios of perhaps the 20th century greatest artist!!

Mr. Mailer has done a great job on Picasso's early years. He has done solid research, knows the paintings and the personalities in Picasso's life very well. PP's relationship with Braque is presented clearly, the life in Paris in the early part of the century is well told too. Overall, a lively and entertaining read, much livelier than the door jam books of John Richardson.

A fascinating novel, one of Mailer's most elaborated works, that deals with the CIA and its characters like in a chess game. Though hard to start, the story unfolds page by page, and everything starts to fit like a puzzle. From the cold war in Berlin to Watergate itself, the mix of real people and characters is astonishing. It is a most believable masterpiece. Suspense and intrigue are hold and released in the exact moments of the plotline, and you will find problem when trying to stop reading it. Mr. Mailer, please grant us with its sequel!

Harlot's Ghost has more going on in it than a dozen ordinary novels. Stylistically Mailer has resolved the old tension between his straightforward narrative style (The Naked and the Dead, The Executioner's Song) and his sometimes over-the-top commentary style (American Dream, most of his essay writing). Similarly, he has brought together his best qualities as a journalist and his best qualities as a novelist. Harlot's Ghost is factually informative and intelligent, yet it maintains the attention to literary subtlety and individual characterization that are usually lost in big books about big social issues. It should be a pleasure to read the remaining portions of the book once they appear.

This sprawling 1,000+ page epic about two generations of CIA officers is difficult to characterize: part history, part period piece, and part fiction. Mailier mixes the comings and goings of historical figures and real events with a well-developed cast of fictional characters in a way that reminds the reader of E.L.Doctorow's masterpiece Ragtime.

Harlot's Ghost impresses as an authentic and comprehensive glimpse inside the inner workings of the CIA. The book's strongest message is that this infamous organization of spooks and bogey-men is no more than the sum of it's parts - the officers and agents - and by giving us a view of their motivations and desires we understand a bit more about how and why the CIA does what it does.

The protagonist, Harry Hubbard, is a second generation CIA officer who bounces around the globe from assignment to assignment, managing to land in each hotspot long enough for us to see the Agency's role through his eyes as events unfold - from Cold War Berlin to the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Enjoyable though this novel is, not everything works. Hovering as a backdrop to all the action is the idea of deceit and duality: East vs. West, intelligence vs. counterintelligence, information vs. misinformation, the means vs. the ends, idealism vs. pragmatism. This theme is captured by the theory of Alpha and Omega - a theory developed by Kitterdge Montague, CIA research psychologist and love interest of Harry Hubbard. The theory, in brief, states that there are two fully formed and competing personalities trapped within every individual, and that the key to human nature is to understanding the relationship between these two personalities. In an early scene a soon-to-be-wed Kittredge offers an elegant explanation of this theory while flirting with Hubbard. The problem is that over the next thousand pages the same theory pops up every ten pages or so, until the reader feels beaten over the head with this particular bit of symbolism. Enough already. We get it.

But overall, this is an immensely enjoyable novel. Mailer creates realistic three-dimensional characters that mingle seamlessly with real historical figures and actual events. Mailer has taken on a hugely ambitious task and manages to pull it off. This is not only a definitive view of the CIA, but an excellent piece of literature as well. Through Hubbard's first person accounts, thoughts, and letters the reader experiences an amazing range of events and environments - from seedy Berlin safe-houses to luxurious Uruguayan villas to combat on the Cuban beachhead.

The book's thousand pages notwithstanding, there are huge questions which Mailer leaves unanswered. Harlot's Ghost would have benefited from a more aggressive editor, but my final analysis is that I'll be the first in line to slog through the sequel to learn the resolution to the questions that the book's "to be continued" ending leaves. Highly recommended.

Note: In the final pages Mailer includes a glossary of names, code-names, events, and places. Very useful for keeping track of the acronyms, aliases, and code-words. I didn't discover the glossary until I was a third through the book; don't make the same mistake.

The Naked and the Dead is as long and winding as the half-cut trails of Anopopei. The struggle of each character is monotonous, and Mailer insists that the reader understand this monotony through seemingly endless repetition. However, this repetition was the life he was trying to portray. Yes, the book is long, but it is good. I must admit that there were parts that I was tempted to do without, but the occasional poetic verse kept things alive.

Mailer was indeed a poet. Some of the metaphors and descriptions used seem to drop the reader into the trance-like state that so many soldiers must have felt in the presence of death. The remarkable precision of post-war thought blended with existentialist ideal make this book multi-faceted. A greek tragedy, a philisophical warning, The Naked in the Dead brings the horror of war to the reality of every individual.

Rated a 9 by virtue of its depth and poetic-like verse.
Rated a 9 by the unsettling realism that so many wish was only a story.

David Knape

Writing must come naturally to Norman Mailer. While this is his very first book, it suffers from none of the usual rookie mistakes and stands up to the very best works in Mailer's oeuvre. I dare say that very few 20th century novelists would not trade in the sum total of their work to have written this one masterpiece.

"The Naked and the Dead" delves deep into the heart of war as it exists in modern times, sparing us the sentimentalism and glorification that plagues most books of the war genre. I would be belittling this book's significance by even assigning it to a specific genre. True, this is a story of war, of the implications of war, the causes of war, and the impact that war has on various types of individuals, from the generals down to a platoon of privates. But first and foremost this is a story about human nature, and how human beings react when pushed to the very edge of their physical and emotional endurance.

While I could go on indefinately listing this book's many favorable attributes, I will spare you my opinions and let you decide for yourself. But do read this book. Do not be put-off by its length, for anything shorter would have done a great injustice to the subject matter.

Norman Mailer, may you live to be 1,000 years old.

There must have been a glut of war novels published in the wake of World War II, so it's indicative of the high quality of Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead" that its popularity and acclaim have survived when so many others have been forgotten. What makes it so powerful is its uncompromising depiction of brutal front-line combat in scenes so well written that it's easy to forgive the book for its occasionally banal dialogue.

The setting is a fictitious South Pacific island called Anopopei which is held by the Japanese. The U.S. Army has launched a campaign to take command of the island by landing six thousand troops there to confront the defensive line established by the opposing Japanese General Toyaku. Because this is fictional, I assume that the island is supposed to be a desirable strategic position because the purpose of the mission in relation to the real war is never clearly explained. In charge of the invasion is a Machiavellian General named Cummings who thinks soldiers are motivated best by fear. To defeat Toyaku's line, Cummings devises a plan tailored to the island's particular geography and assigns a reconnaissance squad to the dangerous mission, putting his rebellious and idealistic aide, Lieutenant Hearn, in charge. What the men find out is that the island's natural environment is a more formidable enemy than the Japanese could ever be.

The story focuses mainly on the dozen or so men in the reconnaissance squad. Their personal backgrounds vary greatly, although their personalities don't differ so much that it's easy to tell them apart except by name. The two that stand out the most are Roth and Goldstein, two Jewish soldiers who are made to feel like outcasts due to casual anti-semitism in the squad. Short sections entitled "The Time Machine" provide glimpses of each soldier's personal history -- how they came to be what they are. They are, for the most part, normal men with understandable fears of things like being wounded or killed and the possibility of their wives' infidelity while they are gone.

Reading this novel is like descending into a hellish abyss. It is very long and goes into extensive detail about all aspects of wartime life on the island: marching through the jungle in its greenhouse-like heat, hauling heavy equipment through muddy trails and over mountainous terrain, listening to the sporadic bursts of machine gun fire. The squad's treacherous reconnaissance mission is an almost Sisyphean task in which there is no honor or glory to be reaped from their efforts, just tired muscles and broken bodies. And yet they must continue onward, commanded by a cold and distant master plan that is concerned more with the gain of land than the loss of people. This is more than just a suspenseful war story; it is an eye-opening allegory about the apparent purposelessness of mankind's labor and suffering throughout history.