This book is ideal for anyone who knows absolutely nothing about Mary Pickford. If you've read each and every book about Mary Pickford and/or Douglas Fairbanks then this book is familiar ground and still a pleasure to read.

There are dry spaces and not a lot of surprises. As I said before, if you know next to nothing about Mary Pickford you'll find this a fascinating read. I was pleased to read more about her brother, Jack, and sister, Lottie, then I'd read in other books. It wasn't all negative which is something I've noticed in some bios--the negative is what is the most fascinating.

This book was written with a heavy hand in places but despite the fact that it was old territory for me, I could not put it down once I started. It was detailed beyond belief.

My suggestion is this: If you had any doubts about this book as an investement, it's a good one! It contains the entire life of a woman who was the cornerstone to an industry. The heartbreaking part is that no one, it seems, in Hollywood now seems to care much about the history or the preservation of her legacy. The films are there, but the places are long gone because there is no room in most of Los Angeles for the past.

Although I've read several books on Mary Pickford, I was still glued to my seat as I read this fascinating biography. This book really concentrates on her relationships with her husbands Owen Moore; Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.; and Buddy Rogers. It is also thorough in covering her family of Charlotte, Jack, and Lottie. My only disappointment was that the not much of the actual making of her films was covered in-depth. The book has a perfect title, as she was probably the most powerful person in Hollywood from about 1915 until the coming of sound.

This biography is comprehensive without being dry and "scholarly." It reads like a novel, and it is a surprisingly even-handed biography, illuminating Miss Pickford's genius while showing us her not-so-attractive side. Time is spent on the alcoholism that was a prominent part of the last half of her life, and on her fights with family, including her three husbands, her two adopted children and the friendships she made, cultivated or broken along the way.

A good deal of time is also spent on how United Artists worked in its inception, why the founders thought that such a company was necessary and on the politics inside the company throughout its history. There is a Notes section that tells us where the anecdotes and quotes come from, and a tantalizing bibliography that I will end up using in search of other books on Miss Pickford and on silent film in general.

Buddy Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. were still around when this book was being researched and written, and they, along with numerous others, seem to have shared insights that help us understand the lady, and Fairbanks sheds some light on her complex and lasting love with his father - they continued to be very close up until his death. This may be one of the last things that Fairbanks and Rogers contributed to, and if this is how they would be remembered, its not a bad thing.

If you are interested not only in her films (which run far afield of just the "Little Mary" whom we all have heard about and seen), and for an interesting, highly readable overview of silent film in general, this biography is a must read. I am personally glad I bought it for myself, rather than borrowing it from the library (as I do with many books), because as I learn more about the era and see more of her films, I'm sure I'm going to want to go back to it again (probably more than once).