I bought a used copy at a thrift shop with the idea of listing it on eBay, but I wanted to read it first. Now that I have, I'm not sure I'm ready to part with it just yet!

The first Natalie Wood movie I remember having seen was "Inside Daisy Clover." At the time (the early 60's), I was too young for the star's name to make an impression - my cousin, who was a year older and whose idea it was to see it, no doubt knew who she was - but I do know that I really enjoyed the movie. I had also forgotten that she had been in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

The pictures throughout the book helped tell the story as well as the narrative. No one but Lana could have told the story in this kind of detail.

Lana Wood, who is probably best known for her brief but memorable role of the suggestively named Plenty O'Toole in the Bond flick Diamonds Are Forever, wrote this engaging, poignant, and frequently funny memoir on her famous sister Natalie.

Amazingly candid and brutally honest, Lana painted a fascinating and yet disturbing portrait about Natalie Wood; from her years as a child star controlled by her domineering stage mother, then growing up to become one of Hollywood's most famous and beloved (and volatile) celebrities. Then to later years as Natalie struggled with age and the ups and downs of both her career and her relationship with her sister....culiminating to the fateful day when Lana was informed of her tragic death.

For James Bond fans, they will probably be interested in Lana's experience on the set of Diamonds Are Forever, revealing an affair with Sean Connery (which curiously, she did not disclose on the special DVD of Diamonds Are Forever).

Ultimately, this book is also as much about Lana herself as it is about Natalie. Forever in Natalie's shadow, Lana herself never developed her own life and identity, everything in her life is connected with Natalie in some fashion and she spends virtually her entire life seeking Natalie's approval and acknowledgement.

This book will probably make you see Natalie Wood's films a little differently. Underneath that gamine veneer is a woman who has a fury that Hell can't match.

Before I started reading this book (I bought it used on an internet auction site recently), I really did not know too much about Natalie but always wanted to know more about her. I could not put the book down, it was so engrossing. The only movies I saw her in was Miracle at 34th Street and West Side Story. She was a wonderful actress, and in the latter movie, when I first saw it, I thought she really was Puerto Rican, and that it really was . . . her singing voice! She was, always, and will be a gifted, suburb, and beautiful actress.

Her sister did a wonderful job on this book, motivating me to want to seek out more of Natalie's movies and wondering what she (the author) is doing nowadays. You can clearly see that she truly loved her sister, through the ups and downs of their relationship, and did not gloss over the bad times but was honest and took responsibility for her own actions, not what most autobiographers would do, so you know the information is from a trusted source.

My heart and sympathy goes out to the entire family during this difficult time, and hope in their own way, can reach out to each other because, the family history and memories, good or bad, are truly to be cherished, the tender strength binding every member together, that LOVE clings to.

Lana Wood did such a wonderful job writing this book. It was one of the best books I have ever read. I wish I could meet her. Lana Wood was candid in this no holds bard biography. She deserves an pulizer prize. Bravo Lana.

I strongly recommend this book for any fan of Natalie Wood. I always liked her. Who wouldn't after seeing her films? The author kind of goes overboard by being very repetitive at times...but once you get past that you can get into what matters. The author gets good insight via interviews from various contacts which allows one to decipher what is true & what probably is not. I found it fascinating to learn that Natalie divorced her husband, Robert Wagner, (the first time) after she found him in a compromising position with another MAN. Everyone knows she was a victim of child stardom...but I'm not sure everyone knows about what an obsessive stage mother she had. All in all...there are a lot of names dropped in the book that make it very interesting for any fan. It was sad that the world lost her at such an early age. She was bound to win an Academy Award eventually...she had that excellent acting ability "in" her. I liked her more after reading the book because I could tell she was a unique lady. I was surprised to learn how she 'slept around' in her early years. Then again, the end of her life still has an aura of mystery. You, the reader, are left to determine what really happened with the tidbits of facts given.

I thought this biography of Natalie Wood was very well researched and quite absorbing. I see from other reviews that people criticized Finstad for her over-dramatic prose and repetition, but I found myself so interested in the story that I didn't notice these things while reading. Well, Natalie lead a dramatic life, so maybe some flowery prose isn't entirely out of place.

I read on a Natalie Wood website that her oldest daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, has dismissed the book as "trash," saying the information was just "gathered from a lot of gossip columns," although in the same breath she admits she hasn't actually read the book. Actually, Finstad interviewed a large number of people who were close to Natalie both personally and professionally, from the time she was a small child, and the text is very well documented with her source notes. Such complete documentation is rarely found in Hollywood biographies these days, and is very impressive, in my opinion.

All in all, I agree with Natalie's sister Lana that this book is "comprehensive, moving, shocking and riveting," and recommend it to both long time and new Natalie Wood fans.

As a Natalie Wood fan of the first order, I've found it hard to understand the lack of biographies offered on this international super star. One book by her sister Lana years ago, but felt that one may have had a one-sided slant because she obviously worshipped her well known sibling. Another biography years ago on Natalie and RJ, the man she married twice, seemed to be a bit sugar coated in detailing the hollywood dream couples life. But, this book hits all her peaks and valley's, her sometimes tenacious hold on reality and all the grit along with the glitter that made up Natalie Woods life until it ended at the age of 43 in a controversial drowning accident.

The author obviously did her homework if her account of how many of Natalies close friends and acquaintances she interviewed is accurate. She gives us, the readers, information that as far as I know hasn't been offered up before, and I think I've read almost everything ever printed about Natalie.

Ms. Finstad, the author paints a picture of a powerhouse superstar that has her fame and fortune balanced out by great loneliness, insecurities, and sometimes overwhelming unhappiness. However, we get a strong image of a woman that despite living her life in a fishbowl as a beautiful, rich and famous movie star, was actually quite earthy, likeable and eager to help others.

I was so wrapped up in this book I finished it in one day, figuring laundry can always wait. But, the laundry may have to build up a wee bit higher because I think I'm going to start reading this book all over again just because I enjoyed it so much. "Natasha" was definitely worth the wait!