Synopses & Reviews
"Funny, I don't feel like a legend."
-- Barbra Streisand
She is a one-name legend, a global icon, the ultimate diva. Yet most of what we know about Barbra Joan Streisand is the stuff of caricature: the Brooklyn girl made good, the ugly duckling who blossomed into a modern-day Nefertiti, the political dilettante driving to the barricades in her Rolls-Royce, the Oscar-winning actress and bona fide movie mogul, the greatest female singer who ever lived, a skinflint, a philanthropist, a connoisseur and a barbarian, the woman whose physical characteristics are instantly identifiable around the planet -- the tapered nails, those slightly crossed eyes, that nose, the voice.
Even to the multitudes around the world who idolize her, Streisand remains aloof, unknowable, tantalizingly beyond reach. Until now. In the manner of his #l New York Times bestsellers The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died as well as Jack and Jackie, Jackie After Jack, An Affair to Remember, and Sweet Caroline, Christopher Andersen taps into important sources -- eyewitnesses to Streisand's remarkable life and career -- to paint a startling portrait of the artist . . . and the woman. Among the revelations:
Surprising new details about her wedding and marriage to James Brolin.
New information about her many failed love affairs, including her never-before-revealed relationships with Prince Charles and Princess Diana's doomed lover Dodi Fayed -- as well as Warren Beatty, Ryan O'Neal, former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, Steve McQueen, Richard Gere, Kris Kristofferson, Don Johnson, Jon Voight, Andre Agassi, newsman Peter Jennings, and more . . .
A provocative inside account of what really went on between Streisand and Bill Clinton in the White House, what their relationship is like today, and how Hillary feels about Barbra.
From Funny Girl and The Way We Were to Yentl and The Prince of Tides -- and in the recording sessions that produced some of the biggest hits in music history -- new behind-the-scenes details of the brilliance, the obsessive drive for perfection, and the Callas-sized ego.
New insights into Barbra's relationship with her only child, Jason.
Whether you love her, hate her, or are simply spellbound by her titanic talent, Barbra is one thing above all others: a true American original.
Review
“[Andersen] has a knack for ferreting out memorable anecdotes of the ‘no wire hangers variety.” New York Times Book Review, Inside the List
Review
“...hits all the high notes.” USA Today
Review
“...a scandalicious new bio packed with fresh dirt on the worlds most reclusive diva.” New York Post
Review
“The book reads like buttah!” Al Roker, The Today Show
Review
“Readers who cant get enough of Streisand will lap [this up]...” People
Review
Chicago Tribune Best Books of 2013Publisherand#8217;s Weekly Best Books of 2013
NPRand#8217;s Best Books of 2013
Los Angeles Times Best Seller
Entertainment Weeklyand#8217;s Top 10 Books of 2013
Newsdayand#8217;s Top 10 Books of 2013
Los Angeles Public Library Best Non-Fiction Books of 2013
Kirkus Best Non-Fiction Books of 2013 "Mr. Wasson is a smart and savvy reporter, and his book abounds with colorful firsthand talesand#8212;required reading for anyone eager to understand his brand of and#8212; to use a term that appears here constantly, and canand#8217;t be outdone and#8212; razzle-dazzle."
and#8212;Janet Maslin, New York Times "Fascinating and exhaustive biography...Mr. Wasson has taken complete control of his subject."
and#8212;Wall Street Journal
'He thought he was the best, and he thought he was terrible.' The man in question is legendary choreographer and director Bob Fosse, whose celebrated life and career get their due in Sam Wasson's spellbinding 695-page biography, Fosse. You don't need to be a Broadway expert to enjoy this portrait of a man whose rise to power was famously fueled by insecurity. It's all here: accounts of his monstrous, masterful directing style; the explosive personal battles behind his Tony-winning triumphs; his incendiary relationship with Gwen Verdon. Wasson simply doesn't miss a thing. Give the guy a (jazz) hand. A-"
and#8212;Entertainment Weekly
"Impeccably researched."
and#8212;Vanity Fair "The only thing that could have been better than Sam Wasson's page-turning, comprehensively rendered biography of choreographer-director Bob Fosse would have been Fosse's own memoir...Wasson's own narrative style has a jazzy, discursive and relentless energy well aligned with its subject."
and#8212;USA Today "Thorough and lively biography."
and#8212;New Yorker, Briefly Noted "Amazingly well-written."
and#8212;New York Journal of Books "Unlike countless biographies of artists and performers, "Fosse" does not rely on dime-store psychoanalysis in explicating its subject and his flaws...Wasson, so skilled at providing a macro overview -- he seamlessly outlines the history of both the American stage and the American movie musical to better foreground Fosse's transformations of each -- has also written a book filled with dazzling aperand#231;us."
and#8212;Newsday "Wasson's biography is richly researched and passionate, and while Fosse's film pursuits are only a part of the story, his life had a cinematic sweep."
and#8212;The Philadelphia Inquirer
"The reason I picked up Fosse, though, has as much to do with its author as with its subject. . . . Wasson is a canny chronicler of old Hollywood and its outsize personalities. (The cast of characters is enough to recommend the book: Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote, Henry Mancini, Edith Head.) More than that, he understands that style matters, and, like his subjects, he has a flair for it."
and#8212;New Yorker
"Definitive."
and#8212;Hollywood Reporter "Scintillating . . . There's an enormous amount of scholarship here, yet the story never drags, so adroitly does [Wasson] blend his material into a fluent narrative around evocative scenes where character emerges novelistically."
and#8212;Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Here's something you can't say about many celebrity biographies: at nearly 750 pages, it feels like it ends too soon . . . A pure joy to read, cover to cover."
and#8212;Booklist "Lushly researched . . . [Wasson] has amassed a mountain of data about Fosse but has sculpted it into something moving and memorable. . . . Graceful prose creates a richly detailed and poignant portrait." and#8212;Kirkus (starred review) "Deep inside this comprehensive study, Sam Wasson uses a phrase to describe the movie Cabaret: 'the bejeweling of horror.' Bob Fosse's whole life was something like that, a man who created magnificent, bejeweled art at personal cost. It's an American story, powerfully told."
and#8212; Paul Hendrickson, author of Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost "I tore through this masterful biography, loving it from beginning to end. Wasson writes with a verve ideally tuned to his subject, sparkling with wit and fresh insight. . . . This is a life lived large and#8212; and dangerously and#8212; amid cultural currents that propelled and inspired Fosse as a dancer, choreographer, and director. In Fosse, Sam Wasson energetically and authoritatively brings it all into sharp focus, with uncanny depth and perception."
and#8212; Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen "Hard work is evident in the intricate depiction of a complicated, brilliant man...A thoroughly researched and fascinating look at Fosse, viewed through the relationships and work that defined him. Highly recommended for theater or movie aficionados, aspiring performers, and fans of engrossing biography."
and#8212;Library Journal, STARRED review
"Sam Wassonand#8217;s Fosse is terrific in both senses of the word. Itand#8217;s magnificent and frightening in equal measure, a biography so detailed and exacting that it makes you feel so close to Bob Fosse at all the major and many of the minor events of his life that you can practically smell the cigarette stink . . . Fosse is one of the best, most entertaining biographies I have ever read.and#160;. . . [Wasson's]and#160;intelligent prose flies off the page. Heand#8217;s not only an impressive researcherand#8212;he interviewed more than 300 of Fosseand#8217;s friends and associatesand#8212; but a wonderfully witty writer who chose every one of the bookand#8217;s vast number of words with extraordinary care. And heand#8217;s got a killer sense of humor. Some sentences of this book are so damn funny that I laughed out loud." and#8212; Film Quarterly
Review
"Trying to figure out the Barbra Streisand mystique is no easy task, but
Mann expertly captures the launch of her remarkable career in the early 1960s when a unique 'star was born.'and#160; Mann's
meticulous research and insightful analysis go deeper than any previous biography..."
and#8212;USA Today
and#160;
"Mann, who has written bios of Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, has found another great subject here, and he offers up many new tidbits about Streisand's early life: details of her first affair, with a bisexual actor; her rejecting moth's reaction to seeing her onstage for the first time; and some ruminations about those 3-inch nails." and#8212; People Magazine
and#160;
"[An] excellent new work...One can only put down HELLO, GORGEOUS with renewed appreciation for Barbraand#8217;s single-mindedness, and with some glimpse of her inner struggle."
and#8212;Liz Smith, syndicated columnist
and#160;
"Notable for its breadth of detail and fair-mindedness . . . Mann vividly evokes the atmosphere of Streisand's New York." and#8212;and#160; New York Times Book Review
and#160;
"Mann depicts not just her ferocious ambition and equally fierce insecurities, but also the people and strategies that enabled her rise. With many of those acolytes and assistants as sources, Mann provides an intimate, gossipy and sympathetic accounts of early Streisand." and#8212; The Forward
and#160;
"In his masterful book, Mann captures one of the most fully realized pictures of the multi-hyphenate superstar to date. . . . Many books have been written about Streisand but few, if any, put readers as close to the subject as Mann does." and#8212; The Miami Herald
and#160;
"[A] surprisingly suspenseful and masterfully paced biography."
and#8212;Kirkus (starred)
and#160;
"Streisand fans will come away feeling theyand#8217;ve had a ringside seat at her early career, and they will leave the show applauding."
and#8212;Booklist
and#160;
"A compelling, detailed look at the rise of the multitalented Streisand from 17-year-old unknown to chart-topping singer and Broadway star. Highly recommended for fans of Streisand, biographies, and theater."
and#8212;Library Journal
and#160;
"Combining extensive interviews (some anonymous) and exhaustive archival research, Mann balances intimate personal details with audience reactions and critical acclaim to etch an indelible portrait of the artist as a young woman."
and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
She is a one-named legend, a global icon, the ultimate diva-one of the most beloved and detested, worshipped and feared, gossiped-and speculated-about figured of the ages; the woman for who the word "superstar" was invented. Yet Barbra Streisand has always jealously guarded her secrets and nurtured her own mystique. Even to the multitudes around the world who idolize her, she remains aloof, unknowable, tantalizingly just beyond reach. Until now. In Barbra: The Way Way She is, Christopher Andersen strips away the mask to offer a spellbinding portrait of "The Greatest Star" in all her headstrong, take-no-prisoners glory. Sex, money, power, glamour, heartache - all are elements in the saga of the women who, even her harshest critics acknowledge, is a true American original. With his international, headline-making blockbusters-mine New York Times best sellers in the last nine years alone-Andersen has taken his place at the forefront of popular biographers.
Synopsis
The famed biographer of Katharine Hepburn, Hillary Clinton, Jacqueline Kennedy, and many others now strips away Barbra Streisand's mask to offer a spellbinding portrait of "The Greatest Star" in all her headstrong, take-no-prisoners glory.
Synopsis
The authoritative and endlesslyand#160;revealing biography of renowned dancer, choreographer, screenwriter, and director Bob Fosse, written by a bestselling pop culture historian.
Synopsis
More than a quarter-century after his death, Bob Fosseand#8217;s fingerprints on popular culture remain indelible. The only person ever to win Oscar, Emmy, and Tony awards in the same year, Fosse revolutionized nearly every facet of American entertainment, forever marking Broadway and Hollywood with his iconic style and#8212; hat tilted, fingers splayed and#8212; that would influence generations of performing artists. Yet in spite of Fosseand#8217;s innumerable achievements, no accomplishment ever seemed to satisfy him, and offstage his life was shadowed in turmoil and anxiety.Now, bestselling author Sam Wasson unveils the man behind the swaggering sex appeal, tracing Fosseand#8217;s untold reinventions of himself over a career that would spawn The Pajama Game, Cabaret, Pippin, All That Jazz, and Chicago, one of the longest-running Broadway musicals ever. Drawing on a wealth of unpublished material and hundreds of sources and#8212; friends, enemies, lovers, and collaborators, many of whom have never spoken publicly about Fosse before and#8212; Wasson illuminates not only Fosseand#8217;s prodigious professional life, but also his close and conflicted relationships with everyone from Liza Minnelli to Ann Reinking to Jessica Lange and Dustin Hoffman. Wasson also uncovers the deep wounds that propelled Fosseand#8217;s insatiable appetites and#8212; for spotlights, women, and life itself. In this sweeping, richly detailed account, Wassonand#8217;s stylish, effervescent prose proves the ideal vehicle for revealing Bob Fosse as he truly was and#8212; after hours, close up, and in vibrant color.
Synopsis
The acclaimed and bestselling biographer of Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor charts Barbra Streisandand#8217;s climb to fame during her New York years and tells the electrifying story of how she transformed herself into the greatest superstar of her era.
Synopsis
The best-selling biographer of Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor tells the electrifying story of how Barbra Streisand transformed herself into the greatest star of her era, etching and#8220;an indelible portrait of the artist as a young womanand#8221; (
Publishers Weekly).
In 1960, she was a seventeen-year-old Brooklyn kid with plenty of talent but no connections and certainly no money; her mother brought her soup to make sure she stayed fed as she took acting classes and scraped out a living. Just four years later, Barbra Streisand was the top-selling female recording artist in America and the star of one of Broadwayand#8217;s biggest hits. Now the acclaimed Hollywood biographer William Mann chronicles that dizzying ascent, telling the riveting behind-the-scenes story of how Streisand and her team transformed her from an unknown dreamer into a worldwide superstar.
Drawing on the private papers of Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, and interviewing scores of the friends and lovers who knew Barbara before she became Barbra, Mann recreates the vanished world of 1960s New York City and uncovers the truth behind the myths of her formative years. He shows us how Funny Girl was slowly altered, by Fosse and Robbins among others, from a Fanny Brice bio into a star-making vehicle for Streisand; takes us into the clubs and onto the set for her early nightclub and television appearances, including her torch-handing turn with Judy Garland; and introduces the canny marketing team whose strategies made her stardom seem inevitable. The Streisand who emerges is a revelation: a young woman who, for all her tough-skinned ambition, was surprisingly vulnerable in love.
Everyone who has felt outside the gate, as she once did, remembers a time when the newness and difference of Barbra Streisand changed everything and rewrote all the rules. In Hello, Gorgeous, Mann incisively illuminates the woman before she became the icon and pays tribute to one of the worldand#8217;s most beloved performers.
About the Author
Christopher Andersen is the critically acclaimed author of twenty-eight books, which have been translated into more than twenty-five languages worldwide. A former contributing editor of Time magazine and senior editor of People magazine, Andersen has also written hundreds of articles for a wide range of publications, including Life magazine, the New York Times, and Vanity Fair.
Table of Contents
The Endand#160;and#160;and#160;1
Sixty Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;5
Forty-Five Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;22
Forty-One Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;40
Thirty-Seven Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;56
Thirty-Five Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;69
Thirty-Three Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;90
Thirty-Two Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;116
Twenty-Eight Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;137
Twenty-Seven Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;162
Twenty-Four Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;193
Twenty Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;223
Sixteen Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;252
Fifteen Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;286
Fourteen Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;346
Thirteen Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;395
Twelve Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;407
Eleven Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;432
Nine Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;458
Eight Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;485
Seven Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;497
Six Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;513
Five Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;521
Four Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;532
Three Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;540
Two Yearsand#160;and#160;and#160;547
One Yearand#160;and#160;and#160;563
One Hour and Fifty-Three Minutesand#160;and#160;and#160;586 and#160; Acknowledgmentsand#160;and#160;and#160;593
Notes and#160;and#160;and#160;600
Indexand#160;and#160;and#160;696