Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Ha

I read the paperback edition of this book at least 2 years ago. And I was stunned to learn absolutely unknown facts about the following: Jean Harlow's outstanding acting ability; her hilarious sense of humor; how beloved she was by everyone (except Joan Crawford...) including Clark Gable and virtually every guy on the set from cameramen to gaffers; she was so endearing and kind to everyone that she was called "Baby"...in the most heartrending and respectful way; she was tiny - barely 4 feet 11 inches tall and despite her incredible beauty did not take it seriously; she tried desperately to please everyone and above all perhaps she was the most loyal friend anyone could have. The end was so heartbreaking, it still makes my eyes brim.

This is just what you want from a Biography, where the research has been done carefully and pieced together so well, so it reads straightforward it just gives you what you want to know. Question that went unanswered on this beautiful star for years have now been answered and sometimes the truth can be a tragic thing to know. The words that came to myself all the way through this book "if only". You are shown in all the right words this star as being just the real person she was, full of life inner spirit on screen and the plain truth off. At 26 it finished so sudden, this is incredibly sad for someone so young "if Only" Jean Harlow could have been strong enough to break free from her mother's grip, Just to find that happiness she needed for a short while, I believe she would have found it given more time, but time tragically once again, just wasn't on her side. This is just incredible to read, very strong, she could have been your friend someone you cared about, because you are filled with sadness by the time you reach the end. Very well written.

Kudos to David Stern for another carefully researched and well-writen biography of a classic Hollywood legend. Jean Harlow's white blond hair and smoldering looks on screen promised a good time. But under that cloud of hair was a charming and witty person who if she was alive today, I would love to listen too. David Stern shows the young woman who was under her mother (Mama Jean)'s thumb but not completely down-trodden. In her brief life, Jean Harlow made several classic films (Bombshell, Dinner at Eight, Red Headed Woman), endured a string of marriages and even wrote a book that was published many years after her tragic death.

For any fan of Jean Harlow, this is the book to buy. David Stenn's exhaustive research paid off as this is a very objective and fair book about a subject who has now been dead for over 60 years. Fortunately for the author and his readers, when Mr. Stenn did his research many friends and acquaintances of Jean Harlow's were still with us and lucid enough to provide good information about the life and career of Harlow.This book is very easy to read and chronicles a short life which was probably as interesting as any character Jean Harlow played in the movies. The anecdotes provided made me feel as though I knew Harlow personally and the end result was that I walked away from this book really caring about the subject and finding that I also really liked her a lot as a person. I have also found that I appreciate her artistry even more each time I watch one of her movies.

David Stenn's book is a meticulously researched, superbly written biography that answers the questions that inevitably pop up when we encounter Jean Harlow's image on screen -- and simultaneously contemplate her early death: Who was she? What was she really like? Was she happy? Why did she die at 26 years old? Stenn provides the answers, some of which are quite sad, all of which are true. He is also an artist with a real feel for Harlow's achievement as an artist. This is not the standard Hollywood biography, which lists one movie and then another. Stenn provides the sweep of the brief but extraordinary life of this young woman who was easily one of the most likable and adorable human beings of the twentieth century.