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Paperback Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland Book

ISBN: 0385335156

ISBN13: 9780385335157

Get Happy

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

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Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - " A] masterly biography" (People) of Judy Garland that thoroughly captures her intrepid spirit--and her hidden demons--from the acclaimed author of Capote

"A compelling read . . . In a big, gutsy biography, Gerald Clarke brings insight and fresh detail to Judy Garland's story."--Entertainment Weekly

She lived at full throttle on stage, screen, and in real life, with highs that made history and lows that finally brought down the curtain at age forty-seven.

From her tumultuous early years as a child performer to her tragic last days, Gerald Clarke reveals the authentic Judy Garland in a biography rich in new detail and unprecedented revelations. Based on hundreds of interviews and drawing on her own unfinished--and unpublished--autobiography, Get Happy presents the real Judy Garland in all her flawed glory and creates a portrait as candid as it is compassionate.

Here are her early years, during which her parents sowed the seeds of heartbreak and self-destruction that would plague her for decades . . . the golden age of Hollywood, brought into sharp focus with cinematic urgency, from the hidden private lives of the movie world's biggest stars to the cold-eyed businessmen who controlled the machine . . . and a parade of brilliant and gifted men--lovers and artists, impresarios and crooks--who helped her reach so many creative pinnacles yet left her hopeless and alone after each seemingly inevitable fall.

Here, then, is Judy Garland in all her magic and despair: the woman, the star, the legend, in a riveting saga of tragedy, resurrection, and genius.

Customer Reviews

10 customer ratings | 6 reviews

Rated 5 stars
A Thoroughly Researched Biography

In 1988 Gerald Clarke wrote an exhaustively comprehensive biography of Truman Capote. It's a great book that managed to take the sometimes dry emotionless format of the biography, and infuse it with new life. It read like a great fiction novel, making you quickly turning the pages to see what was going to happen to Capote next.Happily, after reading his new Garland bio I can say he hasn't lost his gift for penning an addictive...

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Rated 5 stars
A fascinating, but sad look at a lengend's life.

What an amazing feat. Gerald Clarke has done what other authors of Garland biographies have failed to do: provided a fascinating and well written tale of the Judy Garland that others didn't see. He certainly did make his ten years of research well worth the effort. In response to other reviewers' complaints about Clarke writing mostly about her dark side, what's the point in writing a biography if an author sugar-coats...

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Rated 5 stars
Fascinating portrait

I'm actually shocked to read some of the other negative reviews here. It's obvious there are a lot of fans who won't settle for anything less than a rosy, idealized portrait of their godess. I, on the other hand, thought it was a fantastic, well-rounded look at an extremely talented and complicated woman. Clarke obviously has great respect for his subject but does not treat Garland or her life with kid gloves. Ultimately,...

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Rated 5 stars
surprising new information

Gerald Clarke wrote an excellent bio of Truman Capote and he does it again! You would think after many books there would be nothing new to say about Judy but Clarke finds new information and he writes with intelligence, taste and sensitivity.

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