Becoming
Mae West by Emily Worth Leider
She was the Madonna of her time, parlaying a modest talent into international
celebrity with a carefully cultivated, outsized personality and an unerring
instinct for just how outrageous to be without alienating her audience.
Mae West (1893-1980) crafted the persona that made her the biggest movie
star of the early 1930s during her vaudeville and Broadway apprenticeship.
Those formative years are the subject of this absorbing cultural biography,
which closes in 1938 when Paramount dropped her contract. A generous sampling
of West one-liners adds sparkle to the text. -- Amazon.com Paperback from DaCapo Press
Book Published: 04 April, 2000
