Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163849 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

A truly great tribute to Marilyn Monroe...
I ordered this book some months back on Amazon and when it
arrived through my door, I must confess I thought this looks like another
sensationalized/conspiracy type book that would probably be looked over once
& then put to one side (just proves first impressions don't always count) ...
I didn't even intend to write a review on it!

However, the minute I opened it I was just so impressed by it. I had a sneak
look at the end first & after that I thought I have to read it from cover to
cover, the end section is about Robert Slatzer & it was just so good to read
something in print that I felt should have been written 30 years ago!!! I
won't tell you what it says as I don't want to spoil the book for you but it
's a must read & I think it has been added to the books transcript later on
as the print is different from the rest, it's a chapter called "Send In The
Clowns." Since Marilyn's death there have been many. A totally shameless
shameful bunch of characters which we all know too well.
Anyways, the more I read the more I couldn't put it down, often going back &
checking to make sure what I was reading was there on the page & not just in
my head. I finished it in a night & a morning & couldn't wait to get to work
on what I wanted to say about it & even contacted the author. I felt I
needed to this person to know how much I loved his book & wanted to share my
thoughts with the world and anyone who would listen...

There's so much detail paid to Marilyn's family history & the infant Norma
Jeane, right through to the point of most popular film star in the world.
John takes us on a journey as if we were a witness to it... he writes
beautifully and with a great deal of sensitivity & he doesn't spare any
detail in describing her often difficult relationships with the individuals
in her childhood & the relationship with her mother, intimate details
including her marriage to James Dougherty & her pain during her menstrual
cycle & her other physical problems which few authors have touched on
previous. He doesn't portray her as a victim the way some authors have but
does talk about how exploited she was during her short lifetime. You come
away seeing a more human character & any flaws she had in her character were
thrust on her from things that were outwith her control.

John had a similar background to Marilyn & this comes across very clearly in
his text. You feel he really understood what she went through. He also met
her several times & despite having been in her company in Hollywood & New
York, does not claim to have been close to her & felt a bit intimidated by
her success & had "an inability to reach past his self-concerns which shut
him in his own cocoon." He admits to feeling, "timid & selfish for never
having reached past her fame to engage our spirits." This I felt was sad as
I think Marilyn would have benefited a great deal from knowing him. He could
have been so supportive to her, having been so similar in character. I wrote
to John, and noted my feelings on this with him and he wrote me a lovely
reply and said this: "Thank you for your comment about the projected
closeness Marilyn and I might have achieved. It has always felt like it was
in the cards, so to speak, when we might've worked together in the last
Jerry Wald picture. Out here, life gets measured by pictures. There are
moments when the energy or Marilyn is right across the table from me, I can
reach out my hand and touch it."

I will end the review with a quote from John's book on his first encounter
with Marilyn. He writes:- "Looking exactly like she'd stepped out of a
magazine gave me a hard time not falling for her instantly - whether I'd
admit it to anyone or not. Others had the same reaction, I knew, but there I
was, trying to look right into her eyes but I couldn't see her eyes worth a
heck because of the big black sunglasses blocking part of her face. I'd read
her eyes were blue with a cast of grey and I'd seen them shining a
seductive, playful way from a hundred photographs, but that first time of
seeing Marilyn was like seeing an angel. All she lacked was wings."

The Crème de la Crème of Marilyn Monroe Biographies
John Gilmore's genius is at its peak in this penetrating biography. Because of a fascination with Marilyn Monroe that began before puberty, I have read every single book ever written about her. I love her. But I'd long been frustrated that none of the books I read gave actual breath to the real human being that Marilyn/Norma Jeane was. Not until now. At long last the book I'd been searching for all my life has been written. Even better, it's been written by one of my favorite authors. And the prose is breathtaking: "Trying to reach Gladys [Marilyn's mother] was like stirring the air, floating her further away." Finally, I can experience what it truly was like to be inside the skin of Marilyn Monroe. Opening John Gilmore's book on Marilyn means stepping into a time machine that has the capacity for mingling and merging energies to the point where the reader becomes one with Marilyn/Norma Jeane. It's more than the ultimate Marilyn Monroe experience. Reading INSIDE MARILYN MONROE illuminates the mind to a greater compassion and understanding of the human condition. To my loved ones, friends and family, there is no other book about life that I'd more strongly recommend than this one. It is an awakening. Through Marilyn Monroe, Gilmore takes us on a journey to greater enlightenment. He does so with integrity. Every phrase he writes reverberates with truth.

John Gilmore knows that no matter how hard some people try to twist reality to their vision, for whatever reasons, the truth remains. Maybe this is why he turned his back on stardom when the powerful Hollywood agent, Henry Willson, made clear to the young Gilmore that he would have to drop his pants and do what all the handsome stars of the era did for him (Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Troy Donahue, Guy Madison and a great many more) to get where they got or else Willson would make stardom impossible (details found in the book: "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson" by Robert Hofler). Yes, Gilmore is a man of integrity. And he is not afraid of facing the truth, going deep, to the core. His going to the core is one of the major reasons I respect him so much as a writer. I do believe he is a genius of the heart. There is no other book than this one that captures so clearly what motivated Marilyn to become a star greater than Jean Harlow. Such insights make this book a treasure for aspiring stars everywhere. Thanks to John Gilmore, the light will always shine. Especially if he performs INSIDE MARILYN MONROE on an Audio CD made available to the public. For it's about time John Gilmore shares more of his acting talents with his fans. Having seen his films, which include: "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (Global Warming Edition) with Walter Pidgeon, Barbara Eden, and Peter Lorre, plus having heard him read live in L.A., I'm convinced all will find hearing this book from his lips totally addictive. Along with Marilyn Monroe's personal masseur, Ralph Roberts, surviving blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren, the first teen heartthrob Tony Curtis, and a great many more, John Gilmore penetrates unexplored aspects of fame and Marilyn Monroe in Van Gogh's Ear 5: The Celebrity Edition, with numerous never-before-seen shots of Marilyn Monroe. Van Gogh's Ear: Volume 5 -- The Celebrity Edition

A very Interesting book on the life of Marilyn Monroe.
An intruiging book of Marilyn Monroe's life. When I first saw the front cover, it did look a bit dull but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! The saying is you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. It has infomation going back to her grandmother's and her mother's life before she was born right up to her longing desire to have children. It not only talks about Norma Jean Baker, the normal girl with wishes but also about Marilyn Monroe the famous actress. I love reading about Marilyn's life and the conspiracy stories. This book has made me sypathasise for Marilyn about her sorrows and wish for people to take her more seriously. I would have loved to be a friend of Marilyn as I would have took her seriously as a person and an actress. If you want to know all about Marilyn, then this is book for you.