Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

Warren Beatty's exalted status as celebrity movie star and womanizer have rather obscured his credentials as a filmmaker who shares with Orson Welles the distinction of receiving four Academy Award nominations for a single film. And Beatty turned that trick twice, for Heaven Can Wait and Reds, winning Best Director honors for the latter. Biskind does justice by both aspects of the Hollywood legend. Cinephiles will most appreciate his detailed accounts of the filming of such modern classics as Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and Shampoo, as well as the legendary flop Ishtar and the brash, ambitious political comedy Bulworth. For those more interested in Beatty's love life, there's plenty of dish on relationships with Julie Christie, Diane Keaton, Madonna, and multitudes of other girlfriends, well-known and not. Biskind also covers Beatty's dabbling in politics, particularly his friendship with failed presidential candidate Gary Hart. What really distinguish this highly readable biography are the notoriously evasive Beatty's cooperation to a point with its realization and Biskind's access to many of the star's colleagues and lovers.--Flagg, Gordon Copyright 2010 Booklist

Celebrity biographer Biskind pays requisite and respectful attention to Warren Beatty's career as an actor and director, but what really gets him going is Beatty's reputation as one of Hollywood's most notorious lotharios, and he devotes most of his creative energies to going over Beatty's (rumored and real) romantic resume. Biskind relishes anecdotes of Beatty's liaisons with supposedly thousands of women, everyone from Natalie Wood to Madonna, but David Drummond reads with a louche gossip columnist tone and is too tongue-in-cheek and contrived to merit serious or sustained interest. Listeners are likely to question the veracity of Biskind's sources or just lose interest altogether. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 23). (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Biskind (Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood) takes on the gargantuan task of pinning down Warren Beatty, known for his uncommunicative style and his manipulative behavior; the author likens finishing this book to "recovering from a lingering illness." But the result is an exhaustive (there are 42 pages of notes) yet readable biography on this Hollywood icon. Biskind doesn't dwell long on Beatty's childhood but jumps right into his rocky rise to stardom as a handsome yet untrained actor and his eventual success as a Hollywood director who was able to work within the system and still achieve an unparalleled level of independence through his savvy and charm. Biskind also includes juicy details about Beatty's success with women-his high-profile affairs with Natalie Wood, Julie Christie, Diane Keaton, Madonna, and others. Verdict This definitive work on Beatty is well written and compulsively readable. For all readers of celebrity biographies as well as film enthusiasts and Beatty's many fans.-Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Film historian Biskind (Gods and Monsters: Movers, Shakers, and Other Casualties of the Hollywood Machine, 2004, etc.) examines the eventful life and career of Warren Beatty, one of Hollywood's last exemplars of old-school glamour and, evidently, as maddening an individual as ever graced the silver screen. The author eschews delving into Beatty's early life, beginning his narrative with the tyro's early acting roles in theater and live television, when the actor established the twin poles of his personathe intractable artiste and compulsive seducer of women. Restless, intelligent and secretive, Beatty wielded his charm and beauty as a weapon, using his skills in seduction to manipulate his way into stardom despite a difficult reputation and multiple flops, leaving a bloody trail of broken hearts and damaged careers in his wake. His romances with the likes of Joan Collins, Leslie Caron, Natalie Wood, Diane Keaton and Madonna echo the pattern of relationships with screenwriters including Robert Towne, James Toback and Elaine May: Beatty would charm, overwhelm and drain the object of his attentions, ruthlessly move on when it suited his agenda and yet maintain good relations down the line. Beatty's parallel career as a political agitator bore the hallmarks of his film workcompromised by indecisiveness and ego. Biskind brings his historian's acumen to bear on the production of era-defining triumphs like Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Shampoo (1975) and Reds (1981), as well as notorious flops like Ishtar (1987), Love Affair (1994) and Town Country (2001), and his accounts are full of juicy gossip and intriguing insights into the actor's psychology. As a producer and director, Beatty demonstrated a compulsive nature bordering on psychosis, demanding endless takes and micromanaging insignificant details that drove his projects wildly over schedule and budget and threatened the studios that backed them. A gripping portrait of a difficult talent. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

For his sixth book—following Gods and Monsters (2004)—and first biography, journalist Biskind draws on interviews with Warren Beatty and his friends and colleagues as well as uses his accumulated knowledge of the inner workings of the movie industry to create this intricate portrait of one of Hollywood's most recognizable leading men. Biskind delves into both the facts and the gossip surrounding Beatty's long career in show business and his numerous relationships with equally famous women. Actor David Drummond, a relative newbie in the audiobook narrating business, reads with aplomb, varying his tones as needed to distinguish among the characters and create tension. Fans of Beatty and his films, listeners who appreciate celebrity bios, and those who liked Biskind's previous works should enjoy this. [The S. & S. hc was described as the "definitive work" on Beatty, "well written and compulsively readable."—LJ Xpress Reviews, 12/11/09.—Ed.]—Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

Celebrity biographer Biskind pays requisite and respectful attention to Warren Beatty's career as an actor and director, but what really gets him going is Beatty's reputation as one of Hollywood's most notorious lotharios, and he devotes most of his creative energies to going over Beatty's (rumored and real) romantic rsum. Biskind relishes anecdotes of Beatty's liaisons with supposedly thousands of women, everyone from Natalie Wood to Madonna, but David Drummond reads with a louche gossip columnist tone and is too tongue-in-cheek and contrived to merit serious or sustained interest. Listeners are likely to question the veracity of Biskind's sources or just lose interest altogether. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 23). (Feb.)