MM-Personal

Marilyn Monroe is our supreme icon of glamour, vulnerability, personal magnetism, and the American dream, and her legend continues to grow four decades after her death. MM—Personal is a new look behind the veil of that legend, reproducing the most fascinating relics from her private archive—once thought to have been lost, and never before revealed to the public—to clarify, qualify, or reverse many common conceptions about the “blond bombshell.”

Selected from more than 10,000 largely unseen and heretofore unpublished items from Marilyn’s own file cabinets, these documents, snapshots, letters, memorabilia, and ephemera are joined by the first account of Monroe’s life since Gloria Steinem’s Marilyn to be written by a feminist historian, revealing shades of her genius that have never before been fully understood.



ISBN-13 : 9780810995871
Publisher : Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
Publication date : 03/01/2011
Author : Lois Banner

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Fortunately for us, Marilyn Monroe was a memory hoarder. Moving too quickly to edit her own past, she abandoned piles of documents, letters, pictures, and memorabilia in file cabinet drawers, where they remained until after her premature demise. Feminist author Lois Banner selected this unique archive from more than 10,000 items left behind by the tragic starlet. She places these delicate shards of experience within the context of Marilyn's brief, eventful life. A telling, unpremeditated view of MM by herself.

Library Journal

Banner (history & gender studies, Univ. of Southern California; American Beauty) and Anderson, who has contributed photographs to the likes of Vanity Fair and GQ, present in lush photographs contents not seen before by the public from two of Marilyn Monroe's filing cabinets. Material for the book came to light after her former business manager's death when the collection was made over to the Monroe estate. It is organized into public and private life documents, with a brief summary of her life and an introduction recounting the events that brought the file cabinets to the author and photographer. In the photographs provided here of a representative sample of the contents, most are ephemera, e.g., receipts, bills, invoices, and telegrams. There are also private notes to and from acquaintances, friends, and Monroe's stepchildren.Verdict Little new information is revealed, although Banner does use the documents to refute some preconceptions about Monroe's drug use, organization, and acumen as a businesswoman. Not an essential purchase, but of interest to film and Marilyn Monroe fans.—Kimberly Bartosz, Univ. of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha.

Meet the Author

Lois Banner is professor of history and gender studies at USC. She is the author of numerous biographies and studies of women, including the classic American Beauty. Mark Anderson is an internationally known editorial and commercial photographer. He has contributed to domestic and international editions of Vanity Fair, Elle, Esquire, and Vogue.