Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox

Like her art Marilyn Monroe was rooted in paradox: She was a powerful star and a childlike waif; a joyful irreverent party girl with a deeply spiritual side; a superb friend and a narcissist; a dumb blonde and an intellectual. No previous biographer has recognized-much less attempted to analyze-most of these aspects of her personality. Lois Banner has. With new details about Marilyns childhood foster homes her sexual abuse her multiple marriages her affairs and her untimely death at the age of thirty-six Marilyn is at last the nuanced biography Monroe fans have been waiting for.