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lisanne624 's review for:
I received an advanced uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher. The title intrigued me and I was expecting a juicy tell-all in the manner of "Hollywood Babylon." This book, however, was written by a woman who got a Ph.D. in "the history of the gossip industry" (?). So the book, while lavishly provided with footnotes, isn't really what I was expecting. Most of the scandals that are included are already well-known (Fatty Arbuckle, Clara Bow, James Dean, etc.) so this book didn't really cover much new ground. The main focus of the book was how powerful gossip columnists covered potentially damaging information, but there really wasn't much debunking or exploration of some well-known scandals (Clara Bow and the football team escapade wasn't even mentioned, nor was there any speculation as to the reason for the suicide of Jean Harlow's husband). So if someone has never done any reading about old Hollywood scandals, this might be an interesting starting point. But for anyone who is already familiar with these stories and was hoping for new information, you'll be disappointed.