Liz Smith, on the book's back cover, says, "There's never been a truly great biography of Doris Day." Well, that statement is still true because this book is not a great biography. It's basically an updating of a 30-year-old autobiography that the star wrote, with very little new information. It certainly doesn't have many "untold stories" as the subtitle claims--it's mostly stuff that is told in Day's own book or a more recent book that analyzes her films.Whether you like the book will depend on whether you have read other books about her, including her autobiography. If this is your first exposure to the star on paper, then you may enjoy it as it quickly glides through her life, starting at birth and going year-by-year through her career as singer and actress.If you have read the other books about her, then this is a waste of time. It's almost 600 pages and still contains little that hasn't been stated before. The author focuses mostly on her films, but makes unusual choices in spending more space on some of her worst films (Midnight Lace, Julie, That Touch of Mink, Jumbo) and short-changing her big hits (Man Who Knew Too Much, Pillow Talk). He just skims the surface and too often quotes her autobiography or Variety articles. He is very subjective in claiming what was her best work and he favors Rock Hudson while skewering Cary Grant. At times it almost feels like a biography of Rock & Doris since so much subjective passion is stated about Hudson. That would be fine if the author spent more time disecting why the relationship worked on screen and devoted more pages to the movies they made together. But as it is written, there is very little behind the scenes insight into her work with her co-stars.The author does point out that she (like Hudson) was the opposite of her on-screen image. And that she had terrible husbands. But we knew all that before this book.He also admits that he is unable to answer some of the conflicting information that comes when different people tell stories about the star. In a number of places he doesn't seem to have done enough research to come to solid conclusions, so instead he throws in all the perspectives and leaves it all up in the air.So whether you like the book will be based on your expectation going into it--if you believe you'll hear some "untold stories" you will be disappointed. If you want a long, laborious map of the star's career with few inside stories, then you may enjoy it.
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