David Houston (1) (1938–)

A strange muddle of a book that tries to throw way too many ideas and concepts together and as a result has no real focus. Even the titular character of Wing Master hardly appears. The short clipped, almost staccato, prose style kept me engaged till about two-thirds of the way through the book, but then the mess of the plot and constant jumping around just became a chore to finish.

A revealing account of Joan Crawford's early life and rise to stardom centers on her childhood in an impoverished rural Bible Belt town with a cruel, sadistic mother and a loving but weak stepfather