A long, deep look into the archives of Mae West, of the papers she left behind, and an analysis of same. I really liked the dive into the vaudeville years, and the deep look at that lifestyle and history.

Despite being well-researched, it was still on the dry side, and the last years felt kind of rushed through. And it captured times, dates, plays, events, but not the SPIRIT of them... I felt like it was circling around Mae West, but never got close enough to feel her essence.

On the other hand, if anyone was ever deeply invested in maintaining the image, and dead-set not to reveal any inner fears/doubts/mistakes, it was Mae West. So, worth a read for Mae West fans or researchers. ( )

The author spent the majority of the book going over the papers of Mae West instead of giving us insight into her from quotes from those who knew or worked with her. I found this approach to be boring. We did not need endless plots of her plays or films or other writings. The joke file was somewhat interesting. There were only a few letters mentioned. There are numerous quotes from newspaper reviews, which again, does not give us much insight to Mae West the person. This is a long book and it is full of misspelled words and inaccuracies such as on page 193-194 where the author says the cast of 1941’s Strawberry Blonde consisted of James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, and Maureen O’Hara. Cagney and Hayworth yes but O’Hara – absolutely not – it was Olivia deHavilland in one of her most delightful roles. On page 315, the author indicates Charles Winninger played “Cap’n Henry” in Showboat. Showboat’s Captain always has been Cap’n Andy. As bad as Jill Watts book on Mae West was, this one is no better and not worth the time spent to read the 422 pages. ( )