Rating: 
Summary: Suspicious circumstances
Review: I do not understand why certain critics who are acquaintances of Mr. Lambert's have described this as an affectionate book about actress Natalie Wood. It is not a sympathetic portrait of Miss Wood' in fact, Mr. Lambert blames her for the tragic events in her life when she's not alive to defend herself. He also goes out of his way to attack her mother and her sister in what seems to be a personal vendetta while at the same time falsely glorifying rv actor Robert Wagner, who he admits is a long time friend of his. There would be no need to remember Miss Wood in a book at this time had she not drowned under suspicious circumstances that Mr. Wagner obviously wishes to conceal. It is clear that Mr. Lambert's true loyalty is to Robert Wagner, not to Natalie Wood.
Rating: 
Summary: A touching a revealing tribute
Review: I eagerly awaited for this book to come out, just like its predecessor, Natasha. I found this book to be less gossipy, dramatic, and interesting than Natasha. Having said that, though, I believe this Natalie Wood biography is much more accurate of her life, considering the author personally knew the actress, and was able to have the cooperation of her family. I was disappointed that he was not able to interview Robert Redford, Lana Wood, or other family or cast members from Natalie's life. Perhaps because they had already been interviewed for Natasha, there was nothing new to be said. But the author was able to get important interviews from Robert Wagner and her children, and the most revealing quotes are from her husband, who truly seems to be dedicated to his family and Natalie's legacy.
The beginning chapters focused too much on Natalie's mother (just like Natasha), and it's still hard to judge whether "Mud" was "Mommie Dearest" or just plain odd. I was also disappointed that the author did not include clearer pictures of Natalie. She was so beautiful and prolific-why not include colored photos, or pictures from all the public events that she attended (which he talks about many times). My favorite chapter is the last one, in which he highlights her most defining film roles and discusses their importance. Altogether, this is an insightful, haunting, and beautiful portrait of the late great actress, who died just as her life seemed to be withering and growing professional and personally at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm....... interesting
Review: I found it novel to be able to post a review on a book and subject I've always found interesting (my thanks to you for the opportunity) so I've come back today to "vist" my review and in doing so, I read some of the others of course! The suprise was that you've posted two reviews that are identical save the title: one dated January 17th and one January the 18th. Have a look. Even knowing as little of the publishing industry as I do, I'd still call that plugging! Surely one review per person is enough. Had it been me I'd at least changed up the title a bit. regards,
mitch wilkins
Rating:
Summary: Natalie Wood
Review: I waited to read this book and was totally disgusted with it. It was more of a history about her mother (who was no doubt certifiable). Ms Wood dedicated her life, for good or for bad, to the Screen. The least this author could have done was not to write it like someone was standing over his shoulder!
Rating: 
Summary: Lambert's Slide
Review: I was very disappointed with the author's version of Natalie's life. I think it can be sumed up by the fact that "Robert Wagner" gave his full cooperation to the author. In other words, all the real nitty gritty details of Natalie's life were deleted. Wagner I do not believe is as sentimental and as wounded by his wife's passing as he leads us to believe. I feel he has far more sinister reasons to remain silent. If you want to read a far more indepth, honest portrayal of Natalie's life, read "Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Woods" by Suzuanne Finstad. Once you have read her book, I think you will understand why this author has short cheated all Natalie's fans by misleading and avoiding the truth in her unfortnuate death. Natalie's death should never have happened. I hold Wagner responsible. His actions that evening will be his down fall when he faces his final curtain call. My heart breaks for Natalie. The one person that should have protected and loved her, failed her miserably. In fact, her whole life she was let down by those that supposedly loved and cared for her. What a tragic ending to such a beautiful and talented woman's life. Skip this watered down version of her life and read the book I mentioned above. You will never view Natalie or Wagner the same.
Rating:
Summary: Natalie Wood: A Life
Review: I was very disappointed with the author's version of Natalie's life. I think it can be sumed up by the fact that "Robert Wagner" gave his full cooperation to the author. In other words, all the real nitty gritty details of Natalie's life were deleted. Wagner I do not believe is as sentimental and as wounded by his wife's passing as he leads us to believe. I feel he has far more sinister reasons to remain silent. If you want to read a far more indepth, honest portrayal of Natalie's life, read "Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Woods" by Suzuanne Finstad. Once you have read her book, I think you will understand why this author has short cheated all Natalie's fans by misleading and avoiding the truth in her unfortnuate death. Natalie's death should never have happened. I hold Wagner responsible. His actions that evening will be his down fall when he faces his final curtain call. My heart breaks for Natalie. The one person that should have protected and loved her, failed her miserably. In fact, her whole life she was let down by those that supposedly loved and cared for her. What a tragic ending to such a beautiful and talented woman's life. Skip this watered down version of her life and read the book I mentioned above. You will never view Natalie or Wagner the same.
Rating:
Summary: A more fitting title would be "Natalie Wood: A Lie"
Review: In response to the earlier review about whether one would rather read a biography of Natalie Wood written by a 20-year friend or somebody who never knew her, I'd rather read the one written by somebody who didn't know her, Suzanne Finstad. I've read both these books and at least with Finstad's earlier book "Natasha" one never senses that she is taking "sides" in telling Natalie Wood's life story and she remains an objective writer. There is no agenda with Finstad's book as there clearly is with Gavin Lambert's "Natalie Wood: A Life." It is downright uncomfortable to read Lambert's negative comments about Wood's mother Maria (who isn't alive to defend herself) or especially about Wood's sister, Lana Wood, who clearly was not interviewed for the book to respond to the negative things said about her and provide her side to the story. (When Lambert makes the crack that Lana Wood later lived in a "rented" house in recent years, in a thinly-disguised attempt to paint her as a "loser," it is downright cruel and inappropriate and un-called for. How many folks have lived in rented houses in their lifetimes? Is that supposed to be a shame or a sin?) If Robert Wagner comes off badly in Suzanne Finstad's book, it is likely because he chose not to be interviewed for that book to respond to the information she uncovered about him. It is difficult to take Gavin Lambert's writing seriously when one senses how much influence Robert Wagner had on the book. The main problem one has with "Natalie Wood: A Life" is that Lambert mainly interviews other big stars and celebrities as well as the major directors who worked with Wood. How about interviewing the "below-the-line" crew members on the films she made? I tend not to believe anything a major star says about another star, or what a director says about an actor he worked with. These people usually say nice things about one another in order not to alienate people who might hire them again. It would be more telling to find out if Natalie Wood was also a lovely and nice person to the "little people" she encountered or worked with in her lifetime that she didn't HAVE to be nice to. To quote 1960s starlet (and current Vietnam Vet activist) Chris Noel from Tom Lisanti's excellent FANTASY FEMMES OF SIXTIES CINEMA book, "I liked Lana Wood. I never liked her sister Natalie but Lana was neat. Natalie was stuck-up." The most laughable aspect of Lambert's book is how he goes into deep analysis of Wood's film acting career. With about 5 or 6 exceptions, Natalie Wood was a manufactured movie star whose 50-plus movie career was mediocre at best. When Lambert tries to justify Wood's choice of appearing in more television projects in the 1970s by arguing the cinema had degenerated into a medium of disaster epics and special effects, it is downright embarrassing. Lambert seems to intentionally forget that the 1970s was also the cinematic decade of "Five Easy Pieces," "The Godfather" films, "The Last Picture Show," "Nashville," "Network," "Chinatown," "Badlands," "Annie Hall," and other great masterworks that are undisputed classics. If Wood turned to TV, it wasn't because great films weren't being made at that time. It's because she represented a Hollywood of artifice and illusion that didn't exist in a decade that was actively making films in response to the turmoil of Vietnam and Watergate.
Rating: 
Summary: Natalie Wood : A Life
Review: Natalie Wood has been dead for over 20 years, and yet this is the second biography about her since 2001. In the acknowledgments, Lambert writes, "This book owes its primary existence to Robert Wagner." It is not surprising that Wagner, Wood's husband, would want to have his side told after the publication of Natasha (2001), in which Suzanne Finstad implied that Wagner's actions on the night Wood perished may have contributed to her death. Lambert, an established writer and longtime friend of Wood's, was given full access to her private papers, letters, daybooks, family, and friends. This gives an "insider" feel to the book, and some interesting questions emerge, such as why Wood once tried to kill herself and who her father really was. However, the basic facts of her life and career remain the same as those outlined in other books, and in this, Wagner's presence looms large. There are swipes at Natalie's sister, who wrote an unflattering book (Natalie, a Memoir by Her Sister, 1984), and at Warren Beatty, who had an affair with Natalie. Ultimately, this seems to be Wagner's way of having the last word on what has been written, but the mystery of Wood's death remains.
Rating:
Summary: Natalie Wood : A Life
Review: Natalie Wood has been dead for over 20 years, and yet this is the second biography about her since 2001. In the acknowledgments, Lambert writes, "This book owes its primary existence to Robert Wagner." It is not surprising that Wagner, Wood's husband, would want to have his side told after the publication of Natasha (2001), in which Suzanne Finstad implied that Wagner's actions on the night Wood perished may have contributed to her death. Lambert, an established writer and longtime friend of Wood's, was given full access to her private papers, letters, daybooks, family, and friends. This gives an "insider" feel to the book, and some interesting questions emerge, such as why Wood once tried to kill herself and who her father really was. However, the basic facts of her life and career remain the same as those outlined in other books, and in this, Wagner's presence looms large. There are swipes at Natalie's sister, who wrote an unflattering book (Natalie, a Memoir by Her Sister, 1984), and at Warren Beatty, who had an affair with Natalie. Ultimately, this seems to be Wagner's way of having the last word on what has been written, but the mystery of Wood's death remains.
Rating:
Summary: Lambert's Slide
Review: The once witty and insightful, if not bitchy, Lambert has written
a book which, after reading, made me feel cheated and as if the KGB was in on a deal to black out truths and had preposterous quotes from a gang of bit players like Donfeld, who has a vivid imagination in regards to his closeness to Ms.Wood.As a result,
Lambert ends up depending way too much time dodging the really
"adult" Wood and how much she was loved as a person and of all the speculations by people she, in fact, disliked intensely and
how little cooperation those closest to her leant to the writing
of her life.Lambert adds tidbits of gay sex,drugs,rumors and a
hodpodge of junk which ultimately results in a "tell all" kind of tabloid piece of junk.Discussions with groups who knew her and read the book are all as disappointed that Lambert took on the task knowing full well that he was not going to get any real cooperation from those who could have filled in the huge voids of her "real" life.He puts so much weight of the book on her mother's involvement, the book is topheavy with uninteresting Russian history and mama Maria's evil ways.Another book one day will be written with the real truth behind her final days.
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