Rating: 
Summary: Sad story, beautifully told.
Review: Extremely detailed and slow biography of one of the most sexually attractive actresses of the silent movie, based on her diaries.
Her life can be summarized by 'sex and gin'.
Abused child; having an orgy of two months with Charles Chaplin; kicked out of Hollywood because of her unrestrained life style; her successes in Europe as Lulu; her life as an escort girl. Even this career was not to last, because she was unable to feign sexual pleasure. Her later days on the brink of suicide.
The author relates it with compassion and love.
He also gives an incisive picture of Hollywood in the twenties and thirties: amoral and corrupt.
A bright actress, but what a sad life behind the curtain.
A model biography.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough study of a complex star
Review: For years, I was fascinated by the image of Louise Brooks as a cultural icon, so what an experience it finally was to absorb both Pandora's Box and this biography at the same time. I have to admit that my early impressions of Brooks were shattered upon reading this, as I did not end up feeling sympathetic towards her. For an actress of such few movies, she was quite the snob in assessing the "worth" of everyone around her -- all because her deep knowledge of literature made her feel a great sense of superiority (talk about frivolous and delusional), and she carried that attitude to the grave. She even had the audacity to tell George Gershwin that most of his compositions were tripe. My, if only dear Louise had possessed a fraction of the talent that George had in his pinkie. And that's a major point that needs to be made about Brooks -- she was more about an amazing look and on-screen aura then she was about measured talent. Which is not to say that she couldn't have developed her skills, with a longer career, but we'll obviously never know for sure. On the one hand, you admire Brooks for her fire, independence and take-no-crap attitude; on the other hand, you're left feeling that her fate was largely self-induced, due to her unwavering impulsiveness. And I guess I'm in the minority who's not impressed with her comeback as an "expert" Hollywood historian. No doubt, she could write, but her opinions lack the immediacy of someone who was *there* when events happened. At least Bette Davis had many years of acting and firsthand work experiences behind her to make her viewpoints more intimate and colorful.
Overall, though, I'm glad I read this book. It's very well-written, entertaining to read, and full of enlightening anecdotes about the flapper age and Hollywood's internal politics. Brooks' complexity was well worth exploring -- even to those like myself who feel that Paris pays her more honor than she truly deserved.
Rating:
Summary: Best Film Star Biography Ever!
Review: In this fascinating book, Barry Paris paints a portrait of a remarkable woman, warts and all. Unlike many of the many biographies which only serve to inflate a stars already massive ego, this gives you the full story of one of the silent screens most interesting stars - and one whose fame was sadly short lived. Louise Brooks never followed the Hollywood rules, but in doing so ensured that her name would be remembered for more than just her acting. Barry Paris presents her story in a way which makes you want to read on, just to see what Louise does next! If you buy just one book this year, make it this...
Rating:
Summary: Best Film Star Biography Ever!
Review: In this fascinating book, Barry Paris paints a portrait of a remarkable woman, warts and all. Unlike many of the many biographies which only serve to inflate a stars already massive ego, this gives you the full story of one of the silent screens most interesting stars - and one whose fame was sadly short lived. Louise Brooks never followed the Hollywood rules, but in doing so ensured that her name would be remembered for more than just her acting. Barry Paris presents her story in a way which makes you want to read on, just to see what Louise does next! If you buy just one book this year, make it this...
Rating:
Summary: I Adored This Book
Review: Louise Brooks was a remarkable woman in many ways and this excellent biography depicts her entire story in a way that lets us truly get to know this fascinating and original individual. Louise was far more than just a pretty face. She had talent oozing from literally every pore of her body. I have caught the bug and am now a devoted Brooks fan for life, and finding this book by fellow Pittsburgher Barry Paris has enriched my knowledge of Louise for which I will be forever grateful. Thank you Barry, this is wonderful research you've done for us here, and all fans of Louise Brooks owe you a standing ovation!There aren't many biographies on Louise that I could find outside of this book and Louise's own autobiography of sorts, titled "Lulu in Hollywood", but there isn't room for many more as this thorough study covers everything one would wish to know about Louise Brooks and her fascinating life onscreen and off. Tired of the typical spoiled starlet of yesteryear? Think all old-time actors were all the same? Boy are you wrong, and this book will prove it to you! This is one woman who breaks down all conventions and shatters all illusions. Louise Brooks was a true original in every sense of the word! Have a look and you too will fall in love with Louise Brooks.
Rating:
Summary: A true original
Review: Louise Brooks was never as famous in her day as other female actors like Colleen Moore and Clara Bow, and in fact most people were more familiar with her face than with her films, but she just had that special something that enabled her to stand the test of time, not only as a cult figure (as when she had a revival in the Fifties and again in the Eighties) but also as a very talented actor in her own right, cult figure or not. And today a lot of female actors who were very famous in her era, like Colleen Moore and the Talmadge sisters, are all but forgotten, while Louise lives on. Mr. Paris, in telling the story of Louise's life, explains just what about her has made her live on long after many other performers of her era have been forgotten by time and the average person off the street. I also particularly liked the chapter "Sound and Fury," with a lot of in-depth information on the coming of sound, and just how many people really were affected by the transition from silent to noise, not just the actors. Title-card writers and musicians were some of the other people in the business affected by it; their jobs were more or less made obsolete altogether.
This was not a woman who was interested in making friends and influencing people, and was quite capable of venomously turning on friends and even relatives to whom she'd formerly felt very close and affectionate. You didn't want to get on her bad side. She also had always wanted to be known as a professional dancer, not an actor, and when she had been dragged into motion pictures, she made what many people would consider some foolish decisions, decisions that sometimes cost her important roles that might have advanced her career. Indeed, some of the decisions she made, seemingly based on wanting to get even with the powers that be, put some serious nails in the coffin of her career, though she also made some incredibly risky decisions that in the long run landed her her cult status and lasting appeal (making the three movies abroad for G.W. Pabst, movies which initially bombed and were devastatingly reviewed). Because she refused to play nice and brown-nose the powers that be, she never amounted to much in the talking pictures she made in the Thirties, but her life after she quit motion pictures was just as fascinating. And isn't it preferable to be remembered best for the top-quality pictures you made as opposed to being remembered as and made fun of for having continued to act in increasingly bad movies after you've already become a has-been who won't get the message and retire gracefully?
Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of a career misspent and partially redeemed
Review: Seeing Louise Brooks for the first time (in _Diary of a Lost Girl_)was one of the more memorable movie experiences for me; and then I was curious as to why an actress with such presence and natural acting skills didn't have more extensive screen credits. This book recounts why: she was impulsive, wilfully threw many opportunities away (including a role in Cagney's "Public Enemy"), and in the words from an Aerosmith song, "keep the right ones [people] out and let the wrong ones in." As a whole I found this biography informative and balanced: it duly celebrates Brooks' gifts but doesn't downplay her faults -- and they (good and bad) were many; I suspect quite a few readers, like myself, will come away from this book much less enamoured with Brooks as a star but more sympathetic to her as a flawed but resilient individual. The book is also a fascinating introduction to the various personalities that Brooks came into contact with during her heydays, including Charlie Chaplin and Marion Davies. On the negative side, I thought this biography relies too much on quoting wholesale various letters of Brooks (which aren't always reliable indicators of veracity) and offers no insight -- or at least reasonable speculation -- on several basic aspects of her life, such as whether she was ever with child.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Excellent
Review: The Barry Paris biography of Louise Brooks is a harrowing, riveting and brilliant recollection of an obscure but genius silent film star. The wit, venom and power of Louise Brooks as an author, actor, and person are brought to light in this accessible and entertaining book. It is the bible for all fans of Louise Brooks and should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Hollywood, silent film, dance, and the fine art of celebrity. If you have half a brain and can get one eye open, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Excellent
Review: The Barry Paris biography of Louise Brooks is a harrowing, riveting and brilliant recollection of an obscure but genius silent film star. The wit, venom and power of Louise Brooks as an author, actor, and person are brought to light in this accessible and entertaining book. It is the bible for all fans of Louise Brooks and should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Hollywood, silent film, dance, and the fine art of celebrity. If you have half a brain and can get one eye open, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Star Biography Written
Review: This is arguably the best biography of a film star. Barry Paris has investigated the tempestuous life of Louise Brooks so thoroughly that any other volume on her life would pale by comparison. The book is well written and goes into great detail about Louise Brooks' life and why she seemed to make her suicidal career choices. Mr. Paris also provides his readers with a good background to the world of Louise Brooks. We learn about modern dance when discussing Brooks' invitation to join Denishawn dancers, about George White and the Scandals and Ziegfeld and his Follies when Brooks danced for them and about the silent film world and the struggles of the industry to cope with the advent of sound.
Mr. Paris delves deeply into Louise Brooks' relationship with her family and lovers, and devotes a wonderful chapter on G. W. Pabst and the making of Pandora's Box. While reading the book, I was drawn to see her films and enjoyed them much more with the insight provided by Mr. Paris. The working relationship between the actors involved in Pandora's Box was particularly illuminating and I had a greater appreciation of Louise Brooks' performance.
The most tantalizing aspect of Louise Brooks is her career suicide. One wonders how she could have so casually ended her career in films when she was an up-and-coming star. She was equally difficult with her dancing partners when she briefly returned to professional dancing, and even her the vain attempts to work as a store clerk. Louise Brooks had an astonishing intellect, so much so that many of the men in her life felt threatened by her but despite her intelligence she was never able to find a satisfying life for herself. Eventually, she found a kind of niche in her writing. Mr. Paris examines all of her contradictions thoughtfully but does not present a definitive conclusion. I liked the way the biography stuck to presenting the life of Louise Brooks without any attempt to moralize or judge; the facts and background are left for the reader to contemplate. I found the book very thought provoking.
The book is nicely illustrated, including a short gallery of Louise Brooks' best portraits. This is a fascinating biography of a natural actress who had a loathing for the profession; a woman who could be a good friend and equally suddenly turn against them. This is a book that should not be missed even if someone does not have an interest in silent films.
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