Helpful Score: 2
I liked the book. It was a good page turner, whether or not it's true only Angelina would know. She is one of my favorite actress's and I loved reading some of the documented real facts about her in the book.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a sketchy "unauthorized" bio, littered with input from psychologists and psychiatrists who have ideas about why Angelina is the way she is. I bought it at the airport when it first came out, interested in her background and the way she seemingly took men from other women without a care in the world. I was somewhat disappointed in the patchwork editing of facts done by Morton. However, if you're an Angelina fan, you won't be able to put it down. Between the tattoos, the adopted children, the family angst and her great talent, it's a great read!
Helpful Score: 2
The author , a "well-known biographer and leading authority on modern celebrity", does a admirable and seemingly even-handed examination on Angelina Jolie's life and exploits, although he is occasionally a little over-the-top (e.g. he repeatedly refers to her as "the world's most beautiful woman"; she IS very pretty, but who conferred that title on her?).
One quibble I have with him is his use of the words "brave" and "courageous" to decribe her behavior in her early years. She had, according to him, a lousy childhood with a nutty mother and a controlling father who couldn't get along with each other. Her respnse was a headlong flight into cutting herself, indiscriminate sex starting at age 14 (both hetrosexual and homosexual), booze, and hard drugs up to and including heroin - what precisely is brave and courageous about that? I'm speaking as a recovered alcoholic who has been sober nearly 40 years; I don't recall anything either brave or courageous about my drinking days.
He totally brushes of any suggestion that she might have gotten straightened out in AA or NA by describing her as "not a joiner". He also quotes a psychiatrist who claims you can be "addicted to heroin without being an addict" if you can still go to work. Sounds like dime-store psychiatry to me, except that I suspect the treatments this authority dispenses cost way more than a dime, and are not very effective - which does insure a lot of return customers and a guaranteed income stream.
Maybe if she had been more of a "joiner", she would have learned to live with less resentment, less fear, and less self will. Over the years she did a number on a lot of people including Billy Bob Thornton and Jennifer Anniston while trying to make herself feel better. I came away with some compassion, but a lot less respect, for Angelina.
One quibble I have with him is his use of the words "brave" and "courageous" to decribe her behavior in her early years. She had, according to him, a lousy childhood with a nutty mother and a controlling father who couldn't get along with each other. Her respnse was a headlong flight into cutting herself, indiscriminate sex starting at age 14 (both hetrosexual and homosexual), booze, and hard drugs up to and including heroin - what precisely is brave and courageous about that? I'm speaking as a recovered alcoholic who has been sober nearly 40 years; I don't recall anything either brave or courageous about my drinking days.
He totally brushes of any suggestion that she might have gotten straightened out in AA or NA by describing her as "not a joiner". He also quotes a psychiatrist who claims you can be "addicted to heroin without being an addict" if you can still go to work. Sounds like dime-store psychiatry to me, except that I suspect the treatments this authority dispenses cost way more than a dime, and are not very effective - which does insure a lot of return customers and a guaranteed income stream.
Maybe if she had been more of a "joiner", she would have learned to live with less resentment, less fear, and less self will. Over the years she did a number on a lot of people including Billy Bob Thornton and Jennifer Anniston while trying to make herself feel better. I came away with some compassion, but a lot less respect, for Angelina.
Helpful Score: 1
this book was definitely a page turner! angelina certainly has been through it; her parents split up shortly after she was born and for the next year or two she was pretty much raised by nannies or babysitters because it was too hard for her mom to be around her (she looked too much like her dad). her dad , jon voigt also seemed to have quite a few issues himself, so there's that as a kind of side story. angelina has done some very good works with the UN which is very admirable. it appears, from the book, that almost every man she came in contact with was "after her". one that stands out is mick jagger who doggedly chased her. well, don't want to give any more away, so you'll just have to read it yourself. it's definitely worth the time if you're curious at all about her or her family.
This lady is something else! From the time she was born to the present day she has issues. Yes she has done many good works, I jus tfeel like something is missing from her. The book was interesting. I have never seen a movie of hers, but I might now.
I've never been a big fan of Angelina's. I was always just more curious about her. She seemed so weird and her interviews so full of enticing "news" that beg the viewer for immediate shock and attention. She's seemed like THE definition of a media whore to me. This book did little to change that opinion, however, now I understand more WHY Angelina is the way she is. She comes from a long line of media whores, each one maneuvering ever more slyly than the next to make headlines without the others knowing where the info came from. I used to be a big fan of Brad Pitt. After reading this book, that has waned. I never knew of his drug use before now and I'm very sad to learn of it. Billy Bob Thornton comes out of this book less scathed than I'd anticipated and seems more normal than all the rest to me now. This book is well-written, well-researched, and thorough. My takeaway is that I will be praying mightily for those six children of Angelina's. They're going to need it.
