Garbo Author:Norman Zierold The Garbo mystique is second to none. It has become one of the enduring obsessions of the twentieth century. In the first major biography of Garbo in nearly a decade, Norman Zierold not only explains the mystique but explores the effects the legend had on the woman--and the degree to which the woman has manipulated the legend. — As a love object,... more » Garbo "combined the sensual with a spiritual appeal, femininity with a mannish quotient; was as attractive to women as to men." As a friend, she has made unusual demands on others and on herself. As a star, during Hollywood's gaudiest days, she employed devices which perpetuated the mystique and, at the same time, protected her from the more threatening effects of a national obsession.
Zierold's exhaustive research for Garbo included more than a hundred fresh interviews which have given him surprising insights into a woman largely--but wrongly--regarded even today as unfathomable. Here we find the legend, the romances, the friendships, the parties, the Garbo court of recent years, all the facets of her life--which, Zierold says, has been "her greatest role...one of the bravura performances of all times."
The sixteen-page photographic section spans fifty years, from a rare Communion photo to a recent snapshot. Most of the photographs have never been published. An extensive appendix lists Garbo's films, the co-stars and directors, plot summaries, and the comments of critics at the time.« less