Investigative Reporting

Politics & Social Sciences

Benjaminson, Peter

Anderson,David

Social Sciences

Indiana University Press

Minimal signs of wear. Ships direct from Amazon!

The story of Motown (An Evergreen book)

Grove, 1979

Book by Benjaminson, Peter, Anderson, David

Iowa State Pr

A study of the newspaper industry discusses the battle for control of major metropolitan dailies, the manipulation of power and fortunes, and the personalities involved, including Rupert Murdoch, Walter Annenberg, Katherine Graham, and William Randolph Hearst

Death in the Afternoon: America's Newspaper Giants Struggle for Survival

Reference

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

ANDREWS MCMEEL PUB.

Although Amazon.com is now selling more than 3,000 commercial products bearing Betty Boop's image, including calendars, tote bags, coffee mugs, and books about how young women can be more like Betty, no one has ever published a book about Betty herself. The first biography of a major American cultural symbol ever written, The Life and Times of Betty Boop describes Betty Boop's incredibly active romantic and family life as revealed in her numerous comic strips, comic books, cartoons, and movies since 1930. Award-winning author Peter Benjaminson details the creation of Betty Boop, based on two African American female entertainers who were the human models for Betty's character. He explores the many alterations of Betty's appearance, attitudes, and behavior over the years. Benjaminson also reveals the stories of the women who provided her with a speaking and singing voice, along with the backgrounds, intentions, and careers of Betty's numerous creators and animators. The Life and Times of Betty Boop indulges in the controversies surrounding the character, including her adventures with Felix the Cat (a four-year daily comic strip production). Benjaminson illuminates social trends that have kept Betty popular for nearly a century, including her recent transition from a helpless sex object to a feminist icon and her massive popularity with young American women.

The Life and Times of Betty Boop

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Applause

The Supremes were the most successful female vocal group in history. Of the three original members--Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard—two told their life stories in bestselling books. Only Florence Ballard, the spunky teenager who founded the group, remained silent. But, in the months before her 1976 death, Flo actually did tell her own side of the Supremes story—and the story of her entire life—to Peter Benjaminson, who recorded her words on tape.
In this book, for the first time, is Flo Ballard’s entire heartbreaking tale, revealing: the suprising identity of the man who raped her before she entered the music business; the details of her love-hate relationship with Motown Records czar Berry Gordy—and an account of their first and only date; her serious drinking problem and ignored pleas for treatment; her never-ending desire to sing lead and how she was prevented from doing so; her attempts to get her life back on track after being brutally expelled from the Supremes; and much more.
Flo Ballard traveled around the world in luxury, chatting with royalty and heads of state, applauded by millions. But when she died at the age of 32, she was a lonely mother of three just barely recovered from years of poverty and despair. Though we may mourn the extended silence of such a profound talent, at least now we can begin to understand how and why it happened.

The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard

Chicago Review Press

In the months before she died, Florence Ballard, the spunky teenager who founded the most successful female vocal group in history—the Supremes—told her own side of the story. Recorded on tape, Flo shed light on all areas of her life, including the surprising identity of the man by whom she was raped prior to her entering the music business, the details of her love-hate relationship with Motown Records czar Berry Gordy, her drinking problem and pleas for help, a never-ending desire to be the Supremes’ lead singer, and her attempts to get her life back on track after being brutally expelled from the group. This is a tumultuous and heartbreaking story of a world-famous performer whose life ended at the age of 32 as a lonely mother of three who had only recently recovered from years of poverty and despair.

Humor & Entertainment

Lawrence Hill Books

Complete with never-before-revealed details about the sex, violence, and drugs in her life, this biography reveals the incredibly turbulent life of Motown artist Mary Wells. Based in part on four hours of previously unreleased and unpublicized deathbed interviews with Wells, this account delves deeply into her rapid rise and long fall as a recording artist, her spectacular romantic and family life, the violent incidents in which she was a participant, and her abuse of drugs. From tumultuous affairs, including one with R&amp;B superstar Jackie Wilson, to a courageous battle with throat cancer that climaxed in her gutsiest performance, this history draws upon years of interviews with Wells’s friends, lovers, and husband to tell the whole story of a woman whose songs crossed the color line and whose voice captivated the Beatles.

Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar

Secret Police: Inside the New York City Department of Investigation

Criminal Law

UNKNO

Years before Diana Ross, Mary Wells was the first Motown solo superstar, the internationally popular songstress who sang the megahit “My Guy.” Her songs consistently and repeatedly reached huge audiences in America and England, both black and white. She captivated the Beatles, toured with them, and was briefly more popular than they were on the pop charts. But Wells left Motown at age 21 and spent the rest of her life trying to fight her way back to the top. She also had a series of tumultuous affairs and marital attachments with several well-known singers and songwriters. And near the end of her life, Wells fought a drawn-out and courageous battle with throat cancer, giving perhaps her gutsiest performance. Peter Benjaminson has spent years interviewing Wells’s friends, lovers, and husbands, and obtained an amazingly detailed unreleased taped interview with Wells herself. In Mary Wells, he tells her whole story, complete with never-before revealed details about the sex, the violence, and the drugs in her life—and about her Motown hits that captivated the world.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Benjaminson, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Benjaminson, Peter

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Benjaminson, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Investigative Reporting

The story of Motown (An Evergreen book)

Investigative Reporting

Death in the Afternoon: America's Newspaper Giants Struggle for Survival

The Life and Times of Betty Boop

The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard

The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard

Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar

Secret Police: Inside the New York City Department of Investigation

Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar