In the first fully uncensored biography of Joan Crawford, bestselling author David Bret follows Crawford from working in a Kansas City laundry to collecting an Oscar for Mildred Pierce, including details from her countless love affairs and her devotion toward Christian Science. Bret also divulges how her loathed mother forced her to work as a prostitute and use sex strategically, as well as what really led her to disinherit two of her four children, earning her the moniker Mommie Dearest.” Drawing on a wealth of unpublished material and interviews with stars like Marlene Dietrich and Douglas Fairbanks, David Bret presents a fascinating portrait of a single-minded, uncompromising woman.

Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr

Biographies & Memoirs

Bret, David

Arts & Literature

Da Capo Press

From the acclaimed author of Joan Crawford comes a riveting and uncensored biography of Clark Gable. The archetypal male of his era, Gable was named King of Hollywood” in 1938. But as David Bret reveals, the star was not quite who he seemed. One of Gable's best-kept secrets was his bisexuality.
Bret recounts Gable's failed marriages to women who turned a blind eye toward his affairs with actors Earl Larimore and Rod La Rocque, among other men. Bret also reveals how a pseudo-scandalous paternity suit and the actor's wartime accomplishments were no more than elaborate publicity stunts created by studio chief Louis B. Mayer in order to exaggerate Gable's masculinity and heroism in the public eye. With passion and accuracy, Bret uncovers the truth behind one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Clark Gable: Tormented Star

A biography of Paris music hall star Mistinguett--born Jeanne Bourgeois in 1875--who was a rival to Josephine Baker and later an inspiration to Edith Piaf

The Mistinguett Legend

Arts & Photography

Music

St Martins Pr

This absorbing study surveys the developments in decorative design from the 1830s to the 1950s, showing how the modern age has affected the status of decoration and examining the role of ornament in a rapidly changing industrial society.  Arranged in three sections, the book opens with an introductory essay which looks at the cultural background of the discourse of decoration, bringing into play two major strands of decorative theory, and looking at the changing natures of modernism and traditionalism. The central section of the book is composed of pictorial examples, arranged in order of chronological development, from the most significant trends in taste and fashion. The concluding postscript expands on the origins and development of the two opposing strands identified, which the author defines as normative and critical 'schools'. The first takes its foundation from the 'Philosophical Radicals' and their programme of industrialisation and social reform, and is exemplified by Owen Jones and the Department of Science and Art; the second is the critical reaction led by Ruskin and the Arts and Crafts Movement. The one led toward the abandonment of decoration, the other toward its pastiche. The author concludes with a critical summary of the present sorry state of decoration. However, decoration is seen as a natural attribute of our species, and the discourse that has built in around it is by means closed.

On Decoration

Brett, David

History & Criticism

Lutterworth Press

Marlene Dietrich, My Friend: An Intimate Biography of the Real Dietrich

Isis Large Print Books

"I always feel at ease when I am talking to you, David.  That is because you are one of the few men in the world who has tried to understand me."  Marlene Dietrich  In the last years of her life, Marlene Dietrich enjoyed a close friendship with David Bret.  This book - the only biography of Dietrich to have been written with the full approval and complemented by her own words - is the result of that friendship. Her only condition was that the author should neither speak about nor publish her testament until after her death.  In a remarkable series of candid interviews, the last just two days before her death on 6 May 1992, we are presented with a Dietrich far removed from the images she conveyed in such films as DISHONOURED, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN and, of course, BLUE ANGEL, the vehicle which rocketed her to international stardom.

Marlene Dietrich:my Friend

Isis Large Print

Examining the complex nature of a multi-faceted man, a biography of Morrissey, lead singer of the British rock group the Smiths, is the story of a lonely young man who became a transatlantic rock idol Original.

Morrissey: Landscapes of the Mind

Humor & Entertainment

Carroll & Graf Pub.

In the first biography of Joan Crawford to give the full, uncensored story, bestselling author David Bret tells Crawford's rags to riches climb, from working in a Kansas City laundry to collecting an Oscar for her defining role in Mildred Pierce, and on to her devotion to Christian Science and reliance on vodka. He discusses the star's legendary relationship with Clark Gable, her countless love affairs, her marriages — three of them to gay men — and her obsession with rough sex. Bret divulges what really happened that led her to disinherit two of her four children, earning her the nickname "Mommie Dearest," as well as how her loathed mother forced Crawford to work as a prostitute, appear in pornographic films, and sleep her way to the top. Bret analyzes Crawford's films, many of which were constructed purely as vehicles where actress and character were often indistinguishable. Overtly generous towards her coterie of gay friends, she was heartless towards her enemies, particularly Bette Davis, her co-star in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, with whom she shared a lifelong feud. Drawing on a wealth of unpublished material and interviews, David Bret presents a unique, fascinating portrait of a single-minded, uncompromising woman.

Carroll&Graf

In this unique biography of the world's greatest lover, there is much unpublished material to reveal the real Valentino, a man who was sexually attracted to other men and whose relationships with women brought heartbreak and disaster. Valentino was far less ashamed of his sexuality than he was afraid of being trapped by the image of his public persona. Yet it was his persistent need to prove his "manhood" that contributed to his early death.

Valentino: A Dream of Desire

Clark Gable was the archetypal Hollywood gentleman, the kind of man red-blooded women lusted after, and who their envious husbands yearned to be. Yet as David Bret reveals, Gable was also bisexual, a facet of his complex persona that was airbrushed out in an age when such men were invariably mocked as effete and lily-livered. Bret recounts Gable's two failed marriages to women who turned a blind eye towards his affairs with men, such as the actors Earl Larimore, Johnny Mack Brown, William Haines, and Rod LaRocque — men whom Gable outed to the press to prevent himself from being outed. Bret also reveals exclusively that Gable's wartime "heroics," which saw him promoted through the ranks from private to major in less than a year, were no more than an elaborate publicity stunt, which subsequently embarrassed the U.S. government. Bret draws on a wealth of unpublished material to examine every aspect of Clark Gable's career and personal life, telling his story as it has never been told before — wholly uncensored, with accuracy and passion.

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

Books by Bret, David

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

Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr

Clark Gable: Tormented Star

The Mistinguett Legend

On Decoration

Marlene Dietrich, My Friend: An Intimate Biography of the Real Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich:my Friend

Morrissey: Landscapes of the Mind

Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr

Valentino: A Dream of Desire

Clark Gable: Tormented Star