Sam Kashner

As one of the reviewers said, the book isn't literature but it's certainly an entertaining read. Richard Burton kept a diary and this book contains a few selections of his entries about Elizabeth which made for interesting reading. It's also fun to read about the people they worked and socialized with, the jewels she received, and the studio contracts. Now that I've finished reading about their relationship and their movies, I want to re-watch the Taming of the Shrew and Cleopatra, etc. to see what I can see. Overall though, their lives seemed sad since alcohol and drugs played a large part in their dysfunctional relationship.… (mere)

Long before "Bennifer" became "Brangelina", to the dismay of Jennifer Anniston fans and the delight of the tabloids, there was the shock and awe of the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton affair of the early 1960s, which scandalized the world and drew the scolding of everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper to Pope John XXIII.

Those who were around in the 60s and besotted by Hollywood royalty will relish wallowing once again in all the juicy details and the conspicuous consumption that marked an era when people could still be shocked by the marital hijinks of screen idols. Those who have come late to the party will get a peek at a world of self-indulgence and high passion -- all played out on the public stage.

This is a long book, and probably lingers overlong on detail, but under all the gleeful shock and voyeurism, a portrait emerges of two very flawed and needy people who each thought the other would make their life perfect and complete, but who, in the end, were separately unable to make the kinds of sacrifices required by an enduring relationship.… (mere)