This is an academic study of Marilyn and detailed examination of the elements and structure of her 'chameleonic' persona,
typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation. It offers a close inspection of her manipulation and exploitation through
the media, writers and performers. It's well thought out, researched and cleverly written bringing together the whole
extent of how Marilyn has been perceived over the years and continues to do so as time goes on, ~ "because she has become
a discourse articulating major issues in the cultures she inhabits, whether in the 1950s or in the 21st Century."
It's not an easy book to read and it's perhaps a book you need to really focus on and read a few times to enjoy and
understand to appreciate it fully. But at the same time it's a learning process for the reader and comes close to being one of
the best books of it's kind. It is nicely produced and printed and I was surprised by the number of pictures included, all in
keeping within the subject of the text.
Clara Juncker (Ph.D., Tulane 1986); Dr. Phil. University of Southern Denmark, 2002. Is Associate Professor, former
Director of the Centre for American Studies (1996-98), and President of the Nordic Association for American Studies
(1997-99). She has previously taught at the University of Aarhus; Tulane University, New Orleans; University of
California at Los Angeles; The Copenhagen Business School, and was in 1993-94 an ACLS Visiting Scholar at the
University of California, Santa Barbara. She has published widely on both sides of the Atlantic within the fields of 19th-
and 20th-century American Literature, African American Literature, Southern Literature, Composition Studies, Gender
Studies, and literary theory.
The quality of the books on Marilyn have been truly exceptional over the past year or so and it's a great time for the
Marilyn reader. Just when you think there's nothing more to say or learn somehow they just keep coming up with original
pieces of work. It just shows that Marilyn is still an inspiration to so many, now more than ever and it doesn't look like it
will change any time soon. Viva, Marilyn!
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