Bøger af Laurence Leamer

The fascinating true story behind one of the original literary scandals - how Truman Capote (author of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's ) betrayed his closest friends in service of his next book. Currently being adapted as the Ryan Murphy series Feud: Capote's Women.

"Alfred Hitchcock was fixated--not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blond actresses who starred in many of his iconic movies. The director of North by Northwest, Rear Window, and other classic films didn't much care if they wore wigs, got their hair coloring out of a bottle, or were the rarest human specimen--a natural blonde--as long as they shone with a golden veneer on camera. The lengths he went to in order to showcase (and often manipulate) these women would become the stuff of movie legend. But the women themselves have rarely been at the center of the story, until now. In Hitchcock's Blondes, bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer offers an intimate journey into the lives of eight legendary actresses whose stories helped chart the course of the troubled, talented director's career--from his early days in the British film industry, to his triumphant American debut, to his Hollywood heyday and beyond. Through the stories of June Howard-Tripp, Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedren--who starred in fourteen of Hitchcock's most notable films and who bore the brunt of his fondness and sometimes fixation--we can finally start to see the enigmatic man himself. After all, "his" blondes (as he thought of them) knew the truths of his art, his obsessions and desires, as well as anyone. From the acclaimed author of Capote's Women comes an intimate, revealing, and thoroughly modern look at both the enduring art created by a man obsessed...and the private toll that fixation took on the women in his orbit"--

"New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers--the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his 'swans.'"--

"Alfred Hitchcock was fixated--not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blond actresses who starred in many of his iconic movies. ... The lengths he went to in order to showcase (and often manipulate) these women would become the stuff of movie legend. But the women themselves have rarely been at the center of the story--until now. In [this book], bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer offers an intimate journey into the lives of eight legendary actresses whose stories helped chart the course of the troubled, talented director's career--from his early days in the British film industry, to his triumphant American debut, to his Hollywood heyday and beyond. Through the stories of June Howard-Tripp, Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedren--who starred in fourteen of Hitchcock's most notable films and who bore the brunt of his fondness and sometimes fixation--we can finally start to see the enigmatic man himself"--

The fascinating true story behind one of the original literary scandals - how Truman Capote (author of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's ) betrayed his closest friends in service of his next book.

"Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers--the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his 'swans'"--

From renowned biographer and New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women and The Kennedy Men comes THE SONS OF CAMELOT, the second volume in a multi-generational history bound to be considered an American epic. Almost a year before publication, THE SONS OF CAMELOT: The Fate of an American Dynasty was already being widely discussed and debated in the media. Based on exclusive interviews with many Kennedy family members, their closest friends and associates, and five years of research, THE SONS OF CAMELOT is neither tabloid fodder nor a sanitized authorized biography but a stunningly revealing, deeply truthful account with intimate new information on every page. In this outstanding continuation of The Kennedy Men, his powerful American epic of the Kennedy family, Laurence Leamer chronicles the lives of the Kennedy sons and grandsons after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and their struggle to fulfill the family legacy. These lives make for a book of overwhelming drama full of exalted aspirations, notable achievements and the most spectacular mishaps, excesses and tragedies. For the most part, these Kennedy men fell far short of the great vision that Joseph P. Kennedy had for his sons and grandsons. Their lives have been a bewildering juxtaposition of the most notable achievements and the most spectacular failures. There have been needless deaths, crippling accidents, drug addiction, alcoholism and allegations of rape. Their pratfalls, mishaps, excesses and tragedies have been one of the most certain forms of American popular entertainment for the last four decades. Yet among them are those who have helped Americans to have better health care, to sail on clean waters, to raise the rights and lives of those with mental retardation, to assist the poorest of African nations, to enable those with disabilities to lead normal lives, and to give health care givers opportunities. In Leamer's passionate narrative, each Kennedy man becomes not the passive victim of the happenstance of birth and upbringing, but a full participant in his own fate. The good that the Kennedy sons have done is amply chronicled, and so is the bad and the tragic. John F. Kennedy Jr.'s life is a thread running through the pages of THE SONS OF CAMELOT. Some may be drawn to the book largely to read the definitive portrait based largely on the full cooperation of his eight closest friends. Others may come intrigued to read the intimate story of Senator Edward Kennedy or the stirring tale of Timmy Kennedy Shriver's rise to the head of Special Olympics International. But whatever draws the readers, they will read on driven by the powerful dramatic narrative with its impeccably researched details. Some of these pages are inspiring, some are shocking, but all the pages are truthful. THE SONS OF CAMELOT is a spellbinding history of individuals and a family, a journey of character through time told by a brilliant, masterful writer.

The renowned biographer and New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women returns with this first volume in a multigenerational history that will forever change the way America views its most famous family ...

Where Trump Learned to RuleTo know Donald J. Trump it is best to start in his natural habitat: Palm Beach, Florida. It is here he learned the techniques that took him all the way to the White House. Painstakingly, over decades, he has created a world in this exclusive tropical enclave and favorite haunt of billionaires where he is not just president but a king. The vehicle for his triumph is Mar-A-Lago, one of the greatest mansions ever built in the United States. The inside story of how he became King of Palm Beach-and how Palm Beach continues to be his spiritual home even as president-is rollicking, troubling, and told with unrivaled access and understanding by Laurence Leamer.In Mar-A-Lago, the reader will learn:* How Donald Trump bought a property now valued by some at as much as $500,000,000 for less than three thousand dollars of his own money.* Why Trump was blackballed by the WASP grandees of the island and how he got his revenge.* How Trump joined forces with the National Enquirer, which was headquartered nearby, and engineered his own divorce.* How by turning Mar-A-Lago into a private club, Trump was the unlikely man to integrate Palm Beach's restricted country club scene, and what his real motives were.* What transpires behind the gates of today's Mar-A-Lago during "the season," when President Trump and assorted D.C. power players fly down each weekend.In addition to copious interviews and reporting from inside Mar-A-Lago, Laurence Leamer brings an acute and unparalleled understanding of the society of Palm Beach, where he has lived for twenty-five years. He has written an essential book for understanding Donald Trump's inner character.