The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography (Applause Books)

It's not until the final pages of the book that Charlotte Chandler really give us some insight into the full Bette Davis personality, as she talks about her views on growing up in a household where she felt battered by "her father's devastating wit...Bright people are too often sarcastic. My father was, and I grew up being quite sarcastic, like him."Otherwise, this Bette Davis book seems more like a retread of all the books that have already covered her life. One of the best was Lawrence Quirk's extremely penetrating and well-written book called "Fasten Your Seatbelts: The Passionate Life of Bette Davis."Something new that I did learn: Davis was tempted to play Mary Todd Lincoln in the late '40s, but ended up doing WINTER MEETING ('48) instead--which turned out to be a mess. Too bad she didn't follow her original idea, but let Warner Bros. choose her next project instead.I expected to hear more about the Bette Davis/Susan Hayward confrontations on the set of WHERE LOVE HAS GONE, but there is not even a mention of Miss Hayward in the brief mention of this film.Nor is there much to be said of Olivia de Havilland, supposedly one of Bette's few female friends who also happened to be a big star. The HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE section could certainly have included some admiration for de Havilland replacing Joan Crawford as well as she did--since Bette was extremely grateful that her friend agreed to the accidental casting which worked so brilliantly. No mention made of Robert Aldrich's actual comment when he declared: "We were better off with Olivia. She was great."It does include his opinion that Bette "was born to thrive on conflict," which helps explain what motivated all the on-the-set tensions that existed on the set of most of her films.A photo in the very fine photo spread has a misidentified photo labeled as Bette in the CHARLOTTE role, but it appears to be from another film.At least Celeste Holm does get her chance to expand on her view of Davis when they met for ALL ABOUT EVE. She puts it very aptly: "She seemed to think she had a license to be rude." Also, Lillian Gish, hurt at being treated so poorly by Bette when they did THE WHALES OF AUGUST.The earlier part of the book devotes a lot of time to ground already covered extensivey in other Davis books, but perhaps this could not be avoided. What is disappointing is that only toward the final chapters do we get quotes from Davis about her lifetime experiences that have not been quoted before and some of the revelations are very frank--even a bit disturbing--but seem honest and truthful. One can sympathize briefly with her when she says: "Maybe I just wasn't lovable."Certainly worth reading if you're a Davis fan--but don't expect to be overwhelmed by new information.

Enjoyable.

Wonderful book. This was a copy to replace my first one.<G>

Boring!!!!!!!!

Always have loved Bette Davis - we just don't have larger than life actors like her anymore. The book is very good, nothing really new but a Bette fan has to have it.

I feel like I know her personally and miss her. I appreciate Bette D. for sharing so intimately and Charlotte C. for capturing that intimacy. Lots of wisdom between the pages.

Very good book

Very drawn out . Did not hold my attention throughout. Unemotional, dull and honest but still rather flat . Did not leave me wanting more, just wanting to know less about the subject

Fascinating book about this gerat star who appeared in over a hundred films between 1931 and 1989. Based on her personal recollections of an amazing career in Hollywood and her far from straight foreward life. Have been quite hooked on watching as many of her movies that are available on disc.

An interesting read, great for Bette Davis lovers. There was some indentations on the cover though, which was a bit of a let down, but other than that, a wonderful book.

Looks like an ex library book. Preloved. Great condition. Arrived quickly. My friend will love this!

in great nick. arrived promptly. will be back.

i feel as though Bette is reading it herself. It is written as she spoke. very well researched and entertainingly candid