Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, a Personal Biography

In this new biography, Chandler draws on exclusive and remarkably candid interviews with Crawford herself and with others who knew her, including first husband Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. As a result, this biography is a brand-new look at one of Hollywood's most acclaimed stars. Although her adopted daughter Christina would publish the scathing memoir Mommie Dearest after Crawford's death, Chandler offers a contrasting portrait, drawing in part on reminiscences of younger daughter Cathy among others. The result is an intimate portrait of a great star who was beautiful, talented, glamorous, and surprisingly vulnerable.--From publisher description.