Biography > Entertainment

The jaw-dropping confessions of the man who fulfilled the secret fantasies of Hollywood's most glittering stars and royalty. Scotty Bowers, a dashing young ex-Marine exuding sex appeal, arrived in Hollywood in 1946 and quickly caught the attention of many of the town's stars. Scotty's attitude to sex and sexuality were far ahead of his time; in a moralistic age, he was game for anything and equally happy to jump into bed with men or women. Working out of a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard, Bowers soon became the go-to-guy for an... read more

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'So I'm sitting here backstage, waiting for my entrance, caked in fake blood and taking part in a play that is brutal, nihilistic and offensive according to all criteria of 'good taste'. And it's thrilling.' Did Shakespeare really write all those plays? Why do you do Shakespeare in modern dress? How do you prepare a role? What's it like doing a long run? Did he believe in ghosts? Was he a subversive ...? Every day, after every performance, around the world, theatregoers ask these sorts of questions. And in On Shakespeare, John Bell... read more

You've probably heard the rumours about the world ending in 2012 right? Did you know that the smart and powerful people are secretly building three giant spaceships in which to make a getaway but it's only for them? And did you also know that to get on one of those spaceships and escape you've got to be a VIP? That's right, you've got to MAKE IT BIG! You didn't know? You don't know how? Rhys Darby has written just the book for you. Get noticed? Dance like a demon? Score with the opposite sex? Not just talk the talk but walk the tal... read more

In this small, luminous memoir, the National Book Award-winner Patti Smith revisits the most sacred experiences of her early years, with truths so vivid they border on the surreal. The author entwines her childhood self - and its 'clear, unspeakable joy' - with memories both real and envisioned from her twenties on New York's MacDougal Street, the street of cafes. Woolgathering was completed in Michigan, on Patti Smith's 45th birthday and originally published in a slim volume from Raymond Foye's Hanuman Books. Twenty years later, B... read more

Offers a unique snapshot of 1950s Australian bohemian life. Written against the backdrop of an Australia easily caricatured as dull and provincial, straightjacketed by suburban convention and paranoia, this is one of the most evocative, and certainly most comprehensive, Australian diaries of modern times.

The first official book by international superstar Lady GagaIn this book of original, behind-the-scenes photographs, acclaimed photographer Terry Richardson follows superstar Lady Gaga during one year of her life, from Lollapalooza through the final show of her Monster Ball tour.During the time period he followed Gaga, Richardson took over 100,000 images and attended more than 30 Monster Ball dates around the world. From the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal rally in Portland, Maine, to the Thierry Mug... read more

These days, entertainers no longer just entertain: they advocate dubious 'religions', work for the United Nations, get face-time with heads of state and monopolise problems they are infinitely qualified to solve - problems like Africa, the Middle East, and AIDS. We stand at the beginning of a bright new chapter in human history. Feast your eyes, then, on Sharon Stone's peace mission to Israel, on a world where Angelina Jolie advises on the Iraqi reconstruction effort or Charlie Sheen analyses 9/11, and in which Jude Law's attempts ... read more

This is the definitive biography of the most enduring icon in popular culture. Beautiful, damaged, the ultimate sex symbol, publicly celebrated, privately unhappy - Marilyn Monroe's tumultuous life and untimely death continue to fascinate us. When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the sce... read more

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In SCAR TISSUE Anthony Kiedis, charismatic and highly articulate frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recounts his remarkable life story, and the history of the band itself. Raised in the Midwest, he moved to LA aged eleven to live with his father Blackie, purveyor of pills, pot, and cocaine to the Hollywood elite. After a brief child-acting career, Kiedis dropped out of U.C.L.A. and plunged headfirst into the demimonde of the L.A. underground music scene. He formed the band with three schoolfriends - and found his life's purpose... read more

There have been many Marilyn photo books - but nothing like this. Australian-born curator and preservationist David Wills has accrued one of the world's largest independent archives of original Marilyn Monroe photographs. Now, in "Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis", he has gathered spectacular work of the key Marilyn photographers - and dozens of unknowns - to create the most dazzling portfolio of images from every period in Marilyn Monroe's life, from her earliest sittings in 1942 till just weeks before her death two decades later. Wi... read more

Nile Rodgers is a founding member of the band Chic, and one of the world's most successful music producers. He wrote 'We are Family' for Sister Sledge and 'I'm Coming Out' for Diana Ross, and produced two of the most popular albums of all time - Madonna's 'Like a Virgin' and David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'. He also performed with Madonna at Live Aid. His life has been extraordinary - his mother was just 13 when she had him, and he was brought up surrounded by a ragged assortment of artists, drop outs and junkies. At the age of 13 he wa... read more

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The National Book Award winner Patti Smith presents a treasure box of a childhood memoir about clear unspeakable joy and just the wish to know.

After bursting on to the Australian music scene in 1975, Dragon fast developed a reputation for both hard rocking and hard living. As the highly visible and charismatic lead singer, Marc Hunter was the voice behind such timeless hits as 'April Sun in Cuba', 'Are You Old Enough?' and 'Rain'. Yet Hunter was also a maverick whose destructive genius and serious heroin addiction led to a turbulent relationship with his bandmates, including older brother Todd. His fast living contributed to his early death, aged just 44. This intimate an... read more

Born into a regular Bronx family, and inspired by the likes of Hendrix, Led Zepellin, and the Kinks, Ace Frehley first picked up his brother's guitar at the age of 12. He had already performed in a number of bands when, in January 1973, he auditioned for an ad that read: "Guitarist wanted with flash and balls." Within a week he was invited to join - the band was KISS. Frehley explains how the band developed their style in the early days, making their own clothes, wearing make-up and platform shoes. Ace himself even designed the... read more

Diablo Cody was twenty-four years old when she decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. On a whim, she signed up for amateur night at a seedy Minneapolis strip club. She didn't win a prize that night, but she discovered that stripping delivered a rush she had never experienced before. In Candy Girl, Diablo tells the captivating fish-out-of-water story of her year-long walk on the wild side. With insight and wit, she takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the industry, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to m... read more

This is the international bestseller: a cry of witness to the 20th century - the unforgettable memoir of 70 years of contemporary and personal history from the great French filmmaker, journalist and intellectual Claude Lanzmann. 'The guillotine - and capital punishment and other diverse methods of dispensing death more generally - have been the abiding obsessions of my life. It began very early. I must have been no more than ten years old...' Born to a Jewish family in Paris, 1925, Lanzmann's first encounter with radicalism was as ... read more