Best Selling Books by Barbara Leaming

"...[A] beautifully researched, valuable study of one of America''s most influential and mysterious artists. ...[What] makes this book remarkable is Welle''s own contribution. His comments, opinions, interviews cut in and out of the narrative with an almost cinematic force." -Patricia Bosworth

The untold story of the British aristocratic influence on the American president

New York Times bestselling author Barbara Leaming answers the question: What was it like to be Mrs. John F. Kennedy during the dramatic thousand days of the Kennedy presidency? Here for the first time is the full story of the extravagant interplay of sex and politics that constitutes one of modern history''s most spectacular dramas. Drawing from recently declassified top-secret material, as well as revelatory eyewitness accounts, Secret Service records, and Jacqueline Kennedy’s personal letters, bestselling biographer Barbara Leaming answers the question: what was it like to be Mrs. John F. Kennedy during the dramatic thousand days of the Kennedy presidency? Brilliantly researched, Leaming’s poignant and powerful chronicle illuminates the tumultuous day-to-day life of a woman who entered the White House at age thirty-one, seven years into a complex and troubled marriage, and left at thirty-four after her husband''s assassination. Revealing the full story of the interplay of sex and politics in Washington, Mrs. Kennedy will indelibly challenge our vision of this fascinating woman, and bring a new perspective to her crucial role in the Kennedy presidency.

"An absorbing and enjoyable book."—New York Times Book Review Drawing on new primary sources, this biography is the first to detail the influence of British history, literature, and culture—in particular, the ideas of Winston Churchill—on America''s thirty-fifth president. For the first time we trace the friendships and forces that led to the White House and shaped Kennedy''s actions there. In this intimate portrait of a leader torn between politics and principle, we finally come to know the man Kennedy wanted to be and to understand his long, private struggle to become that man.

Barbara Leaming''s Marilyn Monroe is a complex, sympathetic portrait that will forever change the way we view the most enduring icon of America sexuality. To those who think they have heard all there is to hear about Marilyn Monroe, think again. Leaming''s book tells a brand-new tale of sexual, psychological, and political intrigue of the highest order. Told for the first time in all its complexity, this is a compelling portrait of a woman at the center of a drama with immensely high stakes, a drama in which the other players are some of the most fascinating characters from the worlds of movies, theater, and politics. It is a book that shines a bright light on one of the most tumultuous, frightening, and exciting periods in American culture. Basing her research on new interviews and on thousands of primary documents--including revealing letters by Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan, John Huston, Laurence Olivier, Tennessee Williams, Darryl Zanuck, Marilyn''s psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Greenson, and many others--Leaming has reconstructed the tangle of betrayal in Marilyn''s life. For the first time, a master storyteller has put together all of the pieces and told Marilyn''s story with the intensity and drama it so richly deserves. At the heart of this book is a sexual triangle and a riveting story that has never been told before. You will come away filled with new respect for Marilyn''s incredible courage, dignity, and loyalty, and an overwhelming sense of tragedy after witnessing Marilyn, powerless to overcome her demons, move inexorably to her own final, terrible betrayal of herself. Marilyn Monroe is a book that will make you think--and will break your heart.

Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy was the incandescent life-force of the fabled Kennedy family, her father’s acknowledged “favorite of all the children” and her brother Jack’s “psychological twin.” She was the Kennedy of Kennedys, sure of her privilege, magnetically charming and somehow not quite like anyone else on whatever stage she happened to grace. The daughter of the American ambassador to the Court of St James’s, Kick swept into Britain’s aristocracy like a fresh wind on a sweltering summer day. In a decaying world where everything was based on stultifying sameness and similarity, she was gloriously, exhilaratingly different. Kick was the girl whom all the boys fell in love with, the girl who remained painfully out of reach for most of them. To Kick, everything about this life was fun and amusing—until suddenly it was not. For this is also a story of how a girl like Kick, a girl who had everything, a girl who seemed made for happiness, confronted crushing sadness. Willing to pay the price for choosing the love she wanted, she would have to face the consequences of forsaking much that was dear to her. Bestselling and award-winning biographer Barbara Leaming draws on her unique access to firsthand accounts, extensive conversations with many of the key players, and previously-unseen sources to transport us to another world, one of immense wealth, arcane rituals and rules, glamour and tragedy, that has now disappeared forever. It was a world of dukes and duchesses, of grand houses, of country house weekends, and of wild rich boys. But it was also a world of blood and war, and of immeasurable loss. It was a time of complete upheaval, as reflected in the life of this most unlikely and unforgettable central character. Kick Kennedy reveals her story, that of a young girl learning about love, sex, and death—and doing it all at warp speed as the world races toward war and then reels in the war’s chaotic aftermath. This is the coming-of-age story of the female star of the Kennedy family, and ultimately a tragic, romantic story that will break your heart.

A beautiful actress, a gifted dancer, a fiery screen temptress linked to some of the most handsome men of her generation, Rita Hayworth seemed to live the life that dreams are made of. But the reality behind the fantasy was a harsh one. Sexually abused by her father as a young girl, Rita constantly searched for a man to save her, marrying five times. At the age of forty-two, Alzheimer''s disease began to ravage her mind, cutting short her career at its peak. A haunting and sympathetic tribute to the talented but insecure beauty who was created, and ultimately destroyed, by the movies.

New York Times bestselling biographer Barbara Leaming has written a riveting political dramaof the last ten years of Winston Churchill''s public life. In Churchill Defiant, Leaming tells the tumultuous behind-the-scenes story of Churchill''s refusal to retire after his 1945 electoral defeat, and the bare-knuckled political and personal battles that ensued. Her ground-breaking biography Jack Kennedy: The Education of a Statesman, was the first to detail Churchill''s extraordinary influence on Kennedy''s thinking. Now in Churchill Defiant, Leaming gives us a vivid and compelling narrative that sheds fresh light on both the human dimension of Winston Churchill and on the struggles and achievements of his final years. At last, in Leaming''s eloquent account, we understand the tangled web of personal relationships and rivalries, the intricate interplay of past and present, the looming sense of history that makes the story of these years as fascinating as anything in the extraordinary century-long saga of Winston Churchill''s life.

Per la prima volta in Italia la famosa biografia di Jackie Kennedy firmata da Barbara Leaming (autrice che ha raggiunto la risma dei NY Times Notable Books of the Year). Grazie alla scoperta di nuovi materiali, l’autrice ha potuto ampliare un precedente e già rinomato lavoro (Mrs. Kennedy: The Missing History of the Kennedy Years, New York, Thomas Dunne Books) ed entrare maggiormente nella psicologia di un personaggio-icona del Novecento. Più che spezzare in due la sua vita, la morte violenta di JFK – questa sì indagata in un fiume di pagine – fu un evento fondante della sua stessa esistenza. Barbara Leaming si concentra sugli effetti che gli attimi terribili vissuti a Dallas ebbero a lungo termine sulla psiche di Jacqueline. Per la prima volta l''autrice chiama la situazione col proprio nome ovvero disturbo postraumatico da stress (che si riscontrava spesso nei soldati di ritorno dal Vietnam, ma ancora non aveva cure valide). Aggravante per le condizioni della vedova l''avverarsi della sua paura più grande: come si sa, 4 anni dopo la morte del primo presidente Kennedy, anche Bob Kennedy venne ucciso da un cecchino. Il turbine di paure con cui l’elegante signora dovette combattere descrive gli Stati Uniti per nulla pacificati di quegli anni, innervati di una violenza composita e di conflitti intestini di una certa rilevanza. Eppure l’opinione pubblica che tanto l’aveva osannata quando era first lady, si stufò presto della sua fragilità: dopotutto Jackie venne per un ampio periodo trattata come un ostacolo (almeno simbolico) alla voglia di ricominciare del Paese. L’impossibilità di controllare almeno la propria situazione personale portò Jackie ad allontanarsi dal clan dei Kennedy: l’assidua ricerca di un posto dove trovare sicurezza e tranquillità la spinse fra le braccia del miliardario Onassis che poteva vanatre un''isola di proprietà (Skorpio) e un "esercito" privato di body guard. La connivenza del miliardario greco con il regime fascista dei colonnelli, però, non venne vista di buon occhio dall’opinione pubblica americana e l’assedio di giornalisti continuò a simboleggiare una domanda: perché Jackie aveva sposato un uomo politicamente agli antipodi del suo famoso primo marito? Saranno gli ultimi lustri della sua turbolenta esistenza a regalarle un po'' di quiete: Jackie trovò una dimensione di concentrazione su attività che non riguardassero i propri lutti o la propria salvaguardia nel lavoro di editor per le importanti case editrici Little Brown e Viking.

The instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller! The untold story of how one woman''s life was changed forever in a matter of seconds by a horrific trauma. Barbara Leaming''s extraordinary and deeply sensitive biography is the first book to document Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis'' brutal, lonely and valiant thirty-one year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed JFK''s assassination. Here is the woman as she has never been seen before. In heartrending detail, we witness a struggle that unfolded at times before our own eyes, but which we failed to understand. Leaming''s biography also makes clear the pattern of Jackie''s life as a whole. We see how a spirited young woman''s rejection of a predictable life led her to John F. Kennedy and the White House, how she sought to reconcile the conflicts of her marriage and the role she was to play, and how the trauma of her husband''s murder which left her soaked in his blood and brains led her to seek a very different kind of life from the one she''d previously sought. A life story that has been scrutinized countless times, seen here for the first time as the serious and important story that it is. A story for our times at a moment when we as a nation need more than ever to understand the impact of trauma.

Bette Davis was one of the greatest acting talents the screen has ever known. She was also one who aroused controversy: her legal battles with Warner Brothers; her four husbands; the shocking book written by her daughter. In this fascinating, in-depth biography Barbara Leaming has had numerous conversations with those closest to Bette Davis - her friends, lovers, associates and family members (including her daughter) - and has also drawn on Davis''s personal diaries, scrapbooks and unpublished letters. The result is a fascinating portrait that redefines one of Hollywood''s most misunderstood legends.

Le premier ouvrage consacré au séjour de Jacqueline Bouvier à la Maison-Blanche, à son influence et à son rôle politique durant cette période. Barbara Leaming accorde la même importance au personnage public de Jackie - ses triomphes sur la scène internationale, sa détermination lors des deux crises cubaines - qu''à sa vie privée - ses relations avec un époux tendrement aimé en dépit de ses multiples infidélités. A travers sa correspondance, les témoignages de ses proches, mais aussi le rapports de ses gardes du corps et des documents jusqu''alors confidentiels, elle brosse le portrait tout en nuances d''une femme secrète et passionnée, très loin de l''imagerie populaire et des clichés des magazines.