Judy: A Life in PicturesBy Basil Nestor
Metro Books
ISBN: 1-56799-436-9
Hardcover
Price: $12.98
First published: 1997
I was pleasantly surprised when I received my copy of Judy: A Life in Pictures. I didn’t know what to expect since I had ordered it sight unseen. It has turned out to be a comprehensive pictorial history of Judy’s films, concerts, TV shows and personal life.
The book contains over 125 photos, most in sepia-tone or black and white, although there are several color photos as well. A small amount of text accompanies each photo. Judy’s life is not sugar-coated. Mention is made of her battles with drugs, her failed marriages, and her weight. Photos from 1951 and 1960 show a pudgy but smiling Judy.
Mr. Nestor has put together a wonderful array of highlights from Judy’s life. He includes a filmography and bibliography at the back. Noticeably missing from the bibliographic line up, however, is the ultimate book about Judy from the ultimate Judy historian - John Fricke’s Judy Garland: World’s Greatest Entertainer. One wonders why books from David Shipman and Mel Torme, books that have been criticized by many Judy afficionados for their manufactured stories, were included when Fricke’s wasn’t.
Judy is a coffee-table sized book. The cover is a sepia-tone shot of Judy wearing white fur and diamond earrings – the epitomy of a star.
Judy: A Life in Pictures is a must-have for all Judy fans.
Vicki Profitt
© 1998