MEMOIR
The photo of the author on the cover of Vanderbilt's memoir reveals almost as much about her as the pages inside. No wonder so many illustrious men—Howard Hughes, Sidney Lumet, Frank Sinatra—were drawn to the gorgeous socialite-actress-fashion magnate! If the book seems a little weak on depth, it makes up for it with honesty and a frothy charm. Vanderbilt's tangled relationship with her bisexual mother, her son's suicide, her three marriages and many affairs—it's all here. You might want to skip her musings on the nature of fun, but it's hard not to pay attention when she writes about waiting for Marlon Brando to call after a one-night stand. This isn't meant to be a serious autobiography. Rather, it reads like zippy postcards from a colorful romantic journey.
