Sam Kashner – författare

A poignant, evocative, and wonderfully gossipy account of the two sisters who represented style and class above all else—Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill—from the authors of Furious Love.When sixty-four-year-old Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in her Fifth Avenue apartment, her younger sister Lee wept inconsolably. Then Jackie’s thirty-eight-page will was read. Lee discovered that substantial cash bequests were left to family members, friends, and employees—but nothing to her. "I have made no provision in this my Will for my sister, Lee B. Radziwill, for whom I have great affection, because I have already done so during my lifetime," read Jackie’s final testament. Drawing on the authors’ candid interviews with Lee Radziwill, The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters explores their complicated relationship, placing them at the center of twentieth-century fashion, design, and style.In life, Jackie and Lee were alike in so many ways. Both women had a keen eye for beauty—in fashion, design, painting, music, dance, sculpture, poetry—and both were talented artists. Both loved pre-revolutionary Russian culture, and the blinding sunlight, calm seas, and ancient olive groves of Greece. Both loved the siren call of the Atlantic, sharing sweet, early memories of swimming with the rakish father they adored, Jack Vernou Bouvier, at his East Hampton retreat. But Jackie was her father’s favorite, and Lee, her mother’s. One would grow to become the most iconic woman of her time, while the other lived in her shadow. As they grew up, the two sisters developed an extremely close relationship threaded with rivalry, jealousy, and competition. Yet it was probably the most important relationship of their lives.For the first time, Vanity Fair contributing editor Sam Kashner and acclaimed biographer Nancy Schoenberger tell the complete story of these larger-than-life sisters. Drawing on new information and extensive interviews with Lee, now eighty-four, this dual biography sheds light on the public and private lives of two extraordinary women who lived through immense tragedy in enormous glamour.

First student of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Sam Kashner tells with humor and grace his life with the Beats. But the best story is Kashner himself -- the coming-of-age of a young man in the chaotic world of the very idols he hoped to emulate.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

From veteran entertainment reporter Sam Kashner and biographer Nancy Schoenberger comes the definitive account of the greatest Hollywood love story ever told—the romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Kashner has interviewed Elizabeth Taylor numerous times and is the only journalist given access to her extensive collection of personal letters and journals, and he and Schoenberger have also interviewed the Burton family at length, including Burton’s actress daughter Kate. This is truly an authorized and singularly informed biography of these two larger-than-life stars, and of their glamorous, volatile, and audacious relationship.

"[An] entertaining, blow-by-blow account of the life and times of an epic Hollywood couple . . . There is no shortage of saucy anecdotes in Furious Love." —Wall Street JournalFrom veteran entertainment reporter Sam Kashner and biographer Nancy Schoenberger comes the definitive account of the greatest Hollywood love story ever told—the romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Kashner has interviewed Elizabeth Taylor numerous times and is the only journalist given access to her extensive collection of personal letters and journals, and he and Schoenberger have also interviewed the Burton family at length, including Burton''s actress daughter Kate. This is truly an authorized and singularly informed biography of these two larger-than-life stars, and of their glamorous, volatile, and audacious relationship."Life outdoes movie melodrama in this raucous, intimate, dual biography of Hollywood''s ultimate It Couple. . . . a reminder . . . of what a feast celebrity can be." —Publishers Weekly"Furious Love rises above mere celebrity gossip by humanizing the mythic couple, taking readers deep into their A-list world of conspicuous consumption and private pain." —Bookmarks magazine"A mesmerizing tale." —Booklist"Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger provide dramatic historical insights into Hollywood''s stormiest, up-and-down relationship." —Douglas Brinkley, Presidential historian and New York Times–bestselling author of American Moonshot"Where this book breaks ground is in its ability to humanize these colossal celebs. . . . Reads like a Shakespearean drama." —USA Today"[A] powerful portrait of the ecstasies and travails of overreaching passion and crippled psyches . . . " —Boston Globe"[A] five-alarm blaze of a biography that enthralls like an Olympian epic." —Philadelphia Inquirer"An indulgent, plenty-of-fun book . . . the authors make shrewd observations . . . a good beach book." —New York Times Book Review

New York Times–Bestseller: "A lush picture of the complicated relationship between . . . Jackie Onassis and Lee Radziwill. . . . Gossipy gems are studded throughout." —Vanity FairWhen sixty-four-year-old Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in her Fifth Avenue apartment, her younger sister Lee wept inconsolably. Then Jackie''s thirty-eight-page will was read. Lee discovered that substantial cash bequests were left to family members, friends, and employees—but nothing to her. I have made no provision in this my Will for my sister, Lee B. Radziwill, for whom I have great affection, because I have already done so during my lifetime, read Jackie''s final testament.Drawing on the authors'' candid interviews with Lee Radziwill, The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters explores their complex relationship. In life, Jackie and Lee were alike in so many ways. Both women had a keen eye for beauty—in fashion, design, painting, music, dance, sculpture, poetry—and both were talented artists. Both loved pre-revolutionary Russian culture, and the blinding sunlight, calm seas, and ancient olive groves of Greece. Both heard the siren call of the Atlantic, sharing sweet early memories of swimming with the rakish father they adored at his East Hampton retreat. But Jackie was her father''s favorite, and Lee, her mother''s. One would grow to become the most iconic woman of her time, while the other lived in her shadow. As they grew up, the two sisters developed an extremely close relationship threaded with rivalry, jealousy, and competition. Yet it was probably the most important relationship of their lives.For the first time, the complete story of these larger-than-life sisters is told. Drawing on new information and extensive interviews with Lee, this dual biography sheds light on the public and private lives of two extraordinary women who lived through immense tragedy in enormous glamour.Includes photographs"[An] intricate chronicle rife with romance, tragedy, and surprising details, such as that Jackie may have helped choose JFK''s paramours." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Taut and fascinating." —In Style"Suffice it to say, more than fifty years on, explorations of the truths and fictions of Camelot continue to mesmerize." —Kirkus Reviews

With "fresh emphasis on little-known stories [and] an impressive number of eyewitnesses" (Chicago Tribune), Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair present "a revealing,...ever fascinating glimpse into the shadowy reality and hidden mores of Hollywood in what was popularly considered a decade of innocence" (Suzanne Finstad). "[S]urprisingly vivid accounts" (People) of such public icons as Lana Turner, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, and Mae West explore the private scandals exploited by tabloids such as Confidential. Highlighting Hollywood's curious religious revival with The Robe, the film industry's exploitation of the potboiler Peyton Place, and the life of anarchic director Nick Ray of the enduring classic Rebel without a Cause, the authors "[give] a compelling sense" (Kirkus Reviews) of the unique obsessions of the era and the city's attempts to reinvent the magic and mystery of its past glories. Guided by the authors' historical savvy and intimate storytelling, we discover a city at a crossroads, attempting to reinvent the magic and mystery of its past glories. Tragic, irreverent, and always entertaining, The Bad and the Beautiful reveals the underground history of this turbulent decade in American film.

Meet Finkie Finkelstein: businessman from New Jersey, lovingly obsessed fan of Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra. To Finkie, Frank is the model of a man -- elegant, sophisticated, talented, with charm to spare. Finkie has modeled his life after his idol; he's seen all the movies, bought all of the records, even formed his own little Rat Pack at work. All his life decisions are made with Frank in mind. Now if only he could let Frank know how much he means to him... Through a series of letters to his idol, Finkie's life unfolds; a life where Sinatra is center stage, while all the rest takes a backseat. In Sinatraland, Finkie's trials are numerous: a failing marriage, a strained relationship with both his daughter and his brother, an ill-fated affair with an office coworker. But as long as Frank comes out with a new record or film, there's always hope. By turns riotous and poignant, Sinatraland lays bare the funniest and most twisted corners of the male mind and brings back to life America's most beloved bad boy. Sinatraland introduces Sam Kashner as a sparkling new voice in literary fiction.