Mae West Books

This book more than any of the others in Baxt's Hollywood series is satirical. It perfectly describes Miss Mae West as she was in the 30's - outrageous, campy and surprisingly generous. She was a very warm human being, and totally aware of what she was and what she wasn't. After all she created herself and marketed herself in a way that few actresses did in that day and age. In this book there are a series of murders of Mae West impersonators, and Detective Villon works with Mae to try to find the killer before the real Mae West became a victim. The crescendo builds up until it culminates in a bizarre Halloween party held at an infamous nightclub. More murders occur, but Mae manages to avoid it, and then gets ready to set up the denouement in the most curious place you'll ever find.

Ramona Curry's "Too Much of a Good Thing: Mae West as Cultural Icon," published in 1996, is a university press publication that examines Mae West's contributions to the Feminist Movement and evaluates her role as a female icon of the twentieth century. This treatment of West is a typical academic text with good research of textual sources, but with little or no interviews and featuring theory that is hit or miss.
When Mae West was asked why she never wrote an article supporting the Feminist Movement she reportably drawled, "They never asked me."

This is a fairly ridiculous, heavy handed attempt at analyzing the appeal of one of the greatest movie stars ever. This writer sees everything about Mae as "camp" (wait til you read her detailed analysis of La West's appearance on MISTER ED!!) and although she seems pro-West, apparently sees her mainly as someone who gays to copy and idolize, not as a serious pop culture icon for the mainstream public. Super silly and very heavy handed. Beulah, peel me a raspberry!!!

British entertainment writer, Fergus Cashin ghosted a number of show business autobiographies prior to undertaking his examination of Mae West's career published in 1981, shortly after her death. Cashin referred to West being "of indeterminate sex" and claimed "the marathon love sessions of nonstop bed pounding...went on in Mae's head and probably nowhere else."
Critics panned Cashin for raising rhetorical questions and not conducting any original research. His book was released in England in hardback edition, and sold in the American market in a paperback version. The Library of Congress had a copy of Cashin's book in its collection, which has since inexplicably gone missing.
Perhaps the wrath of Miss West's spirit vapourized this offensive text. For Mae West completists, this bizarre tome makes for an amusing, if inaccurate account of perhaps the most fascinating entertainer of the twentieth century.

This book is full of speculation (among other things) from cover to cover. The author is obsessed with the notion that Mae West was a man. This was written just after she passed away, and clearly Mr. Cashin wanted to "cash-in". Not recommended.

"Diamond Lil" was a scandalous Broadway hit for Mae West in 1928. Today it is chiefly known in the even more successful (and now classic) film based on it, "She Done Him Wrong" (1933), Cary Grant's first appearance. The play has never been published, either in its original or revised version. But there's the film -- and this novelization. In expanding the story to book length, West and her ghost writer(s) added some period detail (there was a REAL Diamond Lil) and a great deal of padding. A mere curiosity. She Done Him Wrong