From Donald Bogle, the award-winning author of Hollywood Black and
leading authority on Black cinema history, this is a first-of-its-kind
comprehensive and lavish biography of Hollywood's first African American
movie goddess.
Lena Horne's life and career are truly remarkable in American film
history. She was the first Black performer to become a true star--to
receive the kind of glamour treatment at the fabled MGM that the studio
had previously given to the likes of Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Lana
Turner, and Ava Gardner. At the same time, Horne dealt with endless
indignities, not the least of which was the fact that her roles in films
was often as a musical performer, which allowed her numbers to be easily
stripped out of films without affecting the narrative when played to
audiences that would find her presence undesirable.
At long last, Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed gives the star her due.
Through a highly informed and insightful narrative based on interviews,
press accounts, studio archives, and decades of research, the book sheds
new light on the star's compelling life and complicated career: her
activism; her accomplishments and heady triumphs in movies, television,
and nightclubs as she broke down long-standing barriers for Black
individuals--especially Black women--and her solemn, sometimes bitter
disappointments, both professional and personal. Illustrated by hundreds
of photos (some published for the first time), this is the ultimate book
on the icon.
