Last Girl Before Freeway

Starred review from September 12, 2016
This comprehensive biography painstakingly charts the late Joan Rivers’s journey from growing up in Westchester, N.Y., feeling not at all pretty (the title of the book refers to a joke about how her mother hoped to pawn her off on a man, any man, who passed through town) to succeeding in comedy and becoming a veritable polymath of the business and entertainment worlds. Through interviews with family, staff, and comedy insiders, Vanity Fair contributing editor Bennetts (The Feminine Mistake) draws a portrait of the groundbreaking comedienne that is both deep and sweeping. She fact-checks Rivers on her own anecdotes, noting, for example, that she probably never met Marilyn Monroe, despite titling one of her books after a supposed conversation in which the actress told Rivers, “Men are stupid... and they like big tits.” Sometimes the portrait turns unsavory. Laughter gave Rivers power, which she was not afraid to wield against other women whom she saw as her rivals. She was the first to ask stars on the red carpet “Who are you wearing?”, a line of questioning resisted today by feminists for its lack of substance. Scared of losing it all, she stockpiled fancy china and Manolo Blahnik shoes. But Bennetts isn’t overly critical of Rivers, focusing also on her good deeds for “the little people”—like sending a badge from her TV show Fashion Police to a young fan—and her drive to succeed in a comedy world dominated by men. Bennetts’s reporting gives readers unparalleled access to her subject, which comedy fans, and those just fascinated by superstardom, will greatly enjoy.

October 15, 2016
The life and legacy of Joan Rivers (1933-2014).Rivers grew up in a state of constant contradiction. Her mother's desire to have the nicest things put the family in perpetual financial struggle, and Rivers wanted to become a famous actress but struggled with her "plain" appearance. She desperately wanted people to find her funny, but for the longest time, no one did. But as she wrote later in life, "I knew instinctively that my unyielding drive was my most important asset." Many consider Rivers' style of humor to be unnecessarily mean, but her in-your-face approach was courageous at a time when female comics "couldn't even make a bodily reference." Rivers eventually became a household name, finding success as a late-night guest host with Johnny Carson and then later through E! and QVC. But there was so much failure first, and former Vanity Fair writer Bennetts (The Feminine Mistake, 2008) seemingly includes it all. "After years of being pampered, I am still angry. I am angry because of the Show Bar," Rivers said, referring to the humiliating gigs of her early career. Since she would do anything to succeed, she hated people (especially young, beautiful people) who did not work hard to keep up their appearances. She never thought she was mean because she believed the targets of her jokes could take it, and she was always equally critical, if not more so, of herself. Rivers just "didn't understand weakness." Bennetts portrays her subject as a woman much more complex than her outwardly abrasive personality might suggest, and while some sections fly by, others are so weighed down by the particulars, like the reasons behind Rivers leaving the Tonight Show, that the book is at risk of losing the vibrancy readers will no doubt expect, given its subject. A thorough, sweeping look at the woman who pioneered the idea that "outrageousness can be cleansing and healthy" and the turbulent personality that brought it to life.

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September 15, 2016
The late comedienne Joan Rivers was known for oversharing when it came to her life. And that is perhaps the problem with this undeniably dishy book. Those who've followed Rivers' career have heard most of it before. This is especially true in the book's early chapters when Bennetts (The Feminine Mistake, 2007) quotes Rivers' first autobiography, Enter Talking (1986), so often, readers could be forgiven for wondering why they just don't pick up that book. Her source circle does widen as the book goes on, with many business associates and friends like Blair Trump, though not relatives, quoted. The book's major point, that Rivers' physical and financial insecurities, dating back to childhood, shaped, well, everything about her life, is repeated throughout, but more interesting are the contradictions in the comedienne's life Bennetts highlights: her dedication to the gay community, especially through charity, while voting Republican; her desire to be taken care of by men, even as she was making millions. A fat and full book that will satisfy fans who want all of Joan in one place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2016

Even though comedian Joan Rivers was 81 when she died, she had no intention of retiring. Of course, she didn't plan on dying anytime soon either. Rivers performed a sold-out show the night before a botched endoscopy ended her life. In addition to being a legendary comedian whose career spanned 60 years, Rivers was a feminist pioneer in the male-dominated world of stand-up with her conspiratorial humor and everyday looks. Not being physically beautiful both haunted and drove her. "If I had to choose between being funny and beautiful--beautiful." In this first detailed biography of Rivers since her death, Bennetts (The Feminine Mistake) reveals the woman behind the schtick. It's all here--growing up in middle-class Larchmont, NY, with a mother who wanted her to give up comedy and get married, her big break on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and their subsequent feud, the suicide of her husband--all of that compelled Rivers to work, work, work. She decided that if she couldn't be loved because she was pretty, she'd be loved because she was funny. VERDICT Celebrity mavens and fans of well-written biographies will enjoy this title. [See Prepub Alert, 5/23/16.]--Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2016

A veteran journalist whose Vanity Fair profiles range from Sir Anthony Hopkins to Demi Moore, Bennetts offers a portrait of iconic comedian Joan Rivers, telling her personal story while assessing her huge cultural impact. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.