Overview

Before TMZ . . .
Before the National Enquirer . . .
It was Confidential.
Though it was printed on pulp paper and sold for only a quarter, Confidential could cost Hollywood stars their careers. From 1952 to 1957, it was the one magazine that refused to play by Hollywood's rules--and was thus rewarded with four million readers per issue. If Look said that Lucy and Desi were the perfect couple, Confidential exposed him as a philanderer. If the studios claimed that Liberace, Van Johnson, and Tab Hunter were hetero he-men, Confidential set the record straight. Whether it was infidelity, homosexuality, drug use, interracial romances, or--worst of all--communism, Confidential exposed the stars' secrets most sure to shock suburban America in the Eisenhower era.
Now, for the first time, this riveting book tells the story behind the phenomenon. Henry E. Scott reveals the truth about the publisher who loved white Cadillacs and chorus girls and the red-baiting editor who ended up a blood-spattered tabloid headline himself, as well as the libel lawsuit that brought the whole raunchy and remarkable enterprise to an end--but not before it had paved the way for today's paparazzi-stalked, gossip-soaked world. It's all here in one Shocking True Story.

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9780345447708

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Reviews

Revealing. . . Scott finds the perfect length to capture the absurdity and significance of Confidential without wallowing in the dirt and hatred it peddled. <br>--Jeffrey Westhoff, Chicago Sun-Times <br> <br> Entertaining . . . <br>--Peter M. Gianotti, Newsday <br> <br> Marvelous pop history . . . incredibly timely. <br>--Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY <br> <br> Swift and rapturous . . . Scott's behind-the-scenes anecdotes solidly track the mag's meteoric rise . . . When pitted against today's TMZ snipes and Perez dick doodles, Confidential 's pun-filled, aw, shucks patter is almost charming, its prurient prying vaguely sweet. <br>-- Modern Tonic <br><br><br> From the Hardcover edition.

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