Ava's Men: The Private Life of Ava Gardner
Hard on the heels of Wayne's Crawford's Men and Gable's Women (both St. Martin's, 1987 and 1988 respectively) comes Ava's Men . The book's contents are accurately described by the subtitle, as Wayne touches upon Gardner's film roles, but is more concerned with her failed marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra, and with her numerous other flings. While the information appears to be accurate, hardly any sources are attributed. Wayne's writing is tolerable, but often awkward. Libraries which own Roland Flamini's Ava (LJ 1/1/83) or Charles Higham's Ava: A Life Story (Delacorte, 1979) probably don't need this.- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.