JUST JOAN: A JOAN CRAWFORD APPRECIATION (paperback)
"If you love Joan, you'll love this book!"
- Terry Castle, daughter of William Castle (director, Strait-Jacket. I Saw What You Did; producer, Rosemary's Baby)
Illustrated with over 300 photos, many of them rare and never before in print, JUST JOAN is a compilation of over four years of comprehensive research, culled from rare Lincoln Center archives, original magazines and those who knew her. Crawford is examined as a feminist forerunner, a gay icon, a dynamic artist, and as one of the world's great movie stars. The many anecdotes and quotes within JUST JOAN reveal the sassy, indomitable spirit of this actress who grew up in abject poverty with an indifferent family and yet, against unseemly strife and setbacks, rose from the ashes like a phoenix. Her determination, talent and committed work ethic enabled her to find a career and home with what would be one of the most celebrated and powerful studios in film history, MGM. Hers is the moving, complex story of the pursuit and realization of the American Dream, part sublime, part nightmare, self-actuated. With rich detail and devotion, JUST JOAN bears testament to Crawford's enduring enigma and powerful star.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1337686936620487
fan. She appreciates this complex subject for her skill as an actress, her
importance as a pop culture icon, as well as displaying a fi ne sense of
humor for Crawford's more lurid notoriety. Nowak has a fervor, devotion,
and attention to detail that even the fastidious Crawford would cheer."
- Charles Busch
"Intelligent, insightful, witty - Donna Nowak's essays and reviews on
the style, work and life of Joan Crawford would have compelled the
Ultimate Star to officially adopt her as the devoted creative daughter she
always longed for."
- Shaun Considine
"None of the data [within Just Joan] has ever been so voluminously collected, archived and organized with such meticulous precision and care. That's what makes Nowak's book so essential: it is an encyclopedia and companion that is intensely rich with literary details. This is not another biography of Joan Crawford, this is the bible according to Joan Crawford. . . . [A] near perfect work."
- DAEIDA Magazine