Based on twenty years of research and thousands of interviews, this authoritative biography of performer Josephine Baker (1906-1975) provides a candid look at her tempestuous life. Born into poverty in St. Louis, the uninhib...

Buy Now From Amazon

Based on twenty years of research and thousands of interviews, this authoritative biography of performer Josephine Baker (1906-1975) provides a candid look at her tempestuous life. Born into poverty in St. Louis, the uninhibited chorus girl became the sensation of Europe and the last century's first black sex symbol. A heroine of the French Resistance in World War II, she entranced figures as diverse as de Gaulle, Tito, Castro, Princess Grace, two popes, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yet Josephine was also, as one critic put it, "a monster who made Joan Crawford look like the Virgin Mary." Jean-Claude Baker's book also reveals her outbursts that resulted in lasting feuds, her imperious treatment of family and entourage members, and her ambivalent attitudes concerning her ethnic background.
Reconciling Josephine's many personas―Jazz-age icon, national hero of France, proponent of Civil Rights, mother of children from across the globe―Josephine: The Hungry Heart gives readers the inside story on a star unlike any other before or since.

Similar Products

The Josephine Baker StoryThe Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy (Women of Action)Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the ImageJosephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books)JosephineThe Soul of the Indian (Native American)Josephine Baker and the Rainbow TribeFirst Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History