Don't bother buying this book unless you are a fan of supermarket tabloids. There are many factual errors & the author seems far more interested in speculating about Ms. Merman's private life than in providing factual information on one of the greatest performers in Broadway history. I was furtunate enough to see Ms. Merman in all of the shows she did after 1940. She was a true original & deserves nuch, much better than she receives from this author.