Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart

Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart
by Jean-Claude Baker

Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart
List Price: $22.95
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Buy Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Jean-Claude Baker
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09-25
ISBN: 0815411723
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Cooper Square Press

Book Reviews of Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart

Book Review: The good, the bad, & the very ugly sides of Josephine Baker
Summary: 5 Stars

When most hear the name Josephine Baker, images of her sensually dancing across a stage in nothing but a skirt made of bananas comes to mind. There's much more to her than that and Jean Claude Baker (one of her adopted sons) gives us the dish. He recounts Tumpy's (a childhood nickname) poor beginnings in St. Louis to her death as a worldwide superstar in Paris. I'd really reccomend this book to anyone who wants to know what Josephine was really like. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Good things first, she was an untouchably talented dancer who has continually inspired dancers of all generations even after her death. Her voice, a shrill and lilting instrument, grew to almost Sarah Vaughn like heights. Despite her talents, Josephine could be a selfish and hurtful woman. She had a problem with lying all throughout her life. She never knew her father, but one minute she'd claim he was a successful black lawyer in Chicago and the next he was a simple Jewish man. Her whole early life in St. Louis would be flipped and turned around at her whim, to the point where published accounts would contradict themselves. Luckily, Jean Claude interviewed the people who knew her best and gave true accounts of her personality. She was also extremely promiscuous in her later teens. She went through male and female lovers like underwear and had no hestitation to use others when it would benefit her career. Even her legendary Rainbow Tribe was created out of plain publicity (shout-out to the Octomom). She barely spent time with the kids and left them in the constant care of nannies. She also had a penchant for slapping people she was angry with and her kids were no exception. She even sent one of her boys away to boarding school when she caught him with another boy, despite her own genderbending sexual history. Although Josephine could be downright mean, Jean Claude also reveals her funny and loving side. She made an effort to smother the kids with love when she had time to spend with them and she had a quick wit. Although the negative attitude of Josie is discussed at great length, Jean Claude isn't stepping into "tell all" territory. He obviously loved her, all flaws aside. He just wanted to create a more human portrait of a woman whose life has been clouded in myth and mystery.

Summary of Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart

This revelatory biography of Folies Bergere dancer Josephine Baker (1906-1975) is a study of struggle, truimph and tragedy.

Baker, Josephine Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Need some more good books?
Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel ImageAlek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel
by Alek Wek
Amistad; Published: 2007-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.44
Price in other shops: $24.95
Letter to My Daughter ImageLetter to My Daughter
by Maya Angelou
Random House; Published: 2008-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $25.00
Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope ImageAna's Story: A Journey of Hope
by Jenna Bush
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops: $9.99
Breaking the Perfect 10 ImageBreaking the Perfect 10
by Tracy Lindsey Melchior, Susan Wales
B&H Publishing Group; Published: 2005-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $19.99
Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood ImageBaby Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood
by Jenny McCarthy
Plume; Published: 2006-04-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.30
Price in other shops: $14.00
Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth ImageBelly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth
by Jenny McCarthy
Da Capo Press; Published: 2005-12-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.66
Price in other shops: $12.95
Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism ImageLouder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism
by Jenny McCarthy
Plume; Published: 2008-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.69
Price in other shops: $14.00
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea ImageAre You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
by Chelsea Handler
Simon Spotlight Entertainment; Published: 2008-04-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.45
Price in other shops: $24.95
God Still Don't Like Ugly ImageGod Still Don't Like Ugly
by Mary Monroe
Kensington; Published: 2009-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.46
Price in other shops: $6.99
God Don't Like Ugly ImageGod Don't Like Ugly
by Mary Monroe
Kensington; Published: 2006-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops: $6.99
Similar Books and other products
La Revue des Revues ImageLa Revue des Revues
Kino Video; Release date: 2007-05-15; DVD
Best price: $15.14
Price in other shops: $24.95
Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker ImageNaked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker
by Lynn Haney
Dodd Mead; Published: 1981-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.00
JOSEPHINE BAKER: J'ai Deux Amours ImageJosephine Baker;Edmond Mahieux;Alain Romans;Wal-berg;John Ellsworth - JOSEPHINE BAKER: J'ai Deux Amours
Release date: 1997-07-15; Music CD
Best price: $8.27
Price in other shops: $13.99
The Josephine Baker Story ImageThe Josephine Baker Story
by Ean Wood
Sanctuary Publishing; Published: 2002-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.83
The Family Nobody Wanted ImageThe Family Nobody Wanted
by Helen Doss
Northeastern; Published: 2001-10-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.15
Price in other shops: $27.95
Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time ImageJazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time
by Phyllis Rose
Doubleday; Published: 1989-09-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $22.50
The Josephine Baker Collection (Zou Zou / Princess Tam Tam / Siren of the Tropics) ImageThe Josephine Baker Collection (Zou Zou / Princess Tam Tam / Siren of the Tropics)
Kino Video; Release date: 2007-05-15; DVD
Best price: $38.63
Price in other shops: $59.95
Josephine Baker in Art and Life: THE ICON AND THE IMAGE ImageJosephine Baker in Art and Life: THE ICON AND THE IMAGE
by Bennetta Jules-Rosette
University of Illinois Press; Published: 2007-02-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.82
Price in other shops: $25.00
Josephine ImageJosephine
by Josephine Baker, Jo Bouillon
Marlowe&Co; Published: 1995-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.87
The Josephine Baker Story ImageThe Josephine Baker Story
WHITFIELD,LYNN; Release date: 2001-06-05; DVD
Best price: $3.19
Price in other shops: $5.98
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories