Bette Davis's Demise

But even in the first interview her quotes have a canned feeling: "Do you want to know the secret of my success? Easy. Brown mascara." And later, "The way I see it, in my films, drinking is the action and smoking is the reaction." Or, "Being hysterical is like having an orgasm. It's good for you." Or, "In selecting husbands, I confused muscle with strength. They didn't look alike, but in many respects, they were the same man. All my husbands were canaries. Tweet, tweet, tweet!" And even more chillingly, "Until your children hate you, you haven't been a good parent." (This was a few years before her daughter told the world what she thought of her mother in "My Mother's Keeper," a companion piece, in many ways, to "Mommie Dearest" by the put-upon daughter of Joan Crawford.)

Davis refers to herself as a "country mouse," a "homebody," someone who likes to dust. Other people had different opinions of her. "She seemed to feel she had a license to be rude," actress Celeste Holm remembers. "Well, maybe she did. I thought it was bad manners on her part. I never understand all the Bette Davis nuts. I think she was over-acclaimed, over-praised, over-indulged." But Holm and producer Joshua Logan are about the only ones here who say anything negative about the legendary star.

Fortunately or unfortunately, fame is fleeting by nature. At a nightclub, Davis once saw the Beatles, still young and darling and together, and went over to ask for their autographs. Not one of them recognized her. The homebody who liked to dust was livid.

You can't say this book was really "written" -- again, it's mainly a compilation of quotations, mostly by Davis. If you believe life really is a faintly grotesque, camp entertainment, you may like it. If you're a little more serious or crave reason and intelligence, you can pass this one up.

Sunday in Book World

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· Stephen Harrigan sends a mother into space.

· Amartya Sen lives in the best of all possible worlds.

· Kiran Desai imagines the downside of globalization.

· Jonathan Yardley finds Willie Morris.

· And spring books are previewed.