Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland

"A compelling read . . . In a big, gutsy biography, Gerald Clarke brings insight and fresh detail to Judy Garland's story."--Entertainment Weekly

She lived at full throttle on stage, screen, and in real life, with highs that made history and lows that finally brought down the curtain at age forty-seven.

From her tumultuous early years as a child performer to her tragic last days, Gerald Clarke reveals the authentic Judy Garland in a biography rich in new detail and unprecedented revelations. Based on hundreds of interviews and drawing on her own unfinished--and unpublished--autobiography, Get Happy presents the real Judy Garland in all her flawed glory and creates a portrait as candid as it is compassionate.

Here are her early years, during which her parents sowed the seeds of heartbreak and self-destruction that would plague her for decades . . . the golden age of Hollywood, brought into sharp focus with cinematic urgency, from the hidden private lives of the movie world's biggest stars to the cold-eyed businessmen who controlled the machine . . . and a parade of brilliant and gifted men--lovers and artists, impresarios and crooks--who helped her reach so many creative pinnacles yet left her hopeless and alone after each seemingly inevitable fall.

Here, then, is Judy Garland in all her magic and despair: the woman, the star, the legend, in a riveting saga of tragedy, resurrection, and genius.