John Harte’s Hollywood’s 5 Reckless Women describes the rise and fall of Hollywood as seen through the turbulent lives of its five greatest stars; Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, Rita Hayworth and Gene Tierney. Each was described by the media as the most beautiful woman in the world. They shared each other’s directors, producers, lovers, husbands, and leading men, while struggling courageously to prevent the collapse of their careers and love affairs, and their sanity, while harassed by the media and often abused by their fans and the film industry.

This story describes how all of them challenged or engaged with each other as they struggled to cope with their personality problems and scandals during the rise of Hollywood’s golden years and the gradual collapse of the studio system. What they also had in common was the type of personality disorders that marked their lives.

John Harte was born in London, England after World War 1, when he absorbed the controversies and lessons of that war which historians puzzled over for years afterwards. He then watched each milestone leading to World War 2, in which he served, and lived in England throughout. In postwar years he became an investigative journalist in England and South Africa, where he visited the battle zones of the Boer War. He was a director of companies in the UK, South Africa, and Canada. This is Harte’s second book about Sir Winston Churchill, after How Churchill Saved Civilization (Skyhorse, 2017). He lives and writes books on modern history in Ottawa, Canada. Visit his website at johnhartebooks.com.

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