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The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa
by
Shawn Levy
At one gilded moment in history, his fame was so great that he was known the world over by his nickname alone: Rubi. Pop songs were written about him. Women whom he had never met offered to leave their husbands for him. He had an eye for feminine beauty, particularly when it came with great wealth: Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke, Eva Peron, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. But he was a man
...morePaperback, 356 pages
Published
November 1st 2006
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published August 1st 2005)
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This book was both reassuring and scary in some ways. It was reassuring to know that being famous for being famous was nothing new. Porfirio Rubirosa was very famous in his time although he never had a real job or a real purpose. On the other hand, he is almost completely forgotten now, 43 years after his death. I had never heard of him until I saw this book. Maybe that means people will forget about Paris Hilton too.
This book is about a Dominican who grew up in Paris and decide...more
This book is about a Dominican who grew up in Paris and decide...more
Rubi is one of those people who seemed to pop up here and there in other books I would read, then I saw this on the shelf while browsing and picked it up. This was the nice, fairly trashy read I was in the mood for. The book's tone is similar to the more lurid Howard Hughes books I've read. And yes, for better or worse, there's an entire chapter devoted to Mr Rubirosa's penis.
A bit of the book does feel like filler - for instance the entire chapter on Ramfis Trujillo's time at the Am...more
A bit of the book does feel like filler - for instance the entire chapter on Ramfis Trujillo's time at the Am...more
I nearly gave this book 4 stars because did appear to be well-researched, but the gossipy tone of some of it brought down my overall rating. Some of the author's terms were overly familiar or chatty and caused me to doubt his willingness to present an impartial view of this historic public figure.
Having heard about Rubirosa for years but not knowing much about him, this was an interesting read. He lead an amazing life among the jet-set of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Married or dallianced with Zza Zza Gabor, Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke. Died as he lived, fast.
Rubirosa is like a real-life James Bond!
Lousy writing. Don't bother.
Julissa
marked it as to-read
Jonathan Burr
marked it as to-read
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