Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America

If you’ve heard anything at all about this book, then you know that the main talking point—and selling point—being discussed by reviewers is the number of sexual partners Warren Beatty managed to squeeze in even while forging one of the more stellar movie careers of his generation. Compared to Beatty, Casanova was almost monkish. But as an actor, a producer, and a director, Beatty made his presence known and his influence felt on and off the set, leaving behind a handful of memorable performances and iconic films, chief among them the seminal Bonnie and Clyde, a movie that has influenced movies ever since. A few years back, Peter Biskind wrote Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, a very compelling book about the creative energy coming from independent Hollywood filmmakers in the late-’60s and on through the ’70s. Beatty was a mover and a shaker in that group of filmmakers who did battle with the way Hollywood once did things. He’s also a somewhat enigmatic character, and for those who enjoy the guilty pleasure of celebrity bios, this book is tailor made. As to the number of women Beatty allegedly bedded, Biskind arrives at a figure of 12,775. But then who’s counting?