cover image Barbara Mandrell Story

Barbara Mandrell Story

Charles P. Conn. Putnam Publishing Group, $19.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-399-13317-6

The merchandising of a country-music star who has prevailed over the market whims of nearly 30 years and whose private life is a model of probity exceptional in the entertainment world is followed in this respectful biography. Barbara Mandrell is pictured as a hard worker, always on the move, devoted to family, energized by religious commitmenta picture drawn with broad strokes. Yet, ``beneath the somewhat Pollyanna exterior is a core of smooth steel,'' notes her biographer, who suggests that this may account for her triumph over a near-fatal auto accident in 1984 that maimed her, injured her children and killed the driver of the other car. The arduous work of physical and emotional recovery ended in success, which Mandrell attributes to religious faith and family. The author emphasizes the singer's unique relationship with her multitudes of fans, nurtured by her own museum, a popular stop on the Nashville music tour. Conn, author of The New Johnny Cash and The Possible Dream , is president of Lee College, Tennessee. Photos not seen by PW. (October)