cover image Cher: All I Really Want to Do

Cher: All I Really Want to Do

Daryl Easlea and Eddi Fiegel. Hal Leonard/Backbeat, $19.99 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-61713-452-4

Music journalists Easlea and Fiegel unveil the personality behind this entertainer who has fascinated fans for over 45 years. They offer a chronology of her music career and work as an actress, revealing a woman admired by audiences and peers alike. Blunt, yet kind, she is shown to be a survivor, a diligent worker, and a rare talent. From asides on first husband Sonny Bono to her involvement with the Black Rose Band, and then on to her acclaimed films%E2%80%94including Mask and Moonstruck (for which she won an Oscar)%E2%80%94she confides, "You can either swim or die in your career. I swam. I'm a gutsy kind of gal." Peers have their say, including actor/writer Chazz Palminteri, who adds, "She's also one of the smart-est people I've ever met." Her so-called "final" tours covered three continents in a 350-performance extravaganza featuring spectacular staging, riding a papier-m%C3%A2ch%C3%A9 elephant, and appearing in flamboy-ant and often risqu%C3%A9 costumes. While the real passion in the book is postponed until the last few chap-ters, Easlea and Fiegel make it clear that Cher's talent is matched by her personal warmth. B&W photo insert. (Apr.)