• A Passion for Life

  • The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor
  • By: Donald Spoto
  • Narrated by: C. M. Hébert
  • Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (416 ratings)

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A Passion for Life  By  cover art

A Passion for Life

By: Donald Spoto
Narrated by: C. M. Hébert
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Publisher's summary

Born in England to socially ambitious parents, Elizabeth Taylor was catapulted into child stardom and molded by MGM into the great violet-eyed beauty of postwar America. Along the way, without training or counsel, she became an award-winning actress, dazzling audiences everywhere with spectacular performances.

Spoto explores the gripping story of her brutalizing six-month marriage to compulsive gambler and hotel heir Nicky Hilton, her romances with top Hollywood directors, and her marriage to the ailing Michael Wilding. Four years later, she would be swept off her feet by showman Mike Todd into an alternately violent and loving marriage that would end with Todd’s death in a plane crash, leaving Taylor a twice-divorced widow with three children at the age of 26. And here are Taylor’s years with Eddie Fisher, Republican Senator John Warner, and Richard Burton, with whom she would share a hedonistic, brash lifestyle that would virtually define the 1960s jet set.

©1995 Donald Spoto (P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“At once scathing and sympathetic…. Spoto provides acute commentary on Taylor’s films as well as a filmography in a revelatory portrait of a self-styled femme fatale beset by self-destructive impulses and feelings of emptiness.” ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about A Passion for Life

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Dull and repetitive

Not sure why but I found myself hitting fast forward a number of times through this audiobook. It just got a little tedious with the minute details of Taylor's diva life. I'm a fan of Elizabeth Taylor...but not this book.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Liz Taylor

It started to feel like groundhog’s day. Marry divorced marry...... it’s interesting though. She was a mess.🤣

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Any additional comments?

This book was one of the best autobiographies I have ever read or listened to. Spoto is incredibly engaging and innovating in the telling of Taylor's story. The narrative is well researched and well written with an emphasis on a historical context of Taylor as well as her family, which I found very interesting. Thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook and look foward to listening to it again in the future.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Shattered Perceptions

I am not sure what I expected.One thing for sure,I never imagine that anyone could change my views of Elizabeth Taylor.I always thought she was 1 of the most beautiful women of the world.(Inside and out).I hope she is at rest now.I feel extremely sorry for her and everyone she was in contact with.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The suspicious decease of Mike Todd’s first wife

The book casually details the bullying conman machinations of her third husband Mike Todd, an overtly dangerous man whose first wife departed under very suspicious circumstances. Arrives at hospital with obvious defensive injuries, perishes from pneumothorax. His premature exit in a plane crash was fortuitous to mankind.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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her hard yet beautiful life

we should all learn something from Elizabeth Taylor. I cherish this book. thank you so much for sharing it with the public

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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so many interesting stories I've never heard before

loved it! great reading, great details and highly recommend. one of my favorite audible books

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    5 out of 5 stars
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How many men she had & how long her career really was!

Wow took me over a week to finish this book. But I learned a lot about Elizabeth Taylor that I had no idea about. I had no idea that she was such a mean eater, loved love way too much, was so naive but also seemed loving & supportive. And I had no idea that her career was a long as it was. This book was a long but good read & the last reading it sounded just like Elizabeth Taylor & that made it seem like she herself was reading the story! I would recommend this book to anybody. Good read/audible!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Her complete commitment to life

How tarnished her reputation was from drugs and alcohol . She did so much damage to her reputation

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Obviously written by a man

The amount of times the author called Liz fat and unattractive… what the hell? All I can say is I’ll never read another biography about a woman, written by a man. 🙄

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