Mae West

Jill Watts is Professor of History and has served as the Director of the History Department and Co-Director of the Women's Studies Program at California State University, San Marcos. She is the author of God, Harlem, U.S.A.: The Father Divine Story.

"A provocative biography."--Edward Rothstein, The New York Times
"An incisive and vivid portrait that focuses on the enormous influence African American music and culture had on West...Watts' spirited and intelligent analysis chronicles West's battles with censorship, celebrates her compassionate artistic vision and discipline, and unveils the enigmas and dualisms that pervade the forever iconic West's work and life."--Booklist
"Watts is shrewd in her discussions of much of West's writing, and she performs a service drawing attention to West's debt to African-American culture."--Robert Gottlieb, The New York Observer
"This book is engagingly written. Watts's research is prodigious and she writes with acuity and verve."--he Times of London
"Watts' biography of Mae West delves deeply into the meaning of the star's essence. She presents an astonishingly complex portrait."--National Post