Kirkus Review

Gossipy yet earnest, this little celeb-bio tells us that enigmatic Warren ""has always existed on a rather lofty cerebral level,"" that he's both a romantic and a pragmatist, both a serious man and ""a lone wolf who changes women as blithely as he checks in and out of hotels."" Munshower follows young 1950s-actor Warren from N.Y. to quick stardom in Hollywood--where his dedicated-maverick ways, his ""sulky arrogance,"" and his myriad affairs soon won him a big-but-shallow reputation. Among the early liaisons for ""filmdom's newest superstud"": Joan Collins (""And what a love life it was!""), married-woman Leslie Caron (""when a headstrong Frenchwoman falls in love, there's no turning back""), and Natalie Wood. But beneath that playboy exterior, ""he was solemnly plotting his future in the film business""--turning actor/producer with Bonnie and Clyde, Shampoo (""Beatty's view of his own movie seems rather naive""), Heaven Can Wait, Reds, and now a Howard Hughes biography. Meanwhile, his list of women went on to include Julie Christie (""the world at large was sure they would wed""), Michelle Phillips (a homebody phase), Diane Keaton (another ""enigma""), and, most recently: ""Will Jessica Savitch be the woman to end up as Mrs. Warren Beatty? . . . Savitch would appear to fulfill any requirements Beatty has where the opposite sex is concerned."" No real insights, exaggerated treatment of Beatty's political involvements (""Warren Beatty for president?""), and nothing much new in the gossip/filmmaking details: a serviceable, relatively restrained once-over for breathless fans. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.