I almost deleted this when it showed up in my galley copies on the Kindle--my fuzzy memory of Gabors is from reruns of Green Acres and 1980s tabloid headlines. Although the later chapters become soapy and too close to Francesca Hilton, the material is oddly fascinating and deserves someone with greater contextual background to address things like:
*the family were hyper-assimilated Hungarian Jews, although on the less respectable edges of Budapest society, although Americans assumed they had fled Communism and thus were given almost total amnesty from suspicion and blacklists
*Magda conducted resistance work during WWII and saved herself and others by having an affair with the ambassador from Portugal
*Zsa Zsa's first marriage was to a Turkish diplomat, and the role of Turkey in the late 1940s made it glamorous that she aggressively pursued an elderly Ataturk
*their not particularly smart father returned to Hungary in the 50s and was essentially a hostage of the government, so while they raised money for the 1956 refugees, Zsa Zsa was on the guest list for Khruschev's visit to the US as a weird kind of Eastern European trophy for the Russians
*Congress got involved when it became obvious that the tyrannical Trujillo family of the Dominican Republic was converting US foreign aid into sports cars and chinchilla coats for their mistresses, with the Gabors used as examples
*the small, inbred nature of NY and LA TV in the 1950s, when being at the right dinner party got you a talk show, or endless game show appearances
*the economics and marketing of the costume jewelry and wig industry, much of which the family mad mainstream in the US
*the odd subculture of dispossessed ex-aristocratic gigolos in the 1930s-70s, and the consistent way in which Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke and all the Gabors found the absolute worst of them (in contrast Allene Trew found a good looking, docile Russian count, so they weren't all creeps)
*that in the conformist 1950s, it was possible, by veering into complete parody to make overt gold-digging and predatory femininity into a brand, and then keep that going in a lucrative way for FIFTY years

This book certainly gave me a fuller picture of this family but I found the writing style a bit dry.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

I have an indelible image of Zsa Zsa Gabor in my head and I was very curious to read about her life, and that of her siblings. This book has left me a bit perplexed: How could Sam Staggs turn such "dishy," vibrant lives in to such a tedious book ? I am shaking my head in disbelief, I just can't quite comprehend how he managed this feat.

Perhaps it is his writing style. It is not clean and journalistic, nor is it light and lively. It is ponderous. The book really became a chore for me but I wanted to complete it because I live in Palm Springs and the Gabors have a history here and I was looking forward to gleaning some tidbits of local history. They were not forthcoming; the ladies' life in the desert was distilled to one sentence.

A writer tackling the very long lives of four women will have to make choices of what to emphasize and what to delete. Mr. Staggs spent pages and pages describing performances and appearances by the sisters and this will probably have significant appeal to readers who want a deep dive in to film, theater and TV history. I was hoping to find a little more humor, a little more lifestyle,, a lighter look in to these glamorous lives, and a heavier hand by the editor.

In short, I was disappointed in this book but another reader may appreciate this perspective on the Gabors.
NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Finding Zsa Zsa by Sam Staggs is a great read that delves into the lives of the Gabor family (including but not limited to Zsa Zsa’s mother, father, sisters Eva and Magda).
The author clearly spent a large amount of time researching and interviewing for this piece, and it shows (compliment inserted here), as this was not easy subject matter to unearth. Discrepancies between truth, exaggerations, and just plain missing information scattered over several countries pre war and post war make this a daunting task.

This family was full of life, emotion, and personalities, and of course any time there are a lot of “large personalities “ present in a room or relationship/family setting, tensions can run high and passionate displays can take place.

The author did a fabulous job staying impartial and objective throughout this book.

I learned so much more then I ever thought possible about the Gabor family and am glad in doing so. Very interesting indeed.

5/5 stars

Thank you Kensington and NetGalley for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable look at one of entertainment's enduring celebrity families. The author did his research, tracked down a lot of the miscellaneous and contradictory information floating around - much of it put about by the Gabors themselves! - and gave a great look inside the making of the legend of the Gabors. I particularly liked the fact that his tone was respectful throughout. The book is not a "tell-all and shock" story, although there would be plenty of material to do so, but rather an insightful look at their familial background in Hungary, and the way the lives of the Gabor sisters and their mother developed once they set their sights on being fabulous.

The fabulous Gabor sisters and their mother took show business by storm Eva ,,Zsa Zsa ,Magda & their mom Jolie.Gorgeous fabulous always in Hollywood gossip columns ,romances-glamor jewelry-clothes iconic stars .This is a delicious read brings us to their beginnings through their show biz breakthrough s the marriages Eva’s pseudo romance with Merv Griffin ,Zsa Zsa difficult love life including her final marriage.I devoured this book fascinated by these sisters who lived the most amazing red carpet lives.Their lives reads like a movie but was real and amazing.#netgalley #kensingtonbooks.