Leslie Harter Zemeckis

"Lili St. Cyr was, in the words of legendary reporter Mike Wallace, the "highest paid stripteaser in America." Lili led an incredible life--six marriages alongside great fame and money. Lili was named one of the world's ten most beautiful women alongside Ava Gardner and Brigitte Bardot. Yet she lost it all, becoming a recluse in her final decades. This book reveals that behind the g-strings and the pasties stood a "complicated, eccentric, brilliant"...

Burlesque was one of America’s most popular forms of entertainment in the first half of the 20th century. Gaudy, bawdy and spectacular, the shows entertained thousands of customers every night of the week. And yet the legacy of burlesque is often vilified, misunderstood, and left out of history. By telling intimate, surprising stories from its golden age through the women (and men!) who lived it, BEHIND THE BURLY Q reveals the true story of burlesque,...

For one doubting boy, an astonishing event is about to occur. Late on Christmas Eve night, he lies in bed hoping to hear the sound of reindeer bells from Santa's sleigh. Instead of bells and to his surprise, a steam engine's roar and whistle can be heard outside his window. The conductor invites him on board to take an extraordinary journey to the North Pole with many other pajama-clad children. There, he receives an extraordinary gift that only those...

Daisy and Violet Hilton were conjoined twins who rose to superstardom at the beginning of the twentieth century as sideshow attractions. Ruthlessly exploited by their managers, the sisters ultimately sued for their freedom, which they won at a terrible cost.