Patricia butler barry manilow biography

Since Barry Manilow's rapid rise to super-stardom in the early 1970's, many writers and entertainment watchers have attempted to unravel the mystery of the man that his fans love, and his critics love to hate.

It took until nearly 30 years after Manilow's ascension to the pop-come-adult-contemporary throne for a lone, respected biographer to fill in the blanks left by Manilow's own 1987 autobiography, "Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way To Paradise."

Patricia Butler has pieced together a fuller, deeper story than any of those before her, with the help of many of Manilow's closest friends, relatives and former band members.

While Butler captures the same portrait of a reluctant-but-overachieving star that others have painted, she takes this book substantially further, systematically peeling away at the layer of awe that has blinded many of her predecessors to garner deeper insights.

What results is a louder and more credibl