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Edie: American Girl Paperback – October 14, 1994

by Jean Stein (Author), George Plimpton (Editor)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 680 ratings
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When Edie was first published, it quickly became an international bestseller and then took its place among the classic books about the 1960s. Edie Sedgwick exploded into the public eye like a comet. She seemed to have it all: she was aristocratic and glamorous, vivacious and young, Andy Warhol’s superstar. But within a few years she flared out as quickly as she had appeared, and before she turned twenty-nine she was dead from a drug overdose.

In a dazzling tapestry of voices—family, friends, lovers, rivals—the entire meteoric trajectory of Edie Sedgwick’s life is brilliantly captured. And so is the Pop Art world of the ‘60s: the sex, drugs, fashion, music—the mad rush for pleasure and fame. All glitter and flash on the outside, it was hollow and desperate within—like Edie herself, and like her mentor, Andy Warhol. Alternately mesmerizing, tragic, and horrifying, this book shattered many myths about the ‘60s experience in America.
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  1. Print length
    564 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grove Press
  4. Publication date
    October 14, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    6.23 x 1 x 9.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0802134106
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0802134103
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is the book of the Sixties that we have been waiting for.”—Norman Mailer

“Extraordinary . . . a fascinating narrative that is both meticulously reported and expertly orchestrated.”—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

“The ultimate oral history and still the most objectively cool book I’ve ever read. It’s perfectly structured and the most important book about America in the 1960s.”—Sloane Crosley, T: The New York Times Style Magazine

“An exceptionally seductive biography. . . . You can’t put it down. . . . It has novelistic excitement.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Jean Stein’s 1982 book Edie: American Girl, edited with George Plimpton . . . gave oral history the particular shimmer that comes when lofty literary aims happen to coincide with sheer entertainment value . . . Edie gave an almost mythic quality to its subject’s persona and her brief rise and fall, yet in its telling you could also follow clear lines connecting disparate pieces of 20th-century American life: the hollow cult of celebrity; the fragile prospect of greater opportunity for women; the intoxicating dream of the West for certain Easterners; the peculiar pathologies of the very rich.”—Maria Russo, New York Times Book Review

“Through a kaleidoscope of seemingly fragmented voices, patterns form, giving brilliant definition to the very American tragedy of Edie Sedgwick, a woman . . . not likely to be forgotten after this haunting portrait.”—Publishers Weekly

“What makes this book so unusual, unique almost, is the picture it paints of the New York counterculture. No one has ever done it better.”—Atlanta Journal & Constitution

“Is anyone capable of picking up . . . Edie and putting it down before the very last page?”—Pamela Paul, New York Times Book Review

“There is no more classic summertime read.”—New York Magazine

From the Inside Flap

When Edie was first published in 1982 it quickly became an international best-seller and then took its place among the classic books about the 1960s. Edie Sedgwick exploded into the public eye like a comet. She seemed to have it all: she was aristocratic and glamorous, vivacious and young, Andy Warhol's superstar. But within a few years she flared out as quickly as she had appeared, and before she turned twenty-nine she was dead from a drug overdose.

In a dazzling tapestry of voices--family, friends, lovers, rivals--the entire meteoric trajectory of Edie Sedgwick's life is brilliantly captured. And so is the Pop Art world of the '60s: the sex, drugs, fashion, music--the mad rush for pleasure and fame. All glitter and flash on the outside, it was hollow and desperate within--like Edie herself, and like her mentor, Andy Warhol. Alternately mesmerizing, tragic, and horrifying, this book shattered many myths about the '60s experience in America.

"This is the book of the Sixties that we have been waiting for."--Norman Mailer

"Through a kaleidoscope of seemingly fragmented voices, patterns form, giving brilliant definition to the very American tragedy of Edie Sedgwick, a woman...not likely to be forgotten after this haunting portrait."--Publishers Weekly

"Extraordinary...a fascinating narrative that is both meticulously reported and expertly orchestrated."--The New York Times

"An exceptionally seductive biography.... You can't put it down.... It has novelistic excitement."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"What makes this book so unusual, unique almost, is the picture it paints of the New York counterculture. No one has ever done it better."--The Atlanta Journal & Constitution

Jean Stein has worked as an editor for a number of magazines, including The Paris Review and Esquire, when it was under the direction of the near-legendary magazine editor Clay Felker. In the 1960s, she moved to Washington, D.C. where, through her husband, attorney William Vanden Heuvel, she became interested in the political career of Robert F. Kennedy. Following his assassination, she completed her first book, an oral history of his life entitled American Journey. In 1990, she became the editor of the literary journal Grand Street. She has two daughters: Wendy, an actress, and Katrina, the editor-in-chief of The Nation.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; First Edition (October 14, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 564 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802134106
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802134103
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.47 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.23 x 1 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 680 ratings

About the authors

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  1. George Plimpton

    George Plimpton

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    George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review. He was also famous for "participatory journalism" which included competing in professional sporting events, acting in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur.

    Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Nancy Wong, cropped by User:Lemuellio (See below) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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  2. Jean Stein

    Jean Stein

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
680 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bob
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, very detailed book.
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very, very good, well researched book on Edie's life and the milieu in which she grew up. Her speed addiction is very well detailed with a few unforgettable, very descriptive telling moments told by her brother who was interviewed at length. There is a lot of detail of her family, the book paints a picture of just how dysfunctional the family was and the probability of that dysfunction molding her later life but it just tells the story letting the reader decide. I have read several books on her life and this was by far the most detailed and the best, for me this is the definitive Edie Sedgwick book.
17 people found this helpful
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Vincent J Mesa
4.0 out of 5 stars An amazing tour of the pop art scene in New York during the 1960s.
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
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I liked this book though it took a bit of time to the first few chapter wich I found a bit dry.
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Book and music lover "Jane"
5.0 out of 5 stars Edie Sedgwick: American Girl
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2009
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the style in which this book was written, with excerpts of conversations of siblings and friends, people who knew Edie personally and the Sedgwick family history and revelation of mental illness that ran through generations. This book is excellent in getting to know the truth and is well written by Jean Stein and George Plimpton and is articulate in exposing the dynamics of this complex family and dysfunctional problems that existed within the family long before Edie entered Radcliffe and moved to New York City. The authors did an excellent job of chronicling every aspect of this generation of the Sedgwick family and introduced the reader to the famous "Sedgwick Pie" and is a personal perspective of this family's lineage. Even though it was written in 1982, this book does not read dated at all. In recent years it has been suggested that Edie may have suffered from a type of personality disorder, but there is no denying the mental illness that affected her father and two brothers. Interesting pictures of family, Edie, and friends are included as well. This is probably the best book ever written about this troubled girl.
10 people found this helpful
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paige smith
3.0 out of 5 stars Book was great/ quality?
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017
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Loved the book could not put it down; it's a must read for any Erie fans and really gives a indepth perspective to the Sedgwick family, I would love to read a even more indepth book on Erie. The quality of my book was really a disappointment chapters 3-15 "fell out" of the binding before I was even halfway through making a solid book that I couldn't put down fragile and hard to read and now reread it said good quality that is not what I call good quality.
2 people found this helpful
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Wes Steenson
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for fans of The Andy Warhol Diaries
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
I bought a copy when it was first released back in 1982 but unfortunately lost it in moving. Looked for it occasionally over the intervening years and am so glad it has been reissued. Would recommend it highly to anyone who watched The Andy Warhol Diaries on Netflix (which deals mostly with Warhol's post-Factory post-Valerie Solanas-shooting life). The middle third of the book interviews many of the people involved directly or indirectly with Warhol's factory who were still alive at the time and who collectively give a picture of what life was like in the Warhol circle at the peak of his fame.
One person found this helpful
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marvin ross friedman
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read. It is particularly interesting for the portrait ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
A good read. It is particularly interesting for the portrait it accurately paints of Andy Warhol in the latter part of the book. It shows how rumor and myth become fact and history with the passing of time. Andy was very exploitive of the people around him and damaged as well as destroyed many lives. He was also amazingly parsimonious and never properly looked after or cared about the people who were his acolytes . Warhol did not paint most of his paintings and the ideas for them came mostly from other people. It is interesting the way the art world has lionized him. Very sad commentary on the state of the art world and our values,.... A complete ignorance of history and absence of Kennesaw or ship
15 people found this helpful
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carrie w.
4.0 out of 5 stars A very good bio of Edie Sedgwick
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2016
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The book definitely gave you a true feel of the sixties and Edie’s era. Edie comes across at first as a mover and someone who was capable of overcoming her mental instability and building herself a career. She appears likable and impressionable. As you get farther into the book, you see that she was not only faced with personal challenges but the whole group that she associated with hindered any chance that she might have had to get on track. It quickly moves toward the unfortunate climax and keeps your interest despite the fact that one knows how it will end. That always a good quality in a book. it would have been a bonus if there had been more photos of Edie and friends but that’s a minor point. This is was written years ago but it still is worth reading today. I have seen parts of Ciao! Manhattan, which was made shortly before her death and is mentioned in the book, and it shows the strain and desperation she suffered through in her New York years.
29 people found this helpful
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Lwvd
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and sad
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
I had read this book when I was much younger and was curious to pick it up again after seeing the recent Vanity Fair article about Edie and Andy. Having a more mature perspective, nothing about Edie's life seems glamorous or envy inducing. Sad, deeply troubled, clearly manic depressive. One wonders if she'd had the benefits of modern medicine and treatment how different her life would have turned out. I was happy to complete the book - again - and close the door on that very unhealthy world.
14 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Luis CB
5.0 out of 5 stars Super cool!
Reviewed in Mexico on June 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Llegó bien, la calidad es buena en relación al precio. Una gran lectura.
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TanLab
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in Canada on March 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
If you too have watched Factory Girl or knew of Edie from a different source and wanted more information on her story then this is the book for you in my opinion. There are interviews from family, friends and others who knew her.

They are put into a relatively good chronological order so that you can follow her from childhood up until her passing. For me it was an insightful read not only about Edie herself but also about the decades that she lived in.
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Client d'Amazon
3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but...
Reviewed in France on March 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
> a 10-day delay in delivery
> some marks in the book that were not mentioned and should have led to a less expensive price (cf. picture).
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Client d'Amazon
3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but...
Reviewed in France on March 21, 2021
> a 10-day delay in delivery
> some marks in the book that were not mentioned and should have led to a less expensive price (cf. picture).
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it
Reviewed in Spain on March 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
Love it it's a thick book so many pages it will take a long time to read but I love it
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Jodie Jackson Carroll
5.0 out of 5 stars Epic!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
Incredible biography!
Told through transcripts of people who actually knew her, this is epic and seamless. I didn't think I could have mustered up any real sympathy for someone from such a seemingly privileged and pampered upbringing who succumbed to a drug death even though I always was fascinated by her after watching some of her Warhol films. This biography places her in her own timeline rather than solely in Warhol's and as a result you understand her history and fragility more deeply. Set aside some time to fall in love with Edie Sedgwick!
7 people found this helpful
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