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Picasso: Creator and Destroyer Audiobook
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(3.03) - 234 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
This landmark biography penetrates the barriers of legend to bring to full and intimate life a man whose burning passions—for painting, women, and ideas—were matched by a compulsion to invent reality in his life no less than in his art. Here is the tragic story of a man who, from his teenage passion for a gypsy boy to the chilling bitterness and betrayals of his old age, was unable to love and was driven to dominate and humiliate the women—and men—who fell under his hypnotic spell.
Drawing on a wealth of startling revelations, including the vivid memories of Picasso’s daughter Maya and the heretofore untold recollections of Françoise Gilot, who shared his life for ten years and bore two of his children, the author has stripped bare the romantic myths to reveal, in all its volatile complexity, Picasso’s lifelong struggle between his power to create and his compulsion to destroy.
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"Arianna Huffington portrays Picasso as a sadistic manipulator and controller of women in this entertaining biography. Whether it's 100% accurate, I can't be sure. Ms. Huffington is no mean manipulator herself."
— Heidi (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“The Picasso of Huffington’s book is a wretchedly flawed genius, sadistic and treacherous, a liar who betrayed friends and colleagues…It is, in short, the kind of story for which gossips—and scriptwriters—would kill.”
— People -
“Picasso’s prolific creativity, Huffington argues, was fueled by his brutal candor and studied indifference to people and to social convention.”
— Atlantic -
“Huffington…has written an astonishing biography, a shocking portrait of a man driven by a compulsive need to destroy even as his creativity burst forth.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“The reading is easy to listen to, well-dramatized, and the production values are good. The biography won’t go out of style.”
— AudioFile -
“The life of Picasso contains rich material for an accomplished celebrity biographer [and] Huffington’s literary credentials are appropriate.”
— Library Journal
Picasso Listener Reviews
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" Another bio. of a brilliant but sadistic man. "
— Diana, 7/18/2013 -
" What a brutal selfish genius. Given the picture of this man drawn in the book, I am not too impressed by him as a human being. But He certainly was a very talented person. "
— William, 4/24/2013 -
" i got scared of picasso, after reading this book. "
— Jerome, 1/16/2013 -
" This was written in the right wing portion of Arianna Huffington's career. Melodramatic, overwrought and seems almost totally focused on condemnation of the bad character traits and communism of Picasso. It's an entertaining if not illuminating biography. "
— Hatuxka, 1/13/2013 -
" A good book about an horrible, awful person. "
— Bosley, 11/15/2012 -
" A seriously in-depth book about Pablo Picasso and his various mistresses, styles of painting etc. Good historical data about lots of famous artists and a good insight into some of his proclivities. "
— Susan, 10/31/2012 -
" The author shares the life of Picasso. The ugly side and the reality of his accomplishments by the people who knew him. "
— Mario, 9/25/2012 -
" One of the best bios I've ever read. Riveting. "
— Amy, 9/1/2012
About Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington was raised in Greece and graduated from Cambridge University. She has written numerous books, appeared on countless television and radio shows, and launched the Huffington Post, an enormously successful online source of news and opinion. In 2006 she was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world. Her works include On Becoming Fearless…in Love, Work, and Life; Fanatics and Fools: The Game Plan for Winning Back America; How to Overthrow the Government; and Greetings from the Lincoln Bedroom, among others. She has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, including her book Picasso: Creator and Destroyer, which was made into a film starring Anthony Hopkins.
About Wanda McCaddon
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.