Barbra Streisand cover art

Barbra Streisand

Redefining Beauty, Femininity, and Power (Jewish Lives)

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Barbra Streisand

By: Neal Gabler
Narrated by: Peter Lerman
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About this listen

Barbra Streisand has been called the “most successful...talented performer of her generation” by Vanity Fair, and her voice, said pianist Glenn Gould, is “one of the natural wonders of the age.” Streisand scaled the heights of entertainment—from a popular vocalist to a first-rank Broadway star in Funny Girl to an Oscar-winning actress to a producer and director. But she has also become a cultural icon who has transcended show business.

To achieve her success, Brooklyn-born Streisand had to overcome tremendous odds, not the least of which was her Jewishness. Dismissed, insulted, even reviled when she embarked on a show business career for acting too Jewish and looking too Jewish, she brilliantly converted her Jewishness into a metaphor for outsiderness that would eventually make her the avenger for anyone who felt marginalized and powerless.

Neal Gabler examines Streisand’s life and career through this prism of otherness—a Jew in a gentile world, a self-proclaimed homely girl in a world of glamour, a kooky girl in a world of convention—and shows how central it was to Streisand’s triumph as one of the voices of her age.

The book is published by Yale University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2016 Neal Gable (P)2024 Redwood Audiobooks
Entertainment & Celebrities Gender Studies Music Social Sciences Women Celebrity Funny Entertainment

Critic reviews

"A spirited and entertaining cultural appreciation." (New York Times)

"Fascinating and insightful exploration of what it means to be Barbra Streisand..." (Wall Street Journal)

"Fascinating details abound. . . . A worthy book." (Kirkus Reviews)

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