The unauthorized (I’ll say!) autobiography about Angelina Jolie by Andrew Morton, Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography, hit bookshelves recently, and contains wild claims including Jolie once hired a hitman to kill her in a bizarre suicide wish, she was virtually abandoned by her mother as a baby and she’s been with every male celebrity on the planet (and she prefers them attached like Brad  Pitt was to Jennifer Aniston). Following are a round-up of reviews, all of which noted that Morton’s sources are flimsy and often not credible:

–New York Times: Very few of those who talked to him were willing to go on the record. And the people most eager to tell him about Ms. Jolie are people who don’t know her, so that the book is shrink-wrapped in glib insights from dubious psychiatric talents. That means that “a psychologist who has met with Jennifer socially” is allowed to opine freely on the all-important Brad Pitt – Jennifer Aniston breakup, the best-known marital meltdown in which Ms. Jolie has been involved yet claimed to have played no role whatsoever. “They wouldn’t find her fingerprints at the scene of this marital crime,” Mr. Morton writes.

–Entertainment Weekly: Although I thought many of Morton’s revelations were interesting, I found myself questioning the credibility of his research throughout all 16 chapters. There are seven pages of ‘source notes’ at the end of the book, but it’s really just a letter from Morton acknowledging the people who would speak with him. (Angelina is not one of them.) Morton said he relied on “original research and interviews with contemporaries” for the most part. But I would say the majority of the book relies on interviews done by other people, including two quotes from interviews Angelina did with Entertainment Weekly in January 1998 and November 1999.

–Boston Herald: Hangers-on aside, Morton’s best captures the tragic relationship Jolie had with both parents. Though her battles with her dad, actor Jon Voight, were often public, the British author gives tremendous, deserved attention to mom, Marcheline Bertrand, who all but abandoned her during her first year of life and held grudges for years. But “Angelina” isn’t “Mommie Dearest.” And readers will find only a rehash of the tabloid dramas with Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, Mick Jagger, brother James Haven, Timothy Hutton, Jenny Shimizu and Brad Pitt. Been there, read that. (They give the book an overall C-).

–Los Angeles Times: No matter how bad it might be for you, chances are you won’t be able to put this book down until your mouth is dry and your blood pressure is racing.

Bottom line: Save your $26.99. All the juicy stuff has leaked anyway. For a list of revelations that will save you time and money, go to the Chicago Sun Times article here.

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