Harold and Me: My Life, Love, and Hard Times with Harold Robbins

Harold and Me: My Life, Love, and Hard Times with Harold Robbins
Jann Robbins
Forge, Dec 9 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780765300034

In 1982 in Oklahoma City, Jann Stapp received a call that Harold Robbins will interview her for the temporary job of his personal assistant. Down to a box of cereal and two cats, she was excited by the possibility as she knew her grandma, her mom, and her aunt were fans of the renowned author. She was also frightened as she read the Pirate the night before her trip to Los Angeles for the interview that changed her life. He hired her and remained in the job for the next ten years as an assistant to the volatile hard living Robbins. In 1992 she became his wife and was with him until he died five years later.

Although the biography obviously focuses on Harold Robbins, his widow provides a deep perspective into their relationship. Even as Ms. Robbins descriptions are somewhat rose colored to include the hard times when he was over the edge, she captures the essence of her late spouse whose genius was entertaining the public with intense passionate tales; the same way he lived life. Obviously for fans of Harold Robbins or celebrity biographies, HAROLD AND ME: MY LIFE, LOVE, AND HARD TIMES WITH HAROLD ROBBINS is an intriguing insight into the king of the titillating raucous thriller.

Harriet Klausner