Before we had Gawker or the TMZ. Before even The National Enquirer, there was "Confidential." It came into being just as the studio system which had protected its movie stars from scandal for decades was waning. Using a network of service personnel, secretaries, etc., the magazine generally veered just the right side of the libel laws delivering a series of scandalous stories which were sometimes true, and sometimes not.

The book is a readable account of the history of the magazine's rise and downfall. I really really wish Goodreads let us do 1/2 stars because this is probably a 3 1/2 star book. The author veers off once or twice into territory that I wish she'd either expanded upon or truncated, but if you're at all interested in Hollywood history, this is a book you may want to read.