Book Review

Title: Harold Robbins: The Man Who Invented Sex

Author: Andrew Wilson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Books

Pages: 275

Released: September 2007

ISBN: 978-0-7475-9265-5

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey (Ontario Correspondent – Canada)

Harold Robbins truly took the phrase “Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll” to heart. It must have been a harrowing feat for biographer Andrew Wilson to have weeded out the superfluous lies Robbins built his life on from the urban legends he was known for. Those urban legends such as the orgy-drug-induced marathons were the truths oddly enough, and the little-boy lost childhood tales he expunged were lies. Robbins was the ultimate spin doctor as Wilson reveals in Harold Robbins: The Man Who Invented Sex “[Robbins] invented, sensationalized, exaggerated, and elaborated, massaging the truth, shaping it into more and more outlandish forms, until it bore little resemblance to the reality of his existence.”

Such a quote reminds me of the phrase “I don’t lie…I just give the truth scope.” Had such a term been around when Robbins was alive, he might have used that heavily in his lexicon. So if you don’t know who Robbins is, I’ll give you a little rundown of the most basic facts. Harold Robbins was a novelist during the 1970s who wrote the most erotic, bannable books that were scintillating and raunchy, and full of complex stories interwoven to lascivious means. Robbins was the biggest writer of his day, the most controversial author (possibly in history) and one of the rarest breeds of people…an author who lived like a rock star. Don’t be confused by Robbins grotesque exterior, he was a charming and enticing man who married several times, had innumerable sexual partners, indulged in the high life and died very poor, addicted to drugs and paralyzed. Not only did Robbins live large, he lived hard and had nothing to show for it in the end.

This biography, Harold Robbins: The Man Who Invented Sex is a strange concoction of repulsive details of over opulence and the dangers of living the high-life, paired with a paramount empathy towards a vulgar man who clearly was highly insecure and just wanted to be accepted. One can’t help but feel that if Robbins’ Mother had taught him the value of “no” he would have lived a better life. Wilson writes a deeply gripping biography that pieces the life together of a man few knew anything about and yet held a legendary status.