Oscar Dearest: Six Decades of Scandal, Politics and Greed Behind Hollywood's Academy Awards, 1927-1986

"Book overview From Publishers Weekly Brown (MGM Girls and Pinkston (Official Movie Trivia Quiz Book II interweave standard Academy Award history with tales of manipulation, desperation and avarice surrounding the Oscar." They note the Oscar's origins, list nominees, both winners and losers, and recall classic Oscar moments such as the 1974 streaker.

The authors also examine various scandals, attempts to woo judges' votes and efforts to engineer Oscar victories.

A chapter considers the "Oscar Curse" on careers, and equal space is devoted to Oscar politics during the blacklist years.

Brown and Pinkston also attack their least favorite honorees and offer an "Ultimate Oscar Quiz." Including 185 photos and many facts and figures, the book steers clear of the Hollywood Babylon approach, but the highly opinionated, campy writing rarely rises above chatty, fan-magazine style.