The Astaires: Fred & Adele Reprint Edition

"Kathleen Riley's book on Fred and Adele--the first full-scale study--is a welcome rehabilitation...The Astaires is a salute to an America at ease with itself and doing something wonderful in the song-and-dance line that seemed, for a time, like the hottest thing in the culture." --The Wall Street Journal

"In her fascinating new book The Astaires, the Australian theater historian Kathleen Riley describes the exploits of this brother-sister team in glorious detail." --The New York Times Book Review

"Riley writes with zest and authoritative expertise, displaying a grace and elegance equal to her subjects." --Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating look at a movie icon and a revealing snapshot of theater history." --Booklist

"The Astaires: Fred and Adele is a page-turner of a biography, briskly written and immaculately researched. Author Kathleen Riley has, among other things, been given access to audio recordings of Adele Astaire that allow her to tell her story with an authority uncommon in modern biographies. This is an excellent work, well worth reading." --The New York Journal of Books

"With this book, Kathleen Riley has given Adele her proper place in the life and legacy of her brother. Recreating a time when 'celebrity' meant talent, charisma and dedication with her evocative prose, this book is a 'must' for Astaire and musical theatre history fans." --Larry Billman, author Fred Astaire: A Bio-Bibliography and Film Choreographers and Dance Directors

"Although I was extremely close to both my father and my aunt, in this informative book Kathleen Riley has captured the essence of their lovely spirits far better than I could." --Ava Astaire McKenzie

"[A] brilliant and thoroughly researched account of their performing partnership." --W. Royal Stokes, author of Growing Up With Jazz: Twenty-Four Musicians Talk About Their Lives and Careers

The first in-depth study of one of the greatest show-business teams of the early twentieth century