Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers

You might know the late Mary Rodgers as the author of the kidlit classic Freaky Friday, or as the composer of the musical Once Upon a Mattress (her one big hit in a long career of trying), or—her most double-edged claim to fame—as the daughter of the composer of big hit after big hit, Richard Rodgers. But after reading Shy, you'll know her as the most entertainingly dishy memoirist you can imagine. From an early age she knew everybody, from (of course) Oscar ("Ockie") Hammerstein to Mae West to her longtime boss Leonard Bernstein to her longtime best pal Stephen Sondheim, and she tells you exactly what she thought about each one of them—and, equally hilariously and unsparingly, about herself as well. ("Reader, I slept with him," is a frequent refrain.) And along with the delicious dish, you get a fascinating portrait of a woman building a creative career and constructing a life in the shadow, and the gilded cage, of fame.