Gia Scala: The First Gia

Refreshing because it wasn't written by a professional biographer. Genuine because the book was written by a family member, her sister Tina, who shared her life with Gia--no one else could have written in that manner. Candid because there were plenty of opportunities for the author to flat out lie and she didn't. Tina's questions about her sister's death are from her heart. Alas, once again, the Los Angeles criminal justice system disappoints...if only Mark Fuhrman had handled the investigation!

I loved it! What an interesting read, to try to put yourself into wartime Sicily, and later into the Hollywood scene. Yes, there are a few grammar, typo issues, but they didn't distract my enjoyment at all. Tina Scala narrates her memories, which were put onto paper by Sterling Saint James. The narration reads exactly like Tina sounds- with an old Italian Country accent and phrasing. My husband loved it as well. It is great to read about distant family, and very surreal to read your family name in a book. Time to watch my copy of Guns of Navarone again!

Gia's sister, Tina, has written a very nice , simple(she is definitely not a professional author) rememberence to her lovely sister. I came away liking Tina very much. If she is still alive and wish her all the best and Thank her for this wonderful book. She is even prettier than Gia. Tina should have been a star!

great way to read about family . Can't wait to read part 2. Riveting, exciting, great book! Recommend it to all!

I was under the impression that this book was a biography. The memoir ends when Gia reaches America. Also, the spelling and grammar errors were distracting. The book was more like one of Amazon's samples before the actual book is purchased.

I didn't know anything personal about Gia Scala other than she killed herself in the early seventies. This book "narrated by her sister Tina" and written by Sterling Saint James starts off strongly as Tina reveals that she thinks her sister was murdered. This keeps the reader's interest piqued as we then flashback to learn of Gia's life. Tina's recollections of their childhood in Italy and then Gia going off to New York to model and act is quite interesting. She provides many insights into her older sister. I always wondered why after Gia's biggest movie The Guns of Navarone she simply disappeared from films and here we learn why. However, interspersed is too much back story and history of for example early television, etc. Sometimes it feels like this is two books merged together. At the end, we finally get back to her death and the reasons why there may have been foul play. But the denouement is disappointing.

As told by her younger sister Tina Scala, actress and model, to co-author Sterling Saint James, "Gia Scala: The First Gia" is outstanding making for absolute compelling reading. Written sincerely with great love and surprising candor, readers will find this behind-the-scenes story of the tail end of Hollywood's golden era both fascinating and frightening. This book answers the question of why did Gia Scala, a superb dramatic actress, stopped starring in major studio motion pictures after making several blockbuster hit movies with Errol Flynn, Gregory Peck, Rock Hudson, George Sanders, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Glenn Ford, Doris Day and Richard Widmark? Her bizarre death at age 38, still at the peak of her natural beauty, was shrouded in mystery by law enforcement and the film industry, was no more a suicide then that of George Reeves. This one is a page-turner. The authors tell a surprisingly wonderful story about Errol Flynn, who came to Gia's and Tina's rescue when they needed a guardian angel.

An interesting biography about the enigmatic half-Italian actress Gia Scala by her younger sister, Tina. Gia died tragically young in 1972 aged just 38. Contrary to the official verdict of accidental death, she may actually have been murdered. Had her husband, Don Burnett, not gone on to emotionally devastate her life by leaving her for another woman, Gia would almost certainly have gone on to achieve greater recognition and awards in the film industry. It's a shame that the book is let down by the typography. It has obviously not been properly proof-read and the quality of some of the photos is very poor. Hopefully this situation might be corrected in a future edition, with extra pictures provided as well. Nonetheless, this is a story which needed to be told and will encourage people to re-visit Gia's filmography legacy.

Good .

The numerous spelling and grammatical errors were very distracting at times.Tina Scala writes a lot about her family history rather than just focusing solely on Gia.She also adds in information about other stars just to flesh it out I feel.Oddly, Tina devotes several pages of photos of herself with celebrities.As this was seemingly intended as a biography of Gia Scala, an extensive photo section devoted to Gia would’ve been far more appropriate in my opinion.That said, there are some lovely photos of Gia, particularly rare family photos, throughout, and I discovered more about her than I previously knew, but the book was lacking somewhat as Tina only writes about what she thinks Gia may have felt or experienced and it’s hard to ascertain if there was a close relationship in their adult years. It’s all very speculative.