Leni Riefenstahl: A Memoir

Leni Riefenstahl is a ninety-year-old German who has been a dancer, actress, deep sea diver, photographer of African tribes--and Hitler's top film executive. In her own unique style, she tells the story of her life and its mark on history. photos. A "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year. One of the century's most remarkable and controversial women, Leni Riefenstahl is an artist of the first order. Dancer, actor, and photographer, she is best known as the director of "Triumph of the Will," a film of a Nazi Party rally and "Olympia," the classic account of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It is for these works of cinematic propaganda that Riefenstahl is revered and reviled. In this autobiography, she discusses her motivations, her history, her important friendships, and, most of all, her art. Along with insights into directing and camera work, Riefenstahl offers an emotional, powerful story of a woman who refuses to be defined by any terms other than her own. Read more