Eight top books on the golden days of Hollywood

Jennifer Niven's books include American Blonde, book four in the Velva Jean series. Niven lives in Los Angeles (where her film Velva Jean Learns to Drive won an Emmy Award).

For the Huffington Post she tagged eight books that will transport you to Old Hollywood, including:

My Wicked, Wicked Ways by Errol Flynn

Sexy. Wild. Epic. Tragic. Exciting. This is one of my desert island books because it's such terrific company. The swashbuckler Flynn played onscreen was nothing compared to the swashbuckler he was in real life. With humor and humility, swagger and sensitivity, he recounts his childhood in Tasmania, his soldier-of-fortune years in the South Seas, his stint as a Cuban newspaper correspondent alongside Fidel Castro's rebels, and the days he spent in glimmering, immoral Hollywood -- not to mention the ex-wives, love affairs, and that infamous rape trial of 1943. Flynn spills it all, and spins a few tales in the process, so that you never know whether what he's telling you is true or not. Either way, it's the best autobiography I've ever read, every bit as colorful and charismatic as Flynn himself.

Read about another entry on the list.

Also see Stefan Kanfer's five best books on remarkable Hollywood lives and Jane Ciabattari's five best list of novels on Hollywood.

--Marshal Zeringue