What I found most compelling about this work is not the minute details Joan Dale has included, but the fact that I grew up in that same era and so was familiar with many of the names and dates mentioned. Joan kept extensive journals which, along with her newsy letters home to her parents, described the jewelry and outfits worn by the rich and famous as well as the lavish meals served at the numerous extravaganzas the Dales attended with the royal couple. The reader is able to vicariously experience the grandeur (along with the tedium) of life in the public eye filled with dazzling parties, incredible jaunts to amazing locales, and the flashing bulbs of the ever present paparazzi. Monaco seemed to be the go to place of many of the world's leading entertainers and bureaucrats, perhaps because of the beauty of the Rivera or the appeal of the casino at Monte Carlo. Actors, such as David Niven, had summer homes in Monaco where the residents lived tax free. Now, if don't recognize world renowned individuals such as David Nivon, Frank Sinatra, and Cary Grant, or Aristotle Onassis and Charles DeGaulle, or if you've never heard about the marriage of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier, then you probably won't appreciate the minutiae within this book. I, however, am familiar with many of the names and events relayed as Joan tells her story, which greatly enhanced my enjoyment.