This volume sets out to reveal the emotional background of this most private public figure, Sylvester Stallone. Based on interviews with the star himself, his outspoken mother, his second wife whom the author met when he worked for "I" magazine, and celebrity colleagues and friends, it presents an insider's view of the actor. With his sculpted physique and brooding good looks, Stallone at 51 remains the quintessential movie star. His screen image is a pumped up variation on Clint Eastwood's unknowable loner, a man who prefers fists and ammo over diplomacy. That is his two-dimensional screen persona. The actor's emotional life is far more complex, but until now even more unknowable than his movie characters. Stallone's love life, with reads like a fantasy from the pages of "Penthouse", has drawn as much attention as his $300 million-grossing films: a long-suffering first wife; a philandering second and his current spouse, a supermodel 25 years his junior. Stallone may be less than forthcoming about his past because it has been so painful. A horrific childhood followed by a series of adult tragedies makes exciting reading but uncomfortable retelling.