THE REAL BETTIE PAGE: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE QUEEN OF THE PINUPS

THE REAL BETTIE PAGE: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE QUEEN OF THE PINUPS Richard Foster (Birch Lane Press, $21.95) What was the dark secret of Bettie Page -- the curvaceous black-banged pinup goddess who titillated 1950s America with S&M poses, abandoned her career in 1957, and disappeared? Other bios have chronicled her subsequent incarnations as an evangelical Christian, suburban housewife, and English teacher. But journalist Foster, in this sensationalistic, albeit scrupulously researched book, reveals that in 1979 and 1982, Page (a diagnosed schizophrenic) tried to stab several people to death and was institutionalized (she now lives reclusively in L.A.). Foster attempts, clumsily, to reconcile Page's victimized childhood with her mental illness. An eloquent fan, he brings far more insight into her recent revival as a sex symbol. B-