Dolly Parton is a country singer, songwriter, movie actress, businesswoman, children's author, and media image, and yet none of these labels, neither singly nor collectively, capture the paradox that is Dolly. Her public image is near caricature, big blonde hair, little-girl voice, and a bust measurement that defies belief. But both her autobiographical lyrics and her multi-million-dollar empire, Dolly Parton Enterprises, testify to the substance beneath the image.

Dolly's life story is the stuff of which American legends are made. Born the third of twelve children in a log cabin in Sevier County, Tennessee, she was delivered by a doctor who was paid with a sack of corn meal milled from corn grown by her then tenant father. The country cliche of humble beginnings where material things were scarce but love and faith were plentiful has been captured in some of her best known...