Rating: 
Summary: Flowers, Candles, Napkins, Ambition, Intrigue
Review: If you want a little insight into the wold and life of the billion dollar enterprise that is Marth Stewart, this is not a bad place to begin.Though far from gospel, it is a light-hearted, though I am sure she would not agree, look into the life and times of a new American icon. Infomrative and easty to read, this is an enjoyable and sometime uproariously funny book. I will probably not change any real opinion the reader has of Martha Stewart, it does, however, give some understand of the person behind the enterprise and a historical narrative, as accurate as any, of where she came from and how she got where she is today. A story of true American ambition and relentless drive for success, a little meaness and messiness and you have Just Desserts. Pass the cranberry sauce, please....
Rating: 
Summary: To quote HRH Stewart, "It's a GOOD thing!"
Review: In reading the reviews by other readers of this book, it strikes me how naive a reading and buying public we are. Come on, folks! Did we honestly believe all along that this woman was the sweet, selfless, hardworking creature personified in her TV shows, books and RARE guest appearances on "talk" shows? Ms. Stewart learned early on NOT to talk. Why tarnish the created version? That wouldn't sell. I used to watch her show, thinking, "What is she, nuts?? Who has the time and patience for this type of obsessive nonsense? Well, apparently a LOT! Martha wanna-be's are everywhere and she cashed in on that "loyalty". Not her fault, but ours. The first hint of trouble came from the article describing her walking out of a book-signing engagement in Buffalo. Remember that? You should. It's the only bad publicity I've ever seen on the woman. She has become a multimillion dollar powerhouse and I'm amazed that Mr. Oppenheimer still retains his citizenship because she is one charmer I wouldn't want on my back! More power to him for revealing the "real" Ms. Stewart. And, for those poor souls who follow her blindly because they have no self-confidence of their own and would rather choose scrubbing their plumbing accouterment the "Martha" way, for God's sake, read this book, wake up and get a life of your own! When did we give up our individuality and accept people such as the Martha Stewarts as the be-all and end-all of American life? This book was worth every penny I paid. When your own family will agree to interviews, something's wrong in the kitchen, Martha, which won't be perfected with Bon Ami and a kid glove! Buy this book!! I only hope Mr. Oppenheimer decides to take on more of our "icons", such as Oprah! I'm sure there's another trove of psychodrama! God, I have to ask, when did we become as like lemmings rushing to the sea???
Rating: 
Summary: Martha Stewart as compared to Hitler
Review: Jerry Oppenheimer (sniff, sniff) states that he just happened to choose Martha Stewart as a subject, and just sort of fell into such incredibly negative news about her that, from what he states, poor Martha is pure evil. Since we all know totally evil persons, including Hitler and Charlie Manson, it is quite beyond me why Martha is chosen to play the "completely bad guy" from Oppenheimer's point of view. This book catalogued every single negative thing that Oppenheimer could dig-up. There is apparently, according to this book, not one saving grace for Martha Stewart, other than that she gets done what she wants done. Before I go on, I should tell you that when my local NBC-affiliate took on Martha Stewart's television show as a one-hour program, I nearly croaked, right there on my immaculate kitchen floor. It is beyond me who sees anything particularly amazing about this somewhat demented woman, who obviously has obsessive-compulsive disorder. To me, Martha is someone with such a relaxed and droning voice that she invokes immediate sleep. So the best and worst about Martha are, I believe, that she's a great sleep aid and should be prescribed at sleep disorders clinic. At the same time that we can ask what all the positive broohaha is about a woman who makes teeny tiny things to eat, we also have to ask....well, I have to anyway....what on earth could possess Oppenheimer to cast her as this evil witch, with absolutely no good reason, at least as Oppenheimer sees her, to be on this earth at all? What is his rage about? Is he jealous of her? Her husband, Andy, throughout the book, is portrayed as this wimpy guy who's been verbally slapped around for over 20 years of marriage. The villainess is Martha. Doesn't it occur to anyone that it takes two to make a marriage, and that there is something exceptionally wrong with a man like Andy, who doesn't dump a shrew after three years of that marriage? I don't buy it. Andy took any abuse he received quite willingly, and if I were he, I'd be mortified to be portrayed as a child-like victim. It didn't strike me as at all unusual, given this whole book, that the majority of Oppenheimer's "Notes and Sources," specifically, "Sources," come from "informed source," or that those with something really terrible to say really, really wanted to get it all said. "Informed sources?" I'd be most ashamed to list that as more than one or two resources in any kind of book I'd write (not that I'm going to be or have) such as this. I overrated this book as #3 for only two reasons: that when Martha's television show came on today, I was much more observant of Martha than I'd ever been. In fact, I was able to stay awake beyond my usual Martha time of about 5 minutes or less. (I'm home recovering from major back surgery, which may explain my having even the time to have the television on during the day.) The second reason was that in spite of the totally nutty , and even offensive, tone of this book, it was as much fun as reading a tabloid magazine, for someone who is bedridden.
Rating:
Summary: Just Desserts: trashy, but worth reading.
Review: Just Desserts reads like fiction. It is almost impossible to believe that one woman could posess all the evil that Martha Stewart is accused of harboring. Despite the obvious exagerrations and questionable sources, Just Desserts is intriguing and will appeal to the busybody in all of us. Details, details, details will have you on the edge of your seat, calling for the exile of Martha Stewart while pitying her family, neighbors, t.v. viewers, and household pets.
Rating:
Summary: It's Hot in the Kitchen
Review: Long before the O.J. Simpson case, a good number of people had a sense that, although he had charisma and presence, he was not a nice person. The same holds true for Martha Stewart, in cloves. Sure Oppenheimer's book is a hatchet job and he doesn't give Stewart her due for the positive feel she fabricates (and for which there is a huge audience), but it is darn tasty reading nonetheless. After coming off "Bad Land" and "Citizen Soldiers," I was looking for some juicy summer non-fiction reading, and "Just Desserts" fit the bill of fare. Driven, ultra-focused people change the world, but their own worlds are for the most part empty, heartless, and sad. Oppenheimer, at bottom, makes us happy we're not Martha Stewart. Maybe, down the road, she'll find someone more like herself, someone from... say, Arkansas.
Rating:
Summary: Pulp Doesn't Get Better Than This
Review: Man, oh, man. If you require beach or poolside reading matter, snap this up. Well researched and written in a quiet, unexploitive style, Jerry Oppenheimer's Just Desserts is just the cure for all of us women who have picked up a Stewart book and noted that the embarrassing state of our cupboards and couches just don't measure up to the seemingly effortless beauty Martha espouses. It seems that all that beauty takes money and muscle; according to Oppenheimer, not a lot of it is Martha's. The book weaves through the swathe of lives Martha has cut her way through, never discounting her acheivements. It's just the right touch. But man, oh, man...if one-tenth of it is true, Andy and Lexi Stewart have had a rough ride indeed!
Rating:
Summary: Put Martha to bed
Review: No wonder why she's accomplished everything she has, the woman never sleeps! Just Desserts finally shed some light on what I've been suspecting all along, that although Martha has made quite a name for herself, she isn't any different from any other competitve workaholic. She considers herself to be a "domestic diva" while never studying cooking at a culinary school and using other people's creativity to credit herself. If putting up a front of having a fairy tale life and extraordinary talent by having a beautifully decorated home at the expense of her family and friends, then I suppose she's succeeded. Just Desserts was great entertainment. I highly recommend it to anyone who feels even the slightest bit inferior to her ability to "have it all." That is, if you consider having no close friendships or relationships with anyone in exchange for fame and money as having it all.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Stepford Wife-Martha!!!!!
Review: Ok, first off, let me say that I have nothing wrong with a woman that is independent, hard working and creative. What I do have a problem with is a woman that won't get therapy for her lack of people skills due to her lousy childhood. Look Martha, not all women feel "inadequate" becaue they don't spend lots of time on silly compulsive activites such as gathering fall leaves from the backyard and matching them! (when you're rich and have a staff, then you can do these things) Do I feel rage or jealousy becaue I don't do these things? No. Do I realize that Martha would be nobody without her PR machine and spin doctors? Yes. Does she make pretty stuff? Yes, Does she have some serious interpersonal problems? Yes. Good book all around. I do feel sorry for her family. And yes to some reviewers, even men have to contend with this.
Rating:
Summary: Come On, She's Not ALL Bad!
Review: Okay, Martha Stewart has her bad side. So, who doesn't? I liked this book because I like Martha and I like reading about her. Anything about her. Her good points AND her bad. But I really think it was unfair of Oppenheimer to focus on just the bad in the world of Martha. The woman is a human being--and an amazing one at that--he should have included some of her frustrations and wonders as well. Had the book been more balanced, I would have rated it higher, but it's good if you only want to know one side of a person--the bad side. Rock on, Martha--you're the greatest!
Rating:
Summary: Just Desserts
Review: Poor Martha! Some Miss Grundy of a school teacher must have sent Martha to the corner for coloring out of the lines and she (Martha) never recovered. This is a fast read and lots of laughs.
|
