Rating: 
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: Madonna is one of the most successful artists in the history of pop music. A key to her success was her single-minded determination to become a star no matter what it took. Along the way she used a lot of people and bruised a lot of egos. Not surprisingly, many of those whom she stepped on were very willing to talk to Taraborrelli, a modern day Kitty Kelly whose biographies/victims include Diana Ross (the delightfully nasty Call Her Miss Ross) and Michael Jackson (The Magic And The Madness). This makes for quite a fun read.Taraborelli does a good job of detailing Madonna's turbulent childhood (the loss of her mother, her strained relationship with her father, even the loss of her virginity!?!) but the book really takes off when Madonna goes to New York in 1978 in search of stardom. We are introduced to Camille Barbone, a talent agent who is the unsung heroine in the Madonna story. Camille invests every cent she has into Madonna's career only to be dumped by the Material Girl when she finally secures a recording deal with Warner Brothers. Early on, we also see Madonna go through a series of male musical collaborators who double as lovers, ensuring their professional devotion to her until she moves on to bigger and better things (among them Jellybean "Holiday" Benitez). As Madonna's career takes off, the men she chooses to date are inevitably celebs themselves. The book is most entertaining in dealing with her many relationships, including hothead first husband Sean Penn, wishy washy JFK Jr. (who dumps Madonna on Mommy's orders), old fart Warren Beatty (as much a user as Madonna), and superfreak Dennis Rodman, who kissed and told about his relationship with Madonna in his own tell-all book (a big no-no in Madonna's world). Where the book falls short (and is kept from meriting five stars) is in its frequently contradictory assessments of Madonna's music. After raving about the contents of Madonna's third album TRUE BLUE (and its five major hits), for instance, he sums it up by saying it "wasn't a great album. A less intriguing artist might not have survived it." Even though Taraborrelli wrote for music magazines early in his career, he is not a strong analyzer of pop music. This book ends in mid-2001, at a time in Madonna's life when her personal and professional life were seemingly at her peak (the birth of her son Rocco and marriage to Guy Ritchie, the release of her two strongest albums RAY OF LIGHT and MUSIC had all occured within the previous two years). As her wedding unfolds on the final pages, we are introduced to a kinder, gentler Madonna who has reconciled with her father and seems to finally appreciate the little things in life. For Madonna fans, it was a great time to end the book (since then, her professional life at least has not been so successful, with the universal panning of her film Swept Away - which Ritchie directed - and the subpar AMERICAN LIFE album). For all of the entertainment this amazing woman has provided, she deserves a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: Madonna is one of the most successful artists in the history of pop music. A key to her success was her single-minded determination to become a star no matter what it took. Along the way she used a lot of people and bruised a lot of egos. Not surprisingly, many of those whom she stepped on were very willing to talk to Taraborrelli, a modern day Kitty Kelly whose biographies/victims include Diana Ross (the delightfully nasty Call Her Miss Ross) and Michael Jackson (The Magic And The Madness). This makes for quite a fun read. Taraborelli does a good job of detailing Madonna's turbulent childhood (the loss of her mother, her strained relationship with her father, even the loss of her virginity!?!) but the book really takes off when Madonna goes to New York in 1978 in search of stardom. We are introduced to Camille Barbone, a talent agent who is the unsung heroine in the Madonna story. Camille invests every cent she has into Madonna's career only to be dumped by the Material Girl when she finally secures a recording deal with Warner Brothers. Early on, we also see Madonna go through a series of male musical collaborators who double as lovers, ensuring their professional devotion to her until she moves on to bigger and better things (among them Jellybean "Holiday" Benitez). As Madonna's career takes off, the men she chooses to date are inevitably celebs themselves. The book is most entertaining in dealing with her many relationships, including hothead first husband Sean Penn, wishy washy JFK Jr. (who dumps Madonna on Mommy's orders), old fart Warren Beatty (as much a user as Madonna), and superfreak Dennis Rodman, who kissed and told about his relationship with Madonna in his own tell-all book (a big no-no in Madonna's world). Where the book falls short (and is kept from meriting five stars) is in its frequently contradictory assessments of Madonna's music. After raving about the contents of Madonna's third album TRUE BLUE (and its five major hits), for instance, he sums it up by saying it "wasn't a great album. A less intriguing artist might not have survived it." Even though Taraborrelli wrote for music magazines early in his career, he is not a strong analyzer of pop music. This book ends in mid-2001, at a time in Madonna's life when her personal and professional life were seemingly at her peak (the birth of her son Rocco and marriage to Guy Ritchie, the release of her two strongest albums RAY OF LIGHT and MUSIC had all occured within the previous two years). As her wedding unfolds on the final pages, we are introduced to a kinder, gentler Madonna who has reconciled with her father and seems to finally appreciate the little things in life. For Madonna fans, it was a great time to end the book (since then, her professional life at least has not been so successful, with the universal panning of her film Swept Away - which Ritchie directed - and the subpar AMERICAN LIFE album). For all of the entertainment this amazing woman has provided, she deserves a happy ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Mr. Taraborrelli's best work
Review: Mr. Taraborrelli's books on Miss Ross and Mr. Jackson were the products of tireless research and detail. His book on Madonna, as much as I looked forward to it, revealed nothing new to the average Madonna fan. In fact, most of the details that were new to me were all credited to "friends" or "close sources". Seems this book was released in hopes of cashing in on Madonna's tour. That plan worked, I was duped!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a very good effort at all.............................
Review: OK, so being a huge Madonna fan, I was very excited to receive this book as a birthday gift. However, I have to take issue with the author - a VERY SIGNIFICANT amount of information has been lifted (sometimes word for word) from Matthew Rettenmund's exhaustive and indispensable ENCYCLOPEDIA MADONNICA (every Madonna fan should own THIS book). I kept thinking as I was reading Taraborrelli's book - 'where did I read this before', and sure enough, Rettenmund was the source. Also, the author replicates conversations Madonna has had with 'sources' or that have been 'overheard' by 'sources' who recall these exact conversations from years past. I don't know about you, but I can barely remember the EXACT words I spoke to my boyfriend yesterday!! The author's opinions on Madonna's music are amateurish and trite - not worth reading. He speculates on what might Madonna have thought in certain situations - WHATEVER!!! This book is badly written and corny, and does not do its subject justice. Hopefully, Andrew Morton's biography, due out later this year will have a little more credibility. Save your money for that one - I have read a couple of Morton's biographies, and the guy really knows his stuff - and can write coherent chapters!!! Disappointing effort, to say the least.
Rating: 
Summary: My bible
Review: People worship Jesus Christ and God. I worship Madonna, at least since I read this book. What a portrayal, I cried so much when we got to the sad parts, I laughed till I almost [peed] myself at the funny parts, and everywhere else i marvelled at how much my personality reflects my idol's. I love Madonna more than my parents thanks to this book.
Rating:
Summary: My bible
Review: People worship Jesus Christ and God. I worship Madonna, at least since I read this book. What a portrayal, I cried so much when we got to the sad parts, I laughed till I almost [wet] myself at the funny parts, and everywhere else i marvelled at how much my personality reflects my idol's. I love Madonna more than my parents thanks to this book.
Rating:
Summary: Madonna: from Rags to Riches a Biography Well Done!
Review: Since I began getting to know Madonna as a fan I found myself growing more interested in her biographies. After carefully reading a number of books I have come to the conclusion that there is only 1 book with the truth: MADONNA'S BIOGRAPHY done by her. I look forward to reading her own life story and hope to someday have the opportunity to meet her in person. This book had several disturbing factors before I picked it up. I had seen 1 of Madonna's videos titled, Robin Leach's Madonna EXPOSED (March 1993) and noticed the author of this book in the show. I was disappointed in the things I heard and the lies I picked up. Nonetheless, I decided since I already had the book that I would read it with an open mind to see where it took me. The organization of the chapters and chronological event was carefully crafted and very enjoyable. My favorite part is the last chapters since there was much more information current to the times. There's personal information regarding Madonna's Wedding with Guy Ritchie that made me cry in tears as I read. It was the prettiest ending I have ever seen in a book; almost like a fairy tale ending. As the tears rolled from my eyes I couldn't help but experience being at the actual wedding and seeing all the beautiful decorations, and people; most notably MADONNA. In the favorite sections I read in the end there was information on Gwyneth Paltrow that was very new to me. I had no idea she was so close to Madonna. I also found it very nice how this author is able to portray and contrast Madonna's beginnings with how she progresses. The author clearly explains where he gets all his information and states the sources at the end of the book; even expressing how impractical it would be to include too much information like a list of all her albums, or more Music info. From reading this book it became apparent to me Madonna is uncovering to her fans, just a little bit more about herself. For anyone reading this review, I can say this book has an excellent description of Madonna's life very similar to other biographies out there but includes more recent events and less gossip as say Barbara Victor's version. There is also a very good explanation as to her transitions in music styles from Pop, R&B, to Underground Techno. This book was a national bestseller in the UK. Although, this book is a copyright of 2001 original version, it has additional information. The author states his collaborators were able to gather just a little bit more information that he included not found in the previous versions. There are interviews on Madonna thru family, friends, neighbor's associates, and all sorts of sources the author states familiar to Madonna fans already. This is great for newcomers or people who don't know Madonna that much. Madonna Fans may like to read this for the last chapters since they are very well documented. Overall, Madonna wherever you are right now, "Write your personal biography soon!" and let all your fans and critics see the person behind the different personas. As the mystery continues one can't help but feel the interest to find out just a little bit more with every book. I find myself a few steps closer. To sum what I felt after reading this biography I would say: peace, enjoyment, and a sense of who Madonna really is: A Diva, a goddess, a mother, a businesswoman, a lover, a friend, a disciplinary, an actress, a fighter, etc. Pick this book up and add it to your collection you won't regret it. This is a highly recommended biography for Fans and critics to read!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent-The Only Madonna Biography You'll Ever Need!
Review: The only thing I wanted to know that this book didn't tell me was where RAIN peaked on the Billboard charts. If you know where it did, then after reading this book you will know all you need to know about Madonna up to 2001. This book's got everything about her, absolutely everything. What's more? It reads smoothly and well, even those who don't consider themselves readers of books will be able to read this with ease, and why wouldn't they? Except for Taraborrelli's odd observations about the True Blue album (he said a less-interesting artist wouldn't have survived it...mmmm NO!), this is a great book about the Material Girl, and quite a tribute to her life and work as well. This is the only Madonna biography you NEED to own. ONE THING THOUGH!: He gives away the ending to BODY OF EVIDENCE. If you haven't seen the movie, see it before reading this book, unless you skip the early nineties section (at your own risk) or absolutely do not want to see the movie. I hadn't seen the movie yet, and I was very disappointed to suddenly read what happened at the end, because it was in my plans to buy the DVD. I have, and I know I would've enjoyed it much more.
Rating: 
Summary: gossipy, but no social commentary
Review: There isn't really anything new about Madonna in Taraborrelli's unauthorized 2001 biography that hasn't already been covered in Rolling Stone magazine, or on MTV or VH1 specials. Taraborrelli, however, does a good job of compiling already existing information and some of his own, new Madonna material in his book. The book is gossipy, with salacious details of Madonna's love affairs, and the many people she has steamrolled over on her path to fame and fortune. What this book lacked was a look into Madonna's creative process, and a cultural and social commentary on the impact of her artistry. Madonna's vision - her music sense, dance background, fashion, and sexual brazenness - helped to usher into the world a generation ready for MTV and great dance music; her strong influence on pop culture is undeniable. Unfortunately, Taraborrelli gets so bogged down in the gossipy aspects of Madonna's life that his book seems to forget her musical and artistic ingenuity.
Rating:
Summary: gossipy, but no social commentary
Review: There isn't really anything new about Madonna in Taraborrelli's unauthorized 2001 biography that hasn't already been covered in Rolling Stone magazine, or on MTV or VH1 specials. Taraborrelli, however, does a good job of compiling already existing information and some of his own, new Madonna material in his book. The book is gossipy, with salacious details of Madonna's love affairs, and the many people she has steamrolled over on her path to fame and fortune. What this book lacked was a look into Madonna's creative process, and a cultural and social commentary on the impact of her artistry. Madonna's vision - her music sense, dance background, fashion, and sexual brazenness - helped to usher into the world a generation ready for MTV and great dance music; her strong influence on pop culture is undeniable. Unfortunately, Taraborrelli gets so bogged down in the gossipy aspects of Madonna's life that his book seems to forget her musical and artistic ingenuity.
| 
