Rating: 
Summary: Most Madonna fans will already know this stuff
Review: This author is actually a good writer, which surprised me. Most unauthorized biographies of pop stars are terribly written. The reason I only give this book four stars is because it really didn't reveal anything that the public did not know about Madonna. There are no new revelations here. But if you are unfamiliar with Madonna's work, and want to change that fact, then you may find some use for this book. The other reason I give this book only four stars is because of its confused re-tellings of Argentine history. This book opens by detailing Madonna's time in Argentina while she filmed the movie "Evita." The author comments on Madonna's meeting with Carlos Menem, and that during her research she found that Menem had been the first Peronist elected to the national office and that Menem had been imprisoned in 1976 when his wife, Isabel, had been ousted from the Presidency. This is perhaps the most mangled version of Argentine history I have ever heard! (Juan Peron was the first Peronist elected to national office, hence the term "Peronist." And Isabel had been Juan Peron's wife, and she didn't become President of the nation until after Juan Peron had died. And Menem did not become President of Argentina until nearly a decade later.) This book also falls prey to that other deadly sin: attempts to interpret Madonna and the motivations behind her actions, followed by attempts to assign some sort of continuum to her behavior. This book, in my opinion, just doesn't "get" Madonna, nor does any other Madonna biography I have yet to read. If you want deeper insight into Madonna, I would suggest reading PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME II by David Keirsey. Keirsey theorizes that Madonna is of the "Artisan" temperament, and he says that she is the "Extraverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving" personality type; this is a personality type that lives completely in the present moment, is not motivated by a desire to find the "deeper" significance to things, can often hurt people's feelings and not care about it, and would rather get on to the next action rather than justify or analyze their past behavior. Interestingly, Keirsey notes that life is easier for male "ESTP" types because of societal biases. If only David Keirsey would write a biography on Madonna, then we'd have something interesting to read!
Rating: 
Summary: A good biography
Review: This book by J.Randy Taraborelli is a quite interesting biography of Madonna, providing information on her personality in various levels. We read about her relationships with her parents, her friends, love partners and collaborators, about her views on many issues, her growth as a person and an artist.
If you want to know about her, then this book is definetely worth your time.
Madonna is certainly an important personality of modern culture, and this book is fast and enjoyable and cleverly the author does show Madonna's negative aspects, and does not try to create her psychological profile.
The book is simply based on facts and accounts of Madonna's acquaintances.
I just gave it 3 stars because I found it was interesting, but it simply isn't a favorite of mine.
Rating:
Summary: very interesting
Review: This book is very thick, but its an easy read all the way. I know this book can't all be true, but it sure feels like it. Very well done.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Beach Reading: A Complex Woman Explained
Review: This book is wonderful. It not only covers Madonna's simple beginnings and her rise to the top - it also puts into perspective all of the complex relationships Madonna has had, and how they changed her. I thought this would be a sensational slasher bio, but I ended up having far more respect for her after reading it. Yes, there are a bunch of dishy tales of bitchiness (enough to give a chuckle or two), but the real story here is the drive and determination that Madonna used to overcome every obstacle placed in front of her.
Rating: 
Summary: A pitiful attempt to grab some media attenton....
Review: This guy is horrible. Please try to remember people (and I know for some of you this is very hard) just because something has Madonna's face on it does not make it worthy of purchase. An entire book of collected rumors and hearsays. Can we all say "trash jouralism" at the count of three loud enough for his pitiful little brain to start ringing wherever he is at this moment? No doubt laughing his way to the bank on his stupid road of life. And then he has the GAUL to narrate the remainder of the book with theoretical Madonna "thoughts"....as if this guy even has a clue what goes on in her head. But rest assured, all Madonna fans will read it, some may even like it. But none will give him credit for anything other then making a blatant cry for attention which in the end will hopefully destroy any journalistic credibility he had established before this really bad career decision.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss Out on This Book!
Review: This was such a good book. I was almost dissauded from reading it because of some of these customer reviews from Madonna-Know-It-Alls. I'm glad I ignored them. I learned a lot about her in this work, and about the kind of woman she is. I loved the material about her relationship with Andy Bird, and how she became involved with him even though he really didn't have a job and had no money -- and she was this major superstar. It was so Notting Hill (remember that Julia Roberts movie?) It showed the kind of romantic woman she is, I think. Of course, in the end, she had to let Andy go because he wasn't directed to do anything with his life that she saw as meaningful, but not because he was broke. I loved it. Also, I loved what the author had to write about Madonna and Dennis Rodman, and how he betrayed her by writing about their affair in his so-called memoirs. She wasn't angry about his writing about the affair, says Taraborrelli, but because he lied about how important it had been to both of them. Besides, says the author, Madonna should have known better by this time in her life than to engage in an affair with Dennis -- "a bad decision is a bad decision, even if it does result in mind blowing sex," wrote Taraborrelli. I loved that. There are a lot of human truths in this book. How could anyone not see that? I also loved all of the material about Madonna's and Guy's wedding, and how Guy arranged it so that there would be no photos taken and the event would be private. It was the ultimate of wedding gifts to "the missus." Taraborrelli writes about all of these people as if they are dear friends -- even Sean Penn comes off as a decent guy who was really, really flawed, but trying. I now think after reading this book myself that there are a lot of cynical people out there when it comes to books about Madonna, maybe because they think they have read it all before. But I, too, have read books about her (Christopher Anderson's for one), and this one is far better, and far more insightful. Don't miss this book. You'll be sorry that you did ... it's quite a good read. Five stars all the way!
Rating: 
Summary: Too many probable lines
Review: Too many times in this book there are quotes between two people-who the hell hears all these conversations? Also to many "Maybe Madonna..." or "Possibly she was...". If you don't know, don't write it. Also Too many descriptions of what she was wearing. I doubt anyone cares to remember what someone wore to breakfast in 1985, but it is here.
Rating:
Summary: Madonna History in so Many Pages
Review: We've heard the rumors. We've listened to the music. We've seen the videos, the concerts, the book, the movies, the tv appearances and the fashion sense. Yet despite this, we've never really seen a complete history of Madonna. The book, somehow, is well-timed. A fairy-tale ending. Imagine the book coming out during Sex, or Erotica. It must have been a disaster story. But by timing it, and writing it, up to the second baby of the Immaculate One, the author expounds on the story of a young, lost girl, who grew up, had a dream, followed it, made some mistakes, and grew up even more. By the end of the book, Madonna seems to be the conquering hero, as she sucessfully passed through "the dark age", the scandals, and the many husbands, and lovers, to become the Madonna of the Earth. The author sucessfully juxtaposes rumor, Madonna's side, her opponent's side, her PR manager's side, and every possible angle, to at least present enough detail, to keep you clamoring for more.
Rating:
Summary: Dishing the Dirt on the Dynamite Diva!
Review: While admitting that I am not much of a Madonna fan, I still enjoyed this book. Yes, it is written in a gossipy manner. No, she did not participate in the writing of it. But as anyone knows, a celebrity-sanctioned biography is also bound to be a "sanitized" one. Madonna is as bitchy as they come and this book makes no bones about it. Slavish devotees may quibble over the facts in this book. But I feel it's a well-written, solid biography of a woman who continues to hold the attention of the public she once wanted so fiercely. This book has much to recommend it. It moves in a smooth progression from her youth to her relatively newfound maturity with barely a misstep. The author (who cannot be accused of not knowing his subject, having interviewed her on several occasions), clearly promotes the dynamic diva's agenda from day one: to be fabulous and famous. There's the expected exploration of Madonna's unresolved mother/abandonment issues, her promiscuity, her assertions that she is not the best singer or the best dancer. Clearly, life is one big publicity stunt to the girl who freely asserted, "I want attention." There are many interviews with people who knew her during her rise to fame, and nearly all agree: Madonna's sole ambition was to attain stardom and then glory in it. Talent was optional (as was consideration for anyone but herself). That being said, there is a definite maturity that begins to define her. One quote that illustrates this: "I learned that in order to attract the right kind of man, you have to be the right kind of woman." Out are the self-indulgent shenanigans of the "Sex" book and the video for "Justify My Love." In is "Evita," Carlos Leon (a man one is tempted to dismiss as merely the "sperm donor," but who emerges from this book a true class act), husband Guy Ritchie, and her two children. OK, so she's got the marriage and motherhood thing going. Now if she could only lose the quasi-British accent and the gyrating onstage at forty-something...
Rating:
Summary: Loads of Fun -- Could Not Put it Down for a Second!
Review: Wow -- what a book. I sailed through this baby in two days because I couldn't put it down. J. Randy has outdown himself with this smooth and sometimes absolutely hysterical tale about a woman who makes his "Call Her Miss Ross" heroine Diana look tame. (Remember that book. Loved it!) Madonna is as bitchy as they come -- so funny, too -- but I loved the stuff in here about her rise to the top, how she did it, and why she wouldn't look back. I also had a lot of empathy for her as she pays a karmac price for her fame -- poor girl was unhappy in love, that's for sure, but you can't have it all, I guess. Still, the betrayal business with Dennis Rodman. Did she deserve it? And, such a shame, all that tear-stained nonsense with JFK Jr. over Jackie O. And did Sean Penn really have to push her into the pool? But at least she finds her true love with the dashing Guy Ritchie, and all's well that ends well. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Balanced and fair, too. But it's the dish that counts. Look, this is Madonna, after all. If this J. Randy Taraborrelli guy (that name!) keeps writing these books, I'm gonna keep buying them, I can tell you that. Also loved his "Jackie, Ethel, Joan -- Women of Camelot" opus of last year, and saw the movie, too. (When does this author sleep. That's what I want to know.)
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