|
Life with My Sister Madonna | 
| Authors: Christopher Ciccone, Wendy Leigh Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Category: Book
List Price: $26.00 Buy New: $10.49 You Save: $15.51 (60%)
New (47) Used (24) from $9.49
Avg. Customer Rating: 186 reviews Sales Rank: 1945
Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 352 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3 Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 1416587624 Dewey Decimal Number: 782.42166092 EAN: 9781416587620 ASIN: 1416587624
Publication Date: July 14, 2008 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Condition: New
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Madonna up close, by the brother who knows her better than anyone. Christopher Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his forty-seven years of growing up with, working with, and understanding the most famous woman of our time, who has intrigued, scandalized, and entertained millions for half a century. Through most of the iconic star's kaleidoscopic career, Christopher played an important role in her life: as her backup dancer, her personal assistant, her dresser, her decorator, her art director, her tour director. If you think you know everything there is to know about Madonna, you are wrong. Only Christopher can tell the full scale, riveting untold story behind Madonna's carefully constructed mythology, and the real woman behind the glittering facade. From their shared Michigan childhood, which Madonna transcended, then whisked Christopher to Manhattan with her in the early eighties, where he slepton her roach-infested floor and danced with her in clubs all over town -- Christopher was with her every step of the way, experiencing her first hand in all her incarnations. The spoiled daddy's girl, the punk drummer, the raunchy Boy Toy, Material Girl, Mrs. Sean Penn, Warren Beatty's glamorous Hollywood paramour, loving mother, Mrs. Guy Ritchie, English grande dame -- Christopher witnessed and understood all of them, as his own life was inexorably entwined with that of his chameleon sister. He tangled with a cast of characters from artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, to Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Demi Moore, and, of course, Guy Ritchie, whose advent in Madonna's life splintered the loving relationship Christopher once had with her. The mirror image of his legendary sister, with his acid Ciccone tongue, Christopher pulls no punches as he tells his astonishing story. Life with My Sister Madonna is the juicy, can't-put-it-down story you've always wanted to hear, as told by Madonna's younger brother.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 181 more reviews...
Specially fror big time fans October 5, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is "can't put down" is you are a total Madonna fan, many small details behind the big superstar, nothing that you wouldn't imagine but lots of confirmations about the cold blooded diva. Madonna devotes herself to becoming her own brand and makes it at whatever price, over family or friends... yet to know if there is another way of becoming an icon, i personally don't think so. A big price for big stardom. And yes it is so lonely at the top!
NOTHING SURPRISING October 4, 2008 THANKFULLY I PICKED THIS BOOK UP AT THE LIBRARY, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED IT A WASTE OF MONEY. THERE WAS NO INFORMATION IN THIS BOOK THAT SURPRISED ME ABOUT MADONNA.SHE IS A SELF-PROCLAIMED CONTROL FREAK AND MISER. AFTER FINISHING THE BOOK I COULDN'T FEEL SORRY FOR CHRISTOPHER AT ALL. HE ALLOWED MADONNA TO WALK ALL OVER HIM DURING THIER ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP. I'M STILL NOT SURE WHY HE NEVER STOOD HIS GROUND. WAS IT HIS LOVE FOR MADONNA, FEAR OF MADONNA, OR HIS LOVE OF THE GLAMOROUS LIFE MADONNA AFFORDED HIM TO LIVE? CHRISTOPHER SOUNDS MORE LIKE A DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE, WHO TOOTS HIS HORN ENTIRELY TOO MUCH.THE NAME DROPPING GETS A LITTLE ANNOYING ALSO. MAYBE SHE GOT TIRED OF HIS EXPECTATIONS OF HER AND JUST THREW IN THE TOWEL.
He clearly didnt learn much from his big sister! September 29, 2008 This book gets 3 stars simply because he's writing from the point of view of somoene who knows Madonna intimately & you get a better perspective of who she is, unlikle most bios written about Madonna but overall the attemp was lackluster & didnt quite live up to the hype.
His attempt at making Madonna look bad didnt work if you ask me---i didnt feel one bit sorry for him throughout most of this book and found myself taking Madonnas side more often than not. He writes extensively on how often Madonna helped him, opened doors for him & introduced her to her glitterati of celeberity connections. Yet all he wanted to do was party & snort coke. Too bad Chris you werent resourceful like your sister & took those connections and turned them into something big. The part in the book where his interior design biz is taking off and Demi Moore asks him to do her house is perfect example of how quickly he was able to screw up golden oppportunities. he goes & buys a bunch of stuff from IKEA, has it delivered to her house and then sends her the bill. When she isnt amused, he chalks it up to her "not getting the joke". Needsless to say she didnt use him.
Madonna is business minded that is how she conducts her career & why she is on top. Too bad you didnt take notes Chris, you'd still have that interior design business if you had. He writes about not using contracts when he did interior design jobs for Madonna because she was his sister--yet she was all business with him from the jump. Thats your tough luck you didnt take the hint & get professional. Family or no family if youre running a business you draw up contracts. & when he does finally start using one, its more out of immature spite than anything. & yes Chris you do/did have a drug problem despite what the doctors told you. How can you write about snorting coke w/ Naomi Campbell & Kate Moss on one page & claim to not have a drug problem on another? Denial. & Madonna tried to help him kick the habit & he didnt take it. Oh well!
Yes Madonna is insecure. Yes Madonna is a control freak. Yes Madonna is tight with a dollar. Yes Madonna can be a self-serving b****. But arent all bigtime major superstars? Sheesh they dont get to the top blowing all their money, being nice to everyone & letting people get away with sh**. Like someone else here said it is, what it is. If he was smart he wouldve learned something from his sister and made something of his self. He wouldna had to write this damn book.
tacky and poorly written September 21, 2008 I'm always down for some good celebrity gossip but "Life with my sister Madonna" was a yawn fest. Christopher Ciccone assumes the reader will blindly trust his credibility solely based on his position as Madonna's brother. Rather, credibility is nonexistant as it becomes increasingly apparent throughout the (poorly written) book that it was written as a melodramatic display of sibling rivalry (example: C. Ciccone's statement in the first chapter that he was his mother's favorite child - I recall using that same line on my sister when I was 6 years old). Don't waste your time, don't waste your money.
No insight into Madonna here September 19, 2008 I bought this book because I thought Christopher was going to give me a lot of insight into Madonna's personality and what she was thinking when she did certain things (Sex book, certain videos etc...). Well, he didn't.
This book is a good read though. Once you forgive Christopher for misleading you and agree to read a novel based on his life. Toward the middle I actually enjoyed myself. Then it all went down hill from there. Christopher hates Guy. Guy is a homophobe I guess. Madonna isn't all that much into the gay scene anymore and he's pretty pissed off about that also (Dude, she's 50 and has two kids...people change) and he sure does complain alot about her lack of paying him. He says she's a crazy person who believes she's the center of the world. In her defense, wouldn't you be if you were famous for so long? She can't recall anything other than that. And people who are laidback don't usually last over 25 years. Christopher part kisses booty and part complains.
I find his part on the "Butt Art" he produced to be gross.
But there are other parts about famous people and their love affairs with coke. Quick, easy read.
|
|
| Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |