Rating: 
Summary: one extraordinary woman
Review: I loved this book. Liz Smith has such an extraordinary life. It never ceases to amaze me what women do with their lives, and I love what Liz Smith has done with hers. I think it would do every woman good to read this book and see how full and how much fun life can be.
Rating: 
Summary: Not much about her Lesbianism
Review: I was hoping that she would go into more detail about her lesbianism and all her famous lovers, but she was quite vague about her sexuality and didn't even mention most of her lovers that I have heard about. I thought it was pretty shallow. A disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: good for summer
Review: I've always enjoyed reading Liz Smith - and I did enjoy this book too. I actually enjoyed reading about her youth more than I did about the stars she writes about - it was an inside look at the woman who knows everyone.Once she got her career on track - it is still interesting - but you've read it all before. In some parts she is very vague - and in others - you get a little too much. But, a good summer read.
Rating:
Summary: good for summer
Review: I've always enjoyed reading Liz Smith - and I did enjoy this book too. I actually enjoyed reading about her youth more than I did about the stars she writes about - it was an inside look at the woman who knows everyone. Once she got her career on track - it is still interesting - but you've read it all before. In some parts she is very vague - and in others - you get a little too much. But, a good summer read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great fun
Review: If you learn anything about Liz Smith from her book, it would be that she is extremely well liked by the people she writes about. What a career! - invitations for great weekend getaways with the rich and famous, staying at luxiourious hotels and riding on private jets, dinners during the week with her close friends Barbara Walters and Joel Schumaker. When you get to the chapter where she reveals that she has been Katharine Hepburn's guest at Fenwick on several ocassions, the average reader may feel that their own life is pretty drab. Liz Smith does not reveal that much about herself but her engaging personality comes through in her writing. It is apparent that she is fair, honest, and extremely likable. When she does dish the dirt on a few famous names (and this happens only a few times), it is because they actually deserve it. Lee Radziwell and theater critic John Simon, for example, have been exposed by others in the press as mean spirited individuals, and Smith's quoting of their comments really comes as no surprise. What is surprising are the people that I didn't really expect to like (like Ivana Trump) and Smith allows you to see them in a different light. Smith sometimes make you wonder if she herself is somewhat snobbish toward the common people - she is irritated to find that Roy Cohn has invited a lowly tv repairman to dine with them and Barbara Walters. And one of the things that she dislikes about ballooning is the fact that you sometimes have to share a brandy with the farmer in who's field you have landed. Well, I suppose she can't be perfect. Her book is a very entertaining read and recommended for those who are curious about the private lives of the rich and famous.
Rating:
Summary: A Classy Book from A Classy Woman
Review: Liz Smith is a truly brilliant woman. She posseses grace, class, and intelligence. And all of that comes across in her memoir "Natural Blonde". If you're fortunate enough to read her column every day, you will see Liz Smith as a friend not just some columnist. And just like a friend I sometimes disagree with her columns or the way she is so close to celebrities. But her standards and beliefs amaze me, daily. This book is a fun read. I can assure you, you'll finish it in less than two days.
Rating:
Summary: an entertaining look at an era
Review: Okay, this is not a master autobiography or a juicy tell all. But I barely knew who Liz Smith was and found her book fascinating. More than the gossip, high life and name dropping, I kind of liked her early childhood in Texas, her brothers, her fascination with movies and Hollywood and her take on life. Liz Smith comes across as one of the few gossip trade people with a conscience. Plus, she's damned funny and these anecdotes with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Julia Roberts, Barbara Walters etc... are very entertaining. Heck, I even enjoyed the evolution of the Hamptons in the 60's and 70's. Liz doesn't spare herself either -- this book is not uncritical of her own life. After reading about all her hobnobbing, one gets the feeling that she herself was lonely and alone for a good part of the time. I liked her honest and refreshing approach. Not a work of art, but a fun read with a good look at our nation's history through the eyes of a young Texan who was literally blown out of her bed by the first test atomic blast.
Rating:
Summary: an entertaining look at an era
Review: Okay, this is not a master autobiography or a juicy tell all. But I barely knew who Liz Smith was and found her book fascinating. More than the gossip, high life and name dropping, I kind of liked her early childhood in Texas, her brothers, her fascination with movies and Hollywood and her take on life. Liz Smith comes across as one of the few gossip trade people with a conscience. Plus, she's damned funny and these anecdotes with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Julia Roberts, Barbara Walters etc... are very entertaining. Heck, I even enjoyed the evolution of the Hamptons in the 60's and 70's. Liz doesn't spare herself either -- this book is not uncritical of her own life. After reading about all her hobnobbing, one gets the feeling that she herself was lonely and alone for a good part of the time. I liked her honest and refreshing approach. Not a work of art, but a fun read with a good look at our nation's history through the eyes of a young Texan who was literally blown out of her bed by the first test atomic blast.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Review: The Milford Book Club of DE recently chose Liz Smith's, NATURAL BLONDE, to read. Boy, were we disappointed!!!! The nine of us agreed that is you lived in Yew York, a big city, were over 70 years old and enamored with the lives of the "rich and famous", perhaps you would find this book entertaining. We did not. Beginning with the Prologue, "Is it possible that gossip can be good for you?....There is power in telling something you know or think you know." Liz Smith was defending her life's work of "gossip" as if she had a degree in sociology. Perhaps this shows one positive aspect of television; our generation doesn' have to depend on gossip columnists to jump start a career. In our opinion, the book was poorly written as there was no sequence of events. We found ourselves reading an event and then trying to determine if it came before or after the Trumps, the Kennedy's or the Lee Baileys information. Were do these events fit into her life? The book jumps from past to the future and back again with no continuity. Reading about the parties, the drugs, the traveling and the constant mentioning of unfamiliar "stars" was shallow and boring. Our opinions were all unanimous; we can't believe we spent money on this book. The nine of us are donating our books to a local charity, as we don't want to take up precious bookshelf space.
Rating:
Summary: The Word Is Vacuous
Review: There is only one word to describe this book and it is vacuous. In case you don't know what that means, let's say that in some 464 pages there is a distinct emptiness and lack of personal reflection on Ms.Smith's part. Read at your own risk. Had I the chance to do it over, pay for the book and try to read it or write the publishers a check without ever having had to come in contact with Natural Blonde, I would have preferred the latter. Ugh.
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