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Summary: You Go Judge Judy!
Review: Judge Judy tells women that they have to take control of their well-being emotionally and financially. It is so easy for women to lose themselves without realizing it. And she indicates to women who have yet to explore life on their own to not sit around waiting for it to happen. Make it happen! Ms. Sheindlin gets criticized for being mean and harsh, but don't underestimate her. She has been there and learned from her mistakes. She wants people in general to handle their business and take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming others for their mistakes. This millenium women need to handle their business and not allow what others think of them and move ahead. Thanks Judy for writing this book!
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Summary: Agree With Part About Female Independence
Review: Though I didn't agree with Judge Judy on everything, I did agree with her on this topic: the importance of women being financially independent. I agree with her that women should be able to take care of themselves financially. I read the part about the woman who threw her unfaithful husband out of the house and how, a few days later, found out that her credit cards had been cancelled and her bank accounts closed by her husband. She didn't have the money to support herself and the kids. I also read about a friend of Judy's who has been married all these years and still gets an allowance from her husband. An allowance? That sounds like something right out of those 1950s sitcoms like "I Love Lucy" where the wife begged for money from her husband. Getting an allowance or asking a husband for money is for little kids who can't take of themselves. It IS important for women to be able to take care of themselves, and that's the message that Judge Judy is trying to get across to us in her book.
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Summary: Judge Judy Rocks!
Review: Words cannot describe my absolute love of this book. I have all of Judge Judy's books and this one is my absolute favorite. I have read it at least a dozen times and have applied much of this advice to my own daily life. Judge Judy talks about this subject with her usual "I'm not going to take any crap off of anybody" approach that we see all the time on her show, in her courtroom and dispenses it freely and objectively. She readily admits that, as a woman, she has made a few mistakes in her lifetime just like we all do. I admire the fact that she made a success of herself in such a male-dominated workplace as the judicial court system. My favorite story in the book has got to be the one where Judge Judy, as a family court judge, was in the cafeteria talking to a colleague when this old man judge came up to her and informed her that this room was for judges only. She then pretended that she was the cleaning lady! But then secretly took delight in the fact that this guy was embarrassed when he found out that she was actually a judge! Wouldn't we all love to do that? This is a definite must for any woman who is at any situation in life. Growing up, being a wife and mother, juggling a career, being a success, etc. A gem of a read.
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Summary: Commonsense Judge's Book Wins On Appeal
Review: TV's Judge Judy holds court in this book, a candid account of her life and the lessons she learned from living. It's a must read for every young woman -- and for her mother, too -- and would make a great gift. The little lady judge with the big loud mouth pulls no punches. Her commonsense advice comes from experience. She rues the day she agreed to quit a Washington D.C. law school so that she could move back to New York and marry; if she had to do it over, she says she now knows it would have been better to ask her fiance to move for her career. She went from being the top student at a leading law school to being just another ordinary student in a lesser one. She advises young women not to do like she did, treating their own education and career less seriously than their husband's. Getting an education that qualifies women for well-paying careers, the judge writes, is "divorce insurance". After all, mothers are the ones who probably will have to support their children should they be divorced. Not everything in the book is serious. There are laughs along the way. If you think Judge Judy bangs her gavel too loudly in the courtroom, imagine her banging two metal frying pan lids together, like cymbals, in the middle of the night over her sleeping husband. That was to drive home the point that she didn't like his leaving the toilet seat up. (Don't try this at home!) All in all, the judge gives blunt, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is words of wisdom, delivered with the same force that she uses in her courtroom lectures. "Beauty Fades But Dumb is Forever" wins on appeal.
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Summary: EXCELLENT, Easy to Read! DIRECT!
Review: I loved it and so much of it seemed like she was speaking directly to me. I felt like I heard her voice! I am in agreement on so much, I personally agree that as a society we are medicating more children than necessary. In part because teachers bring it to the parent, they do not want to deal with any outbursts so it must be ADD, we have become so intolerant. As she states, a child must feel, "something must be wrong with me." This book is great for women but also for parenting. The grown children advice is perfect, wish I would have used it before I spoke my mind! I CANNOT BELIEVE HER HUSBAND ALLOWED HER TO PRINT THE PINK PANTIES STORY! Overall, I found it to be a good read and easy advice to accept.
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Summary: JUDGE JUDY RULES!
Review: In her typical no non-sense style she shares some true gems in this book. I think that many people can benefit from her experiences with men, children, etc.. She shares some insightful strategies on dealing with exes, business relations, in-laws, etc. which I will be using.
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Summary: Girl power! Rock on!
Review: I liked this book. Judge Judy has a very funny and natural voice as she speaks her mind. She appeals to both young and old females. She is very honest about the way things really work for women (i.e. in the workplace, in the family, constantly deferring to men). She tries to make the statement that you won't make it very far if you keep deferring yourself to a man. But she does try to make the fact that not everything will be equal. One example she chooses is the marriage relationship. It is not always going to be 50/50. It may be 70/30. The important factor is whether or not you are happy. She also tries to point out that you can let go of some of the responsibility given to you ( i.e. she tells about her husband who complained over 100 times about the dry cleaner she used, causing her to switch many times. In the end, she lets him to do it himself). She has heard it all. An example- Why did you have his baby? "He said he loved me." She points out that having the brains, spirit, drive, humor, and personality can help you build a solid foundation within.It is a good book for all females, including teenagers.
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Summary: In the spirit of the Judge Judy shows...somewhat rambling
Review: I like the Judge Judy show and I liked the book. However, the author seems to ramble quite a lot and some of her opinions are a bit too strong for me. If you want to find out more about the source of Judge Judy's strength of conviction and verve in the courtroom, this book will help you. On the other hand, it seems to bring the Judge down to the level of ordinary mortals and make me wonder whether she is being entirely objective in the courtroom (then again, if she were, then the show would not be nearly as popular...that's entertainment for you).
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Summary: Good Effort, But Ultimately Unsatisfying
Review: My comments pertain to the audio tape edition, a three-hour abridgement of the book. I was surprised that I received a review copy from the publisher since they normally send only new hardcover titles. I have liked hearing Judge Judy's tough line in the past, I assumed I would thoroughly enjoy these tapes. I can't say that I did enjoy them, except for brief snippets. Not that she didn't put in a good effort. More specifically: 1.) She assumes a war between men and women that is often not there. She keeps citing women being put down in the workplace, hasn't she seen how wimpy males also get run over (usually even worse than females)? Having worked for companies run primarily by women, I found her thoughts on the matter to be crude stereotypes, and at times very archaic. Women are not objects of scorn in the workplace, maybe where she works, but not in any of the firms where I have worked. 2.) Marriage is more than a business bargain. She keeps making it sound like marriage is only valuable for what one gets out of it. Marriage is a partnership, and it succeeds t the extent that both spouses sacrifice for each other. Sacrifice for Judge Judy sounded like an abomination. And yet, my spouse and I willing to sacrifice for each other, and in fact, our marriage is better because of it. I don't reflect at the end of the day as to what I got out of my marriage that day. After 15 years of marriage, we have something more than an arrangement for mutual convenience. 3.) More excerpts from her court would help. I know Judge Judy is sitting on great examples from her courtroom. She should have put more of those into her audiotapes (maybe they are in the books, but they sure aren't on the tapes). 4.) The topics hang together loosely, and the transitions from one topic to another are choppy, often jarring. Again, this may be a problem unique to the tapes, but it is quite irritating. 5.) Not always as tough as she should be. I was disappointed to hear her story about her daughter shacking up and how she acquiesced to letting her stay with her honey at her house. It was her house, she should have laid down the law. We know she is tough, she shouldn't have caved to her daughter. Although Judge Judy had some positive statements about self-worth, respect, etc., that I would want my daughters to hear, the fact that these positive insights were surrounded by hours of less useful, often trite and obvious reflections make the effort to hear the valauble comments not worth the time it takes to find them. There are better books and audio tapes with good messages for women, so, sadly, I can't recommend these tapes.
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Summary: Empowering, enlightening and entertaining!
Review: I am in the midst of deciding whether or not to end a four year relationship, and Judge Judy's book was exactly what I needed to read! She gives straight forward, no-nonsense advice in a clever and often humorous account of her life and experiences. When I finished reading her book, I felt empowered to finally make the decision I have been so afraid of. This is a book that all women should read, and one I will be rereading far into the future!! Thank you Judge Judy!
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