9 Secrets of Women Who Get Everything They Want

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking and concise
Review: All the post-feminist victims in this book want on their ruthless quest for revenge are fabulous clothes, exotic vacations, expensive hairdos, loosing twenty pounds and a husband with a lot of dough. Before that you might choose to become a travel writer in your twenties in order to see the world before having the husband to pay for it (p.70). Kate White believes that attitude and appearance are everything and values "style over substance" (p. 159). This makes for a book with a catchy title on a photo of the "Editor in chief of Cosmopolitan" displaying her wedding band - and for a book without any substance. Kate White lives in a world of make up artists, speech coaches, publicists and "hot celebs" in which packaging, introductions and who-knows-whom decide over success or failure. Substance wouldn't be worth the effort even if there would be time for it. "9 Secrets ..." has been authored according to these principles.

The whole thing is delivered with the attitude of the all knowing advice columnists banking on the false intimacy of an aunt for hire. For $12.00 (list price) the eager reader gets promised all and everything: the magic secrets will make you miraculously successful and get you all the things you want, i.e. loosing twenty pounds, a spectacular wardrobe, luxury vacations and a rich husband. "You" have to ignore all or most of the advice you've heard so far. Otherwise there wouldn't be a reason to buy this book.

Life's goal is to have all the "things" you find advertised on the pages of "Cosmopolitan" and rampant consumerism is the cure for every problem in "your" life: go on a shopping spree, buy a cappuccino at "Starbucks" (p.40), buy sexy clothes, study Conde Nast Traveler magazine, get "fab hair, fab face, fab thighs" (p.5), "Go out and buy something absolutely expensive" (p.72), "Dress to the nines" in a brand-new outfit "and fantastic shoes!" (p.92) and -again- "buy a couple of show off suits" (p.152).

If you have all these things you might have a chance to win the ultimate prize and end up being on TV like Barbara Walters, Donna Hanover or Star Jones. Wouldn't that finally make you feel special? And isn't feminist victimization a fabulous rationalization to be ruthless in your quest for career, goodies and a rich husband? Star Jones blurbs on the jacket: "I love this book! Kate tells women to go for what they want and not allow anyone to get in their way. The credo of this book: Humility is an overrated virtue. I couldn't agree more."

Material possessions like fur coats and diamonds and narcissistic gratification like magazine covers or being on TV give the "you" of Kate White and "Cosmopolitan" life's peak experiences when they feel "a sudden rush of adrenaline" (p. 126), "a powerful shot of adrenaline [...] a high" (p.21) and "a rush of adrenaline [...] a charge she had never experienced before" (p.16). That's what life is all about.

Life is about these adrenaline highs which the things you always wanted will grant you or which you will derive from being seen on TV or a magazine cover by ordinary mortals. The opposite and the absolute worst is "boredom" which creeps up your spine when these things are missing and when nobody is looking at "you". You are one of the winners if you're ready to scam and scheme to make people look at you and get all these things while the perpetual losers waste their time thinking and whining. The enemies are "the loser artist types" (p.24) while "a husband with absolutely tons of money" to buy you all the advertised brands is irresistibly sexy.

Now, is there any advice in the book about the "9 Secrets of Women Who Get Everything They Want" aside of writing tons of thank-you notes and booking flights in first class in order to strike up a conversation with the CEO of CBS? Well, in order to get the adrenaline high you have to act as if you're already on a high: be "passionate, intense, dazzling" (p.84) and "dynamic, captivating, zany" (p.38) and elbow your way with "unexpected bold, over the top" (p.112) and "no-holds-barred behavior" (p.99) into mega stardom and your own personal paradise filled with luxury brand names.

What can you do to get all the goodies aside from radiating energy and excitement and playing the unpaid runway model for luxury brands? You have to act like you deserve it! There is no guilt, shame and fear and there are no excuses or apologies in Kate White's cosmos of uninhibited consumerism brainwashed by "positive thinking". Anthony Robbins, Lifespring and EST meet the young receptionist at the "Learning Annex" or on the subway to Queens. This is a universe without ethics and morals and nothing can hold the "you" back from quenching her thirst and craving for all the goodies seen in commercials or editorials of women's magazines. "To get what you want you have to feel you desire it" (p.72) and "When you act and dress like a movie star, you often feel like one!" (p.72). Post-feminist victimization makes the eager consumer loose all inhibitions on her quest for revenge, fur coats and hip brands.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Kate!
Review: I loved this book! As a divorced mom, I have very little time to read, and I sometimes feel powerless and frustrated in so many areas of my career and my personal life. Kate's book is the first one that has inspired me to take time to read. And I've done so -- carefully, cover to cover, and over and over. Her insight has helped me focus, evaluate and understand, and now I have hope -- no, I have a genuine *expectation* that I will have greater control and satisfaction in my life. And such a fun read, too! I need to return my treasured, dog-eared volume to the library, but I'm going to keep it and pay the overdue fines until the copy I'm buying from Amazon arrives, because this simple, well-written and thoroughly entertaining book has been my inspiration. I recommend it with all my heart.

Rating:
Summary: Light and Fluffy!
Review: If you are under 25, this book may have some valuable bits of information on "getting what you want" re career and personal life. But if you're like me, and have had a little life and work experience you may find it too simple and fluffy. This book reads like any issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, post Helen Gurley Brown. I think the recommendations are silly and not that insightful. After reading books like "The Road Less Travelled" (M. Scott Peck) and "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" (Susan Jeffers)I felt that this book was a bit of a waste of my time. I kept waiting to learn something more than what my mother told me. But maybe that's just what it's supposed to be. Also, the author uses examples of women who are almost exclusively in the magazine publishing business. A real yawn!

Rating:
Summary: Light and Fluffy!
Review: If you are under 25, this book may have some valuable bits of information on "getting what you want" re career and personal life. But if you're like me, and have had a little life and work experience you may find it too simple and fluffy. This book reads like any issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, post Helen Gurley Brown. I think the recommendations are silly and not that insightful. After reading books like "The Road Less Travelled" (M. Scott Peck) and "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" (Susan Jeffers)I felt that this book was a bit of a waste of my time. I kept waiting to learn something more than what my mother told me. But maybe that's just what it's supposed to be. Also, the author uses examples of women who are almost exclusively in the magazine publishing business. A real yawn!

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: It isn't often I come across a book that really seems to speak directly to me. I couldn't put it down. I read the entire book in less than four hours. I kept thinking I wished this author was a friend of mine. I can't say I would try all the ways she talked about to get my way, but I relished the thought of more than a few of the suggestions! I live in a small town in South Dakota. Life is not that complicated here like it might be in a larger city. I adored this book, it's a KEEPER, one to be read regularly in life!

Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and full of useful, highly usable information.
Review: Kate White did a great job of presenting easy to understand ideas and easy to follow suggestions. She also inspires the reader to come up with ideas of her own. I especially like the way she sprinkles many great stories throughout the book. They are well told and really bring the material to life. A must read for the woman looking to make changes in her life.

Rating:
Summary: Get a pen & paper because the ideas are going to race out!
Review: Kate White's latest book is a fast, enthusiastic and very motivating read. She challenges many of the female 'roles' we are socially engineered to play out so as to gain approval. She gives permission to do and be those things you may have thought were not quite right to do. Half way through the book I got out of my chair to make a phone call that may impact enormously my life. That's the power of Ms White's words! After reading her first book though, I wanted more. I wanted a far greater number of examples of other top women's secrets and I wanted more concepts. There were a few lovely comments on being a mum and dealing with othelr women's comments (zap them!). I would like to have read more on that. In fact, a chapter on how these women deal with kids would be enormously helpful as I believe balancing the family and work is very difficult to achieve. I run my own consulting practice, focusing on strategy, for a variety of blue chip clients and spend most of my time with men. I need to share other ground breaking, non traditional women's experiences which is why I bought the book. It did remind me that being a woman does not come with a set of standard instructions. It did make me realise that - hey - I can be who I am and not what I think everyone else wants. As a strategist, I do not need help in planning what I want in life. However, Ms. White did remind me to reassess my APPROACH to getting what I want. That in itself was worth the cost of the book. I do highly recommend this book, even if you have read the first book. It's wonderfully enthusiastic and frank ideas will definitely add success to your life and maybe you too will also be inspired to do something to set yourself on an entirely new course.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended to get you out of a rut
Review: The title doesn't do this book justice. There is a lot of practical advice written in a wonderfully readable style.

Rating:
Summary: Just as Great!
Review: This is not a case of 'well, it worked the first time, let's try it again and see if it sells'! I love her appealing, chatty style of writing and eye-catching titles (it must come from her years of working at magazines), and all those inspiring quotes and tips from successful gutsy women. This book is filled with more ways to get what you want -in fact, I think you can use a little imagination and try to use her suggestions to make anything more creative. The main point of this book is similar to her first one, "Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead and Gutsy Girls Do!", which is why one might think that they are the same but I assure you, it's worth it! Three cheers for Kate White!

Rating:
Summary: Great advice
Review: When I first picked this book up and leafed through the subheadings, I saw what appeared to be another glib and superficial attempt to make a stupid list and puff up each item to create a book. NOT SO. The title is misleading, and so is the list that appears on the back. I am surprised that an experienced editor and her advisors would miss the fact that the way the wording appears on the front cover, as well as the list on the back cover, detract from the seriousness of the book.

The ideas offered are excellent for women of all ages. I think they are particularly useful for younger women who are about to graduate college and get into the workforce. Its a great manual to refer to along the path to a successful life and career. The list is misleading. For example #1, "Covet Thy Neighbor's Things," is not as mean-spirited as one might assume from just looking at the list. It turns out to be an insightful suggestion on how to Channel envy in a positive direction. The book is also an easy, fast and pleasant read.
GREAT JOB KATE.