Rating: 
Summary: I laughed out loud all the way down the hair care aisle
Review: Natalia Ilyin tells stories on herself, from her childhood in Paris (under the chafing dish table in four-year-old bliss with a cocktail meatball in each hand), through adolescence in northern California (where she did NOT become a famous California Blonde model), and into adulthood in New York (where she worked hard, paid her taxes, and became the sometime "armpiece blonde" of an unnamed celebrity).Into these stories Ilyin weaves strands of careful research into blonde mythology, history, and psychology. She discusses contemporary blonde goddesses. Often touching but more often hilarious, she wryly comments on her own life as a blonde. She obviously loves language-has 'waifdom' been a word for long?-and frequently polishes off a straightforward paragraph with a witty zinger in the last line. The book is a pleasure to read. I want to give this book with all my friends who are blondes like Ilyin and me: blondes at age four and therefore entitled to live life forever as a blonde.
Rating:
Summary: The Blonde Talks
Review: OK, I admit it. I have a special fondness for this book. I wrote it. And after over a year of watching reader and editorial reviews pop up on this site, reading them, and taking them to heart, I am breaking my silence. Let me just say this: a huge thank you to everyone who has written nice things about the book. You don't know what it means to a person who has very little life except for facing a blank computer screen everyday to read a nice, glowing review of her work. Makes you want to kiss the Fed Ex guy. Makes you want to keep going, though the vet is about to repossess the dog. To everyone who had honest critical remarks, thank you. Strangely, they do help. And to the two very hip and distainful gals who tried to say something harsh and ironic, well, you tried. So, in hindsight, I have to tell you, I still am glad that I wrote the book. I still believe the things I said I believed in it. It turned out better than I expected. But then, so did my life.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not quite what I thought it was
Review: This book is a great little book to read for the purpose of leisure reading. However, if you're looking for a plethora of information on blondes and why people are fascinated with blonde hair, I would suggest you turn your attention elsewhere, such as the book "On Blondes" by Joanna Pitman. That being said, the book was interesting. It was more an account of the author's life than a book on the history of "the blonde myth," however. She seemed to talk a lot about herself, and then to ramble on about her family, and then to ramble on about some other random subject and finally tie it back to blonde hair. I would say if you are interested in reading a random woman's memoir, go with this book. If you are interested in reading about blondes, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Brunette Like Me
Review: This book is good for entertainment; in fact, it's a page-turner. It's like a really long "Mademoiselle" article. I wasn't sure who her intended audience for this book was--I don't see _BLM_ as scholarly. Also, I think it's a little ignorant to say that natural blondes are as rare as albinos. My relatives always told me when I was a child that my hair would turn brown in my teens. I'll be 26 in October, and my hair is still the same color it always was. At the beginning, Ilyin talks about her cyclical ritual with getting highlights and then "double-processing" and then dyeing it brown again. I wonder, why doesn't she just stay blonde all the time if that's what she likes? Still, I recommend it: I would put it in the same category with humorous books by Maryln Schwartz like _A Southern Belle Primer_ and _New Times in the Old South_.
Rating: 
Summary: from a naturally blonde, 25-year-old reader
Review: This book is good for entertainment; in fact, it's a page-turner. It's like a really long "Mademoiselle" article. I wasn't sure who her intended audience for this book was--I don't see _BLM_ as scholarly. Also, I think it's a little ignorant to say that natural blondes are as rare as albinos. My relatives always told me when I was a child that my hair would turn brown in my teens. I'll be 26 in October, and my hair is still the same color it always was. At the beginning, Ilyin talks about her cyclical ritual with getting highlights and then "double-processing" and then dyeing it brown again. I wonder, why doesn't she just stay blonde all the time if that's what she likes? Still, I recommend it: I would put it in the same category with humorous books by Maryln Schwartz like _A Southern Belle Primer_ and _New Times in the Old South_.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read for non-blondes, too
Review: Unlike the author, I'm a currently natural blonde, so I know I'm not her target audience. That hardly matters; any woman could relate to this book. Natalia Ilyin's point isn't really about "going blonde": it's about being female. Ilyin does a lovely job of dividing and defining the different kinds of women we choose to be, and what those types mean in a world where we are always visible. It's postmodern and funny -- wait for the scene where the recently-retired "Armpiece Blonde" meets her male counterpart on a plane -- and the author's tone is resolutely cheerful. Natalia Ilyin is like a good friend who mixes a great martini: a few pages in you'll feel fabulous, you'll be laughing, and you'll have no idea why.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read for non-blondes, too
Review: Unlike the author, I'm a currently natural blonde, so I know I'm not her target audience. That hardly matters; any woman could relate to this book. Natalia Ilyin's point isn't really about "going blonde": it's about being female. Ilyin does a lovely job of dividing and defining the different kinds of women we choose to be, and what those types mean in a world where we are always visible. It's postmodern and funny -- wait for the scene where the recently-retired "Armpiece Blonde" meets her male counterpart on a plane -- and the author's tone is resolutely cheerful. Natalia Ilyin is like a good friend who mixes a great martini: a few pages in you'll feel fabulous, you'll be laughing, and you'll have no idea why.
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