Rating: 
Summary: Just Desserts Is Better
Review: Martha Inc. is a balanced biography of Martha Stewart, but short on recent details. I was hoping to read more about her life after she started Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, but most of the material is a re-hash of many events that one can read in Just Desserts. The epilogue contains information about Martha and Kmart after the tech bust and Kmart's bankruptcy, which is a nice follow-up. The author, Christopher Byron, seems a bit star-struck by Martha, too, calling her a "beautiful blonde" a few too times in the book. Martha Inc. is a good read for Martha followers like me -- subscriber to the magazine, viewer of her TV show, consumer of Martha products -- but to the reader who wants even juicier details, read Just Desserts first.
Rating: 
Summary: The good, bad, and ugly...not a hatchet job
Review: I thought that this was a great example of what one can accomplish with the proper drive and ambition. Although the author portrays Stewart as an egocentric control freak, you never get the impression that he is trying to do a hatchet job on the subject. He seems to be trying to present an honest account. Martha willingly provides a ton of ammunition which makes the book very entertaining. Although quite possibly brilliant, she seems to be trying to exorcise some sort of demon from the past. You get the strong sense that she is never satisfied and that she is harder on herself than those who are close to her-that is certainly saying something. She seems to care little about people, looking upon them as pawns to be leveraged for her own personal gain. The author also tries hard to present the reader with her personal upside-its just not nearly as interesting as the dirt.
All in all, a very fun read about a fascinating, albeit troubled, American "success" story.
Rating:
Summary: Book will help you understand Stewart's success
Review: I had never known too much about Martha Stewart; i.e., until I
read MARTHA INC. by Christopher M. Bryon . . . it certainly does not make her come across as somebody I would want to have
as my friend, but nor would I want to be one of the many on her
bad side.What I liked about the book, however, was that it just wasn't a
hatchet job . . . Bryon does an excellent job of digging into
why and how Stewart became such a success . . . whether
you're a fan or detractor, you will certainly find the material
extremely readable. In addition, you'll get one of the best primers I have ever
encountered on the art of self-promotion! There were several memorable sections; among them:
Twenty years later, this was translated by Martha into the
expectation that Turkey Hill visitors and weekend houseguests would lend a hand with the innumerable projects that were always underway. Such a guest arrived one afternoon and was directed by Martha to weed a flower bed. "Are you serious?" asked the visitor incredulously and promptly got in her car and left, never to return. It was brilliant; in fact, it was a stroke of genius. And from the moment he realized what she had in mind, that is exactly how he began thinking of her as well--as Martha Stewart the genius. It was so simple and so obvious . . . and so smart. She intended to syndicate a half-hour commercial disguised as an actual program, and she was going to cut its cost of production by sticking commercials from her own advertisers right in the show. It was awesome! A commercial inside and infomercial. It was even better than that, for the infomercial would be promoting Martha . . . who would be cross-promoting the
magazine . . . that would be carrying the ads . . . of the companies that would be advertising on the show! An arrangement like that could spiral right into outer space. He turned to Martha. "I'm not sure I can sell this," he said. "I mean, maybe we can sell it, but I'm not sure we'll get renewals." A sense of desperation was creeping into his words as he said, "Martha, I mean look, the people in the cities where we have to sell this show are in urban environments. They're working-class people. These people don't even have gardens." Martha looked back at him. Her voice was even and cool, conveying the total confidence in her words as
she said, "Yes, but they want them."
Rating:
Summary: Martha, exposed!
Review: For those of us who place Martha Stewart somewhere between Leona Helmsley and Cruella de Vil, this book is for you! Hey, it's a great and easy summer read and the author, Christopher Byron makes no excuses for his bias. Some supporters of Martha's may tend to look at this book as a hatchet job on America's most famous businesswoman, but Byron actually compliments her from time to time on her rise through the corporate world. The problem, it seems, is that Martha Stewart continues to create her own woes. The author simply points them out. And he would have a field day with the recent hole into which she has put herself....namely insider trading. Martha Stewart may be a cunning and savvy figure dressed up in an apron for public viewing, but my sympathies do not extend to her. Funny how she has gotten into so much hot water in her professional life, but I guess the irony is this....boiling water is the first thing one learns in cooking!
Rating: 
Summary: Martha Stewart: An American Icon
Review: As an avid fan of Martha Stewart and her business savvy I was anxious to read this book. Written by a business person who also happens to know Martha personally, I found the book to be so engrossing that I couldn't put it down until I had read the entire book. Let's face it, Martha is human and while she makes mistakes like the rest of us, her mistakes are magnified tenfold by the media.
I came away with a great deal of admiration for Martha Stewart and her incredible success as a business person. Mr. Byron goes so far as to call her a "genius" and rightly so. I guess deep down I thought I would always like to be like Martha Stewart, but after reading Martha, Inc. I came away thinking that I wouldn't want to sacrifice a marriage, motherhood, and perhaps even my sanity in order to achieve a burning desire for fame and wealth beyond my wildest dreams.
If you admire Martha, as I do, you will find the book to be well worth your time and you may come away with a sense of what it feels like to sacrifice everything in order to achieve your dreams.
Rating: 
Summary: A successful woman always be treated unfairly
Review: Successful women are deemed to be monsters all the time and in everywhere, from ancient to modern day and from east to west. Because Martha Stewart couldn't be that perfect and elegant, her other disgraceful side is uncovered by people who want to entertain public. That's main idea of this book, rather than to persent an insightful and true story.
In the content of this book, when Martha Stewart delivered her ideas of living to male executives, those men didn't understand how she can make money and lure audience by triming roses..... I don't need to mention the result that how successful she becomes. However, the above does reveal something, that man doesn't know what woman thinks and likes. He can't analyze or criticize a woman who he understands nothing.
In my country, it is like a curse that a woman succeeds in her career then her husband would become a loser.
I really hope people to be nice to these exhausted women.
Rating:
Summary: okay, weird under-currents
Review: If you're trying to figure out who Martha Stewart is, having only recently taken much notice of her thanks to scandal, this book provides an okay insight. I'd already assessed that she had a reputation for being bossy & determined, to say the least, so there wasn't much revelation here. I'd heard she had a strong temper. (this appears to be a greater crime if you're a woman) What struck me, however, wasn't Martha's domineering personality or her march to success, & failure, but what appeared to be an abundance of passive-aggressive people in her life. No doubt a strong, domineering person attracts them like flies, but their words are given like fact in this book, no motives questioned, though every one of her hangers-on (her husband especially) seem to have an agenda, and seemed quite intent on appearing victimized - though they clearly expected gain from their relationship with a powerful person. It just seemed kind of creepy to me. (especially the photograph of her wimpy husband hunkered down in an almost grotesquely passive position while she stands facing the camera - above.) Whatever else, one suspects Martha is better off without THAT guy! One small thing struck me as odd - at some point in the book, the author uses Chicken Feeding as evidence that Martha over-worked her guests. This was stated as evidence to support some woman's assertion that she was misused, and Martha was 'mean.' Something about this struck me as peculiar. Chicken Feeding doesn't require hours of back-breaking labor. Maybe once a week, you fill up their feeders, you clean out their waterers. It occurs to me that such an act might be deemed fun, by someone who enjoys animals. The woman also mentioned having to 'let out the dogs.' How hard can THAT be? I hope she learns to pick real people rather than this type one day! I can't say I liked Martha Stewart much before all this - but I felt more sympathy for her after reading about those who seemed... disingenuous at best. Martha struck me as overt, a wolf outright, & I think I'd rather deal with that than a horde of 'wolf in sheep's clothing' types, especially if they were befriending me with a notion of one day writing a book at my expense. (and increasing their own)
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Page Turner
Review: When we review a book we never no the real "truth". That is often subjective. But in all honesty there is too much in here to be fiction. She is a very talented person - no question - and hard working rising from near poverty to the top of the heap. In many ways she deserves her success. Having said that she has stepped on a few people along the way, cut a few corners, sometimes pushed a bit too hard, and seems to have an off air personality quite different from her carefully crafted on air persona. She has her weaknesses and penchant for high living including multiple expensive homes all within a small geographic region, and like Leona Helmsley she has tried to avoid taxes and was caught. Now, she has the stock scandal and as we learn in the book, not for the first time. Many years ago when she was a broker there were stories and rumors. But lets face it this is a great book. It is a page turner, that one cannot put down once you start to read. I think most would agree with that.
Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood Scuttlebut
Review: Byron may be "fair" minded in his presentation of Martha but he would be better off as a Hollywood journalist. This wasn't a great biography, nor was it a book about business. It was more about hovering over a carcass and peering into crevasses. I admit to being a Martha fan but, first and foremost I am a businesswoman so I expect something of quality when a business person is discussed.
Rating:
Summary: Just the facts madam, just the facts
Review: Some books which delve into the lives of personalities are usually lightweight in nature and weak in value. Martha Inc, is not one of them. Some have said that the book is mean spirited, which I think, is entirely baseless. If read carefully, there is nothing in the book that is blown out of proportion or stretched in truth. The reason why the book may seem mean spirited by some is because Martha Stewart is a mean spirited person. The book is a fantastic story of Stewart's rise to fame and power and her heartless approach in getting to the top. Whether you are a Stewart fan or not, if you are interested in a classic story about corruption and the human condition, read Martha Inc. Sorry Martha fans, she is only an illusion.
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