Rating: 
Summary: vampire Christopher
Review: Christopher Byron's sensibility indicates that he is a small-minded, pathologically envious little weasle of a man, who tries to puff up his empty meaningless life by attempting to denigrate a great woman who has brought great beauty and grace to our culture. Unless you're one of those nasty-spirited people who find glee in joining the pack of hyenas who hate powerful, brilliant, talented women because the light from great women's souls is too bright and reveals too vividly your pathetic life, avoid this book. Byron is simply a mean little vampire, trying to suck money and notoriety from the life blood of Martha. Shame on John Wiley & Sons for publishing this book.
Rating: 
Summary: author's envy is showing
Review: Meanspirited book by a man who acts like he knows the "real" Martha Stewart. If he did, his book would be authorized. I am always amazed by writers who are quick to tear apart a successful person but who could never do anything anywhere what that successful person has done.
Martha Stewart came from modest background and by nothing more than her own brain, guts and hard work, built a huge company that employs thousands of people, provides wonderful products.
If she was a man, no one would call her a B****.
You want someone sweet who will bake cookies for you and coddle you, go visit your grandma. You want someone who is sharp and expects the best, go work for Omnimedia and let Martha be your CEO.
The author of this book is a weasel.
Rating: 
Summary: Martha concovered
Review: Having read a few of her books and using quite some advice, I was very curious about this book. It approaches the subject from a neutral point of view and literally uncovers a near perfect actress: a queen with all her faults and habits, good and bad ones. It is good to see, that not all is gold that glimmers and particularly good to see it not on a tabloid cover but a reliable source. Will it change one's attitude towards Martha's books? No, it shouldn't. She has built an empire with the help and support of the people interviewed and quoted and let us be honest, as little as I like her personal attitudes and her behaviour, how many men in positions as the one she holds, behave exactly in that same way and noone writes about them.
Rating: 
Summary: okay, weird under-currents
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: Unnecessary
Review: I tend to agree with A reader from Mississippi on this one. I am also not a huge fan of Martha Stewart, in fact, I have not read any of her books, have no interest in her televisions shows and can see that the product line she pushes in KMart are nothing more than overpriced cheaply made products, so no, I am not "her number one fan". That being said, I still have to be frank here and say that in reading this book, one can clearly see that this was a slanted tell-all of the life and times of Martha Stewart. However, underneath the author's continual barbs, digs and innuendo casting Martha in an unfavorable light, I still found the actual life story very interesting. I also agree with A reader from Mississippi with the authors writing style being annoying at times. I also found him a bit repetitive in overstressing page after page how disliked Martha was or how conniving, cunning or ruthless she was and I wondered if the author himself didn't have a personal bone to pick with Martha, or if he was acting as "avenger" on someone elses behalf who had a grudge against Martha. I have to admit that the meat of the book held my interest, but I, too, would have been happier if the story were told in a less biased manner and from a more objective standpoint. In the grand scheme of things, Christopher Byron paints Martha Stewart as nothing more than a common back-biting tart who happened to build herself a billion dollar empire. As far as I'm concerned, objectively speaking, she did make her own success and she didn't do anything a man wouldn't have done in the business world. She did what she had to do in order to succeed. Not bad for a days work in the kitchen.
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