Rating: 
Summary: so bad, i couldn't even finish it....
Review: this book is horrible. the author apparently doesn't have much to say, since he repeats himself over, and over, and over. how many times must he inform us that martha comes from nutley, nj?? he even repeats the same quotes.he goes off on tangents on other people remotely involved in martha's life, and even then, he rarely makes sense. he contradicts himself several times. he also skips back and forth in time, in an apparent effort to confuse the reader further. overall, he had maybe one or two good pieces of information, and the rest is just fluff.
Rating: 
Summary: a good companion to "Just Desserts"
Review: usually when an author writes the 'biography' of a corporation, it typically read like 'this ceo did that, this merger did that, this decision resulted in this fiasco/success' etc. Nnot so w/ Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Inc. This corporation is an incorporation not of products but a person, namely Martha Stewart. Christopher Byron glosses over biographical details that are better laid out n 'Just Desserts'. Byron focuses more on the business of Martha. Unlike a fashion design house, Martha Stewart Ominimedia inc. IS Martha Stewart. A fashion designer has assistants who carries out the designer's vision. MSO inc. is simply the incorporation of Martha Stewart's licenses and activities. Byron writes a book that essentially chronicles the business of Martha bieng Martha. Martha Stewart basically came along at the right time and made the right moves. However she also brought w/ her personal baggage - which she never learned to jettison (even after bieng told to do so). Byron, although admittadly an admirer of Martha's, still is able to chronicle a business which is tied up in the physical embodiment of the owner (namely Martha Stewart)
He compliments on her business accumen, but criticizes her lack of the 'personal touch' required. This book is a good follow-up to Just Desserts. Read both and you will walk away shaking your head.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Reading??
Review: I read this book to get a better understanding of who Martha is. I was disappointed to find that this book skipped over who Martha actually is and focused on how she is a screaming lunatic most of the time. His sources were all people who hate Martha or have a grudge on her for some reason, yet then he would write how brilliant she is. He didn't try to write a balanced view of her, he instead tried to satisfy both those who hate her and those who love her, without doing a great job for either. I found this book just made me sad and I didn't enjoy reading it; however it does give some history on MSO and how Martha created her business.
Rating:
Summary: Chopped Liver compared to Just Desserts
Review: Boring for the most part.... (& rehash for the remaining part.) Couldn't even finish it!
Rating:
Summary: Harsh look at the queen of the American lifestyle
Review: Fans of Martha Stewart will not like this book, not one bit. There is some small irony in noting that, according to Amazon, people who purchased this book also purchased Kenneth Timmerman's expose of Jesse Jackson, "Shakedown". Authors of both books present a very critical view of thoroughly complex and conflicted leaders of American "culture". The comparions are worth noting. There are lessons to be learned. Both subjects are well-established, nationally (for Jackson, internationally) recognized brand names. Both started out small, but not nearly as small as their publicists might want you to believe. Both Stewart and Jackson had a lot of help along the way and few of their supporters received the recognition they deserve, for better or for worse. Both Stewart and Jackson like to have others foot the bill and, most recently, both have found corporate America to be the best source of support for their projects. While Stewart is the leader of the American languid lifestyle movement and Jackson is the self-appointed leader of the diversity movement in America, both seem to be more interested in their own betterment than in the people they purport to serve. Both have become very wealthy along the way, while posing as modest, hardworking, high-concern-for-other types. In Stewart's case, she earns either admiration or contempt from large portions of the population but, then again, we could say the same for Jackson. Byron's Stewart comes across as a cold, bipolar woman who adopted the style of her alcoholic, mean-spirited father. She orders and instructs rather than asks. She seems indifferent to her daughter. She thought she married into wealth and instead, found that her own pursuit of wealth destroyed her shaky marriage. Successful people often pay a high price for their accomplishments. Some go ahead knowingly and make a deal with the devil and cause others to pay the price as well. Less successful people envy those who succeed. Armchair critics carp. Minor flaws become magnified and the really busy, successful people can't spend all their time refuting false claims about themselves. Exposes always have their critics, especially from those who admire the subjects. The authors of both these books must have had a hard time getting all their facts straight (and I assume most of the "facts" are correct) and, in the end, we see seriously flawed leaders. Both books offer us some insight into the "dark side" of leadership. And you can't help but feel sorry for the subjects and even for their followers and, in some small way, for their biographers who felt they needed to dredge up some of the muck. Byron did a lot of digging and the story is engrossing if not riveting at moments.
Rating: 
Summary: A bio on Martha the BIZ, not Martha the person
Review: It's pretty obvious to me now, just by reading the title, that this book is NOT about Martha the person but rather Martha the mega-powerful businesswoman. But, to someone who wants to read more about the life of this odd and intriguing woman, I guess I just made myself believe that somehow this book would shed more light on her life as the previous bio on her "Just Desserts" had done. Not so. About 90% of this book focuses on Martha's rise to fame and power; her many business dealings and struggles. Only rarely does the author inject tidbits of personal information about Martha. Overall, this is a very in depth look at her company and her remarkable business acumen. Although I didn't like the fact that the author would sometimes provide information on what was happening in the world at the time (the stock market situation in the 70s, etc). It felt as if at those points, he didn't have enough to fill the book so he figured that some little history lessons on the side would make up for it. It just seemed pointless sometimes. I would recommend that you rent this book out from the library. It's not worth buying, not unless you're a huge fan of Martha. I'm still awaiting her autobio, which I've heard should be released sometime next year. But if you want to learn more about Martha in the mean time, I suggest you get "Just Desserts" by Oppenheimer (I forgot his first name).
Rating: 
Summary: Gentle and polite but doesn't deny Martha's obvious problems
Review: I not only enjoyed reading this book, I learned a few things about creating an empire... I understand that she is selling an image and I don't expect her to be perfect; in fact, I love hearing about her nasty side. The only thing that the author misses when he addresses the future of a company so closely identified with its founder, is that she does delegate a lot of her segments to her employees and guest associates... As long as I keep learning things and being entertained, I will continue to tune into her show (and buy books about her).
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and timely
Review: For pure salicious value, the tidbits about her tantrums and infamous shunning or her husband are fascinating. But the story of her business acumen and the rigorous schedule that created her ``lifestyle" empire make this book worth the read. You are forced to admire her - even if begrudingly. I found the writing a little too cutesy at times.
Rating:
Summary: Martha Inc.: The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living O
Review: Very Simple, Easy & Fast Reading!! I read this book in two days! Very simple, interesting and easy to read about a person who is really two different people.... MS the business women/teacher and MS the person/friend/neighbor, etc. I really wanted to know more about MS the CEO of MSLO and how this company really operates. Instead the author tells you not to be fooled into believing that she has done or can do all that is stated in this book. People who think that she has done all of this stuff must be dreaming. The author tells about how her staff makes her look really good and her relationships with her family, friends and business dealing. He does give her full credit for having the ability to hirer people to make her look so great!! The main thing that the author states in this book was not to be fooled by Martha into buying into the MSLO Company because Martha is the only asset! If something happens to MS, CEO of MSLO, where is the company headed but down. Do you think that this company would last very long without Martha? MSLO INC. would not be Living but Dead in a very short time and so could your stock investment according to the author.
Rating:
Summary: Who Is the REAL Martha Stewart?
Review: This "take" on Martha Stewart and her career is a fascinating read but it seems excessively eager to tear her down. She is obviously obsessed with success, a controlling and domineering personality -- but that's what it takes to build the kind of successful company that she has built. She's careful about details, she's a tough negotiator with her own interests foremost in her negotiations, she forges ahead. She also is so self-absorbed that she has no manners. But isn't she a product of a generation that prides itself on looking after #1 and labels good manners as "old fashioned?" Stewart's story is a sad one, of an emotionally abused childhood and of such obsession with perfection and her image as a successful businesswoman that she drives her husband to the arms of her assistant and alienates her only daughter. We see her on television as a very attractive woman who is knowledgeable about every detail of homemaking, yet she could not create a warm and lovely home for her own family. That brings up the question -- what is success? If the answer is money in the bank, I suppose Martha Stewart is a success. If the answer is bringing laughter, joy and love to those who love you, she's a failure. The book doesn't attempt to give a balanced point of view. Nor does it attempt to show whatever success she may have had in helping lead young homemakers (and even old ones) through the maze of "keeping house." I would have preferred a more unbiased look at her life and the result of what she's achieved as it affects her family and friends as well as herself. Do her mother, nieces and nephews really enjoy being on her TV show or are they paraded out as cynically as the author would have us believe? Therein, I think, lies the truth about who Martha Stewart really is. On the other hand, perhaps Martha Stewart, Inc. thrives on this kind of sensationalist publicity. Readers thrive on conflict; are bored by "goody-goodies." Everyone makes more money if Martha Stewart is the Bad Girl of US business.
Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)
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