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Summary: Secret Religious Sects?!!
Review: Where is the data about secret masonic affiliations?Where is the connection between rock and roll and Bono? Where is the biblical eschatology?
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Summary: MORE THAN I EXPECTED!
Review: I'm pleasantly surprised by this book. It is really good. Tells a fascinating story and clearly well researched. The author has an ability to get to the heart of what drives Martha. I particularly liked the story of her negotiating tactics during the early days of her Kmart deal. Also, the stories from Wall Street are especially good and certainly more timely now.
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Summary: Martha Stewart Inc. dba Martha Madness!
Review: Boy did I get an earful (or a pageful as the case may be) by reading Martha Inc. However, I don't know that after what I read (and I do believe most information in the book to be fairly accurate) that I would call it an "incredible" story. Yes-she made a climb to the top and is one of the most successful businesswomen in the world. She made her fortunate taking ordinary things and turning them into extraordinary things. But the climb up the ladder was at the expense of her family, her friends, neighbors, business associates and anyone else who got in her way. There are many other women (i.e. Oprah Winfrey) who got to the top as successfully, but didn't treat people around them like lowly servants who owe them something. I tend to be pretty skeptical of tell-all books but there were SO many people who contributed comments to this author that I lost alot of respect for Martha Stewart and do believe what goes around comes around. The thing I think is most interesting is that you are always guessing as to whether the author has a love/hate relationship with Martha. He certainly admired her in many places in the book, which makes his book that much more believable. He didn't seem to be a person with an ax to grind. And he didn't trash her in every space available. He told it like it was. I have not read "Just Desserts" yet, but plan to and understand that may be a little more dishy. However, Martha Inc. appears to be true to character and very fair and objective from several points of view. It doesn't read as a sleazy tell-all. This book, however, left me grateful that I am not "Living" near Martha Stewart, because if I was her neighbor, I would be "Martha Stewart..Moving!"
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Summary: Not enough business info
Review: Anyone who has watched Martha Stewart's Christmas special with Julia Child knows that she is a control freak. So I picked up this book expecting detailed information about how she built her company. Given that Chistopher Byron is a business writer, I expected a bit more. The IPO chapter is good, but I would have liked to know how Martha, et. al. actually manage Omnimedia. How are new products developed, etc? Byron seemed a bit too infatuated with Martha, like he wanted a date, to provide a better business analysis. Byron seems to want it both ways -- gossipy and analytical, and as a result, he doesn't excel at eiher. It's a quick, easy, and somewhat enjoyable read, but it left me wanting for more. It's the best book out there for those interested in the business side of Martha. If you're interested in women who have built businesses I also recommend A'Lelia Bundles' biography on Madame CJ Walker.
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Summary: This is a new low in celebrity biographies
Review: I am very dissappointed in this book. I really thought it would focus on the business aspect of MSO, but instead it's just another "When she was good, she was very good...but when she was bad, she was rotten" tale that lacks any real substance. There seems to be only a few people that would give him any first-hand accounts of their experience with this overwhelmingly successful entreprenuer. This book was a total waste of money for anyone who has read Oppenheimer's Just Desserts. And does the world need a rehashing of that? With Byron's credentials and having actually met Stewart, I expect more. This is the first time I am returning a book after reading it, but that is my vote against bashing people just to make a buck! I look forward to Martha's own book one day.
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Summary: Real WhippingCream with your allegations of insider trading?
Review: I would just add 3 things to CK's like-minded 4/29/02 review:
1. Author Christopher Byron makes so much of Martha's High School Yearbook pictures: 'The girls in Martha's class all seemed to be frozen in aspic from an earlier time, when their mothers were themselves young women. In their high school yearbook, a surprising number listed gardening, cooking and homemaking - the skills that Martha would later turn into a billion-dollar business ' as their main interests in life.' (p. 23) So, why isn't a picture of the High School Martha included in the picture section? Or any pictures of her family or childhood?
2. I got sooooooooo tired of author Christopher Byron's resonating theme regarding Martha's temprament: 'It's her Daddy's Fault! It's her Daddy's Fault!' OK, yes, yes, we got it.
And ( 3) Martha as the harbinger of our host's competition?
Around 1975, she set about building her catering business on her own. 'A clothing shop for a newly emerging fashion retailer named Ralph Lauren ' a designer with a talent for self-promotion- had opened in Westport' and Martha had a plan. She 'talked the owners of the store into letting her sell homemade pies and cakes from a table by the door. The arrangement foreshadowed a business strategy that would emerge twenty years later when the Starbucks, Inc. coffee chain began opening shops in [a Broad National chain of ] bookstores around the country to catch the foot traffic of browsers looking for a place to rest and thumb a magazine or book.' Hey Jeff! Can you send me a Carmel Cappucino with my next order? (I'll settle for a packet of the 'instant' kind, and I'll add my own hot water! ;-)
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Summary: Review of Martha, Inc.
Review: Mr. Byron's book sells because of it's flashy subject matter. As versed in the book, Martha Stewart is known as a "lifestyle" icon to all. Yet, no one knows much about her, until now. The book dives into the personal life of Martha, but is in effect written with a tabloid tone. The author repeats himself many times, often chapters apart, as if to enforce a negative image of the subject. Overall, the book is very entertaining with an intriguing start. I would recommend.
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Summary: Great Read
Review: I truly enjoyed reading this book. I think the author tried to give a fair viewpoint of a very complex woman. I've never been very attracted to Martha during interviews...a seemingly unhappy woman, given to mood swings but I felt this book was balanced given the subject the author had to work with. I've always been someone who "loves to hate Martha." A great airplane book.
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Summary: Behind Every Great Fortune is a Crime
Review: This is interesting, if incomplete, corporate history, and the story of a personality. Author Bryon obviously admires Martha Stewart's business acumen, her intelligence and ability to work very, very hard. Nevertheless, he paints a portrait of a tragic figure--the rich lady who has nothing in her life except work and more work. Her legendary temper has alienated her family and neighbors. The employees are so terrified of the CEO that they hide when their Distant Early Warning Sytem sounds the alarm that Martha is on her way. Not my idea of a good way to get through life. Ms. Stewart has cheated friends in order to get ahead. Most people would find that reprehensible. And, please note I would say the same of any successful businessMAN who did the same. I would have liked the book better if we had learned more about how Martha Stewart Omnimedia really works.
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Summary: AN ICON INITIALLY USING FRIENDS AS STEPPING STONES
Review: I read this book,... [I]liked it very much, however, [I am] going to read next...Martha Stewart-Just Desserts. [The]interest exists after reading Martha, Inc. This talented woman accomplished what she has and does thru persistence, luck, and talent. Her story is most interesting in describing how her personality is mostly peaches and cream at the very beginnig (when trying to create something) and becomes nothing but switchblades, acrimony, and extreme egotism when the success is made...30 years later. The stairway to the top is filled with the debris of enemies and the reality devoid of a personal life of serenity. I enjoy and appreciate Martha's public persona; would hate to have to deal with her professionally!
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