Product Description

A tell-all account of the life of the renowned hostess and domestic expert recounts her rise to fame as an author, writer, and television star and uncovers the shocking secrets behind her pristine image. 150,000 first printing."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #776517 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 399 pages

Amazon.com Review
You'll want to wear old clothes: Jerry Oppenheimer's biography of Style Doyenne Martha Stewart is a frenzy of mudslinging. With chapter titles like "A Dysfunctional Family," you know exactly what to expect--but Stewart is such a big, fat target that the book is entertaining anyway. Obviously, the architect of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is no sweetheart. (Control issues? You don't say). But regardless of the muck, you'll come away with a mixture of respect for Stewart's talent and prodigious drive ("I can will an orgasm whenever I want"), and profound gratitude that she's not your daughter, wife, mother, friend, or business associate. Just Desserts affords brief glimpses of the private Martha. She was called "Marty" in high school. She modeled her way through Barnard. She may have engaged in wife-swapping. But anyone surprised that Martha the domestic goddess is a work of fiction misses the point entirely.

From Library Journal
A veteran tabloid biographer (The Other Mrs. Kennedy, St. Martin's, 1994) here purports to reveal the less savory side of the oh-so-genteel Martha Stewart. Don't look for reviews; the book is embargoed until the sale date.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
In-depth interviews with over 400 of Stewart's friends and associates contribute to an unauthorized biography which reveals her personal life and rise to fame. Stewart's perfect image is probed and many myths dissolved in this biography, which begins with her childhood and follows her achievements through adult years. A "must" for any curious about Stewart's background, and about the reality behind the 'perfect woman'. -- Midwest Book Review

Jerry Oppenheimer ... has made his name writing mean-spirited but thoroughly researched biographies.... Opperheimer lambastes Stewart so thoroughly you may wonder if maybe there are one or two good things he could have mentioned. -- Entertainment Weekly, A. J. Jacobs

Customer Reviews

Should be six stars!
Great bio--these unauthorized ones are best!

I love Martha'skitschy campy shows, her magazines, her bedding and towels and paintand other household goods (I can't wait for the next white sale at Kmart) and although I never cook I love to leaf through her cookbooks and even have on occaision thought about using some of her tips. I think she is funny in a wry dry sort of way. And she is stylish, and she does present the dream of perfection--perfect homes, weddings, parties, holidays--the all too perfect "All American" dream of a "white picket fence, rose gardens and green lawns" life.

Sigh....so it is...just a dream. (Say it ain't so!)And she caters to us--not only foodstuffs and linens, but a dream that if we buy said book/blanket/bridal guide etc. that we too can have a little taste of style, that we too can share in this perfect dream. That is the allure of Martha. I for one don't care about how bitchy the woman is--and it could very well be that she is a diva and a doyenne. Or it could just be that the author wants to make a quick buck, that his reliable sources are harboring sour grapes, that the Martha of then is not the Martha of now.

Taken as a good trashy read this book is tops! (For those interested, the unauthorized bios of Madonna, Frank Sinatra, Danielle Steel, Courtney Love and Anais Nin are pretty good too--can't recall who wrote these but they are engrossingly good nonetheless)

If Martha were a man this would be gravy. She would be held up and admired like some super business hero. She is depicted as a ballbusting backstabbing bitch because she is a woman--if she were a man she would be merely Machiavellian. She would receive accolades for her behavior. People would be writing 'how-to' books about her--"How to be a Billionaire" would be a pretty good title, no? (Although I fear "Lonely Lady" would be more apt.)

Few women are able to go as far as she did and be as successful as she is--and guaranteed the ones who have have stepped on their share of toes along the way. Big Business is not too kind to 'cake baking June Cleaver' types--Martha needed savvy as well as savoire faire and she used it to its fullest potential. Quit picking on her--she's not a perfect person--she only plays one on TV. Cut her some slack!

(Something to Remember: Not every female media icon, entreprenuer, millionairess can be as goody goody as Oprah!)

Spicy Dish served Cold
While reading this biography, I had to remind myself of the fact that over _400_ individuals were interviewed for this book. After all, how can one woman be so mean, greedy, insensitive, manipulative, and dishonest? Unlike many obessesive Martha fans, I never put much stock into her public persona. Her tips were "cute", but not often applicable to everyday life -- I could take them or leave them. However, after watching a few of her shows and noticing the way in which she appropriated "expert" status on every topic (from choosing proper firewood to making latkes for Chanukah to planning a garden -- Martha ALWAYS knew better than her own guests. If you don't believe me, check her out correcting Julia Child on Julia's OWN PBS baking show!) I knew there was something more. Those who criticize this book for muckraking are overlooking the most important and telling aspect of "Just Desserts" -- the people identified and quoted. Anyone who knows a whit about journalism knows that attributed quotes (especially regarding an individual) are terribly difficult to come by. The fact that nearly every major associate of Martha's (past and present) came forward "on the record" is astounding and cannot be overlooked or palmed-off as "jealousy" or "mean-spiritedness". Ms. Stewart is one cookie you don't mess with, turn your back on, or do business with. As for those who speak of "good taste" and who describe M.S. critics as "uncouth" or "provincial", I say that you and Martha are practicising a style of class-ism that should make most of us shudder and only serves to reinforce Mr. Oppenheimer's points about Martha and her wannabees. Not liking Martha and/or her "Martha's Way"-style of dictatorship does not make us ignorant -- mearly individuals who can think and decide for themselves and not subscribe to the whims of a self-created Domestic Doyenne. If you want a detailed, footnoted peek inside Ms. Stewart's life and personality, this is the book.

Best Backhanded Compliment Ever!
Driven, talented, educated, successful--if only she had been a man. But Martha's not, that makes her a ballbuster. I enjoyed this book because it was so easy to read between the lines. Martha Stewart worked hard, made the real American Dream come true-to be wealthy, powerful, and famous. It's okay for Lee Iacoca or Donald Trump to do this--but not an Irish Catholic girl child of the fifties. Maybe it's not just that she's a woman, but that she's made her way to fame and fortune through homemaking--traditionally the most underesteemed and underpaid work. In other words, women's work. I admire her immensly, even more so after reading this book.