Goddess: Inside Madonna

By Barbara Victor

Book Overview

An intimate biography of Madonna with never-before published information about the performer that traces her evolution and explains her extraordinary popularity. From the moment Madonna first appeared on the international music scene, she has been hounded, criticized, honored, revered, and ignored--and despite these conflicting reactions has managed to set social, sexual, and musical trends of the last two decades. She is a chameleon figure who has changed her look and her sound dramatically over the years, and despite her exhibitionist tendencies and the intense scrutiny of the press, has remained an enigma to the public, keeping her most intimate identity hidden from all but her closest acquaintances. GODDESS begins with material from a 1993 interview Victor had with Madonna. The author has interviewed Madonna's maternal grandmother, father, stepmother, siblings, first boyfriends, high school friend with whom she had a lesbian relationship, dance teacher/mentor, and many more people from her formative years. Victor examines her emotional life, her career, the fact or fantasy of her lesbian and heterosexual relationships, her taste, her genius for reinvention, her brilliant business sense.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061031135
• ISBN13: 9780061031137
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Designated to Madonna fans

This was one of three major autobiographies that came out in 2001 and 2002 on the Uber-star Madonna. Nothing terribly knew, probing into her past, and recounting her career highlights. Great for every Madonna wanna-bee collection.

Madonna, Goddess of Pop

Having been a fan of Madonna for almost twenty years, I thought I knew everything there was to know about her. Well, I was wrong! Barbara Victor has revealed new material on the Material Girl herself! Delving deep into the pysche of the most famous woman in the world, Barbara Victor showcases Madonna's inner-drive and determination to succeed in the international pop arena. I would suggest this book to any true Madonna fans, along with Matthew Rettenmund's "Encyclopedia Madonnica" and Michael D. Craig's "Who's That Girl? The Ultimate Madonna Trivia Book", to find out everything there is to know about Madonna!

An Extraordinary Book

This is one of the most unusual show business biographies I've ever read. I loved it. Somehow this writer makes you understand how a phenomenon like Madonna happens, and then makes you feel as if you really are inside Madonna's head, experiencing her life as she lived it. The book has lots of gossip, but it has something I liked even more, which is a bigger picture of how Madonna reflects what's happening in the world around her, which made me understand completely the loyalty of her fans. The personal story is really moving. I especially liked the section about how the loss of Madonna's mother affected her and the direction of her life. Most books about stars don't really tell you much about the star, or how we relate to them. This one does both. It's fun to read and when I finished it I felt like every second had been worth it.

The Diva Digest

This is the masters of Madonna's history. It's full of all the juicy details one would expect to read in a book about a mega star like Madonna. She's truly a one of a kind and this book tells all you'd want to know. I truly enjoyed every minute I spent with it.

The Human Side of Divinity

For any Madonna fan, or anyone fascinated by the phenomenon.I loved this book. It is filled with insights and details from Madonna's life that the other books missed or simply left out because they only want to praise the Material Girl. The information from Madonna's family is worth the price of the book alone. Victor also draws amazing parallels betweenMadonna's life and Evita's, but she adds many more helpfulcomparisons and critiques that make this book the one to read. It's the best of both worlds--dishy and smart.