There's stuff about her career in the book, but Taraborrelli is a lousy music and film critic. I can't vouch for the accuracy of his dish, but I promise you that as a gossip he's the real thing. --Tim Appelo

Product Description
Based on ten years of exclusive interviews, Madonna: An Intimate Biography reveals surprising new insights:

* The complex nature of her relationship with her father
* How Warren Beatty broke her heart, and why the two never wed
* Her romantic involvement with John Kennedy, Jr.
* The truth of her relationships with the fathers of her two children
* How motherhood changed her into a surprisingly different woman
* What the future holds for her
* And much more

"Psychological insights [and] astute observations." (Houston Chronicle)

Taraborelli does a good job of detailing Madonna's turbulent childhood (the loss of her mother, her strained relationship with her father, even the loss of her virginity!?!) but the book really takes off when Madonna goes to New York in 1978 in search of stardom. We are introduced to Camille Barbone, a talent agent who is the unsung heroine in the Madonna story. Camille invests every cent she has into Madonna's career only to be dumped by the Material Girl when she finally secures a recording deal with Warner Brothers. Early on, we also see Madonna go through a series of male musical collaborators who double as lovers, ensuring their professional devotion to her until she moves on to bigger and better things (among them Jellybean "Holiday" Benitez).

As Madonna's career takes off, the men she chooses to date are inevitably celebs themselves. The book is most entertaining in dealing with her many relationships, including hothead first husband Sean Penn, wishy washy JFK Jr. (who dumps Madonna on Mommy's orders), old fart Warren Beatty (as much a user as Madonna), and superfreak Dennis Rodman, who kissed and told about his relationship with Madonna in his own tell-all book (a big no-no in Madonna's world).

Where the book falls short (and is kept from meriting five stars) is in its frequently contradictory assessments of Madonna's music. After raving about the contents of Madonna's third album TRUE BLUE (and its five major hits), for instance, he sums it up by saying it "wasn't a great album. A less intriguing artist might not have survived it." Even though Taraborrelli wrote for music magazines early in his career, he is not a strong analyzer of pop music.

This book ends in mid-2001, at a time in Madonna's life when her personal and professional life were seemingly at her peak (the birth of her son Rocco and marriage to Guy Ritchie, the release of her two strongest albums RAY OF LIGHT and MUSIC had all occured within the previous two years). As her wedding unfolds on the final pages, we are introduced to a kinder, gentler Madonna who has reconciled with her father and seems to finally appreciate the little things in life. For Madonna fans, it was a great time to end the book (since then, her professional life at least has not been so successful, with the universal panning of her film Swept Away - which Ritchie directed - and the subpar AMERICAN LIFE album). For all of the entertainment this amazing woman has provided, she deserves a happy ending.


PERFECT!!   September 7, 2003
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I wasn't even a Madonna fan until I read this book. Taraborrelli does an INCREDIBLE job and has converted me to Madonna 'fanhood'. Revealing, exciting and most of all addictive, I read An Intimate Biography cover to cover in two days.
Excellent book choice for any Madonna fan, or like me,pepole not even interested. You'll be pleasently suprised what the combination of Madonna and Taraborrelli have to offer. You won't be disappointed!


A good biography   August 24, 2003
Menelaos (Outer Space)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book by J.Randy Taraborelli is a quite interesting biography of Madonna, providing information on her personality in various levels. We read about her relationships with her parents, her friends, love partners and collaborators, about her views on many issues, her growth as a person and an artist.
If you want to know about her, then this book is definetely worth your time.
Madonna is certainly an important personality of modern culture, and this book is fast and enjoyable and cleverly the author does show Madonna's negative aspects, and does not try to create her psychological profile.
The book is simply based on facts and accounts of Madonna's acquaintances.
I just gave it 3 stars because I found it was interesting, but it simply isn't a favorite of mine.