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Front Row: Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief
From the New York Times bestselling author of Just Desserts: Martha Stewart: The Unauthorized Biography comes a scrupulously researched investigative biography that tells the inside story of Anna Wintour's incredible rise to power
From her exclusive perch front row center, glamorous Vogue magazine editor in chief Anna Wintour is the most powerful and influential style-maker...more
From her exclusive perch front row center, glamorous Vogue magazine editor in chief Anna Wintour is the most powerful and influential style-maker...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
February 1st 2005
by St. Martin's Press
(first published November 30th 2004)
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Meticulously researched, this unauthorized biography plods through Wintour's life in a repetitive and somewhat boring fashion. I lost count of the many times the author referenced "nuclear Wintour" and "the Wintour of our discontent." What I got out of it, is that I'm certain that Anna Wintour is someone who I would absolutely loathe. She's bitchy and rude to all females, but simpers helplessly for men, like a little lost puppy. Apparently she's quite the seductress, having had plenty of affairs...more
My own version of this book was picked up in New York and, whereas the cover shown here might lead you to believe it could pass for a sophisticated read, mine is something resembling a National Enquirer cover so I went into the whole shebang knowing it was going to be a trashy ride.
An 'unauthorised' biography, it's quite a salacious tale charting Anna's childhood and career and featuring interviews with embittered former friends and colleagues. Needless to say some of it is vague and wooly, wit...more
An 'unauthorised' biography, it's quite a salacious tale charting Anna's childhood and career and featuring interviews with embittered former friends and colleagues. Needless to say some of it is vague and wooly, wit...more
The author's goal for this book must have been: take a subject that seems very interesting, that people are fascinated with, that has inspired a famous chick lit novel and movie, that was the central subject of a famous documentary, and then make that subject as boring as possible. So much so that even I, as an insomniac, fell asleep while reading. I would give this book one star, but I generally try not to give one star to anyone. Also, it could be that Anna Wintour is simply boring herself...I...more
A-Dubs is fascinating even if the writing is meh.
Her majesty Anna Wintour truly deserves to be revered, respected and perhaps worshipped. As the current Editor in Chief of Vogue (the holy grail/bible of fashion world). Although I could never fit anything from its pages I appreciate fashion and the work that goes into bringing to the world. This book gives us insight into her world, her upbringing and how get got to where she is today.
That being said I did not really like how this was written the author wrote it from others point of view and d...more
That being said I did not really like how this was written the author wrote it from others point of view and d...more
While Anna Wintour is a very interesting subject (I first became fascinated with her after seeing the documentary "The September Issue"), I thought that this biography was deeply lacking Anna's own voice. The author explains in the introduction that Anna refused to let him interview her or to be part of the biography in any way, which left his "hundreds of hours of interviews" to be from those who did not get Anna's sanctioned approval, i.e., those who had limited interaction with Anna, or had a...more
Joyfully vicious biography of a New York fashion icon. Five decades of ruthlessness leading to huge professional success and crashing personal failures. Oppenheimer starts with Wintour's family. Wintour's adolescent rebellion, her parents' divorce, her many boyfriends, and her failure ever to graduate from college. At early jobs, she was miles ahead of the other girls in terms of ambition and style, as well as of cruelty; more than one coworker also recalls that she couldn't write copy for her f...more
Jun 24, 2008
Megan
added it
Front Row taught me several important things about life:
1. Biographers don't have to be skilled in the fine craft of prose whatsoever.
2. Likewise, obscure distant friends and relatives pay no mind to the poor grammar they use when describing someone they have harbored a grudge against for several years.
3. The nitty-gritty details of even the most fascinating person's life are rarely interesting enough even for bathroom reading.
4. I need to get famous enough to have a biography written about me.
5...more
1. Biographers don't have to be skilled in the fine craft of prose whatsoever.
2. Likewise, obscure distant friends and relatives pay no mind to the poor grammar they use when describing someone they have harbored a grudge against for several years.
3. The nitty-gritty details of even the most fascinating person's life are rarely interesting enough even for bathroom reading.
4. I need to get famous enough to have a biography written about me.
5...more
I have to say that this book is very inspiring for ppl who have a desire to accomplish something in life and ppl around them are telling them that it seems unlikely. Never giving up and working extremely hard pays off in the end. I'm sure certain things that were described in the book she probably wouldn't have wanted anyone to know but we all have flaws and will or may so things that others may deem unseemly. She's a great role model to me and I'd love to delve into her brain even more.
I tend to like to hear about the rich and horrible, most likely just to feel better about myself as a person. I think my interest in AW comes from Gawker's frequent mentions, and so I wanted to get some more background. This book is wonderfully trashy and tawdry and inspires me to both read his other book on Martha Stewart and to anxiously await the DVD release of the September Issue, a documentary about putting together Vogue's September issue.
Ugh. I was so excited to see a biography on Anna Wintour, I ordered it immediately. But I had no idea it was written by Jerry Oppenheimer, the king of unauthorized biographies like "Martha Stewart: Just Desserts" and "State of a Union: the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton". Double Ugh.
So it was with a huge grain of salt that I began reading this "bio". I had to start skimming it after all the ridiculous speculation and over-reaching presumptions. If this book was read in court, the "...more
So it was with a huge grain of salt that I began reading this "bio". I had to start skimming it after all the ridiculous speculation and over-reaching presumptions. If this book was read in court, the "...more
The only reason this got 1 stars was because of the pictures. I was incredibly curious about Anna Wintour's life (especially after seeing and reading The Devil Wears Prada), but the author, Jerry Oppenheimer, may have written the worst biography I have ever read. He attempted to use every single quote he ever heard about Anna Wintour and you can tell. The entire book is interspersed with quotes and information about her that are either completely out of place or completely irrelevant. It's reall...more
A little slow at times, but overall fascinating. Even if you aren't interested in the world of fashion, it's interesting to learn how a woman without even a high school degree is one of the most influential women in fashion and the magazine industry.
such an interesting book about such a powerful woman that we really dont know a lot about.
i would recommend this to anyone who loves fashion and/or magazines. or even people who just want to know a bit more about the most powerful woman in the fashion world.
i would recommend this to anyone who loves fashion and/or magazines. or even people who just want to know a bit more about the most powerful woman in the fashion world.
So much better than "The Devil Wears Prada!" You get a small glimpse to how Anna Wintour is. "The September Issue" is a great documentary about her and how Vogue puts together its biggest issue of the year.
I'd been wanting to read this for ages because I've been a fan of Vogue magazine for ages. This was a fun read even though the writing at times was very "o vag". Would suggest it for only die hard fashionistas.
A lot of this book is gossip and speculation rather than straight facts but it's oh so juicy. Sort of like watching Jersey Shore, shallow yet engaging. Lovely and trashy plus this woman just plain fascinates me.
This book was very well written....I just can't stand Anna Wintour!!!!
Good fast read, an interesting view on Anna.
Dec 07, 2007
Thirstyicon
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone with an interest in fashion.
Well, What I've learned is that bumper sticker is still true: Well behaved women rarely make history. This book will not surprise anyone. Anna is both and icy bitch, but also has been in love and shown kindness (to a select few). Basically, it gives examples of how she earned her reputation, of course many of the sources did not want to be named; so I take it with a grain of salt.
Of course, having read The Devil Wears Prada (which was more entertaining), and having seen Kathy Griffin's Allegedly...more
Of course, having read The Devil Wears Prada (which was more entertaining), and having seen Kathy Griffin's Allegedly...more
Very well-written and entertaining.
Gossipy, bitchy, dishy and delightful. Wonderful, fun, light read. Man, does this woman have issues.
It's an eye closer, for sure.
Very entertaining!
Anna Wintour Front Row by Jerry Oppenheimer was so interesting. Just like Martha Stweart: Just Desserts. Such research! Such an interesting person! Such an interesting life....
Excellent book about uberbitch Anna Wintour. She had an icy cold childhood and not enough attention from daddy, thus attached herself to numerous daddy figures who opened many doors for her in the fashion biz. She seems to have had almost an obsessive compulsion for fashion and little/no regard for people's feelings. Still, a fascinating psychological profile.
Anna Wintour is one of the most fascinating people ever. However, this book was not well-written. The author really should have made more effort to make his collection of anecdotes more lively and engaging. I appreciated the linear structure, and I did learn a lot about this ice queen, but this book was pretty dry stylistically.
I'm always interested in the biographies of "powerful" women, and I wasn't disappointed with this book. However, I admit that I am somewhat of a skeptic. I find myself thinking..."How credible is the author?", and "Does she/he have an axe to grind?"...I guess it's the journalist in me who feels compelled to trust but verify!
As an Anna fan, it was fun to get the dirt on my favorite editrix in this (unofficial?) biography. I loved reading about Anna's younger, party girl days and get a better idea of her roots (fabulous) and where her perceived cold demeanor stems from in life. Recommended read for all publishing and New York media fanatics!
God. I love this woman. She's AH-MAZING! I knew the story was familar when he started talking about the book that she took hoome every night. I knew it was linked to Devil Wears Prada! Anna was confident and I respect that sooo much. I want to be as sucessful as her someday except a little les bitchy involed.
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Jerry Oppenheimer is an author who has written several unauthorized biographies of public figures including Hillary and Bill Clinton, Anna Wintour, Rock Hudson, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters, Ethel Kennedy, Jerry Seinfeld and the Hilton family.
Toy Monster: The Big Bad World of Mattel was published on Feb 3 2009 and his latest book (as of Aug 2, 2009), will be about Bernie Madoff, titled Madoff w...more
More about Jerry Oppenheimer...
Toy Monster: The Big Bad World of Mattel was published on Feb 3 2009 and his latest book (as of Aug 2, 2009), will be about Bernie Madoff, titled Madoff w...more
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