Madonna: Unauthorized

by Christopher Andersen

An unauthorized biography of the controversial pop star includes the comments of Madonna's family, friends, former lovers, and associates and describes her strict Catholic upbringing, her rise to stardom, her celebrity romances, and more. Reprint.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Music, Biography Memoir

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christopher Peter Andersen is an American journalist and the author of 32 books, including many bestsellers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. From 1974 to 1986 Andersen was senior editor of Time Incorporated's People Magazine. He has also written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.

While his early nonfiction books veered from psychology (The Name Game) to true crime (The Serpent's Tooth) to art collecting ('The Best of Everything', with former Sotheby's chairman John Marion), he is best known for his controversial biographies. Between 1991 and 2011, he published 14 New York Times bestselling biographies. Andersen wrote Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones in July 2012. The book quickly became Andersen's 15th New York Times bestseller.

Reviews

[David Veith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a very fun read. Fun to see where big stars actual come from vs what they claim ha. Weird that she wasn't even into singing at 1st!

[Sarah Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have gave it 4 stars however as I got to the end of the book something pissed me off.

"Time may be running out for Madonna, too, unless she can admit to herself that what she does on stage in her thirties might seem grotesquely inappropriate for a woman in her fifties."

How ageist! I am glad she continues to push boundaries and open doors for other women in the future who normally wouldn't be accepted. The book also painted her mostly in a negative light but I think after the birth of Lola she became more kind. Throughout the book it kept mentioning how she snubbed fans. I was lucky to meet her once and she was kind to every single person. I was happy I got to see this side of her because she is normally portrayed as a b*tch like in this book.

[Tommy Harmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Mainly seems like gossip.

[Pachyderm Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the biographies in concern with the antics of "Madonna" Ciccone, this may have originally been the first, or at least the first which I purchased and read.

[Nday Nday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jika Lucy O'Brien bicara mengenai aspek musikalitasnya, maka Christopher Andersen dengan tanpa ragu menceritakan kehidupan Madonna dari aspek kehidupan pribadinya. Buku ini membuka banyak skandal, cenderung menghakimi tapi juga jeli dalam menjadikan Madonna sebagai suatu tokoh sentral yang membuat kita berfikir bahwa dengan segala hal luar biasa yang telah Madonna capai, ia hanyalah seorang piatu yang membutuhkan banyak cinta. Bagian masa kecil Madonna dalam buku ini adalah bagian yang mengharukan, Chris punya kemampuan merangkai kata dengan baik sehingga membuat aku terkadang tergetar saat membaca beberapa bagian dari buku ini. Ini salah satu buku tentang Madonna yang di ceritakan dengan berani tapi ditulis dengan baik dengan integritas seorang penulis biografi yang handal.

[Бранимир Събев · Rating 3 out of 5]

Нелоша книга, но няма да пропуснете кой знае какво ако не я прочетете. Това е от онези биографии, които са неканонични - сиреч, звездата не е одобрила излизането й. Всякакви разюзданости относно Мадона и обкръжението й, приятелите й гейове, лесбийски работи, забърсването на случайни пичове (разбирай тя и приятелките й се возят с колата, виждат някакъв на улицата, спират, натоварват го вътре и се сещате), разни проблеми, емоционални шитни и прочее от сорта. Сякаш най-много ми хареса отначало описанието на сватбата й с Шон Пен и въпреки суровите мерки папараците успяват да се появят с хеликоптер, след което Шон се заканва, че освен бруталната ограда около имението ще издигне и стражеви кули с картечници срещу подобни наглеци.

[Thordur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Þessi bók fjallar um tímann frá því Madonna kemur í heiminn 1958 og nær ekki lengra en útgáfuár bókarinnar sem er 1992. Það er alls konar í þessu. Madonna segir ekki frá sjálf en ýmsir vinir og samstarfsmenn gera það.

Það sem þú færð hér er: Bernsku og skólaár Madonnu. Að vita um stormasamt hjónaband hennar og Sean Penn. Um það hversu mikinn áhuga Madonna hefur haft á kynlífi (sem er talsvert). Um Bíómyndirnar hennar sem hún lék í og hvernig gekk að taka þær upp með Madonnu. Og svo öll tónleikaferðalögin. Þú færð heilmikla vitneskju um líf poppstjörnu með því að lesa þessa bók.

Vissir þú að Madonna hefur aldrei verið fyrir fíkniefni? Að hún hefur verið mjög atorkusöm og og með lítinn áhuga fyrir því að fara í frí?

[Aline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was offered to me by a friend who knew I quite like some of Madonna's songs. What my friend didn't know is that I don't really like Madonna herself. So, although this biography was interesting to read, I don't think I will read it more than once.
I have to say that Madonna has quite a strange temper. Her willfulness and her ability to adapt herself to every change are quite fascinating but I don't like her selfishness.

[Sini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Now planning to read 2 more Madonna-autobiografies, I think this was the worst! The book included lots of hear-say, and the reader is left wondering what really happened, etc...Interesting to compare with the new autobiografies! This one gives quite a bad picture of her.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Madonna.

[Phoenix (Edward) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most accurate Madonna book out there. It reads more like a gossip blog a-la Perez Hilton but MUCH less clever and funny. The only great thing about this book are the candid picutres.

[Cheryl Schibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read - she's all business and obsession.

[OxoNewbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager and really enjoyed it. It is trashy though.

4 stars.

[Stacy Croushorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Madonna is an international superstar that can be bitchy but who cares, it's Madonna.