Customer Reviews

Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

Blonde Ambition is television journalist Rita Cosby's contribution to what is sure to be a genre of non-fiction about Anna Nicole Smith. Cosby was close to the Anna Nicole story, as a personal friend and confidante of Anna's mother Virgie Arthur, who invited the journalist to the funeral. Just eight months after Anna Nicole Smith's death, Blond Ambition was published (with 10% of the advances and royalties donated to the D.A.R.E. program).

Cosby pulls no punches in this slim volume, which is quick to point out inconsistencies and mysteries in the accounts of Anna Nicole's life and death. Her most shocking allegation is that lawyer/faux husband Howard K. Stern had a gay love affair with Larry Birkhead, the paparazzi ex0boyfriend who fathered baby Danniellyn, More immediately believable assertions are that Anna Nicole's doctors were irresponsible in the management of her prescriptions and that individuals in the Anna Nicole inner circle are money-obsessed. Everyone has lawyers/agents/handlers striking deals with the news outlets and the legal system, the majority of which are kept under wraps.

Rita Cosby concludes her exposé with a carefully researched timeline of the verifiable events in the 24-hour period preceding Anna Nicole's death. Ana Nicole was clearly manipulated by a sea of sharks in life, and the feeding frenzy continues after her death--for which one or more people in her inner circle may be responsible.

This book was good. It was insightful, it clarified why Birkhead and Stern ended up resolving their differences. They were more than just "friends" I always wondered about Birkhead, now according to the author the suspicion is confirmed. The author also tells the story of all the people she talked with, including her own clarification of the events. Its a good book, no one can take that away from her. The story is sensational, because Anna Nicole was sensational. If you want a good story, that reads fast and will give you some new "facts" then buy this book. You wont regret it.

If you usually read the newspapers; magazine articles; watch TV; this book is a total waste of time.
There is absolutely nothing in it that has not been written, hashed over, beaten to a pulp, that is in there.
I was sorry I bought it as there are so many good books on Amazon to read, and this is not one of them. Do not waste your time.

I was VERY disappointed with this book. If you have followed anna nicole since daniel died or when she died then this book is a waste of $$. All the information you read and heard on tv is basically wriiten in a book form. Somethings were interesting about howard stern but, i think we all know he contributed to Anna's death in some way not purposely ( i don't think ).

Wow howard and larry might be bi or gay who cares! Howard is like teflon don. He gets charged with nothing and to me, that still blows my mind!

There is nothing new in the book that's worth buying. Save your money. I read it and took it back to the store today. It wasn't worth keeping!

Even though many of the details in the book were already know to the public, some of the details were never revealed to the public and that is what made this book so good. I could not put the book down until I had read it all. I recommend this book to anyone who is captivated by Anna Nicole.

The other day there were 46 reviews here. Now there's 4. Amazon, why have a review section at all if you're going to manipulate them like this. It's unfair to your customers to give a false positive impression of a very bad book. Shame on you. I guess you don't want to be stuck with boxes of the book.

My original review was deleted, so I will again offer my review for the third time. Overall, I think that Ms. Cosby failed to apply even the basic standards of investigative journalistic ethics.
-- Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
-- Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
-- Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
-- Always question sources' motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
-- Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
-- Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.
-- Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.


Instead she relied on second and third hand information, transcripts from others' interviews, message board gossip, and information from disaffected former friends of Anna, fired employees, astranged family members, employees of Ms. Opri and Mr. O'Quinn, Ms. Opri and Anna's mother, Virgie.

The result is a concoction of unfounded, salacious accusations based on speculation and heresay.

I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

I just finished reading Blonde Ambition and a phrase my Grandma used instantly came to mind...what a nest of vipers! It seems to me that everyone in Anna Nicoles life but her son Daniel used her, abused her, or was out to get something from her. Less than a month before his death Daniel contacted a private investigator because he greatly feared Howard K Stern would end up killing Anna with drugs, he also asked more than one person to go with him to meet Dannielyn because he was afraid for his own life as well. No one he asked agreed to accompany him (yet these same people were suddenly able to rush to the Bahamas after his death to join the publicity circus)Daniel took his last breath with the P.I.'s card in his pocket. Sadly, his fears for himself and his Mother were justified.
Rita Cosby's reporting skills are questionable in my opinion. So many things in this book were attributed to annonymous sources that I was left with doubts about the veracity of the information I was reading. I can't say that I enjoyed this book as it was a sad commentary on a sad life. However it was interesting to read about what went on behind the scenes. Had more of the anecdotes and accusations been credited or had a way to be verified I would have added another star. All in all an interesting read but one that left me feeling sort of sickened at the things we humans are capable of doing to each other.

Blonde Ambition gives the gist of what really happened to cause the death of Anna Nicole Smith. It's a shame that no one could get to her to help her in her worst days. I do believe that she could have been saved if only she had seen a reliable doctor! This is one of those books that once you start reading it, you don't want to put it down. I recommend this book highly if you want to get to the bare bones of the matter.

Do not read this book if you're experiencing any depression in your own life! It's painful to read, a real downer, but gripping nonetheless. After a while, I began to imagine I was reading the same page over and over but that's only because Anna's life was a cruel redundancy of drug abuse and exploitation. I got an entirely new impression of both Anna Nicole and Howard Stern--she was a lonely soul who humiliated herself for love and he's a greedy monster.

The book thoroughly proves itself, for the most part, and I believe every word of it *except* maybe for the sexual interaction between Howard and Larry Birkhead. But who knows? Everything about the story of Anna's life is utterly unbelievable yet true!!

I'm not a tabloid reader, but I picked up this book at a friend's house and couldn't put it down till I finished. It's really a horror story about a beautiful but vulnerable woman who let others take control of her life. Cosby makes a convincing case that Howard K. Stern poisoned BOTH Anna and her son in order to get control of her finances. I am amazed that the law is not after him much more tenaciously.

If I'd been an insider, I personally would have wanted Anna's beautiful body. But Howard didn't want her body -- he's gay. He's a master manipulator who wanted her money, simple as that. Even Daniellynn's father is gay. Anna got him to get her pregnant because she wanted a child, not because she had a relationship with Birkhead.

Some readers complain the book is poorly written. I think the readability problem is actually that Cosby presents a lot of data that is not easy to absorb. It's criminal-background information that bogs down a novel but is absolutely necessary to prove a criminal case. And Cosby is in essence a detective on this case, fingering and making a case against Stern as a cold-blooded murderer.

Some other "reader-reviewers" are probably Stern's friends or paid flunkies trying to make the book sound like lies and tabloid trash. But look at Cosby's credentials -- she's a major investigative journalist working for major media. She had to prove her case before publication to a lot of editors who had their reputations and their company at stake. I think her case is strong enough to warrant a lot more close scrutiny of the story by law enforcement.

Cosby reveals surprisingly sordid details of the sex lives of several players in the story, including Anna herself. Even if you're not an Anna fan, this is a gripping mystery tale.