Customer Reviews

Fame: Ain't it a Bitch: Confessions of a Reformed Gossip Columnist

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I bought this book because I thought AJ was interesting the first time I saw him on Howard Sterns E show. Since then AJ has been on Howard a lot and is really repetitive. He's gotten laid a little bit, he has hung around celebritys here and there. Who cares. The book is just AJ feeding his ego. AJ is a sick guy. He is going through his mid life crisis and really wants desperetely to be famous. He tells boring stories about how great he is "Look at me, look who I'm friends with" "Look who I slept with", ect. ect. I expected a lot more outta this book. I did however read it from cover to cover but then I threw it in the trash which I rarely do with a book. I had a couple of friends who were mildly interested in it but I told them I would be wasting there time by giving it to them. Don't buy this book, it is horriable. AJ is a nerd with an inferiority complex who has built up a self worth larger then New York City. Don't buy this book and hopefully he will go away and be by himself.

This book was terrible. Before reading this book, I actually enjoyed A.J. on the Howard Stern Show and his show on E. What a disappointment. One thing for sure, A.J. sure does love himself and hasn't grown up. I can understand men enjoying this book because of A.J.'s female accomplishments - most men would get a kick out of this book. For women to enjoy this book - I just don't understand.

The book bascially is A.J.'s personal diary from when he began his career. Unfortunately, the diary consists of personal accomplishments that have nothing to do with his career. For example, how many women he has gone to bed with, how many hearts he has broken, all the clubs he had gone to nightly and the red carpet treatment he received.

The book was boring and though it should have been a quick read - it wasn't - I forced myself to finish it and then I sold it on-line to some poor soul.

Don't waste your money unless your a guy who loves to hear stories about a male's female accomplishments.

I bought this book on a reduced for quick sale table for 99 cents. Hard to believe, but I think I overpaid. AJ Benza is a good example of the modern celebrity who is famous without having a talent. For awhile, he filled a niche in the gossip world as the macho gossip columnist. But he had bigger aspirations and left gossip behind and apparently the Peter Principle caught up with him (see my last paragraph).

In AJ's world, image is everything. He acts like a gangster cause he thinks it makes him look cool. He dates super models cause he thinks it makes him look cool. He hangs out at hasbeen producer Robert Evans' house because he thinks it makes him look cool. He even sees being punched out by Chuck Zito as some kind of honor. In the book, AJ also recalls an incident in Paris where he found someone else's credit card and tried to use it in a restaurant after running up a bill of several hundred dollars. That he sees nothing wrong with this says a lot about his complete lack of morality.

Since the book's publishing, AJ had his ultra-boring talk show AJ After Dark on the E! Network canceled after just a couple of episodes. He was also kicked off the Howard Stern radio show for suckerpunching Stuttering John. Not sure what AJ is doing now, but it probably involves receiving food stamps (and from the enclosed photos I would gather that it doesn't involve washing his hair).

The most boring book I have ever tried to read. A. J. fills you in on all the women in his life and who cares. The fact that he thinks he was a big time gossip columnist comes from his high opinion of himself not from knowing or meeting any stars. My copy is in the Dallas airport trash. I opted for the airplane magazine.

I read this book because I liked his show on E!Mysteries
& Scandals. I have never a read a book with so much
ego in it. I really did not care how many women he slept
with or the stars he hung out with. Please, his little
story about John Kennedy Jr. was such a joke. John has
more class than to hang with Benza. I got tired of his
"more on this later" you would forget what later was.
And every other word was f***ing this or that. He is a
wanna be mafia guy, only problem is he would be not make
it in that world. His 15 min. of fame are over. No wonder
he got kicked off Howard Stern, he is a jerk. All the pics
in the book are of him looking "tough". Sorry, AJ but you
are all talk. Get a real job. I read the book to the end
only because I was laughing so hard. Now the pages line
my cats litter box. Lets hope for our sake he never writes
a book again. Hey, AJ, can I can get my money back!

... I was hoping for some good reading from this fairly personable, talkative guy.

After reading his book I must say my impression of him has changed completely. He spends every chapter talking about himself and not really contributing any gossip at all. I mean, who doesn't know Mickey Rourke is a mess?

AJ is merely massaging his own ego, endlessly bragging about his sexual conquests, and his limited friendships with has-been stars. To add insult to injury, he's trying hard to come across as a macho man. Well, he fails miserably. Real men don't kiss and tell. I was hoping this book would be a lot more entertaining, but it's merely a vehicle for the author to brag, brag brag about himself the silly way teenage boys do. What a disappointment.

It seems everyone here all agrees that this is a lousy book and that A.J. Benza's life is rather disgusting or at least unimpressive. "Z" in the review 'Tedious Reading' says it all best. I had all I could do to finish it and did so quickly. He sure likes to talk about drinking and popping pills. The one real reason I spent the one penny it cost me for the book was in the hopes that there would be some photos of him which there were. I will give him this much credit. He is a handsome man.

... Thank you Amazon customers for reviewing this piece of trash. You saved me from buying it for a penny. I've been eyeing this book since it came out... I remember AJ's spot on E and thought it would be a fun read... I was obviously very wrong. Now that I think about it... I have'nt seen AJ in YEARS!!!

The life and times of gossip reporter is not something I would ordinarily read, but it sucked me in. What it comes down to is AJ is just an interesting guy. Any man who is an associate of both John Gotti and JFK Jr. is alright in my book. If you are looking for the all the hot celebrity stories that did not get published in the newspaper, you will have to look elsewhere. Instead AJ gives and honest and insightful look into the world of gossip, but mainly delves into his personal experiences. What we see is a man who crosses over the line from reporter to insider. He sits on stories to protect his 'friends'. His column becomes a forum for his own personal agenda. He looks at himself for what he is, and we also get a look into the world that we all want to live. Or on second thought maybe we don't.

This book proves that if a person is at the right place at the right time and kisses the right rear-end, you can become famous. I don't think that A. J. is anymore talented than the next wannabe gossip columnist. He just has the street smarts and where-with-all to accomplish the feat. The book was fairly enjoyable, but not near gossipy enough. He knows some juicy stuff, but is not telling. He is indeed in awe of Bob Evans, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Mickey Rourke. Why they want to be friends with him is the question. He has dated some beautiful women but none of the relationships stuck. There were many hot nights out on the town in New York with his buddy Chico, but not enough description of the places or of the people who were actually there. This book was written too fast and skipped over instances that he kept referring to as "more about that later." And then there was never more about that later! I am feeling sorry for A. J. because what he thinks was a good life in New York was really a very shallow life. I hope he gets a grip on it and does better in L.A. although that's a pretty shallow town as well.