Customer Reviews

Great Big Beautiful Doll: The Anna Nicole Smith Story

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

... Eric and D'Eva Redding's Great Big Beautiful Doll exposes the dark side of the playmate, from her humble beginnings as Vickie Lynn Hogan of Mexia, Texas to Vickie Lynn Smith, to Anna Nicole Smith, the latter name she got from Guess? Jeans president Paul Marciano. From there, Redding details someone who vulgarly flaunted sex, who was under a cloud of booze and drugs, and who wasn't above having sex with other women in front of the authors and even her own son.

Yet there is an incident in which both sides of the story are told. It involves Maria Ceratto, a former Honduran housekeeper who claims Anna Nicole forced her to have sex with her and basically held her captive by changing the phone number and not telling her. Anna Nicole on the other hand claims it was Maria who was doing the harassing.

There's even an entire chapter dedicated to Jay Leno's punches on her in his monologue, mainly concerning her marriage to Marshall. Two of the funniest: "I don't want to say he's old, but yesterday she told him to act his age--and he died." "She said they're two peas in a pod. ... It's more like two cantaloupes and a prune." Ouch and double ouch!

There are photos in the book, pictures as a child, nude ones, and a not-so-flattering police mug shot for a DWI.

So is this book credible? Well, let's see, Redding took the Polaroids that led to Anna Nicole's jump to fame. Both he and his wife were around her during that time, plus Anna-Nicole hasn't sued the Reddings. And Reddings portray themselves as being simultaneously disillusioned and feeling sorry at what she's become. To quote from the intro: "It would be easy to make fun of Anna, but we can't. Maybe it's a case of 'we knew her when,' but we did--and we liked her then." Yet at the same time, the bio comes off as being sensationalistic and somewhat exploitative.

For Anna-Nicole Smith sycophants, this book truly trashes their idol, so don't bother. If you totally loathe Anna Nicole, this book is ammunition for you. If you're ambivalent about her, well, maybe it's worth a read.

I was a big Anna Nicole fan before reading this book. I had heard a few stories about her darker side and bad judgment before reading this book, but I was shocked by how she was described by the author Eric Redding. Redding describes her life and personality in a very unflattering way. (...)I felt very bad for Anna Nicole from the moment I started reading to the end.
The book was written by the playboy scout Eric Redding, who discovered and represented her for a year. I think there are some bad feelings on behalf of the author. None the less, Anna has lead quite a life. The writing was OK. The imformation was interesting and some of it down right amazing. Just a little gritty for me. My impression of the sweet small town Texas girl was smashed in the first few pages. I read the whole book in 2 days. I would recomend it. Just be warned it is a sad story of a girl who has lead a hard life.

I thought this book was well written but thought there were parts that didn't need to be in the book. I didn't think the nude pictures needed to be in the book to sell it.
The book gave a good sense of how Anna Nicole lived and what a weak person she was. She let herself be lead around by people just because she wasn't educated and she loved money and fame. It is worth reading if you were a Anna Nicole fan.

I liked this book. It was a simple read for a Small Town Girl(who was actually pretty complicated). I new alot of the info, but it put it together nicely and respectfully. I had read part of this book before and lent it out. Admittedly, I bought a second copy after the tragic passing of Anna Nicloe. I am glad I did. It is a Good read, if you want to know how her life unfolded. The pictures featured are a great choice and worth getting the book just for that! If your a fan it's a must.

I feel this book was very imformative and interesting, I couldn't put it down. I finished this book in two sittings. I didn't know about Anna Nicole's life, and now I know just how sad it was. I could of done without the nude pictures but over all it was a very good book.

The book was rather disjointed. I bought it just to get another's perspective on her tragic life. Seems like the authors had some issues with her, so I don't know how objective their views are. However, it was entertaining. I'm now reading "Train Wreck" which is even more disjointed than Doll, but I just started it. I'll report back after I've finished it.

If you're an Anna Nicole Smith fan this books for you. This book tells you all about her from beginning to end. There was alot of stuff about her I never knew.

I made the mistake of reading Train Wreck by Donna Hogan before I read Great Big Beautiful Doll. This book is credible and you can sense the passion and sincerity from the authors. This book ends right before Anna Nicole's death so I really do not consider it "cashing in" on her name. This story starts from the very beginning of Vickie Lynn Smith's quest for fortune and fame and ends with the tragic death of her son, Daniel and birth of daughter, Daniellynn. I applaud Eric and D'Eva Redding for keeping it real and not hamming it up. This book is by far the best if you want to know all about Anna Nicole Smith.

GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL DOLL: THE ANNA NICOLE SMITH STORY couldn't be more timely: it's released in a newly updated edition to provide a biography of Smith's rise to fame and her glitzy, bright life. The authors aren't outsiders to her life, either: Redding is the photographer who helped launch her career with his Polaroid's; his life was Smith's hairstylist. Their personal relationship with Smith spices her biography and the inclusion of many rare photos makes for a 'must' acquisition for any general lending library; especially those where biographies of celebrities are in demand.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I really enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down. What a tragic ending. I find it so very sad what has happened to ANNA NICOLE and her son DANIEL. A great tragedy. A great read.