Customer Reviews

Heidi Klum's Body of Knowledge: 8 Rules of Model Behavior (to Help You Take Off on the Runway of Life)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I found the reviews below a bit confusing, and when I'd finished reading them I was not at all sure I wanted this book. But I bought it in spite of reservations and I'm glad I did. The book is 200 pages long. About 50-60 pages are text. Of that text fewer than ten pages are by other people. So figure you get 50 pages of writing by HEIDI with her assistant Alexandra Postman. I don't mind the use of a writer. All writers need editors, and non-writers need a writer to help them get the point across - particularly in a second language. There are places in the writing where it is very clear that Heidi was writing, and others where it is clear that Alexandra was. Heidi has a distinct writing style - most people do - and I wish that had been preserved a bit more. That's why the one star off.

Now to the content. First let me say that I am a photographer, and have used models in my work for about as long as Heidi has been modeling. There is a lot of good advice on modeling in here. And plenty that an aspiring model should be aware of. Some is practicle "Be on time", "Watch your mood". This is stuff people can actually do, that helps a lot. Some of it is not advice but stuff want to be models really need to know: casting calls with 200 girls (sometimes many more), *thousands* of calls before you get a paying job - even if you look like HEIDI, in the first two years you pay to get tested, the price was $200 for her ten years ago, but the better photographers are charging $400+ these days. And you need to do this at least once a week, both to build your book, and most importantly to get experience in front of the camera. Finally there is the advice the book intends to give you, it's motivational and inspirational and involves deep aspects of a persons personality. This is the problem. Heidi is describing her own natural traits which make her the person and celebrity she is. Few people have her drive, ambition, and endless optimism. You can try and develop these traits to the extent you have them. But most people (especially 19 year old models struggling to make it in hyper-competitive New York) will be asking themselves "How do I make myself more optimistic?" Much of HEIDI's advice is like Kurt Vonnegut's "We are what we pretend to be, so we might as well get good at it". Which is good advice for a shoot. But for a young woman in the dark of night who's been shot down eight times that day with comments like "Hips to big", "Uuuhhh, look at that nose", "She'll never do", "No breasts!" pretending to be optimistic is not a realistic choice. I wonder if Heidi's been pretending for so long she no longer remembers what it's like not to be HEIDI, or not to pretend.

I still like her, she is still smart, funny, and likeable - even if that is a bit of a put on at times. There is plenty of material worth reading here. But you have to read closely. Because the value is not in the "8 rules of model behavior", it's in the real Heidi who squeaks out between the lines.

(...)

Heidi Klum has so much personality and spunk and none of it found its way to the pages of this book. I was mildly disappointed, I was hoping for the best. Her current job - as host and executive producer of Project Runway on Bravo networks is brilliant, where is any of that in this book?

I was so bored I ended up reading her book in less than thirty minutes. The pictures are fun to see and her lists of what to do in order to be a model may be helpful to those looking for that type of insight. I was looking for a refreshed interpretation of a model's life. On the bright side, it is better than Paris Hilton's book!

Yes, the book is light on words and heavy on pictures, but the few words go right to the core of the topic: how to succeed in life and be happy.

Heidi give you her advice, and the advice of many others, on the art of enjoying life and helping others enjoy their own lives. If more people applied her simple, yet profound, rules, the world would be a much better place.

Overall, it's an enjoyable, quick read which, if taken to heart, will help anyone be what they want to be and be a better person.

For anyone who rates this book low because the book in your opinion focuses on superficiality and lack of substance... in a way you're right. But what exactly were you expecting from a book written by a supermodel? Modeling is a field based on physical attractiveness, presence, performance, and personality in front of a camera and only a few do it very well. But, it is not brain surgery nor is it biochemical engineering. Of course the book is going to have pictures of Heidi and friends scantily clad posing in impossible positions in heavenly environments. That's what models do. It's their job to look incredibly sexy wearing little or no clothing on a perfect beach that only a few ever visit.

Could Heidi have written more about how she became a model, her struggles, her sacrifices? Sure, but quite frankly that's boring. Go to modeling school if you want that info. The whole idea of the book is to share with the reader how to be successful and happy in all areas of life. Happiness to Heidi is a choice that we can all make. Her theme seems to be to keep it simple and to enjoy the little things. Good. In my opinion, this book deserves four-and-a-half stars. The language flows in a simple, easy-to-read pattern and it clearly states her eight rules. Oh, and by the way, the pictures are flat out fantastic! She jumps off the page at you, inviting you into her world. She has a body that maybe 0.05% of the population has, so why not show it off? Michaelangelo could hardly have sculpted a more gorgeous body. If I had to look at her every day, I would succeed in life too. Check out this book!

I don't understand the one star reviews. This a beautiful photo book of a beautiful woman. Honestly how many of us will be models anyway? Great pics of Heidi and cute stories - what else do you want?

This book is easy to read and is very visual much like a magazine, hence the cover art. It is packed with photographs from Heidi's long career. The layout is done in short segments so that it seems like a magazine filled with stories. There are several how-to lists like one that records what members of the opposite sex should know about each other.

This book is a fun, female oriented account from a popular super model. Men will like the book for the many photographs, many of them semi-nude. It includes a bit of a biography telling how Klum got into modeling and information about her family. However, like a magazine, this book is nothing outstanding. The information is grazed over and the many how-to articles do not really add much. The opinions held are often those that can be found in the latest issue of Cosmopolitan.

Very enjoyable book containing excellent photographs of Heidi and many cute stories. It is so refreshing to get a close look at a woman involved in the fashion world/Hollywood who knows who she is, is fun, and knows how to not take life too seriously. The book is extremely pleasant to read/peruse.

I am an aspiring model & I attend Barbizon Modeling School and i noticed a lot of the advice Heidi gives to young models is the same advice my teachers at the school tell the students. I would reccomend this book for any girl (or boy!) who wants a career in modeling, or just wants tips on how to succeed in life. It also had wonderful pictures from Heidi's portfolio, old modeling jobs & personal albums :-)

I was expecting a book from Heidi Klum to give alot of advice on how she became a model, but i was let down. This book contains alot of advice from people like Donald Trump, and other business people. Which is OK i guess, but i wanted to hear her "behind the scenes" look at modeling and this book does NOT have that. This book is "inspirational" about life in general, but it is NOT a book on modeling. It definatly reads like someone else wrote this book, and she just put her name on it. I was very disappointed.

I bought this book as a vacation read and placed the order 1 month in advance...It took a month to get the book delivered to my door (which I didn't expect would be so loong) and luckily I got it a day before my departure for vacation. I'm happy my original plan wasn't ruined but it came close. I wish I was notified of the delivery time when I was placing the order. Otherwise the book is great and in excellent condition.