Customer Reviews

No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Janice Dickinson was one of the first models who not only broke the mold of the blonde, pale and WASP-y supermodel but turned it on upside down, in the tradition of Gia Carangi, Cindy Crawford and Beverly Johnson. Born with looks that turned heads and drove men to their knees, Dickinson was not as blessed when it came to her personal life and self-image. She seemed destined to self-destruct but somehow managed to recreate herself until time, drugs and her past caught up with her.
Does this sound like just another dreary tale of a beautiful woman who let fame go to her head. drugs muddle her brain and life pass her by? Think again. Pick this one up and I doubt you'll put it down again till you've read every sentence. FOr one thing, Dickinson has the courage to spill almost all about the ups and downs of her life (although I'd LOVE to read what she doesn't reveal) and that, in itself, is compelling. She's honest about many of her flaws and revealing about the lives of celebrities who cross her path, including Sylvester Stallone, Christie Brinkley, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and others. This makes for a juicy read. I'll leave it to you to decide what is true and what isn't. What I CAN say is that this book definitely isn't boring or dry. CAUTION: There are some nude photos in the photo spread so, depending on your values, you may not want to leave this one lying around the house.

My only knowledge of Janice Dickinson was that she supposedly had Sly Stallone's child and there was some type scandal. I bought this book because I love beautiful women and biographies about the fast life in the 70s. This book satisfies on both counts. Not only is Janice beautiful but also virtually every other supermodel till the 90s is mentioned or pictured in the book.

Janice describes her destructive family life and through the typical desire and luck worms her way into the modeling business. Still only on the fringes of the business, she describes her European trips and how she is finally able to generate the heat necessary to grow into a supermodel. Of course, this leads to the failed marriages, self-destructive life style including sex and drugs, and an attitude to eventually hurt her career.

But this wild life makes an interesting read even though it is lightly written.

A second part of the book deals with life after modeling, her final two marriages, birth of her kids, her Stallone affair and the death of her father. It's almost sad at this point to see a person who had it all and how she had so many problems living happily. But that's the interesting part of the book seeing how she copes.

Some of us are built to go to work every day. And some, like Janice are built to live on the edge and reach for the stars. She may not be perfect but it was an interesting lifestyle although I suspect the Christian Coalition wouldn't agree. Read the book for fun.

I really enjoyed this book. Books that talk crap are my favorite guilty pleasure. Dickinson is brave for being able to tell her story of abuse and neglect. She is candid and honest about her mistakes. In the end, she comes to realize that she can choose her own destiny. I believe people who think Janice blames everything on her sexually,physically, and emotionally abusive father are being apathetic. You don't grow up in a home where Daddy beats you up if you don't blow him and come out a sane person. She didn't have the same support system that abuse-survivor Oprah had. Survivors react differently depending on there circumstances.(supportive parent or adult, higher economic status)She goes through the book relating her behavior to her past for the first time in her life, and its the only way one can heal. You have to learn where behavior patterns come from in order to change them. She wrote this book to help people so they can learn from her mistakes. You have to remember, for most of her life she didn't have therapy and child abuse was not talked about in her day. This is a pre Oprah,pre Lifetime Channel, pre war on drugs, beginning-of the feminist movement world we are talking about. O.k now for the critique... Her psychological review of herself is overly simplistic and obvious,and the first supermodel thing is annoying. Also annoying, her admitted lying to the producers of HBO's GIA, her suggestion that she inspired CK underwear, and her obvious self-acknowledge self importance. I v'e read the Gia bio, so I was also annoyed when Janice said she believed, she had made it too easy on Gia, who never cared much about modeling. Was Gia suppose to be grateful that Janice made it possible for her to be a model? Is Janice really responsible for Gia's success? She rambles and is repetitive.
But janice as the first Asian/Polish/Celtic supermodel. Oh yeah and get over her language use.

Janice Dickinson surprised me greatly by this well written book in the tradition of the lights of Marquise de Sade. Few books I have read breathe of such honesty. You can feel the knives going into her as she was writing this, the cruel treatment of her own self and the lust for life that has driven Ms Dickinson to be such a beautiful woman. Of course, this kind of determination only works with a delectable bone structure and an exotic personality, and as previous reviewers have mentioned, there is plenty of evidence Janice is bootylicious.

Frankly having seen Janice lying through her teeth (or amusing herself) on a talk show with Gia Carangi as the subject, where she proclaimed that on the topic of playing the field and taking drugs she felt like she was "left out of something", I was much surprised at finding this such an honest book. There is nothing, NOTHING, PC about Janice. Moreover this is really one of the greatest books of its kind. Strangely enough it reminds me of Gogol! She makes that curious contact with the reader - all of a sudden she reaches out and you are right with her as she writes this remarkable tale of her life. If you have no problem with dirty words, if you love art and you don't consider a person inane because of their overt usage of foul language, this is the book for you. Highly recommended!

This book reminded me of Jackie Collins books such as Hollywood Wives or Chances. She would pick a central female character who was beautiful, cavort with the rich and famous and Hollywood's elite, and jetset off to exotic locales. She might be a bitch or drama queen and flawed, yet intriguing,and a survivor. Naturally, there would be a plethora of high octane sexual encounters.

Of course, the main difference is Jackie Collins work was fiction, with names altered to protect the guilty. This is the real deal, and proof that truth is not only stranger than fiction but ultimately more interesting. Real names are used such as Jack Nicholson, Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis, Mick Jagger, and Warren Beatty, but strangely enough no mention of Dustin Hoffman LOL.

I have noticed myself that some women who have an abusive father, hate the parent, also hate themselves because they accept and agree with what is being said.

Yet, ironically they become what they hate most, and act out in similar ways as the parent ie they unconsciously go looking for the familiar ie an abusive jerk thinking that scorn will somehow turn into approval. Or, as in this case also become self destructive, and abuse drugs and alcohol.

If they do meet someone who is decent, then they become (what they hate)the abuser to provoke the abuse. It's a no win situation. It is interesting to see how she finally gets to grip with this in the end, her epiphany. For that alone this book is well worth reading.

She did treat one decent guy particularly badly. He wasn't contrary enough. She slept with two other guys in the same week, rubbed his nose in it, left him and got pregnant. But who was the father? Was it the movie star, the artist guy her friend set her up with, or her boyfriend, the Hollywood movie producer?

I have to say this book is well written, and I read it over a weekend. She tells her tale with indefatigable alacrity, to use two of her favorite words.

The book was interesting, no doubt. It was hard to put it down....but, I found it quite annoying how Janice constantly put herself on a pedestel. There is nothing more annoying than someone who thinks that they are above everyone else. Yes, she was beautiful and she worked hard, but if she really wanted to make a legend of herself, she would at least PRETEND to be more humble. At many times, I felt the book was b.s. and completely fabricated. I read this book after reading the biography of "Gia," and definitely have more respect for Janice based on that. I still think she is an icon and respect her for trying to be the best mother she can be. Maybe she should have more of her peers edit her writings before they get published????? You're a mommy now!
Regardless, she's made her mark in American history!!!

I picked up this book actually AFTER reading its follow-up: "Everything About Me Is Fake... And I'm Perfect."

I couldn't put it down, just like the first. Her honesty of her abusive and neglegent childhood, to her pre-teen angst, straight up to the superstar-dom and all the baggage that comes with it, makes her novel an unbelievably interesting read, as well as a huge stepping stone for her as a person to put her life down on paper.

The novel discusses the insecurities she still felt through an adult, and how long it took for her to discover her happiness, to discover her true-self, and to understand why she kept harboring destructive relationships with men, and the lack of respect she had for herself.

I largely disagree that any of the novel brags about the lifestyle or men she's slept with, I think that her putting it down on paper helps her come to terms with everything she's done right and wrong, not to mention it also destroys the rumor mill, which I'm sure circulated plenty about her. What's wrong with being honest and open about your past?

I like how she discovers the fact that the relationships she was having, she'd try to cause problems to sort of fix the broken childhood she had -- Which I've seen plenty of people actually do. It's true, sad, and hard to overcome. I feel horrible that it took her so long to find true happiness, but am glad that she found it in her children.

The woman is unbelievably exceptional in beauty, wit, humor, and self-assurance. With a confident (not cocky) attitude, she shares her life experiences and her mistakes, I like to believe with the hope that her readers won't walk down the same path to self-destruction that she did.

This is a must read for anyone, really. Girls, to adults will love her sense of humor, and her proof that insecurities are in EVERYONE, not just you. I can't even stop watching "America's Next Top Model," simply for the fact that she's on it!

With a second book coming out called "Everything About Me Is Fake, etc...", I think I may just need a refresher on the true stat of Ms. Dickenson in the modeling industry. Not the first supermodel and certainly not the most interesting. I believe it was the mighty Lauren Hutton and Karen Graham who hold the title of the first and greatest. Even Twiggy and Jean "the Shrimp" Shrimpton, Veruska- so many others who left their mark on the history of the business. As a fashion editor for twenty five years now, I can guarantee that Ms. Dickenson was far from "super"- more like "super not dependable". This book was fun if you are into fiction but if you really want the truth, I suggest reading "Model" by Michael Gross.

This book is a super waste of time and money. Some intelligent reviewers have already said it all. The reviewer "globetrotter" on August 29, 2002 wrote the best review of all. There's not much I can add to it except that I have seen Ms. Dickinson on several talk shows prior to her book and after its publication. She comes across as low class, abrasive, and disrespectful, and does nothing to deserve our sympathy. It was sickening how many times (in her book) she claims to have coined the word "supermodel" and claims to have been the world's first! Don't waste your money on this one. It deserves zero stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It is like a guilty pleasure. She bugs you to a point cause she is really something else I cant explain it. She is obnoixous, loud, makes dumb decisions, etc but you cant help but love her. I read the book in like 2 days. She really did have a interesting life. The sylvester stallone thing bothered me. I can see why he left her. Not right! But this book was good and if you are into hollywood gossip and that sort of stuff you will like it....I will be buying her other book. I am sure it will be great