Desperately Seeking Madonna: In Search of the Meaning of the World's Most Famous Woman (Paperback)

by Adam Sexton (Editor) "In the winter of 1987 I wrote my last published piece of rock and roll criticism, a Jonathan Richman review for a weekly newspaper located..." (more)
Key Phrases: blond ambition, material girl, New York, True Blue, Cyndi Lauper (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The wide range of sources from which music journalist Sexton has culled articles, cartoons and poems for this anthology is evidence of its diversity: it includes Mad magazine, YM , the National Review and Christianity and Crisis. With the exception of Henry Rollins's poem, in which he admits that Madonna arouses in him a desire to ``shop at Sears,'' the overly reverent pieces--such as Helen Gurley Brown's coy admission that she too is a material girl and Camille Paglia's predictable vision of Madonna as the only true feminist--have a stale flavor. On the other hand, Ruth Conniff's thoughtful essay should be the final word on Madonna as mere boy toy, and in a re-reading of Madonna's attitudes toward race and sexuality, bell hooks posits that Madonna's messages in these areas (as revealed by her treatment of employees in Truth or Dare ) are less benign than they seem. Sexton has the good sense not to take his subject too seriously, and so has included such gems as the results of a ``symposium survey'' that solicited opinions on Madonna's taste in men (``Yucky'') and bad things the participants had heard about the performer (``She's from Worcester, Mass.'').

Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Love her or hate her, Madonna is an inescapable figure in the contemporary cultural landscape. This collection of essays, reviews, cartoons, and ephemera (e.g., Rol ling Stone 's annual polls; David Letterman's "Top Ten" list) is an eloquent and often amusing testimony to her persuasiveness. Camille Paglia, Art Buchwald, John Simon, Andrew Greeley, Ellen Goodman, and a host of less-than-household names have a shot at the Woman of a Thousand Phases. The editor offers his own thoughts in a free-ranging introduction that neatly sums up his subject as "the ultimate performance artist." Unfortunately, this book went to press before Madonna's latest artistic works, the book Sex (Warner, 1992) and the film Body of Evidence (1993), preoccupied the nation; undoubtedly, a full-length sequel could be compiled from these controversial additions to her repertoire. For popular culture collections.
- Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Delta (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385306881
• ISBN-13: 978-0385306881
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,408,175 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The literary hodgepodge of Madonna, January 26, 2001

By	Charley Harjo "pop music fan" (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book contains 51 different articles, thesis', poems and rants about Madonna, by authors varied as Camille Paglia and Vincent Canby to Henry Rollins and Liz Smith. It includes various one page cartoons and strips from "Mad" magazine and the Village Voice, and also in the mix are Rolling Stone poll results, a David Letterman top ten list about "Truth or Dare", and Sandra Bernhard writing about her Madonna dreams from her book "Confessions of a Pretty Lady". This book is chock full of more useless information about Madonna that us fans crave, new and old...The information covers roughly the 1984-1991 era (her most active IMHO) and is very entertaining, though not for the average reader. Madonna fans will find this book a great resource and companion to "The Madonna Companion", also a collection of written works about Madonna, though it is more on the scholarly edge. So this book is recommended to Madonna collectors, and all others...Borrow it from your own "Madonna freak".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop culture criticism at its best!, July 19, 2006

By	Jacqueline Burt-wang - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whether you're a devotee or detractor of the lady in question, "Desperately Seeking Madonna" never fails to entertain (and even educate). Sexton features an impressive array of contributors (where else can you find essays by both Camille Paglia and Henry Rollins?) and himself uses Madonna as a springboard for such thought-provoking questions as "does our culture need to pigeonhole women in order to understand them?" An intelligent, fun and fascinating read.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is great, May 22, 2006

By	TF (The Peach Room) - See all my reviews

Where else can you read about the relationship between Madonna and man's desire to bowl?