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Gerri Hirshey
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Not Pretty Enough: The Unlikely Triumph of Helen Gurley Brown Hardcover – January 1, 2016

by Gerri Hirshey (Author), Illus. with photos (Illustrator)
4.0 out of 5 stars 244 ratings
Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs
When Helen Gurley Brown’s Sex and the Single Girl first appeared in 1962, it whistled into buttoned-down America like a bombshell: Brown declared that it was okay― even imperative―for unmarried women to have and enjoy a sex life, and that equal rights for women should extend to the bedroom and the workplace. “How dare you?” thundered newspapers, radio hosts, and (mostly male) citizens. But more than two million women bought the book and hailed her as a heroine. Brown was also pilloried as a scarlet woman and a traitor to the women’s movement when she took over the failing Hearst magazine Cosmopolitan and turned it into a fizzy pink guidebook for “do-me” feminism. As the first magazine geared to the rising wave of single working women, it sold wildly. Today, more than 68 million young women worldwide are still reading some form of Helen Gurley Brown’s audacious yet comforting brand of self-help. “HGB” wasn’t the ideal poster girl for secondwave feminism, but she certainly started the conversation. Brown campaigned for women’s reproductive freedom and advocated skill and “brazenry” both on the job and in the boudoir―along with serial plastic surgery. When she died in 2012, her front-page obituary in The New York Times noted that though she succumbed at ninety, “parts of her were considerably younger.” Her life story is astonishing, from her roots in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, to her single-girl decade as a Mad Men–era copywriter in Los Angeles, which informed her first bestseller, to her years at the helm of Cosmopolitan. Helen Gurley Brown told her own story many times, but coyly, with plenty of camouflage. Here, for the first time, is the unvarnished and decoded truth about “how she did it”―from her comet-like career to “bagging” her husband of half a century, the movie producer David Brown.
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  1. Print length
    528 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sarah Chrichton Books / FSG
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0374169179
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0374169176
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sarah Chrichton Books / FSG
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374169179
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374169176
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 244 ratings

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Gerri Hirshey

Gerri Hirshey

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
244 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the biography well-written and easy to read, with one review noting it's full of interesting anecdotes. Moreover, the book is informative and well-researched, with one customer highlighting the author's insightful perspective. Additionally, they appreciate how it navigates through HGB's childhood and youth. However, opinions about the book's entertainment value are mixed, with some finding it fun while others describe it as boring.

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ReadabilityInformation qualityWriting styleInfluence of hgbEnjoyment
27 customers mention "Readability"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a terrific and wonderful story, with one customer noting it's full of interesting anecdotes.

"...She had a great run here while on terra firma. Wonderful story and she had such strength to not only do all that she did, but to survive her..." Read more

"...But it is still enjoyable and full of interesting anecdotes." Read more

"As biographies go, this was a great read - the author's style manages to convey the essence of Gurley-Brown's personality with her breezy style of..." Read more

"...HGB was certainly more and less than she appeared. Certainly worth the read for the experiences of an individual, their scope in the world and their..." Read more

7 customers mention "Information quality"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-researched, with one customer noting it provides unvarnished truth.

"...Yet, I found her life story to be remarkable. Very well researched, especially considering that the powers that hold the key to HGB’s past have her..." Read more

"...I was never a big cosmo reader but the author brings a lot of insight into how different things were for working women in that era...." Read more

"Started out good; lots of info. But it got bogged down & boring! I would not recommend it!" Read more

"Still reading & love this inside story of an American Legend: informative & inspirational, she had hutzpuh & worked hard to get to the top!" Read more

7 customers mention "Writing style"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style of the book well written and easy to read.

"...to convey the essence of Gurley-Brown's personality with her breezy style of writing...." Read more

"Interesting and easy to read. I love peeking into the lives of famous people, and am often shocked and amazed...." Read more

"...No question HGB was indeed unique and the author does her justice. No reader could help but wonder at the life she came from, then created and led!..." Read more

"Very well written story of a complicated woman who certainly challenged the male-dominated society of her generation and generations that followed." Read more

3 customers mention "Influence of hgb"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's portrayal of Helen Gurley Brown's influence, with one customer highlighting how it navigates through her childhood and youth, while another mentions it includes lots of fun stories about her.

"The first part of the book is very good, navigating through the childhood and youth of HGB..." Read more

"...Revealing about the early and indelible influences on HGB that both held her back and propelled her forward." Read more

"Lots of fun stories about HGB and her rise (and fall) in the New York publishing world. An enjoyable read." Read more

8 customers mention "Enjoyment"5 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's entertainment value, with some finding it fun while others describe it as boring.

"...But it is still enjoyable and full of interesting anecdotes." Read more

"This book is so much fun...." Read more

"Started out good; lots of info. But it got bogged down & boring! I would not recommend it!" Read more

"Like a mid-priced California Zinfandel, this is amusing while you're reading it and mostly forgettable afterwards...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Della Mac
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very complex and interesting lady.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This was a good read, but the author must have had some Thesaurus sitting next to her while she wrote it. Talk about a "plethora" of ten-dollar words, she could have spared us a lot of time if she had just used plain English instead of all the pretentious language, she peppered the transcript with. Ms. Brown can carry a story all by herself without all of the "oratorical" language. The bloated vernacular was very unnecessary and detracted from the fabulousness of Ms. Brown. She was some kind of lady and I say that "tongue-in-cheek" but she lived her life to the fullest and that is all that counts. I have, since purchasing this book, bought others on her because she was before my time, but "way, way ahead of hers." What an outrageous woman and I mean that in a good way. I would have loved to have met her and known her in her day. What a great friend she would have been, a "real" girlfriend. She had a great run here while on terra firma. Wonderful story and she had such strength to not only do all that she did, but to survive her childhood with such a mother, who appeared to be constantly underrating her daughter. But then again, maybe that is what drove Helen to achieve all that she did and to be such an extrovert and bold. I have great respect and admiration for this lady, what a great life she had. It's sad that people like this have to leave us, they add so much to life. You were beautiful, pussycat, in many, many ways!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Vera
    4.0 out of 5 stars a pretty good book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The first part of the book is very good, navigating through the childhood and youth of HGB (The Great Depression, World War 2, and the famous 17 secretarial jobs) up to her marriage and first book. From then on some serious editing would have been needed , the book becomes really hard to read due to an enormous quantity of unneccessary details about everyone and everything. But it is still enjoyable and full of interesting anecdotes.
    One person found this helpful
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  • C. Green
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fun and well-researched read!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    As biographies go, this was a great read - the author's style manages to convey the essence of Gurley-Brown's personality with her breezy style of writing.

    I knocked off the extra stars due to the lack of photos in the Kindle version - a shameful omission considering the price.
    7 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Elle Michion
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This book is so much fun. I grew up reading Cosmo in the '80s and ultimately moved to New York because I dreamed of working in women's magazines just like HGB. Readers who toiled in the New York publishing world in the 70s, 80s and 90s will recognize the many famous names and places in Hirshey's narrative. But even if you're not a media person, there's plenty to like in this nostalgic trip through the last half of the 20th Century. It's all there--the women's movement, the sexual revolution, midcentury home decor, the horror of AIDS, the birth of the modern new-age wellness movement, the rise of cosmetic surgery...all through the eyes of a glamorous everywoman. Could not have enjoyed it more.
    8 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Elizabeth
    4.0 out of 5 stars People watcher
    Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I am by habit a people watcher. I enjoy the idea that people may appear as certain way in passing and be far more (or less) engaging, complex or challenged than they seem at first glance. HGB was certainly more and less than she appeared. Certainly worth the read for the experiences of an individual, their scope in the world and their impact on the life of many women today.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Nikki Hanna
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and easy to read
    Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Interesting and easy to read. I love peeking into the lives of famous people, and am often shocked and amazed. I try not to judge, and this is a book that requires extra effort in that regard. However, when you consider Girley's history and the times in which she lived, she, like most of us, did the best she could with what she had and what she knew. Her fortitude and courage are deserving of appreciation if not admiration.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Bookworm91
    4.0 out of 5 stars An exhaustive view of a groundbreaking woman
    Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I came to read this book after reading Sex and the Single Girl and wanted to know about HGB. This book provides an exhaustive overview of her long life, warts and all. I learned a lot about her and my respect for what she did for women is increased-though I wish the modern Cosmo was more like her vision(hers wasn’t so nearly as sex-obsessed as it is now)
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  • Mamarobin
    1.0 out of 5 stars TMI
    Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The author went into so many mundane details that this book was boring. We've all heard how Helen "adored" her husband, but what about all those affairs? That would have made it a bit more interesting. It was flat.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Leila Peltosaari
    5.0 out of 5 stars Don’t miss this.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    If you love biographies of famous people, don’t miss this one: it’s a rags-to-riches treat. I grew up in Finland totally unaware of Helen Gurley Brown. When I immigrated to Canada in early 1970, the books and magazines here surrounded me, and I became increasingly fascinated in everything American. In her journalistic biography Not Pretty Enough, Gerri Hirshey writes captivatingly about HGB, the legendary editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. Full of interesting stories and compelling people, it’s an enjoyable portrait as a riveting window to the American cultural history of HGB era.
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  • Vera
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 6, 2022
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Interesting, well written; Helen Gurley Brown was a remarkable woman and her well deserved rise to fame is very well described .
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  • Claire hershman
    1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2016
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Boring. How could anyone write a boring book about one of the 60s great Herod. She has managed tondo it. I looked forward to something that at least hgb might have published. Not this slow moving and boring
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  • Elaine Kwart
    5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a real fan of HGB -- great to read her biography and learned how she was ...
    Reviewed in Canada on April 17, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    I'm a real fan of HGB -- great to read her biography and learned how she was so far ahead of her time and such a complex (and oftentimes troubled) individual.
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