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Madonna: Like an Icon

Name: Madonna: Like an Icon
Author: Lucy O'Brien
ISBN: 9780060898991

by Lucy O'Brien

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Overview

Material Girl . . . Immaculate sexpot . . . Superstar . . . Mother . . . Kabbalah enthusiast . . . For three decades she has defied categorization. . . . She remains one of our greatest living pop icons.

Here is the groundbreaking biography that finally solves the mystery at the heart of Madonna's chameleonlike existence. Drawing upon scores of candid interviews with producers, musicians, collaborators, lovers, and friends, Lucy O'Brien's Madonna: Like an Icon explores the complex personality and legendary drive that have made Madonna the most famous female pop artist of our time. From her mother's premature death to Madonna's dynamic arrival on the New York club scene, from "Like a Virgin" to Evita and beyond, every stage of this dazzling star's life and career is brilliantly illuminated—the stereotypes deconstructed, the lies exposed, the artist examined, the legend celebrated.

About the Author, Lucy O'Brien

Music critic Lucy O'Brien has contributed to many publications, including the Sunday Times (London), Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Q. The author of She Bop and She Bop II, as well as acclaimed biographies of Dusty Springfield and Annie Lennox, O'Brien lives in London and teaches at Westminster University and the University of London's Goldsmiths College.

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Editorials

USA Today

"Meticulously chronicled"... [and] absorbing."

USA Today

“Meticulously chronicled”... [and] absorbing.”

Library Journal

O'Brien (She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop & Soul) masterfully weaves together material from her extensive research and interviews to create an engrossing study of Madonna-the performer and the woman, the girl from Michigan who achieved superstardom. She examines the star's personal life, from her mother's death to her relationships with Sean Penn and Warren Beatty to her current marriage and children to her political, artistic, and religious philosophies. O'Brien blends detailed information and thoughtful commentary about Madonna's professional singing, dancing, and acting career, focusing on hit albums and videos (e.g., Like a Prayer; Like a Virgin), films (e.g., Desperately Seeking Susan; Dick Tracy), and other achievements. While O'Brien does not shy away from personal details or the controversial elements of Madonna's work, she does not sensationalize them either, unfolding the narrative with candor and serious reflection. The result is a fine study of the life and art of a complex individual. Fans of Madonna will want to read this but so will those interested in the sociology of a pop-culture icon. For popular collections.
—Carol J. Binkowski

Kirkus Reviews

The Material Girl's huge personality and cultural impact certainly deserve a huge biography-but how huge is too huge?Anyone the least bit familiar with pop culture over the past three decades knows the broad strokes of Madonna Ciccone's story. Relocated to the Big Apple from suburban Michigan, she made her bones in the dance clubs of New York, signed a tiny deal with Sire Records, became a pop music hitmaking machine and sexual icon, starred in a couple of good films and more really bad ones, matured impressively and settled down with a cult U.K. film director. While there have been a handful of full-length biographies, none are as lengthy as this problematic tome. The primary flaw is lack of access. While O'Brien (She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul, 2004, etc.) interviewed dozens of associates, she wasn't able to get an audience with Madonna herself. Sometimes being shut out by the subject leads to a sharper critical examination, but that's not the case here. O'Brien, an unabashed admirer of Madonna and everything she stands for, offers little in the way of incisive analysis. Hardcore acolytes will appreciate the author's attention to detail but will be disappointed by the dearth of fresh material from the star. Casual fans or readers looking for some musical insight, however, may be turned off by O'Brien's focus on minutia and her rah-rah attitude. Simultaneously too much and not enough, the book may have trouble finding a wide audience or lasting long on bookstore shelves. Enthusiastic and well-researched, but this mammoth dissertation comes off as an overblown "Madonna for Dummies."Agent: Emma Parry/Fletcher & Parry