Gerri Hirshey

I enjoyed the book. The pace of the biography isn't as fast as some, however, the author does paint a very "simpatica" persona of Helen. She depicts Helen as a daughter and sister who didn't abandon her immediate family inspite of her seeming fame and success and new circle. She also shows Helen as a complete workaholic - which reminds me of the 10,000 hour rule posited by Malcolm Gladwell - to be successful at anything, you have to work very, very hard. It's harder in "glamorous" industries show more to maintain the long hours because you have to look good too - which is work in itself. There are no short-cuts to success. And while Helen will always be remembered for "Sex and the Single Girl" - Helen has so many other facets that make her memorable - remarkably how she remained close friends with at least two women for the long term. show less

A vibrant exploration of soul music's evolution through intimate interviews

I've been interested in Helen Gurley Brown since I was a Cosmo-crazy teenager in the mid-1960s. This is the third biography about her I've read. Not Pretty Enough started out very well, and I was interested in a lot of the anecdotes about HGB that I hadn't read before. However, the book started to sag around the middle and I was losing interest. I slogged on to the end because I hate to leave a book unfinished, but by the time I was done, I was beginning to feel I was studying a textbook for show more a course on Helen!

The best bio of Helen that I have read is still "Bad Girls Go Everywhere" by Jennifer Scanlon. I'm glad I was able to borrow this one from the library, but I don't think I would want to plough through it again. show less

Focuses on Atlantic, Motown, and Stax. Brief mentions of other, regional scenes. Most of the interviews took place when the artists were 15, 20 or more years removed from their career peaks which made from some interesting contrasts between those still plugging away versus those not. Also intersting knowing all that has happened since the book came out in 1984, 36 years ago. The prose tends to the purple. Some quotes are given in dialect, and seemed unevenly applied. Enough repetition that show more it came across as a bunch of separate magazine articles that had been smashed together. show less