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.


Book Description
From cartoons to academic essays to tabloid journalism, Madonna has been interpreted in almost every way possible. Here is an original collection of these writings that is almost as diverse as the Material Girl herself which attempts to uncover as many interpretations of Madonna's appeal as is possible. Photographs and cartoons.

FROM THE CRITICS

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.''). (Jan.)

Library Journal