Customer Reviews (1)

Overrated, nauseating, self absorbed FishStick
An average looking if not homely intuitive actress (but with VERY little training)who had nepotism times a billion at her disposal. Without her connections, would have NEVER made it beyond off off broadway. Pretty at times and other times rather ugly, a skinny but formless figure, sometimes quite good acting and other times terribly untrained and clueless and ineffective and absolute BOX OFFICE POISON. She is no Grace Kelly, a true classic beauty. She is not a great actor like her mother, and she sounds valley girlish in all of her asinine ego driven quotes. I keep hearing she's A List. How? Her movies bomb and bomb and bomb. Noone goes to see her and she has smartly stuck to smaller films because she cannot carry a big film and has no fan base. She will not be heard of in a few years from now after she has more kids. Noone cares about her and she's just too average to have any kind of legacy in looks, talent, and everything else. But Apple is the cutest baby in the world. That's the truth. ... Read more

Book Description
20 colour photos, 15 b&w ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

I liked the book and I like Gwynnie - sorry, haters!
Sorry, but I just don't agree at all with the hateful comments about Gwyneth Paltrow.

Gwyneth doesn't get tattooed, steal other women's husbands, collect orphans, wear a vial of blood around her neck, get out of a car sans underwear, or shave her head in public. She doesn't wipe greasy hands on designer dresses.She doesn't get busted for DUI.

She hasn't been married five or six times and all that other nonsense.

Oooooooooooh....that's so boring.

Gwyneth is a lady, a natural beauty who doesn't have to be constantly in the tabloids.

She has two beautiful children.....and I think her husband is adorable.

She and her family are nice and normal.Sorry if that isn't exciting enough for you Paltrow-haters.

She was wonderful in "Shakespeare In Love", by the way.

MostOVER rated actress
Funny I thought I was the only one who noticed she lisps!!

And yes she is the poster child for 'Nepotism'

Gwyneth Puke-trow
Couldn't agree more with roxie and Glenn...she is nepotism at its worst. She was given everything in life. She is a less-than-average mumbling, lisp-infected "actress." She is not attractive in face or figure (and has terrible posture). She is an icon of NOTHING and has done nothing to better the world. Her best role was dating Brad Pitt. Harvey Weinsteing put a lot of eggs in her basket and had to make sure she remained popular. That is one reason she is where she is. The other is her parents. If they weren't who they are, she would be serving you at your local Denny's...ok, maybe that's too beneath "Gwynnie"...she'd be your shampoo girl at the local hair salon...

Why?
I agree with roxie52 on this one. Why people elevate actors and actresses to the position on role model... what have they done?? What has Paltrow done but ride Brad Pitts coat tails to fame and them dumped him! Not that Pitt is any great talant (50 million for a wedding band lawsuit) These people are so good at pretending to be someone else, because they have no clue who they really are. Paltrow is someone who has never had to worry about anything in her life, except if her shoes matched her dress. Are we really idolizing the person or there money and fame? I read this book just to get some insight into Paltrow's life. Rich kid, rich parents that's about the whole story. Save yourself a few dollars and buy a good novel instead!

Gwyneth Paltrow WHO??
I agree with roxie52 on this one. Why people elevate actors and actresses to the position on role model... what have they done?? What has Paltrow done but ride Brad Pitts coat tails to fame and then dumped him! Not that Pitt is any great talant (50 million for a wedding band lawsuit) These people are so good at pretending to be someone else, because they have no clue who they really are. Paltrow is someone who has never had to worry about anything in her life, except if her shoes matched her dress. Are we really idolizing the person or there money and fame? I read this book just to see some insight into Paltrow's life. Rich kid, rich parents that's about the whole story. Save yourself a few dollars and buy a good novel instead! ... Read more

Product Description
In This Issue:a photo-feature on Gywenth Paltrow, Queen Elizabeth II, Danielle Steel, Donatella Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Nobu, and Julio Iglesias, and more, fashion layouts photographed by Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Steven Klein, and others, plus the usual features on fashion, shopping, health, and other stuff! 592 pages. ... Read more

Book Description
My pictures are like my eyes, Mario Testino has said.I photograph what I see and what I want to see.What this top fashion and celebrity photographer observes here, in a richly sensual volume, is his own glittering world of exotic locations and encounters. A man who flies around the world as regularly as others drive across town, he shares his travel memories of magnificent city nights and mysterious landscapes. These photographs, almost all previously unpublished, are full of radiance, color, and humorous juxtapositions. They are pure joie de vivre, a marvelous collage by a gifted photographer at his very best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Do yourself a favor and don't buy this book
Not interesting at all, just a bunch of snapshots Testino takes on his travels, very little vision and planning in the photos or the book itself.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS MAN'S WORK YOU FEEL ALIVE
I just loved this book ... but I'am a very big fan of Mario's work and him .. a must for your collection

Not the best of Testino
This a one of the books that I find disappointing. I prefer his work on other publications and if you're a lover Mario's work, buy Visionaire or the V magazine instead.

English Customer
Having bought Any Objections? by the same author with which I was dissapointed I was very glad to see a return to form by Mr. Testino.Alive is truly sumed up by its' title.Its full of life, colour, energy & passion with a healthy dose of sex thrown in for good measure.We are given an access-all-areas tour of Mr. Testino's glamourous life filled with fabulous parties, gorgeous locations & sexy models as well as incredibly candid portraits of celebrities.The photography is first-rate and clearly shows Testino's passion for the medium - he must never be without a camera in his hands!The over-all quality of the book is outstanding with hidden images on the reverse of the jacket and special touches that bring it high above the level of other photography volumes.A real must have for all lovers of the dolce vita!

UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT
After reviewing the book, u can definitely notice the editorial staff must have put a huge amount of afford in this book, trying to project something proper from all those utter mediocre material from mr. testino. Instead of the signature nicely crafted testino shoots that he's known for, we got tons of over-blown blurred cityscape snap shots that wouldn't even fit the wall of a DKNY shop! If this is another publication that is supposed to show "the other side" of the testino spectrum, like his previous books. Then it only shows that even a god can be mortal if he doesn't try.
completely overpriced with a un-necessarily large format to round up the disappointment. ... Read more

Product Description
Articles include: Couples: David Spade and Heather Locklear? Katie Couric and Meredith Viera Get Ready For a Schedule Change; Studying Scientology - Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise; Round Two: Eminem Files for Divorce Again; United 93 - Hollywood's First 9/11 Movie; Kenny Rodgers on parenting and plastic surgery; Gwyneth - There's a New Baby Bro for daughter Apple. ... Read more

Book Description
Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle's classic Bear books have been a hit with children for many generations, and have sold more than eleven million copies. This wonderful compilation CD brings together the beloved first three Bear books-Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; and Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?-and includes the newest addition, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? The stories are read with warmth and humor by Academy Award-winning actress and mother Gwyneth Paltrow. ... Read more

Product Description
Features: Angelina Jolie, Celebrities in their dream-roles including Gwyneth Paltrow & Drew Barrymore, George W. Bush, Iraq, JFK Jr. as a boy, and much more! ... Read more

Product Description
W Magazine, biggest issue ever over 600 pages. Featuring Gwyneth Paltrow. also includes Fall 2007 copy of Americana Manhasset magazine, copy of Fashion Rocks Magazine (Jennifer Lopez on cover), and copy of Trend Magazine ... Read more

Amazon.com
Of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, themost infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing.Pride and Prejudice's Lizzie Bennet has more wit and sparkle; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey more imagination; and Sense and Sensibility's Elinor Dashwood certainly more sense--but Emma is lovable precisely because she is so imperfect. Austen only completed six novels in her lifetime, of which five feature young women whose chances for making a good marriage depend greatly on financial issues, and whose prospects if they fail are rather grim. Emma is the exception: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." One may be tempted to wonder what Austen could possibly find to say about so fortunate a character. The answer is, quite a lot.

For Emma, raised to think well of herself, has such a high opinion of her own worth that it blinds her to the opinions of others. The story revolves around a comedy of errors: Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage, and attempts to remake her in her own image. Ignoring the gaping difference in their respective fortunes and stations in life, Emma convinces herself and her friend that Harriet should look as high as Emma herself might for a husband--and she zeroes in on an ambitious vicar as the perfect match. At the same time, she reads too much into a flirtation with Frank Churchill, the newly arrived son of family friends, and thoughtlessly starts a rumor about poor but beautiful Jane Fairfax, the beloved niece of two genteelly impoverished elderly ladies in the village. As Emma's fantastically misguided schemes threaten to surge out of control, the voice of reason is provided by Mr. Knightly, the Woodhouse's longtime friend and neighbor.Though Austen herself described Emma as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," she endowed her creation with enough charm to see her through her most egregious behavior, and the saving grace of being able to learn from her mistakes. By the end of the novel Harriet, Frank, and Jane are all properly accounted for, Emma is wiser (though certainly not sadder), and the reader has had the satisfaction of enjoying Jane Austen at the height of her powers. --Alix WilberBook Description
Jane Austen (1775-1817) is considered by many scholars to be the first great woman novelist.Her novels revolve around people, not events or coincidences.Miss Austen sets her novels in the upper middle class English country which was her ownenvironment.

Her novels have increased in stature over time. Her skills of writing, including a dry humor and a witty elegance ofexpression have attracted generations to her work.

Miss Austen completed six novels and part of a seventh,"Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice","Mansfield Park", "Emma","Northanger Abbey", "Persuasion" and the partial "Lady Susan".Quiet Vision publishes all seven.Download Description
Emma (1816) is Jane Austen's comic masterpiece in which Emma Woodhouse finds her match-making skills sadly misdirected as she learns humility and self-knowledge at the same time as she discovers love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (199)

A wonderfully witty and endearing novel
I actually saw the film (with Paltrow as Emma) before reading the book and I must say, that I am glad that the movie was very true to the novel because I adore the movie. I was actually surprised that the book was so similar. It features one of my favorite Jane Austen characters, Emma of course. She is a joy to read about. The dialogue was easy to follow and it was a quick but fun read.

Tough minded comedy of manners
In a letter to a relative Austen once wrote "3 or 4 families in a country village is the very thing to work on "She knew this world intimately and well and it was the subject of her best novels of which Emma most assuredly is one .
Emma Woodhouse is young,lively and thoroughly spolied .She is complacently sure she knows what is best for all her friends and acquaintances ,especially in matters of the heart .She is a self-appoinited matchmaker to all her friends and she particularly interests herself in the affairs of the young and naive Harriet Smith,an unassertive and timid young woman .Emma is convinced Harriet would be ideally matched with the local minister Mr Elton not knowing that he despises Harriet for her lack of social graces and standing and that he is set onwooing and winningEmma herself .Emma is idly contemplating a dalliance with a newcomer to the village ,Frank Churchill ,but her real feelings are for the local squire George Knightley .Knightley is an amused and exasperated spectator to the meddling which is second nature to Emma.
The novel deals with the way Emma's plans for others collapse and she as a consequence comes to a new and painful degree of self-awareness.She knows less about herself and others than she fondly imagines .The book is a very tough-minded piece of work and has universal themes to do with human motivations and self-deception.It shows the manipulations and strategemsof the marriage market as supremely important in society .Emma is essentially about growing into self awareness rather than a romantic comedy as so many other Austen novels are .It is why it still retains its impact so many years after its original publication .The support cast is well drawn -Elton,in particularbeing a great sketch of an odious snake who has somehow been born as human being .
Any society in which people meddle in each others affairs is one in which Emma is still a valid book

Emma is the story of a young matchmaker who learns her lesson
Emma is Jane Austen's penultimate novel. It is a long but engaging story of Emma Woodhouse who lives in the fictional village of Highbury 16 miles from London. The novel is in many ways a "bildungsroman" as Emma changes and matures to win her man and a place in literary lovers' hearts.
The major players in this Jane Austen classic are:
Emma Woodhouse-Emma is the spoiled daughter of widower Woodhouse. She loves playing matchmaker to young couples resulting in disastrous results!
Emma is flawed but lovable and good hearted.
Mr. Woodhouse-One of Austen's most hilarious characters. Mr. Woodhouse is a foolish nincimpoop always worried about the temperature and catching a cold. He does not want Emma to marry since he prefers she stay home and take care of his fussbudget needs. He reminds this reviewer of a character who could have fit in well in a Dickens novel.
Mr. Knightley. This wealthy landowner has been in love with Emma since she was 13. One of the charms of this comedy of manners is the conversation he engages in with Emma. He is a wise man and good judge of moral character. Emma foolishly thinks the merchant's daughter Harriet is in love with him. His name says it all for he is a knight in shining armor!
Harriet Smith-Emma seeks to mate her with the odious Rev. Mr. Elton but her plans go awry with he weds the foolish Mrs. Augusta Elton. Harriet is an innocent young lady who wrongly allows Emma to advice her on matters of the heart. She will later wed the mundane farmer Robert Martin.
Frank Churchill; He is the son of Mr. Weston a local landowner. Weston had married Ms. Taylor who had been the maid at Emma's home for 18 years.
Frank is a charmer with a weak character. Emma is briefly infatuated by him but learns his true nature from the faithful Mr. Knightley. He is anything but frank in explaining his past amours to Emma and Harriet.
Jane Fairfax is a lovely lass who has been secretly engaged to Frank Churchill. As the novel ends this pair wed. Jane is lovely but strikes this reviewer has lacking mental strength!
Miss Bates-A minor character who has the gift of gab! She rattles on with
little thought in several of the novel's chapters. I see her as an early form in English fiction of stream of consciousness monologue later mastered by such masters as James Joyce and William Faulkner.
Emma is usually rated alongside "Pride and Prejudice" as one of the two best novels written by Jane Austen. I enjoyed it immensely but note that there is a lot of talking and not much action. Austen liked to take a few country families and discuss a love affair or two in her narrowly focused works. She is the indisputed queen of romance fiction and is as popular today as she was when the book was published in 1816. This fall Masterpiece Theatre will be airing dramatizations of all six novels. We Janeites are a growing army of devoted fans. Jane only wrote 6 books but each is a masterpiece!

Love the novel, hate the introduction
Please don't misunderstand me:I love Jane Austen's Emma.I love everything by Jane Austen.What I don't love about this edition of the book is the introduction.Margaret Drabble obviously doen't care for the book, especially the heroine Emma Woodhouse.I have no idea why they would publish such an unfavorable introduction with the novel.Also, if you read the intro but have never read the novel, you're getting the entire plot line, which is only good if you're still in and writting a book report.

But, if you're just looking for a cheap copy of Emma, then by all means, buy this version.Just please don't dampen the wonderful experience of reading Jane Austen by reading the horrible introduction.

slow, but worth it

Be warned: this book is slow.very slow. i loved pride and prejudice, but i would have quit partway through this one if it hadn't been a gift.

However, if you have the patience and fortitude to get through it, you will be rewarded. Though i could have done without so much detail about the planning of a party, or full chapters of Emma and Mr. Knightley talking things to death, it was an overall good book. Emma is very fully developed.She starts out, not as a good girl with some faults, but as a vain, selfish, silly young woman, and comes out by the end of the book deeply and believably changed.

one thing I particularly enjoyed is that since Emma was always so wrong in her guesses, it was up to the reader to figure out what was really going on, and who was in love with whom.Especially towards the end, I had a lot of fun picking out hints and speculating, and seeing my guesses come out right.

The book isn't so amazing that i would urge everyone to struggle through the whole length of it, but it's a worthwhile and enjoyable read.it just could have been much shortened. ... Read more