But there I was, JUST about to check out of the store, when for some strange reason I felt compelled to pick up this book. As is my habit, I first read the back and then glanced at the introduction. Before I knew it, I was halfway through the intro, halfway to the check-out counter and absolutely refusing to put the book down!...I was hooked.

And due entirely to this book, I am NOW a Maria Shriver fan. "Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out into the Real World" is witty, compelling, insightful, down-to-earth, completely readable, totally identifiable (for both genders) and doggone it--WISE! :) I found myself alternating between laughing out-loud, nodding in knowing agreement, shaking my head in disbelief and ultimately smiling with gratitude and admiration for the little gift of life and love this book really is.

Whether you're a Maria Shriver fan or not (at least to begin with), this short little book is worth not only picking up but reading. Based on a commencement speech she recently gave, I believe I could have (and *would* have) read it in one sitting (were it not for the incessant tugging on the arm of my own 3 little ones!)

At the end, she says she'll get back to us in a decade or so with an update. I can't wait! And next time it won't have to grab me on my way out the door--I'll be the first in line, book in hand...and halfway through the introduction I'm sure. :)


Honest, humorous, and right-on!   April 9, 2000
 71 out of 73 found this review helpful

A terrific little book, I didn't want it to end! The honesty of it rings true, and it made me laugh out loud many times! She writes that there is no better way to gain respect, even self respect, than through hard work and honesty, and being willing to learn from others. She tells the reader that there are consequences for behaviors, that those who behave in an unethical manner, don't last long in their careers. She talks openly of the times when she wasn't proud of herself for tactics she used in getting interviews, and realized she needed to change, in order to be the kind of person she wanted to be, one who didn't succeed by running down her competitors. This book is full of lessons that most of us learn the hard way, which is sometimes the best way to learn, as wisdom is gained and we work towards bettering ourselves, and enriching others. The book says she "has her commas in the following order," and lists being a mother as first. That is one of the few things I disagreed with in this book, as I believe a spouse comes first. This is one book I wish I, too, had had many years ago, as the lessons it contains are timeless, and, in a sense, "old-fashioned." It's just good common sense and respect for self and others. It's written in a manner that captures the attention, and it is a book that one will turn to again and again.


Practical Yet Fun Read   April 11, 2000
 65 out of 72 found this review helpful

This book is interesting, easy to read yet has some practical advice for young people getting ready to leave school and enter the real world, although it's a fun book for anyone to read. Maria keeps each subject interesting while getting the reader to think of their own personal feelings and goals. It's a perfect book to give that college graduate this summer. I definitely recommend it!


Excellent life "guard"/guide!   April 17, 2000
 51 out of 55 found this review helpful

In this book, Arnold Schwarzenegger's precious wife puts things into focus. She's blunt and direct, explaining that success is not that easy to come by and success is never a freebee. The book contains lots of valuable lessons on life and it's a life guide and to many perhaps even a life "guard" so to speak. Mrs. Shriver is honest about her own challenges to live up to the measurements of her parents and now being a parent and so forth. In short: it's an excellent book. Another book that I highly recommend as it deals bluntly with key issues in life and is extremely helpful, is Dietmar Scherf's "I Love Me: Avoiding and Overcoming Depression."


Maria's Imagined World   May 27, 2000
 47 out of 56 found this review helpful

After sifting through this slim book and stumbling across Maria's sales pitch on two news magazines, I'd like to warn readers away from buying into her vision of her life. This is a woman who still lives in fantasy land - one that her publishers support, since she's unfortunately become a celeb and one that can sell just about anything. Witness her whining in the book about how computer illiterate she is, how the internet is still a mystery to her, and I mean mystery in that she's never used it. This woman is a professional journalist . . . supposedly at the top and she regards the internet as a mystery? That's just one indication alone of her real life - one full of assistants who undoubtably have used the internet to feed her research for her stories, nannies, maids and other celeb type staffers who help her maintain a lifestyle out of reach for the audience whom she addresses in this book. She's no more "one of the girls" than Ivana Trump. The book itself is a terrific concept, except Maria's not the one to really tell it like it is. She doesn't have a clue about herself and her audience, and exhibits absolutely no intellectual awareness, which is truly sad considering the kinds of opportunities that are open to women today in business, law and other fields less shallow than tv. She comes off as well intentioned, but underneath is clearly deceived by her own ambitions for fame. Don't buy into it. Neither her viewpoints or advice are particularly relevant for most young women today.