This is Michael Maxwell with the Sioux City Public Library and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending Madonna: a Rebel Life, the definitive new biography of the Queen of Pop by Mary Gabriel.
Before I get any further into this recommendation, let me preface by saying that Mary Gabriel writes big books. Like her prior release Fifth Street Women, a book I’d also highly recommend, her biography of Madonna plays out over more than 800 pages. That being said, Mary Gabriel doesn’t waste a single word, and her books are as immersive as they are lengthy. She writes for readers who want to lose themselves in the books they read.
I’ve been a fan of Madonna for as long as I can remember, and, as a gay man, she’s important to me not just as an artist but also for her advocacy on behalf of my community and those we’ve lost to AIDS. A Rebel Life shows rather than tells readers how and why Madonna was willing to stand up for unpopular causes. Part of the joy of reading this book is the revolving door of A-list cameo appearances, and a particularly poignant story Andy Warhol tells about watching Madonna share a chocolate bar with a friend at a party who had been diagnosed with AIDS stopped me in my tracks. For a woman known for her big gestures, it’s these smaller moments Gabriel sprinkles throughout that show readers who Madonna, the person, truly is.
Check out Madonna: a Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel and other big, huge biographies about big, huge personalities at the Sioux City Public Library today!
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