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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Learning to Fly is a rather apt title for Victoria Beckham's autobiography as she spreads her wings and embarks on a solo career without the safety net of the Spice Girls. The well-trodden story of the girl group takes up less time than you would expect in this book as Victoria uses it more as a platform to redress the balance of the rumours, gossip and allegations in the tabloid press. And boy, are there plenty of them to get her teeth stuck into. Victoria is open and honest throughout the book and comes across as a reasonably level-headed person and not simply a pouting clothes horse with a taste for designer labels. In fact, Victoria tries a little too hard to dismiss her glamorous image, thus destroying a little bit of the mystery that made her one of the two most talked-about Spice Girls (along with Geri). Unfortunately, for someone who condemns the press for the interest they show in every trivial detail of her life, she is more than happy to push those same trivialities here. So we have to wade through a lot of unimportant detail before we get to the meaty stuff, but there's plenty of that. The early days of the Spice Girls makes for interesting reading, particularly her catty comments towards the unseen sixth Spice Girl Michelle ("she had less rhythm than a cement mixer") and her first encounters with David Beckham are made all the more interesting in that we know what happened next. If there's one thing that comes over it's her love of her husband and her son, a love that was strengthened by the death threats and kidnap attempts. But the book really moves up a gear as Victoria slowly comes to realise someone very close to them has betrayed them and used his position within the Beckhams' inner circle to make a quick buck. That betrayal obviously hit home very hard and one can't help, perhaps for the first time, to understand some of the pressures she faces on a daily basis. There are plenty of lighter moments though, such as her brief romantic dalliance with 80s teen movie idol Corey Haim, which ended with her booting him out of her car. A glossy, fun and entertaining read, this book shows that while she may be Learning to Fly Victoria Beckham has her feet on the ground and the world at her feet. --Jonathan Weir
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
From the time when, as an eight-year-old girl, she saw the movie Fame, Victoria wanted to be a star. There was a line from the title song that stayed with her - 'I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly'. With this extraordinary book she gives us the chance to follow her on her journey from lonely teenager to international star; to fly alongside her. At heart is an uplifting story of tenderness and passion, but kidnap threats and media lies have often turned the dream into a nightmare. Incredibly frank and told with coruscating humour, Victoria's autobiography describes her extraordinary life as it really is. LEARNING TO FLY is more compelling than any novel.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What kind of a reader am I? A well-educated older male who enjoys literary festivals; the Spice Girls' music does nothing for me and celebrity gossip bores me silly. So how on earth did I end up reading this book? Well, I was leafing through the second-hand books on a market stall when I came across it, and was curious to find out just what abject rubbish I might find between its covers... Amazingly, as soon as I started reading, I was gripped.
Having bought it, I quickly read it from start to finish. It is just so well written. And it really is disarmingly honest - I learned a lot about Victoria as a real human being, as well as about the anatomy of teenage angst, the workings of the music industry and the rarefied world of celebrity musicians and footballers.
Anyone who doesn't like the 'flash-forward' at the start can skip the first chapter; personally, the only chapter I didn't care for was the final one - too bland and gushy for me, and the only part of the book which seemed to be trying to manipulate the reader. Take out the first and the last chapters and you're left with 480 pages of fascinating reading!
Having bought it, I quickly read it from start to finish. It is just so well written. And it really is disarmingly honest - I learned a lot about Victoria as a real human being, as well as about the anatomy of teenage angst, the workings of the music industry and the rarefied world of celebrity musicians and footballers.
Anyone who doesn't like the 'flash-forward' at the start can skip the first chapter; personally, the only chapter I didn't care for was the final one - too bland and gushy for me, and the only part of the book which seemed to be trying to manipulate the reader. Take out the first and the last chapters and you're left with 480 pages of fascinating reading!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a glossy version of Queen Victoria's climb from playground outcast to celebrity pouter. Personally, I wasn't over keen on the thinly disguised smugness and her air of distaste towards anyone outside of her fragrant inner circle. The fact that Victoria claims that even her primary teachers and peers hated her has to say something about the persona beneath the gloss. Now...didn't I hear somewhere that Rebecca Loos is penning a tell all about her time as the Beckham's PA? Time to get those claws out again, Vic.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"Learning to fly" details the ups and downs of the tabloids favourite spice girl. What strikes you, as perhaps with all the spice girls is Victoria's honesty about her relationships, eating disorder and pressure of the media circus that follows her as a solo spice and as the wife of David Beckham. Fans will delight in the "gossip factor" of the book but partially interested readers will find the content heavy going...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
bad book
I got this book because it got good reviews on amazon. In the whole book she talks about how she had the best band in the world, she talked bad about other people, she's into... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Stevie
Love it
Bought it for some light reading and loved it. She's not the most amazing writer ever, but comes across as a genuinely nice and happy person who just wants the best for her family. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Abi
Avoid!
Terrible read....written (supposedly!!) by a vacuous, spoilt, talentless stick insect.
Can't think of one good thing to say about this tosh of a book except maybe to keep it... Read more
Can't think of one good thing to say about this tosh of a book except maybe to keep it... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ms. Kelly E. M. Taylor
Enjoyed it!
Victoria Beckham started out in showbiz at a much earlier age than most people (myself included) realise. Read more
Published 12 months ago by MrsV
Im a fan but....
This book was a great introduction to who Victoria Adams is or was but lacking a lot to what becoming Victoria Beckham has made her to be circa 2001, really was lacking when it... Read more
Published on 18 May 2009 by SD
Not for those who want to get inside Posh's mind
I enjoyed this book but I couldn't help feel at the time that parts of Victoria's life have been edited to appear less shocking/gossipy. Read more
Published on 22 April 2007 by sam hrt
A hugely good read with a pinch of salt.
This really is a truly laugh a loud book, though often it might not be in the way Posh would like.
It does really give you an insight into her life and is entertaining. Read more
It does really give you an insight into her life and is entertaining. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2006 by Sally
Learning To Fly - Victoria Beckham
I read Learning To Fly in a few days and I couldn't put it down for one second! I had never really been that interested in celebrities' lives before but I wanted a different read. Read more
Published on 2 April 2006 by "xits_a_girl_thingx"
oh dear - a disaster
the worst book i have ever read - you have been warned
Published on 11 Mar 2005 by love
learning to fly
learning to fly is a perfect title for one of the most famous women in britian she is not just famous for her beeing in one of the most succesfull group ever made she is also... Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2004 by amy linton
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