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Learning to Fly: The Autobiography
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."
Paperback
,
528 pages
Published
May 16th 2005
by Penguin Global
(first published 2001)
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Community Reviews
(showing
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1,673)
Liked this book more than Geri's! Written a few years after the Spice Craze, we get more of Victorias life. In fact the whole Spice girls thing seems a very small part of the book. Victoria was never my favourite Spice Girl, if fact I don't know anyone who liked Posh spice best and she writes that she knew this and that must have been a hard thing to come to terms with. But she seems to deal with it quiet well even repeating mean things the press wrote about her saying she had 'less talent then
...more
Aug 15, 2008
Brittany
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of the Spice Girls/Victoria Beckham, Fans of pop culture icons
Recommended to Brittany by:
Gillian
How I Came To Read This Book: Gillian owned it.
The Plot: This is Victoria Beckham's autobiography - and goodness knows she's had quite a life since this book was published in the early 00's! Still, there is PLENTY to read about here. The book spans the key points in Victoria's life, from her awkward childhood as the ugly, self-conscious duckling at theatre school to her early days as a wannabe Spice Girl to what it felt like to be a world-famous celebrity, married to an equally famous man. Along ...more
The Plot: This is Victoria Beckham's autobiography - and goodness knows she's had quite a life since this book was published in the early 00's! Still, there is PLENTY to read about here. The book spans the key points in Victoria's life, from her awkward childhood as the ugly, self-conscious duckling at theatre school to her early days as a wannabe Spice Girl to what it felt like to be a world-famous celebrity, married to an equally famous man. Along ...more
I was eight in 1996. And being an eight-year-old girl in 1996 meant growing up with the Spice Girls as huge icons on your cultural landscape. They were larger-than-life figures; they were cartoons. They were their characters; Sporty, Ginger, Baby, Posh, and Scary.
When I was fifteen, an ongoing skit in Bo Selecta involved Mel B repeatedly trying to sell her autobiography. Around this time, I found a heavily reduced copy, and, after seeing that skit, it tickled me to actually own a copy, so I boug ...more
When I was fifteen, an ongoing skit in Bo Selecta involved Mel B repeatedly trying to sell her autobiography. Around this time, I found a heavily reduced copy, and, after seeing that skit, it tickled me to actually own a copy, so I boug ...more
Three and half stars and well deserved. This is not brilliant literature, but as someone who usually reads classics and high-brow stuff, I actually quite enjoyed this. I don't know how much of her autobiography was re-written or marketing-oriented, but I got a really good sense of VB's personality and life from reading it. It was refreshing to read about such a famous person and come out with a pure sense of their humanity, their vulnerability. VB is very honest and straight-forward about her li
...more
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE VICTORIA BECKHAM!! she was my fav spice girl and i followed her then and i follow her now, she is so multi-talented.. she is a true gem and an amazing fashionista and great artist musically and in the fashion industry!! KUDOS Becks
xo
xo
I have no expectations about this book. Surprisingly though it was entertaining for the most part. Its kinda dragging in the beginning (maybe because I am not a Spice Girl fan, no offense) but it sort of developed into a more serious, melodramatic, "is this for real" type of story. The part about Mark the bodyguard/traitor was scary...no other word for it.
I like it. It is not the best book ever but its inspiring. Its a glimpse to one overly insecure yet very ambitious and driven woman. Its a lif ...more
Like most people who read this book, I grew up with the Spice Girls and was on a kick of reading musician/band memoirs and such -- Victoria's book had higher reviews than most so I picked it up. I really enjoyed it, to my surprise. She talks about her childhood of being kinda chubby (because of polycystic ovaries), her hard work ethic, and the trials of being a celebrity. She is a little bit defensive about a few things, and not just in a "let me set the record straight" manner, but also in a mo
...more
Ok, so here we go. Posh Spice. VB. Victoria Beckham. Iconic media star, wife, style chantuese, seller of newpapers/magazines and (sort of) singer. These days, less of one and considerably more of the others, granted but a huge global star (brand if you will), none the less.
First Line is “Daddy, I’m going to be killed!”
Now when I read this, I expected some wonderful anecdote about her closeness of her relationship with her father, about how one tiny incident of her youth exploded a sense of prote ...more
First Line is “Daddy, I’m going to be killed!”
Now when I read this, I expected some wonderful anecdote about her closeness of her relationship with her father, about how one tiny incident of her youth exploded a sense of prote ...more
Okay, four stars is very generous for the actual quality of this book but come on, she was, is and always will be my favourite Spice Girl. It's an entertaining read, light and fluffy, and not that badly written when you compare it to certain celebrity 'auto'biographies (I'm looking at you, Jordan, anyone who was ever on Big Brother/The X Factor/similar, etc). The stuff about her early life is pretty interesting; she was bullied extensively as a child - which obviously had quite an impact on her
...more
Jan 21, 2011
♥ Marlene♥
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
autobiography
,
non-fiction
3.5 stars.
I am not a big fan at all of Victoria Beckham but we, my daughter and I, we loved the Spice Girls when she was little so that part was interesting to read. I had forgotten what had happened, how and why they quit and she does tell a bit about that. What annoyed me most though was that she appears to never be happy. During The Spice Girls period she missed her family, while with David there were other problems. it is true though that she was always thought of as the Spice Girl that coul ...more
I am not a big fan at all of Victoria Beckham but we, my daughter and I, we loved the Spice Girls when she was little so that part was interesting to read. I had forgotten what had happened, how and why they quit and she does tell a bit about that. What annoyed me most though was that she appears to never be happy. During The Spice Girls period she missed her family, while with David there were other problems. it is true though that she was always thought of as the Spice Girl that coul ...more
Never believe all you read in the papers!I was surprised to like this book,not being a great fan of the Posh and Becks brand or the Spice Girls but it is a good read.
Victoria talks about the nonstop pressure of the Spice Girl existance, not being able to spend time with her family or David, and how everything was controlled by the manager that they fired. She talks about her terror when the life of her son Brooklyn was threatened,receiving bullets with her and David's name on them and being bet ...more
Victoria talks about the nonstop pressure of the Spice Girl existance, not being able to spend time with her family or David, and how everything was controlled by the manager that they fired. She talks about her terror when the life of her son Brooklyn was threatened,receiving bullets with her and David's name on them and being bet ...more
Loved it! A great read. I was reluctant to read it until someone suggested to me how good it was. Easy to read. I also found I had more respect for her, not just as an artist but as a person as well. I would highly recommend it, I couldn't put it down!
Thought this was an awful book, far too long, and Victoria is far too trusting of David especially given that we know he cheated on her
I read this for a course on autobiographical writing I took when I was in England. While in England, I bought about thirty books (the availability of bookshops was just too tempting). I brought nearly all of those books home with me. This one I left in the "bin" -- that's Brit-speak for trash can. To say that the writing and content was vapid would be giving it way too much credit. A lot of people ask me if I think Victoria Beckham actually wrote this or if she employed a ghostwriter. I can't sa
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Easy to read and gave me a different view of Victoria Beckham as I always thought she was stuck up, however she is very down to earth and the stuck up Ness was an act and lack of confidence.
I loved reading this autobiography, I'm not a big fan of autobiographies but this caught my attention as she is one of the most written about women in the world. To hear how she grow up and how she was like most people, unhappy with the way she looked and teased at school (all things that happened to myself) it made me realise you can do anything you set your mind to with a large amount of determiation and a lot of courage. I would recommend this book because it is an interesting read and there
...more
I was definitely a fan of the Spice Girls back in the day and Posh was always my favorite. I truly enjoyed reading about her growing up and the creation and evolution of the Spice Girls. The color photos - many of which were candid and not taken by paparazzi - added a nice touch. I was surprised to learn about the multiple death threats, and the kidnapping threat on her son when he was just a baby. I think she just wanted people to know she was human. This book was written in 2001, so there's de
...more
Far too long. Geri Halliwell's 2 books were a lot better.
I would've given this book more stars if it wasnt so long. And outdated. It was pretty dry until she meets David, then it gets more interesting. I think they are a super cute couple and it sounds like they really love each other. The part where she was talking about the kidnapping and death threats was creepy to read. Cant imagine what it was like to actually live through it. She needs to put out a more recent book since a lot of stuff has happened since this was published back in 2001.
I had a new respect for Victoria after reading this book. Although the Beckhams were married when she wrote this book, it was before they became the massive media storm that they are now. The book shows that far from just being 'the posh one' from the spice girls, she has worked hard to get where she is and has more brains than most people give her credit for. She is very honest about her childhood, being bullied etc. An insightful read...
As a massive Spice Girls fan as a kid I read this as a teenager as soon as it came out. I found it interesting to learn about the real person behind the celebrity and when you are a teenager its helps to realise the celebs are human too! My favourite parts were ones about the early days of the Spice Girls. As the first autobiography I read, it didn't disappoint.
Aug 26, 2010
Helen Capstick
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who wants a great celebrity autobiography!
Shelves:
top-rated-books
,
favorites
This book is all about Victoria Beckham’s life. It goes into her life from childhood, and you really get a feel of what she’s like as a person. She’s quite a sensitive person and she talks about when she first met David, which was fun to read! I bought this book to read on holiday as a teen and I couldn’t stop reading it! Easy book to get into also!
I rarely read autobiographies but I picked this up for 20 cents at a thrift store. I am really enjoying this!
Ok, I am almost done and I have to say I loved this book. I feel so bad for how the media attacks these celebrities. Yes, they are in the public eye but that doesn't make them public property.
Ok, I am almost done and I have to say I loved this book. I feel so bad for how the media attacks these celebrities. Yes, they are in the public eye but that doesn't make them public property.
shut up. given to me for chistmas as a novelty gift (i think...), i picked it up amid the posh and becks u.s. invasion hoopla. and can't put it down. i hide it in the freezer, under the couch cushions, etc. i've just give in. it's not even that juicy really. someone help me.
This is a unique look at Victoria's life obviously from Victoria. If you are, or ever were a fan then this is a book that would interest you. I was surprised that I enjoyed it so much. I think she did a great job of telling her own story.
Worst autobiography ever. I thought, in order to write a book about your life, you have to have something happen to write about. The only thing that happened to Victoria Beckham was being in the spice girls. So not worth the read.
This was so badly written, I was surprised to find it had been ghost written. Having said that it does give a clear view of contemporary celebrity and how one man managed to manufacture a band which became a worldwide phenomenon.
I like her, I will admit that. Damm she is such a lucky skinny bitch. Okay, but she obviously didn't write this book, and to be honest, other than fame and fortune her life has been a little uneventful.
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Victoria Caroline Beckham (née Adams) is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, fashion designer, author, businesswoman, actress and model.
During her rise to fame with 1990's pop group the Spice Girls, Beckham was dubbed Posh Spice, a nickname first coined by the British pop music magazine, Top of the Pops , in their July, 1996, issue. Since the Spice Girls followed separate careers, she has dabble ...more
More about Victoria Beckham...
During her rise to fame with 1990's pop group the Spice Girls, Beckham was dubbed Posh Spice, a nickname first coined by the British pop music magazine, Top of the Pops , in their July, 1996, issue. Since the Spice Girls followed separate careers, she has dabble ...more
