The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World's Most Elegant Woman,   ISBN:9781599215235

Customer Rating: 

This book at times turned into diatribes that weren't about Chanel as much as they were Karbo's opinions on various aspects of Chanel's life. So in that manner, it included much too much Karbo gospel and not Chanel's. The Nazi thing is getting very tired, give it up already, there are worse monsters in this world, many live in Israel. And what nerve she had to complain about Chanel or anyone else not "doing anything" as the world was preparing for another world war. Doesn't she or anyone else know that's what's happening now, at the behest of Israel? She even stated not to ever trust the press, so why isn't she or anyone else looking to other (international) news sources that warn us of this fact? Talk about hypocrisy. Anyway, bottom line, the only reason I gave this two stars is because it led me to get a glimpse of the Mademoiselle enough to want to read a biography on her. So if you too want to learn more about the amazing woman who was Coco Chanel, skip this and choose instead to read a biography by someone who appreciated her and did enough research to make the read about her and not him or herself.

Customer Rating: 

Sorry, I love Coco but this book was pretty dull. I don't feel I walked away with any other knowledge about her that I already didn't know. No "life lessons" here. Glad I bought it at Amazon for a good price, if I had bought it at regular price I would not have been happy.

Customer Rating: 

Karen Karbo is a wonderful writer who is passionate about her subject. I thought this was a "how to" book and although there are tidbits of life lessons in the book, it is more about the life of Coco Chanel and how/why she did what she did. In between is a lovely little side story of Ms. Karbo's search for the ultimate Chanel Chanel Jacket. . . This was a fun, laugh out loud book with many wry insights into life using Coco's mantra for living as a good sounding board for what might work best. Highly recommended if you want a light read and want to learn something at the same time. I think I may go and read Ms. Karbo's book on Kate Hepburn now.

Customer Rating: 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Coco Chanel. It was fun, informative and did not gloss over Chanel's less than perfect life and personality. The author writes as a friend talking to you and is never overbearing or condescending. The line drawings added a great deal to my enjoyment of this book. The bibliography at the end is very helpful. I don't usually buy hardback books, but I highly recommend this book to those who love fashion, fashion history and quirky personalities.

Customer Rating: 

There is something intrinsically refreshing in reading about a woman who was completely herself. This wonderful book is such a reminder to me and to women in general to live life on their own terms, to get on with living and being and loving, forget what everyone else thinks you should be or become. Personally, it felt centering to me. Karbo gets it right. She extracts from Chanel's life the jewels of wisdom that might not be evident in the broader picture. Maybe it would be more accurate to say pearls of wisdom as Coco made pearls de rigeur for anyone with her sense of style. With wit, insight and clarity Karbo makes sense of how one woman changed so much about the world, not just about fashion, but also about love, sex, color, comfort, design and scent. Clearly, we have entered a time of a Coco resurgence and I hope we get to learn the lessons more fully and pass them on to more generations.