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You On Top: Smart, Sexy Skills Every Woman Needs to Set the World on Fire
This hip and funny guide to life by Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief and New York Times bestselling author Kate White is in the tradition of Helen Gurley Brown's classic Sex and the Single Girl .
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 12, 2007
22 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Kate White
53 books2,821 followersKate White is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels of suspense: eleven standalone psychological thrillers, including The Last Time She Saw Him (2024), and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business, eventually running five national magazines. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave eleven years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.
Kate’s first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business, eventually running five national magazines. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave eleven years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.
Kate’s first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 20, 2016
I adored this book by the Editor in Chief of Cosmo.
It's divided into very short (1-3) page "chapters" which give pieces of advice on life. You might think, Cosmo being a hotbed of fashion and sex tips, that these would all be sex or fashion related.
But no! Most of the book is about attitude for success. Kind of like when you read the Sex and... "manuals" of Helen Gurley Brown.
Oh, there is definitely a section on makeup (I may have finally learned "smoky eyes") and a few chapters on sex (with statistics!), but I'd call if more of a successful women's guide to life.
NOTE: If you see this book in stores, you may be terribly put off by the cover/printing. The publishing house chose a sort of ecru paper and cover design that make this book look like it came out in the 80s. When I bought a used copy, I figured it'd be copyright 1984, but still have some gems in it.
Not so! The copyright is in the 2000s. Someone just made a poor choice of paper and design. Really, it's modern.
It's divided into very short (1-3) page "chapters" which give pieces of advice on life. You might think, Cosmo being a hotbed of fashion and sex tips, that these would all be sex or fashion related.
But no! Most of the book is about attitude for success. Kind of like when you read the Sex and... "manuals" of Helen Gurley Brown.
Oh, there is definitely a section on makeup (I may have finally learned "smoky eyes") and a few chapters on sex (with statistics!), but I'd call if more of a successful women's guide to life.
NOTE: If you see this book in stores, you may be terribly put off by the cover/printing. The publishing house chose a sort of ecru paper and cover design that make this book look like it came out in the 80s. When I bought a used copy, I figured it'd be copyright 1984, but still have some gems in it.
Not so! The copyright is in the 2000s. Someone just made a poor choice of paper and design. Really, it's modern.
February 6, 2017
Meh. Kind of a 1.5 really. Maybe valuable to late high school/early college girls, but I think many of the pieces of advice are either a. a bit shallow or b. a bit obvious for anyone older than that. My biggest qualms with it:
1. A rather simplified and essentializing view of men and women (all men are x, all women are y, men are bad at this so sorry ladies but you'll have to do it!). I give men a bit more credit than that (and don't assume women are inherently amazing at everything.
2. Kind of petty in a Bravo or E! network way: Don't get me wrong; there's definitely some humor in those shows and if that's what you enjoy watching go for it. But I wouldn't recommend you using those shows as life advice. The biggest petty moments to me were a. the many times she seemed to bash people who worked with her (but doing so in such a graceful way by not mentioning names....honey, it still feels like petty complaining), and b. the very "gasp! who would wear that!" kind of moments (like the "SO EMBARRASSING" story of someone's husband buying them a GASP Coach diaper bag instead of a Coach computer bag.
If you enjoy reading Cosmo magazine, you might enjoy this...to an extent. But honestly, I'd suggest just buying the magazine instead. And as for life advice (on relationships, work, and life in general), I know it might be more work, but you'd be better off getting a few other books by people who are experts (or at least somewhat qualified) in each of these areas than reading this and expecting a life changer.
1. A rather simplified and essentializing view of men and women (all men are x, all women are y, men are bad at this so sorry ladies but you'll have to do it!). I give men a bit more credit than that (and don't assume women are inherently amazing at everything.
2. Kind of petty in a Bravo or E! network way: Don't get me wrong; there's definitely some humor in those shows and if that's what you enjoy watching go for it. But I wouldn't recommend you using those shows as life advice. The biggest petty moments to me were a. the many times she seemed to bash people who worked with her (but doing so in such a graceful way by not mentioning names....honey, it still feels like petty complaining), and b. the very "gasp! who would wear that!" kind of moments (like the "SO EMBARRASSING" story of someone's husband buying them a GASP Coach diaper bag instead of a Coach computer bag.
If you enjoy reading Cosmo magazine, you might enjoy this...to an extent. But honestly, I'd suggest just buying the magazine instead. And as for life advice (on relationships, work, and life in general), I know it might be more work, but you'd be better off getting a few other books by people who are experts (or at least somewhat qualified) in each of these areas than reading this and expecting a life changer.
July 18, 2009
I'm a sucker for the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble. Thankfully I have a limit of three books per trip. This one managed to make it in my stack.
Kate White is the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine as well as a successful mystery writer. She condenses the best material she's gleaned from her years at Cosmo and shares it in this book.
It's helpful. Not as helpful as stuff the Dalai Lama might say but it's not bad. I'm kind of tired of thinking about how to please a man, though.
General consensus: Empowerment Sex & the City-style.
Kate White is the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine as well as a successful mystery writer. She condenses the best material she's gleaned from her years at Cosmo and shares it in this book.
It's helpful. Not as helpful as stuff the Dalai Lama might say but it's not bad. I'm kind of tired of thinking about how to please a man, though.
General consensus: Empowerment Sex & the City-style.
August 31, 2023
Most of it is general advise which could be really helpful for someone in early 20s. Some parts of the book might imply to lower yourself for a man/to please a man. I mean it is fine to some extent but it was too much.
Apart from that, its an easy-going and fun read
Apart from that, its an easy-going and fun read
September 20, 2023
A fun, easy to read book covering various aspects that many women ask about. With a few giggles, and insightful anecdotes from Kate's career, conversations and encounters during her time at Cosmopolitan, there is something for us all to learn, even if we think we know it all.
Personally, I have never read a copy of Cosmo, nor is it a magazine that has ever appealed to me, but I found this book in my friend's closet and so thought I would take a break from some heavy research and manuscript transcribing.
The thing I enjoyed about this book was the candid humour, and the fact it is that it is so easy to read a few chapters before going to sleep after an intense day of researching and writing. Each chapter is only a few pages long and the chapters are divided into 4 parts of the book.
Divided into career, sex, style and self-care, it was reassuring to see references from anthropologists, and to gain insights into what the men who have read and appeared in the magazine have to say about us women, our bodies and our insecurities.
We women really do have far too many hang-ups!
So, if you are looking for a light read, some cool tips, a healthy dose of reassurance, then this is a great place to start.
Personally, I have never read a copy of Cosmo, nor is it a magazine that has ever appealed to me, but I found this book in my friend's closet and so thought I would take a break from some heavy research and manuscript transcribing.
The thing I enjoyed about this book was the candid humour, and the fact it is that it is so easy to read a few chapters before going to sleep after an intense day of researching and writing. Each chapter is only a few pages long and the chapters are divided into 4 parts of the book.
Divided into career, sex, style and self-care, it was reassuring to see references from anthropologists, and to gain insights into what the men who have read and appeared in the magazine have to say about us women, our bodies and our insecurities.
We women really do have far too many hang-ups!
So, if you are looking for a light read, some cool tips, a healthy dose of reassurance, then this is a great place to start.
November 3, 2011
I adored this book by the Editor in Chief of Cosmo.
It's divided into very short (1-3) page "chapters" which give pieces of advice on life. You might think, Cosmo being a hotbed of fashion and sex tips, that these would all be sex or fashion related.
But no! Most of the book is about attitude for success. Kind of like when you read the Sex and... "manuals" of Helen Gurley Brown.
Oh, there is definitely a section on makeup (I may have finally learned "smoky eyes") and a few chapters on sex (with statistics!), but I'd call if more of a successful women's guide to life.
NOTE: If you see this book in stores, you may be terribly put off by the cover/printing. The publishing house chose a sort of ecru paper and cover design that make this book look like it came out in the 80s. When I bought a used copy, I figured it'd be copyright 1984, but still have some gems in it.
Not so! The copyright is in the 2000s. Someone just made a poor choice of paper and design. Really, it's modern.
It's divided into very short (1-3) page "chapters" which give pieces of advice on life. You might think, Cosmo being a hotbed of fashion and sex tips, that these would all be sex or fashion related.
But no! Most of the book is about attitude for success. Kind of like when you read the Sex and... "manuals" of Helen Gurley Brown.
Oh, there is definitely a section on makeup (I may have finally learned "smoky eyes") and a few chapters on sex (with statistics!), but I'd call if more of a successful women's guide to life.
NOTE: If you see this book in stores, you may be terribly put off by the cover/printing. The publishing house chose a sort of ecru paper and cover design that make this book look like it came out in the 80s. When I bought a used copy, I figured it'd be copyright 1984, but still have some gems in it.
Not so! The copyright is in the 2000s. Someone just made a poor choice of paper and design. Really, it's modern.
January 22, 2014
I liked this self-help book which touches all the different areas of a young 20s life. It's an easy read and it was perfect for me, someone who is in the middle of a job search and not really having a lot of experience under my belt. So reading those little tips about work and life were my favorite parts of the book. It helped me figure out the more ways I can improve myself at work. I also really like how the author includes her personal stories to the lessons she points out. I'm a person who reads people magazines so her personal stories including celebrities were fun to read!
October 21, 2007
i love this book.. it was funny and had alot of interesting facts. i learned so many things and took plenty of advise especially for my boyfreind.. haha..if your feeling down and under this book defintely makes you feel good about yourself
May 25, 2007
Excellent advice, both on the sex (which I expected from cosmo's editor) and on life.
July 11, 2007
Just finishing this up. A great summer ready by the editor-in-chief of Cosmo. A quick read and some of the tips are great, some are things we've all heard before but it's still is entertaining.
January 9, 2008
Affirming and practical
April 22, 2012
Not really a book for a 27 year old... but it was relevant when I started it when I was 24
November 5, 2012
Whoever green-lighted this to be printed in sans serif needs a good fanny kickin!
December 28, 2014
I expected this to be a business book, but it really wasn't. It felt like I was just reading an extended version of cosmo articles. I didn't really learn anything new.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews