Жить и восхищать. Синди Кроуфорд

by Cindy Crawford, Синди Кроуфорд, Иван Чорный (Translator)

В этой книге рассказывается о том, чем я занималась последние 30 лет! Надеюсь, что вы увидите на фотографиях всю истинную красоту жизни в моем понимании. Накануне своего пятидесятилетия я начинаю серьезно задумываться о некоторых важных уроках, которые преподнесла мне жизнь. Мне нравится быть моделью, а также все то, что связано с этой профессией. Тем не менее, как бы я этому ни противилась, я старею. Одновременно с этим происходит мой внутренний рост, я становлюсь более зрелой, обретая свое подлинное лицо. Я воздаю честь и хвалу той девочке, которой я когда-то была, приветствуя себя сегодняшнюю, и с нетерпением жду встречи с той мудрой женщиной, которой я рассчитываю стать в грядущие десятилетия. Процесс отбора и компоновки иллюстраций для этой книги стал для меня своего рода путешествием внутрь себя. Я долго работала над тем, чтобы мое внутреннее содержание соответствовало внешности, которую вы видите на фотографиях. Мне хочется чувствовать себя, как эта уверенная, сильная, энергичная женщина, которая смотрит на меня со страниц книги. Пускай я и выгляжу несколько старше ее, но с каждым днем я чувствую, как становлюсь все больше и больше на нее похожа.

Genres: Biography, Fashion, Photography, Memoir, Nonfiction, Lifestyle, Art

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2015

About the author

Cynthia Ann Crawford is an American supermodel, MTV television personality, celebrity endorser, cover girl, and actress.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have a lot of regrets about the way I've lived my life. Not because I haven't made mistakes - I've made plenty. But what's the point of regret? You can't undo the past.

I actually highly enjoyed this book. And that was surprising to me.


Amount I care about Cindy Crawford: 0.
How much I follow Crawford's career: 0.

I thought perhaps this would not interest me.

However, listen, the book is gorgeous. It's a beautiful, beautiful $50 coffee table book and it's stunning. I loved looking at all the photographs of Crawford. I loved seeing how styles and fashions changed through the decades, and I loved seeing how different photographers could make her look so different just by changing her clothes, hair, and makeup.


I have an intense and avid interest in photography and this book was perfect for that side of me.

Also, it's fun to look at Cindy Crawford. She has an amazing body - especially her breasts, which I think are her best feature, they are so gorgeous and wonderful. I can't really say whether she's "beautiful" or not since I'm not interested in women and have really no clue what men find attractive, but I find looking at her very pleasing. She doesn't look fake or overdone, IMO. There's a reason Pepsi chose her as the kind of "sexy girl next door" spokeswoman. She's got a very soft and natural look.

There ARE nude and breast-baring photos in here. I don't want you to be surprised. They didn't sexually excite me, but I could definitely see people who are interested in women checking this book out from the library and taking it home as masturbatory material. It's not porn by any stretch of the imagination (okay, by some stretches which involve "all naked photos are porn" *rolls eyes*) but Crawford certainly does have a slamming body which is often semi-nude here. I thought the pictures were gorgeous and very tasteful and like I said, Crawford has AMAZING breasts, so I can't really see why she'd avoid having pictures taken of them when she's a model. But if for some reason nudity offends you, this book probably isn't for you.


If you are looking for a personal book about the "real" Cindy Crawford, this is NOT it. This book is not really too much about Crawford. The first 50 or 60 percent of the book is solely about different photographers, and what working with them was like. If you do NOT know fashion photographers by name, this text will be of zero interest to you, even if you adore looking at the pictures.


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BOOK
However, Crawford does scratch the surface (ONLY THE SURFACE) of some interesting topics. I liked hearing what she thought about doing nude photo shoots:

As a model, you can feel exploited and taken advantage of even with your clothes on. Being naked certainly heightens that feeling of vulnerability. Each and every time it is a personal decision, and, luckily, most of the time I have been happy with my choice. The only nude shots I've ever regretted were those taken when I felt pressured, having let a photographer talk me into undressing, But even in those cases I always had the option to say no and have no one else to blame for how I felt.

Being a mom AND a working (outside of the home) woman:

I've certainly had days when I question whether I should quit working. After all, I've had a great career already, and I know in a lot of ways my kids (and my husband) would love having me home full-time. But the part that my kids might not understand yet is how much I get out of working. I love my job and the self-esteem that comes from working hard and being good at what I do. With luck, the example I am setting will make up for field trips I've missed, and someday my kids will have the confidence to pursue their own dreams and careers they love. In the meantime, some days I have to battle "mom-guilt" just like everybody else.

She talks about dieting - making it clear her body isn't naturally like this and that she has to diet and exercise hard in order to make it look like this. This is an important point. I hate when models claim they eat pizza and make other statements that make it sound like it is easy to maintain this kind of body. Crawford doesn't do that.


She also talks about her two Playboy photo shoots and why she declined a shoot they offered to do of her at age 40.


I also liked the chapter she did about how she once went on a photo shoot where the photographer wanted to have all the models do "face lifts" using really uncomfortable tape on their faces for the shoot, and Crawford refused.

Even the best hair and makeup wasn't good enough? Now we had to go to extreme measures to enhance our faces? What would that say to the reader? And what possible takeaway could there be for them?

She also talks about her preference for film photography and she discusses the pros and cons of digital photography, which I found fascinating.
http://zbom.free.fr/photo/chaudiere/C...

She talked about some dangerous photo shoots and how important it is to speak up if a photographer is having you do something that could be physically dangerous.

She is open and honest about her inability to act and laughs at herself and her performance in Fair Game, which I found refreshing.

There's a tiny bit about her wedding to Rande and her marriage with him. Next to NOTHING on Richard Gere. If you are reading this to find out about her relationship with Gere, you are going to be very disappointed.

There's also a tiny bit about pregnancy, motherhood, and her children.



BODY IMAGE
It's obvious Crawford hates aging, and is uncomfortable with idea of getting older.

She also really talks about how pregnancy was scary for her because it would change her body irrevocably and how afraid of being fat and stretch-marked she was.

The only benefit of morning sickness was that I actually lost ten pounds in my first trimester, which made it easier to keep my pregnancy quiet... I would like to say I was one of those women who loved being pregnant, but, honestly, I saw it as a means to a beautiful and much anticipated end. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's all models, but the idea of my body changing in so many ways, not knowing if it would ever go back, was terrifying.

Now. I usually am sad and angry that women feel this way. Usually I would have a paragraph here about how having a baby is wonderful (if that's what you want to do) and that you should love your body after the baby, even if it isn't exactly the way it used to be, etc. etc. I am a feminist and I think women are amazing and gorgeous whether they have had children or not, and I'm sad women feel shame and depression and fear that their body is going to be different after pregnancy. BUT as Crawford is a model and earns her living by using her body as a photographic prop/tool, I can't really fault her fear about this. I mean, I can't. I understand that for women who earn their living off their body this is a different issue and a valid one.

But the "morning sickness = yay, weight loss!" still makes me lose my shit. That's highly disturbing to me. But in re: the stretch marks and changed body, I can understand where she's coming from. And I usually wouldn't say that.

Same thing with her fear of aging. Usually, this would HIGHLY annoy me. Older women are gorgeous and wonderful. But again, I understand that for a supermodel who earns her living off of being 'young and beautiful,' her fears are valid. I sympathize. It's hard when the one thing you are known for and praised for and valued for starts slipping away. Hopefully she's been prudent with her money and can enjoy retirement or semi-retirement whenever she chooses to take it. I hope she's blissfully happy with her man and her children.

Tl;dr - Surprisingly satisfying. A very shallow look at the woman - she keeps her personal life buttoned up here - but a gorgeous book filled with amazing photography of an attractive woman.

I highly recommend this, even if you are just going to flip through the pictures and ignore the text. All my friends and family pored over the book, making comments and oohing and ahhing over Crawford's beauty, the clothes, and the pictures. Success.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in reading Becoming, not just for the beautiful coffee-table-book images of Cindy Crawford's modeling career, but in reading the text of her take on a very unique career. I've always held Cindy Crawford in high regard, especially when I learned she almost went to Northwestern on a full academic Chemical Engineering scholarship. She took her intelligence with her into her modeling career, and I think she is to be applauded for that. I really enjoyed her descriptions of the business, both what she did right, as well as her take on mistakes she made. She's a very level-headed person. A great read!

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me forever to finish this. Not because it wasn't interesting but because every time I cracked open the book my cat would start howling and got all up in my face. I don't think she wanted me to look at it.

[Elizabeth]

I enjoyed it. Crawford is very down to earth.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, quick read with gorgeous pictures. The book gives some insight into Cindy Crawford; however, it is not a full memoir.

[Shahine Ardeshir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start with what I liked most about Becoming: This is an aesthetically beautiful book, full of gorgeous photographs, ranging across the incredible modeling career of one of the world’s biggest supermodels. If you do decide to read it, I'd highly recommend procuring a physical (preferably hard copy) version, which makes for a lovely coffee table book. This is not a book worth reading on a Kindle, because most of its charm lies in its photography.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the chapters where Cindy talked about the nuances of modeling, the quiet but confident advice she offers, the lessons she mentions learning in what goes into modeling. Oftentimes, she sounded like a world-class athlete describing her sport: She clearly isn’t just a pretty face, and her skill and mastery of her craft as a professional shone through. To top it off, her tone remained incredibly, surprisingly humble, page after page, despite all rights she has to brag. There’s no criticism, no bitterness: She sounded like someone who was extremely grateful for and satisfied with her lot.

That said, I think it's misplaced to call this book an autobiography. It's more a career snapshot, with about two thirds of it being taken up by a series of chapters dedicated to the various photographers she worked with across her career. The execution of this started out well, but the format dragged a little for me, and tested my patience after a while.

Also, there is conspicuously little about Crawford's personal life, be it her upbringing as a child or her marriage as a woman. Sure, there's a lot of cute photographs, and a page or two that sketched her surroundings, but that was pretty much it. There was virtually no detail here, no personal divulgences, no emotion portrayed. What did her parents think of her career choices? How did her sisters react? Was her husband supportive of her continuing to work? What kind of people are her children shaping up to be? These are issues that are consistently unanswered, making the book centered on Cindy the model, versus Cindy the person.

In summary, if I judged this as an autobiography in the true sense, I'm not sure I'd praise it that much. The acid test in this genre for me is always whether I feel like I know the person by the time I put the book down, and in this case, I felt like I knew only the supermodel I'd seen in magazines. Sure, I learned about her humbleness, her incredible work ethic, her professional insecurities… but precious little else. But as an aesthetic, concise, glamorous coffee table read about one of the most influential women in popular culture, it hits the brief spot on.

[Krusher Basta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a confession to make. I read “Becoming” by Cindy Crawford and absolutely loved it! I don’t think I ever would have read it, but I heard her interviewed on the Howard Stern Show. I just assumed she was a pretty face (and perfect body), but nothing more; you know, not much upstairs. Listening to her during the interview made me realize how wrong I was. I expected canned answers to prearranged questions, but Howard was his usual self and Cindy Crawford was engaged with the interview and went along with all the tangents. She was with it! She was interesting and made me want to read her book. And I am so glad that I did.

She writes about her experiences with some of the greatest fashion photographers of all time. She was aware of the different cameras they use, 8 X 10, Mamiya, Leica, etc., and how these different cameras will affect the ebb and flow of the shoot and the final results. She also has a very interesting perspective on the evolution from Film to digital. And most importantly, she knows the difference between Cindy Crawford, and Cindy Crawford©.

It is very well written. I can see why she had offers from Ivy League schools and actually began college at Northwestern, before going to New York to become----Cindy Crawford©.

Oh yeah, the pictures are pretty good too….

[Brian Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

As glamorous as Cindy Crawford's life may seem, she relates it in a very bare-bones narration. I'm undecided whether it adds to or takes away from the excitement, but it is certainly exemplary of her Midwest roots. What I enjoyed most about her coffee table book come autobiography were the small vignettes of her with iconic fashion photographers, such as Herb Ritts, Marco Glaviano, Arthur Elgort and Richard Avedon. Still, they were only Polaroid snapshots that left me wanting more. For the most part, the 8x10 matte-paged book seemed to gloss over the more intensive details of her 30 years in the business. A shame. Perhaps, as she acknowledged in the book, this first retrospective is breaking down a wall for her, revealing the true Cindy Crawford rather than Cindy Crawford the model.

[Carrie Waibel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to look at, but definitely stopped reading when I realized there was no juicy meat on these bones.

[Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the foreword, Crawford starts her book writing about words and the power they have, and about how adult women are often referred to as "girls," especially the models and those in the career she was in and is writing about. She writes that sometimes she thinks that calling women "girls" is "a subliminal way of keeping us from growing up and owning our power." After this promising start I was hoping for some more profound insights based on her experiences as a model and public figure. But the foreword in about as profound as this book gets. The rest of this autobiography is mostly just about the photographers, their pictures, her relationships, and other activities in which she was involved. In a section called "The Image Makers" she writes about the people who photographed her and how each one had a somewhat different perspective, and shows examples of their work. That part makes up over half the book and the rest is about the chances she took with her career and about her family and other relationships. It's worth something for fans of Crawford and her work, but it's not very deep or insightful about the world of modeling.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is for anyone who had forgotten about Cindy Crawford or how gorgeous she is. Cindy Crawford is 50 and this is her book about her. I enjoyed the chapter on how 90's supermodels took over fashion and her recollections about George Michael's infamous Freedom music video but the rest is eye candy.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admired Cindy's beauty and career when I was growing up. I've never read a biography by a super model. the pics were unbelievable. her words were enjoyable, not sure I learned anything or became inspired.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good collection of photos.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book on Cindy Crawford's modeling life.

[al3xdlarge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to NIU in Dekalb, Il where Cindy is from, so that was a trip reading this! I love the beautiful pictures and how she seemingly stumbled into this profession (like many models seem to) and she just went with it. The majority of the book is devoted to the people who bettered her career, and obviously it's about herself, which was delightful to read. She is very down to Earth, beautiful inside and out and smart as a whip. As an added bonus, you can definetly tell she didn't use a ghostwriter to help her with this. I'm glad she represents Illinois, not too many modern day celebs do!

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cindy Crawford reflects on her rise to supermodel status and provides a visual history of the photographs that made her famous along with the lessons she learned from the photographers along the way. She admits she has had an usually life, but still seems grateful for the experiences and reflective on her impact on culture.

[Jacqueline Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Book filled with Gorgeous Pics and some Biography of Cindy's Life as to how her Career as a Model has affected all areas of her life

[Mrs. R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book and all the beautiful photos.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book about a amazing woman.

[DeBora Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was young I tore a photo of a model out of a magazine that I thought was not only great photography but a great looking model displaying clothes that flowed. I still have that photo somewhere. The model at the time was young, just starting her career and not known but today with the branded mole still in place, it is undoubtedly Cindy Crawford. Having followed her career and even meeting her, I can truly say she is by far not only the top model, but an awesome marketer. The photos and photography is this book are wonderful but would not have been the same without the stunning model in them. Although both will go down in history, Twiggy has nothing on Cindy.

[Valerie Wurdeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this book out on a whim. I didn't really go out looking for it, but it ended up in my stack of library books, so I kept it. There wasn't much depth to this book. Sure, it was nice to hear about her experiences, but I didn't feel like she really got deep into anything and it was mostly superficial. Even when she talked about her panned movie and the harsh criticisms she face I didn't feel much emotion to it, though it was certainly easy to empathize. A quick and easy read and I enjoyed looking at the included photographs.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cindy Crawford has always been someone I have admired for her success in the modeling industry, commitment to physical fitness, entrepreneurial abilities, and empowering image that she has set forth for women of all ages. She is truly an inspiration and her book pays tribute to her successes as well as lessons she has learned along the way.

[Taysha Charlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was gorgeous! The printing, the pictures, the layout and the text was stunning. This is everything I have wanted in a book about (and by) my favourite top model :') I only wish it was longer :(

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crawford takes us on a journey through her career with a smart conversational voice. It is an interesting look at modeling from the inside with stunning photos!

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. She was so painfully beautiful when she was a young woman. She's pretty today, but dang... It hurts to look at how beautiful she was then.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cindy Crawford has always been my favorite model- getting to learn more about her life was so intriguing! She is so down-to-earth, intelligent, funny, and brave - I’d recommend this book to everyone!

[Tami Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coincidentally I purchased this book right around Cindy's birthday. I feel like this has meaning...
I found the book to be inspiring and motivational.

[TA Inskeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned nearly everything I could want about Cindy Crawford, from the supermodel herself, in her own voices - and with the most gorgeous illustrative photos, of course.

[Cleopatra]

Not my interest

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always admired Cindy Crawford's beauty and have done several of her workout DVDs. I was curious to know more about ther life and career. The book is beautifully illustrated, and I enjoyed looking at her photos. If you liked Top Model, I think you would be interested in this book. I do wish it was a bit more salacious and gossipy.