No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel

by Janice Dickinson

Book Overview

A rollicking memoir by one of the greatest (and most outrageous) supermodels of the 1970s. Janice Dickinson was not only the first of the supermodels, she endured a nightmarishly traumatic childhood... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060009462
• ISBN13: 9780060009465
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Not a fan.

I honestly did not like this book. I am not a fan of Janice Dickinson and j just couldn't read the book without hearing her if that makes sense. It was somewhat interesting. Didn't finish it. Donated it.

Amazing

I laughed and cried, and laughed some more. It is better than any other self help book out there, as Janice claims. It made me like her even more.

Holy wow, Janice shines!

I picked up this book actually AFTER reading its follow-up: "Everything About Me Is Fake... And I'm Perfect." I couldn't put it down, just like the first. Her honesty of her abusive and neglegent childhood, to her pre-teen angst, straight up to the superstar-dom and all the baggage that comes with it, makes her novel an unbelievably interesting read, as well as a huge stepping stone for her as a person to put her life down on paper. The novel discusses the insecurities she still felt through an adult, and how long it took for her to discover her happiness, to discover her true-self, and to understand why she kept harboring destructive relationships with men, and the lack of respect she had for herself. I largely disagree that any of the novel brags about the lifestyle or men she's slept with, I think that her putting it down on paper helps her come to terms with everything she's done right and wrong, not to mention it also destroys the rumor mill, which I'm sure circulated plenty about her. What's wrong with being honest and open about your past? I like how she discovers the fact that the relationships she was having, she'd try to cause problems to sort of fix the broken childhood she had -- Which I've seen plenty of people actually do. It's true, sad, and hard to overcome. I feel horrible that it took her so long to find true happiness, but am glad that she found it in her children. The woman is unbelievably exceptional in beauty, wit, humor, and self-assurance. With a confident (not cocky) attitude, she shares her life experiences and her mistakes, I like to believe with the hope that her readers won't walk down the same path to self-destruction that she did. This is a must read for anyone, really. Girls, to adults will love her sense of humor, and her proof that insecurities are in EVERYONE, not just you. I can't even stop watching "America's Next Top Model," simply for the fact that she's on it!

What a story

This book reminded me of Jackie Collins books such as Hollywood Wives or Chances. She would pick a central female character who was beautiful, cavort with the rich and famous and Hollywood's elite, and jetset off to exotic locales. She might be a bitch or drama queen and flawed, yet intriguing,and a survivor. Naturally, there would be a plethora of high octane sexual encounters. Of course, the main difference is Jackie Collins work was fiction, with names altered to protect the guilty. This is the real deal, and proof that truth is not only stranger than fiction but ultimately more interesting. Real names are used such as Jack Nicholson, Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis, Mick Jagger, and Warren Beatty, but strangely enough no mention of Dustin Hoffman LOL. I have noticed myself that some women who have an abusive father, hate the parent, also hate themselves because they accept and agree with what is being said. Yet, ironically they become what they hate most, and act out in similar ways as the parent ie they unconsciously go looking for the familiar ie an abusive jerk thinking that scorn will somehow turn into approval. Or, as in this case also become self destructive, and abuse drugs and alcohol. If they do meet someone who is decent, then they become (what they hate)the abuser to provoke the abuse. It's a no win situation. It is interesting to see how she finally gets to grip with this in the end, her epiphany. For that alone this book is well worth reading. She did treat one decent guy particularly badly. He wasn't contrary enough. She slept with two other guys in the same week, rubbed his nose in it, left him and got pregnant. But who was the father? Was it the movie star, the artist guy her friend set her up with, or her boyfriend, the Hollywood movie producer? I have to say this book is well written, and I read it over a weekend. She tells her tale with indefatigable alacrity, to use two of her favorite words. If you were to find this review helpful, please click yes.

Honest and Brutal

Janice Dickinson surprised me greatly by this well written book in the tradition of the lights of Marquise de Sade. Few books I have read breathe of such honesty. You can feel the knives going into her as she was writing this, the cruel treatment of her own self and the lust for life that has driven Ms Dickinson to be such a beautiful woman. Of course, this kind of determination only works with a delectable bone structure and an exotic personality, and as previous reviewers have mentioned, there is plenty of evidence Janice is bootylicious.Frankly having seen Janice lying through her teeth (or amusing herself) on a talk show with Gia Carangi as the subject, where she proclaimed that on the topic of playing the field and taking drugs she felt like she was "left out of something", I was much surprised at finding this such an honest book. There is nothing, NOTHING, PC about Janice. Moreover this is really one of the greatest books of its kind. Strangely enough it reminds me of Gogol! She makes that curious contact with the reader - all of a sudden she reaches out and you are right with her as she writes this remarkable tale of her life. If you have no problem with dirty words, if you love art and you don't consider a person inane because of their overt usage of foul language, this is the book for you. Highly recommended!

Honest memoir by an early super model

Janice Dickinson was one of the first models who not only broke the mold of the blonde, pale and WASP-y supermodel but turned it on upside down, in the tradition of Gia Carangi, Cindy Crawford and Beverly Johnson. Born with looks that turned heads and drove men to their knees, Dickinson was not as blessed when it came to her personal life and self-image. She seemed destined to self-destruct but somehow managed to recreate herself until time, drugs and her past caught up with her. Does this sound like just another dreary tale of a beautiful woman who let fame go to her head. drugs muddle her brain and life pass her by? Think again. Pick this one up and I doubt you'll put it down again till you've read every sentence. FOr one thing, Dickinson has the courage to spill almost all about the ups and downs of her life (although I'd LOVE to read what she doesn't reveal) and that, in itself, is compelling. She's honest about many of her flaws and revealing about the lives of celebrities who cross her path, including Sylvester Stallone, Christie Brinkley, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and others. This makes for a juicy read. I'll leave it to you to decide what is true and what isn't. What I CAN say is that this book definitely isn't boring or dry. CAUTION: There are some nude photos in the photo spread so, depending on your values, you may not want to leave this one lying around the house.