Encyclopedia Madonnica 20: Madonna from A to Z

I was a teenager in the eighties, so rarely a day passed that I was not in some way reminded of Madonna's stronghold on popular culture, whether it was on the radio, MTV or newsstand. I considered myself one of her biggest fans, along with probably everyone else at the time. In the past decade or so, for whatever reason, my avid fandom waned, not necessarily because I considered her any less talented. Nevertheless, I always felt a slight twinge of shame and regret for no longer being an enthusiastic, up-to-date expert on her life and career.

Thanks to Matthew Rettenmund, I can now let go of some of that guilt. Courtesy of the author's meticulously researched, comprehensively detailed and beautifully laid out pictorial tome, "Encyclopedia Madonnica 20: Madonna from A to Z," I can now proudly once again claim to know everything I want or need to know about the Material Girl, and on those rare occasions when my memory is cloudy or altogether stumped, I have the quintessential reference guide on the superstar.

Back in 1995, Rettenmund first released "Encyclopedia Madonnica," and even then his subject had enough of a career to warrant a textbook. Two decades later, "Madonnica 20" is a behemoth--and I mean that in the best possible way--that provides an even more inclusive, engrossing and altogether addictive alphabetical arrangement of factoids and fodder about arguably the most famous woman in the world.

While "Madonnica 20" expectedly includes career milestones, like album titles, release dates, cover art and playlists, as well as the nuts and bolts of her groundbreaking concert tours, the artist's life off the stage and screen, including her relationships, marriages, children and charities are equally represented in this especially colorful compilation.

It is impossible to point out what would be considered highlights of this almanac-like effort, considering the wealth of information available and the breadth of Madonna as an artist and a celebrity. Every page of this work is peppered with random quotes or testimonials from friends, collaborators and even everyday fans.

For those like me, who remember her like a virgin and a prayer, "Madonnica 20" provides an opportunity to become better acquainted with the artist since Y2K, whereas her younger fan base will revel in the history and imagery of her youthful days during the New York underground dance club scene that spawned her first recognizable track, "Everybody."

It would be criminal to not include at least a few tabloid tidbits that were news to me, like a rumored fling with a nineteen-year-old production assistant from the shoot of her aired-only-once Pepsi commercial, or that she wanted to work with Eminem, "but he didn't seem to want to," nor was I aware that Oliver Stone was the original director of "Evita" and that he fired her.

Monumental is the word that first comes to mind for Rettenmund, who managed to put this together so perfectly and precisely--and twice, no less. As the title of one of her albums indicates, he has certainly given Madonna herself and her fans "something to remember."

"Encyclopedia Madonnica 20: Madonna from A to Z"
by Matthew Rettenmund
Boy Culture LLC
$65.00