Starman: David Bowie - The Definitive Biography (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Got through this pretty quickly,mainly because i skipped quite a bit of the first 200 or so pages. The reason for this is that because i'm not a big fan of Bowie's early years or even his glam rock period (shock horror i know).My interest in Bowie begins with Young Americans and pretty much ends at Scary Monsters, although i have enjoyed more recent albums such as Heathen and The Next Day. With this in mind it could be argued that reading this was a mistake, however i wouldn't recommend this to a bigger fan than myself or even a Bowie obsessive.The book generally seems more obsessed with the business side of things and isn't as interested in Bowie's cultural impact except for the odd tidbit here and there. In short there's probably better books about Bowie out there. Breathlessly obsessive presentation of how incredible David Bowie's each and every hairdo, stage outfit, and recorded conversation is and ever was. I'm a fan of the Thin White Duke's (this book was given to me as a gift) but this was 479 long and tedious pages; from birth in 1947 through to 2010. As the book ends, Bowie is dedicated to raising his daughter with Iman, and author Paul Trynka presumably cries every day there remains no next new David Bowie album. To be fair, it was interesting to read details surrounding the making of Bowie albums I personally played to death in my youth. But for all the other myriad recordings (the guy was freaking prolific!) it was slow-going. Of course, if you're addicted to all things David Bowie, this book is 5 Stars to you. I found Trynka a bit over-indulgent with the high praise, he makes it sound as though Bowie knows more than any authoritative expert on subjects ranging from the future, to nazism, to art, etc. But then he goes and substantiates a claim in relation to Bowie's expertise on the internet by describing the hours Bowie spends on sites like eBay! and Google!
What do You think about Starman: David Bowie - The Definitive Biography (2011)?
Good account of Bowie's life, a bit long towards the end though.
—dill37737
Not bad but it runs out of steam as Bowie's career does same.
—kath354
You don't get them more detailed or complete than this.
—Ley
One of the best biographies I have ever read!
—yam87
