Bowie

September 7, 2009
Despite the plethora of existing books about the British glam rocker (e.g., David Buckley's Strange Fascination
), Spitz, formerly of Spin
magazine and the author of a look at the punk band Green Day (Nobody Likes You
), concentrates on the complex evolution of Bowie's music to deliver an evenhanded, critically thorough, while still reverential life of the Thin White Duke. Born David Jones in the Brixton suburbs of London in 1947, Bowie treaded the musical edges from blues to mod to rock-and-roll, moving from band to band in his teens and trying out different personas. Assuming the name of an American frontiersman who died at the Alamo, Bowie took his cues from influences as diverse as Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground, and Marcel Marceau, playing with mime, theater, fashion and sheer showmanship. In the beginning, record companies didn't know how to classify him, with albums like Space Oddity
, The Man Who Sold the World
and Hunky Dory
; it was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
and Spiders from Mars
, depicting Bowie's red-haired rooster haircut and bisexual persona, that sparked the public's fancy. Phenomenal success ensued, and even in his most cocaine-fueled paranoid period during the mid-1970s, Bowie never stopped changing himself, constantly experimenting with new forms, be they Kabuki, disco, New Wave, punk or Brit pop. Spitz concentrates on the heady years culminating in Scary Monsters
and underscores the deafening void that Bowie's recent silence has left in the music world.

October 1, 2009
A breezy, well-lit portrait of the ever-enigmatic rocker.

Born David Jones in 1947, David Bowie became one of the most shape-shifting artists in the history of rock'n' roll. From psychedelic folkie, to dramatic glamster, to blue-eyed soul crooner, to electronic new waver, to hard-rocking alterna-dude, to elder hipster statesman, Bowie is a restless—some would say contradictory—soul. A charismatic, arresting presence on both the music and social scene, the lanky Brit has always spent considerable amounts of time in the public eye. However, few know what he's really about. Fortunately for Bowie's multitudinous minions, veteran pop-culture scribe Spitz delivers the goods, despite his subject's lack of participation in the making of this filmic book. The author (Nobody Likes You: Inside the Life, Turbulent Times, and Music of Green Day, 2006, etc.) takes great care in his dissection of the details of Bowie's long, eventful career, from the highs—e.g., the success of his remarkably entertaining alter ego Ziggy Stardust—to the lows, most notably a lengthy coke bender that almost ended it all. Unauthorized biographies are often frustratingly shallow for serious fans of the book's subject—especially when lacking new material, an original spin or a legitimate sense of enthusiasm—but Spitz's encyclopedic knowledge and obvious appreciation for Bowie's work separate this book from countless cookie-cutter rock stories.

Only time will tell if this is the definitive Bowie bio, but for now it should satisfy hardcore Ziggy freaks and most casual fans.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 19, 2009
From folkie to Ziggy to the Thin White Duke, David Bowie has sown a career of ch-ch-changes. Spitz (Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day) has written a captivating biography of a deliberately evasive musical icon. The author, a devoted fan who is surprisingly capable of providing an objective viewpoint, offers intelligent analysis, both biographical and critical, supported by 100 interviews with members of Bowie's inner circle. Spitz's disarming self-awareness only adds to the warmth of his writing. Figuring Bowie out may be a bit like nailing jello to the wall, and Spitz concludes, "There is no getting Bowie right, really. It's like getting religion right." A fascinating man and a fascinating book. Verdict: An engaging exploration of a chameleon, this Bowie bio takes a prominent place in a crowded field. Recommended for anyone interested in popular music and contemporary culture.-Bill Baars, Lake Oswego P.L., OR

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.