Interesting book (given the subject). It's a bit difficult to follow unless you are already very familiar with some of the people Spitz refers to. He tends to go backwards and forward in time to make a point and it gets very confusing. I wish someone would have paid more attention to the editing since there are a lot of grammatical errors which is kind of annoying. While you don't get a very straight forward "this happened, then this" type biography, I thought it was very cool and interesting to think about the various forces around Bowie that were influential such as the music, movies, and other cultural movements going on that all affected him in some way, even if he doesn't say so himself. If I had known ahead of time, I'd also recommend listening to the albums that are being discussed to get a more clear picture of what Spitz is talking about when he's describing all of these influential factors. Worth reading for anyone who loves Bowie.

More like 3.5 stars. The first half of the book concentrates so heavily on his life up to Ziggy Stardust that everything past that is is fairly breezed by and lightly covered compared to the first part. Wish it was all as deeply covered.

David Bowie is God.

Bowie has a very interesting life, but I guess I just don't care enough about his story to continue the book when there is so much else on my 'to read' list. I skimmed most of this book, but what I did read, I enjoyed. Maybe another day, I'll finish it.

I enjoyed reading the book, but agree with reviewers that the author's style left something to be desired.

This book is full of information about Bowie's music and career. While a lot of the terrain has been covered before, if you haven't read an earlier biography then by all means pick this up. The downside is Spitz's writing style. In some places, the book focuses too much on its author and I didn't buy it to read about him.

Great!

I had bought this book a while ago and it's been on my to-read list since before 2011. Given that this book came out in 2009 there is another 7 years of life to tell for David Bowie. But that does not mean I wasn't bawling my eyes out at the very end especially when the last sentences read thus:

"Whenever someone quotes from a heady book they haven't read in full, he'll be there...when bands from England and Iceland and Chicago and Atlanta are taking from their heroes and offering up some new music, he will be there."

Reading it now it's as if he'll be there in spirit. Of course, at the time of its publication Bowie was taking a break from recording new material and was a bit reclusive. The book spans through Bowie's life and really does a good job at examining his career and personal life at full. There are times towards the latter half of the book when the examination of albums is shortened simply because they aren't as well received as his work in the 70s. And I felt like the author had a bit of bias in regards to Labyrinth (it might also have to do with the fact that I grew up with Labyrinth on video/DVD and it was a cult hit amongst me and my friends so it might simply be a generation gap issue on how I view it as opposed to the author who dismisses it as not very good).

Other than that I really enjoyed this book because I learned quite a bit from a beloved icon. Although there are a good 30 pages at one point where 3 of Bowie's friends pass away and it did get me upset so I did have to take a break from reading. If you're interested in Bowie's life this is a good book to dig into. His life truly was fascinating especially in regards to how he finally got his first break in the music industry. Just keep a box of tissues at hand when you read it.

Excellent biography, especially regarding the early years and the Ziggy Stardust period (roughly the halfway point). From the 80s onward, details become more scarce. I agree with other reviewers in that sometimes Spitz lets the fanboy side intrude a bit too much, but on the other hand this gives the book a touch of personal involvement.
I read this in a poor Brazilian Portuguese translation, with errors mainly due to the translator's lack of familiarity with the subject and sometimes even general knowledge - for instance, treating the West End as a city, rather than as a part of London.