For any fan of David Bowie, this is a must read biography. It delves into so many aspects of his life in a chronological fashion, and brings new insights with some revealing and fascinating interviews with bot Bowie himself, and and with those that knew him well.

This was a thoroughly insightful recount of DB rise to fame (a tiny little bit too insightful in some parts) and the highs and lows throughout his career. My earliest memories of Bowie were from the early 80s and, I will admit, I didn't really like him. Turns out this is a period in is career when most thought he was selling out, so maybe I wasn't being too harsh on him. Since his death I have read a few autobiographies and this was without doubt the most enjoyable, probably because it is a 'warts n all' account, turns out he wasn't such a saint in real life after all.

I just love everything to do with David Bowie So when this book came available to read I jumped for joy. David Bowie: A Life
by Dylan Jones it just an amazing read. This book is a great find, beautifully written and laid out. The only hate I had about the book was it didn't have any photo's in it. But, it didn't put me off for reading it and then purchasing the book.

5 Star review Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this wonderful book to write a honest review.

This is not your standard biography. It is more of a documentary-style biography from the eyes/voices of people who have been around David Bowie throughout his life. Of course, it is subjective and one needs to be careful not to make assumptions. The reader needs to remember that this is how other people perceived David Bowie, and not necessarily the way he perceived himself or made the decisions he made throughout his life.

This book may not be everyone's cup of tea for the mere reason that it doesn't tell a story in the conventional way. It tends to be repetitive because many people refer to the same things and at times it goes back and forth in time, which can be confusing. I would describe it as a scrapbook with moments of David Bowie's life rather than a 1+1=2 conventional narrative. For those who are looking to find anecdotes and view some different perspectives on historical music moments, this book might be just the perfect source of information. In any case I would highly recommend it to every Bowie fan because Dylan Jones has compiled all these interviews with the utmost respect and this is evident in every page.

This is an interesting and enjoyable collection of biographical recollections by people who knew Bowie and by Bowie himself. Because of this it makes it a great book to dip in and out of when you've only a minute or two spare. Overall, I felt it gave me a great insight into the mind of the man. For all true Bowie fans.

Dylan Jones has achieved the almost impossible; his biography, Bowie, gives the reader real insight into one of the world's most enigmatic and impenetrable individuals. His music and characters defined at least one generation and his influence has remained constant for some 50 years.

This biography is well written and draws on significant new material including interviews with some of those who knew him, but have not previously spoken about him. The author also interviewed Bowie over the years, another achievement as he wasn't renowned for giving interviews. It's linear, starting with his early family life and, interestingly, includes detail of his relationship with his troubled brother. It reads rather like a fly on the wall documentary as it moves from person to person and there's a great deal of background detail about the music industry in general.

I found it an intriguing and rewarding read; it really brings to life his relationships with those close to him and it reawakened my interest in some of his earlier albums and how they evolved. It'll be difficult to find a more honest or complete account of the man and his life.

Perfect for fans of David Bowie who are interested in all aspects of his life.

2016 took some my Idols away, such as Bowie or Prince, one after another, and I remeber thinking:

“An incredible Era if finishing”.

Bowie was eccentric and enigmatic and I remember watching the video: “Let’s Dance” sitting on the floor of my home in Venezuela when i was perhaps between 5 to 6 years old and thinking: what is going on on this music and why the colours are like that??” – a child’s perception of art..

Take a read at this magnificent book by Dylan Jones about Bowie’s Life.

A superb book with facts and photos, great for any David Bowie fan.

This is an interesting and enjoyable collection of biographical recollections by people who knew Bowie and by Bowie himself. Some knew him very well, others less so, but all have something to contribute.

Whether or not you like Dylan Jones (I definitely don't), he is a very capable journalist and has done a very good job here. He knows the scene he is dealing with and has access to a lot of people that others might struggle to recruit for a book like this, so there are contributions from a lot (and I mean a *lot*) of high profile friends and collaborators of Bowie as well as childhood friends and others not in the public eye. Jones allows them to speak for themselves (including Bowie's own words), giving their contributions verbatim (although presumably edited) rather than crafting them into a narrative written by a biographer. I like this approach; others have called it lazy, but I like reading what people actually say rather than reading someone else's (particularly Dylan Jones's) interpretation of it, and it is structured in a way which gives it the coherence of a narrative.

It's a long book, and for me it's one to dip into a bit at a time rather than read straight through. Some of it is a bit gossipy, but I felt it gave me a pretty rounded picture of the man and his milieu. I don’t think this is the definitive Bowie biography, but given the nature of the man, I'm not sure there will ever be one. However, it's an insightful, interesting and readable account of his life, his work and his influence, and I can recommend it.

(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)

David Bowie: A Life is an oral history biography made up of selections from over 180 interviews with friends, collaborators, and rivals about David Bowie and his long spanning career. It follows his life chronologically, but with room for personal anecdotes that relate to one another and give different perspectives on the public figure and glimpses of the man underneath.

The oral history format makes this long book readable, cut into a lot of small chunks and with different focuses as people have their own opinions and memories. The format also means that despite the requisite material that covers a rock and roll lifestyle, the gossipy and potentially scandalous seeming parts are framed as elements of personal stories mixed in with work anecdotes and impressions about music and fashion, giving them a slightly different feel to some other rock star biographies. Due to the vast amount of material, there will always be things missed out, but this is an interesting Bowie biography in an enjoyable and sometimes moving conversational style.