Bowie

I love all things David Bowie, so how could I not request this book and how could I not love it?!? I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, but even more so, I LOVED the images. It is titled "The Illustrated Story" and yes, there are so many illustrations. Pictures I have not seen previously.
There are eight chapters ranging from 1947, London Boy, until 2016, Little Wonder. Each chapter covers specific years. I was hooked from the first words in the introduction. "When David Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016, two days after his sixty-ninth birthday, the outpouring of emotion was unusually intense. Something about Bowie's loss seemed uncommonly personal and deeply moving." Yes!!! It was something I took personally!! Bowie's music was a HUGE part of my teen years. Those very emotional teen years. His music was what I want to when I needed to get away from teenage issues. When he passed, I cried. Someone asked me why I would I cry for someone I did not know. I found that an odd question because I did know him. Not personally know, but in the way a fan knows their idol, I knew him. Thank you for this illustrated version of his life!! All Bowie fans need to have this book, even if you do not want to read it, the pictures are wonderfully awesome!

There’s been a slew of books on Bowie since his death in early 2016, and Pat Gilbert’s ‘Bowie. The Illustrated Story’ could be regarded as a belated attempt to jump on the bandwagon (if a hearse can be a bandwagon).

Such a judgment would be uncharitable, however, insofar as there’s now been a decent interval allowing someone like Gilbert to re-evaluate Bowie’s life and art.

This illustrated story can certainly boast plentiful pictures, including photographs of Bowie as a boy; teenager; mod; mime; band member; as Ziggy; with an eyepatch (no less than four times!); in shades; as the Gouster; as the Thin White Duke; in concert; in the studio; in family settings; partying; in film roles and so on. The list of supporting characters includes Marc Bolan, Ken Pitt, Lindsay Kemp, Tony Visconti, Dana Gillespie, Mick Ronson, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, John Lennon, Brian Eno, Angie Bowie and Iman.

There are also pictures of singles, albums, posters and tickets, although this sometimes means an element of duplication (for example the image of David kicking one leg high in the air, from the 1972 cover of ‘The Man Who Saved the World’, is reproduced on the cover of a 1972 RCA promo EP on page 77 and then again on a Ziggy Sardust tour poster on page 82).

There are some photographs I hadn’t seen before but a lot that I had and the illustrations, although covering a greater number of years, will not command the same level of interest as those which accompanied Kevin Cann’s ‘Any Day Now’, when it first appeared. Nor is Gilbert’s text quite as insightful as that to be found in, say, Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray’s ‘Bowie: An Illustrated Record’.

Having said that, Gilbert has done a competent, conscientious, craftmanslike job of charting Bowie’s life, so if you want an unpretentious and undemanding but reasonably comprehensive overview this is a good place to start.

A great tribute book for all David Bowie fans! I grew up listening to his music in early days, & continued into his last & final days. Gorgeous photos, both color, & B&W, along with detail written information through each phase of his career. Constantly reinventing himself, different personas & facades, always staying relevant. Wish 8 had the actual,physical book, but the digital is also quite beautiful! Sadly, the world didn’t really know he was sick, & it was a huge shock to me, when I saw he died. Talent snuffed way too early & young

I received a digital copy of this amazing tribute book from Net Galley & Quarto Publishing. In return I’ve written an honest review. Thank you very much for allowing me this last look into David “Bowie” jones’ life

Very good book that any David Bowie fan will want to have. Oustanding pictures and writing makes this book a win. Nice information regarding very times in David Bowie's life. Very good book, holds your interest. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of the book in return for my honest review. I highly recommend this book.

I love David Bowie. I was saddened by his death. Really good inside look to him.

What a really interesting book. Firstly, I am not a huge David Bowie fan but I greatly appreciate how much he influenced so many bands that I am huge fans of. This book, alongside fantastic photos, really offers a great insight into the depth of work that Bowie created over a 40+ year career, I imagine that not a lot of this will be news to many of his fans, but as someone with a passing knowledge of his back catalogue, I find this immensely interesting and will now be investigating said back catalogue.

I tried for weeks to download this one and thankfully this was one time my persistence paid off because on the fifth try I stopped receiving the error and was successful.

As a huge Bowie fan I was unimpressed by the reading content that has been written in numerous other books and articles, there was not much new or original information to be had. The photography was brilliant though, and many of the photos I have not seen previously published which was exciting.

I would recommend this to any fan of Bowie, it's a beautiful collection of his life. Even for a coffee table display this is sure to be an entertaining flip through for passing the time, and hey, who knows who might pick this up and become a new fan.

A fantastically researched and written tone to a truly great artist.

This book was definitely for newly converted Bowie fans. I mean, can’t you see the trademark Labyrinth eyes? I was introduced to David Bowie because of his cult film, Labyrinth. Unfortunately there’s less Labyrinth material, but I’m not complaining!

But if you don’t know anything about David Bowie, this is a good book to start with. There’s an abundance of photographs and graphics (like posters, album art, etc) that features Bowie’s music career. The biography follows Bowie as a teenager until his success. It’s just amazing to read about Bowie’s success because this is clearly not something he was expecting. It seems like he was just testing the waters until he became popular. He seems like someone who never gives up, so in a way, this book was awe-inspiring.

For those who have read many biographies or non-fiction books on David Bowie, information from this book may not be new. However, it’s still a good book to keep because of the collection of photographs inside the book. Also, I think it’s better to own a physical copy because it was difficult to read on a device unless you don’t mind zooming in/out while you read.

Such a beautiful, heartfelt book and a perfect tribute to David Bowie.

I received an arc of Bowie: An Illustrated Story, so a big thank-you to Quatro Publishing Group – Voyager Press and to Netgalley for the opportunity.

And so - in honour of today being David Bowie's birthday - here is my review:

Bowie: The Illustrated Story is a beautiful tribute to the creative genius for which it was named, that surely all fans will enjoy. It is a timeline, following David Bowie’s life and career, taking the reader through his many personas. In the pages of this book, we can see Bowie as he transitions from identity to identity, collaborating with artists from Nine Inch Nails all the way to Bing Cosby, pursuing acting in films such as Labyrinth, and constantly reinventing the way he would express himself through his eccentric style and quiet elegance.
As the title suggests, this is an illustrated work. The photographs were a stunning addition to an already interesting read. So while the writing was definitely a condensed version of Bowie’s life story, the book is certainly something I would suggest to all fans, young and old, time-tested and new.

This really is a fabulous book, full of superb photographs and very interesting accounts about Bowie’s rise to stardom. I didn’t realise how long, and how many attempts it took him to hit the charts, so it really was a fascinating read. There are numerous stories of his many different relationships, personal and professional, many I didn’t know about, and of course accounts of how he became the star we know today.

I was a late fan to his music, being very fortunate to see him in concert back in the 1980s, when he played in a open air venue in Paris on The Glass Spider Tour. I’m so glad I was able to experience his showmanship on a grand scale.

If you’re a fan or just interested in his life, personal and in the arts, I thoroughly recommend this fantastic book.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Voyageur Press for my digital copy.

This book is about the late, great David Bowie - a unique and brilliant artist. I found him to be one of the best of my generation. I truly miss him and his influence in music, art and entertainment. Now, this book is a good one. It talks about him individually and his contributions to the arts. I found the book to be well written and researched. This book does honor Bowie and his legacy. I highly recommend it.

I always love everything Bowie related....sometimes I found that there's books about musicians biographies that are completelly center in the scandals but this one, and the fact that take a lot of emphasis in the images that Bowie created for himself, make this book a must read for every fan, just because Bowie was more that a sunger/author, was a freaking artist and a marketing genius

I have been a Bowie fan for many years so I enjoyed this book. There are some wonderful rare photographs. The text however does not offer any new information. It is a chronological biography of David Bowie and his music. The text mostly centers on the music. For new fans this is a great introduction. Long time fans will enjoy the photographs and the memories of all the great music. Enjoy