David Bowie: The Illustrated Biography

by Gareth Thomas

Perhaps the most original artist of his generation, Bowie, born David Robert Jones in 1947, has reinvented himself many times over a career spanning five decades. Over 200 photographs with authoritative captions tell the story of his life as an international star.

Genres: Music, Rock N Roll, Nonfiction, Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2011

Reviews

[Siao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous. A must-have for all David Bowie fans.

[Michael Rudzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bowie's visual style was almost as important as his music. Certainly, one influenced the other throughout his career, and this book provides great insight into this true star.

[Jaimie · Rating 1 out of 5]

For all that this book tauts itself as being full of rare and unseen photos I found it very underwhelming. Very few of the photographs selected by the author seemed truly unique, and the collection was dominated by images of Bowie on stage with a microphone or at social events. Performances (as both of these situations are just that) may be interesting, but when it's the entire collection - and not even portraying artistic or crafted images - the reader is bound to get bored.

As for the accompanying text, I found that even worse. Thomas' writing style is choppy, lacks finesse, and seems more focused on regurgitating facts than it is with creating a compelling narrative. Considering that I already have far more informative biographies of Bowie (as well as more artistic collections of photographs), this book will not be one to stay in my collection.

[Nin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

No 'rare' photographs, but a nice collection all the same.

[Alec Downie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really not worth the effort, by "rare" he means poor quality photos and lazy rehashed stories that add nothing.

[Laura Jurjane Moosgaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the pictures, but the biography was quite dry - lots of names and dates, little other stuff.

[lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book and adored seeing all the pictures inside! must have for any bowie fan :)

[Nurul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains high-quality, iconic pictures of Bowie from when his career started as David Jones, until the Reality tour in 2003. Being a huge fan for years already, I was quite pleased that this offered many interesting information that you can't easily find online - especially pictures and details of him during his formative, struggling years. If one wants to keep in possession only one Bowie book, this is not a bad one.

[Heather Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's delightful! The more you know!!!!!