The Uncool: A Memoir

by Cameron Crowe

“Cameron has written a book that feels like music, an intimate souvenir, like a song you can’t stop listening to.” —Stevie Nicks

The long-awaited memoir by Cameron Crowe—one of America’s most iconic journalists and filmmakers—The Uncool is a joyful dispatch from a lost world, a chronicle of the real-life events that became Almost Famous, and a coming-of-age journey filled with music legends as you’ve never seen them before.

Cameron Crowe was an unlikely rock and roll insider. Born in 1957 to parents who strictly banned the genre from their house, he dove headfirst into the world of music. By the time he graduated high school at fifteen, Crowe was contributing to Rolling Stone. His parents became believers, uneasily allowing him to interview and tour with legends like Led Zeppelin; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Bob Dylan; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Fleetwood Mac.

The Uncool offers a front-row ticket to the 1970s, a golden era for music and art when rock was young. There’s no such thing as a media junket—just the rare chance a young writer might be invited along for an adventure. Crowe spends his teens politely turning down the drugs and turning on his tape recorder. He talks his journalism teacher into giving him class credit for his road trip covering Led Zeppelin’s 1975 tour, which lands him—and the band—on the cover of Rolling Stone. He embeds with David Bowie as the sequestered genius transforms himself into a new the Thin White Duke. Why did Bowie give Crowe such unprecedented access? “Because you’re young enough to be honest,” Bowie tells him.

Youth and humility are Crowe’s ticket into the Eagles’ dressing room in 1972, where Glenn Frey vows to keep the band together forever; to his first major interview with Kris Kristofferson; to earning the trust of icons like Gregg Allman and Joni Mitchell, who had sworn to never again speak to Rolling Stone. It’s a magical odyssey, the journey of a teenage writer waved through the door to find his fellow dreamers, music geeks, and lifelong community. It’s a path that leads him to writing and directing some of the most beloved films of the past forty years, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Say Anything... to Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous. His movies often resonate with the music of the artists he first met as a journalist, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Who, and Pearl Jam.

The Uncool is also a surprisingly intimate family drama. If you’ve seen Almost Famous, you may think you know this story—but you don’t. For the first time, Crowe opens up about his formative years in Palm Springs and pays tribute to his father, a decorated Army officer who taught him the irreplaceable value of the human voice. Crowe also offers a full portrait of his mother, whose singular spirit helped shape him into an unconventional visionary.

With its vivid snapshots of a bygone era and a celebration of creativity and connection, this memoir is an essential read for music lovers or anyone chasing their wildest dreams. At the end of that roller-coaster journey, you might just find what you were looking your place in the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Music, Biography, Biography Memoir

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

Cameron Bruce Crowe is an Academy Award winning American writer and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes.

Crowe has made his mark with character-driven, personal films that have been generally hailed as refreshingly original and void of cynicism. Michael Walker in the New York Times called Crowe "something of a cinematic spokesman for the post-baby boom generation" because his first few films focused on that specific age group, first as high schoolers and then as young adults making their way in the world.

Crowe's debut screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, grew out of a novel he wrote while posing for one year undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, USA. Later, he wrote and directed one more high school saga, Say Anything, and then Singles, a story of Seattle twentysomethings that was woven together by a soundtrack centering on that city's burgeoning grunge music scene. Crowe landed his biggest hit, though, with the feel-good Jerry Maguire. After this, he was given a green light to go ahead with a pet project, the autobiographical effort Almost Famous. Centering on a teenage music journalist on tour with an up-and-coming band, it gave insight to his life as a 15-year-old writer for Rolling Stone. Also, in late 1999, Crowe released his second book, Conversations with Billy Wilder, a question and answer session with the legendary director.

Reviews

[Nev · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." - Almost Famous (2000)

I was so excited when I learned that Cameron Crowe was writing a memoir. Almost Famous is my all-time favorite movie and I’ve always been so interested in the real stories behind the movie. It’s just such a cool thing, that he was a teenage journalist getting behind the scenes access to rock stars in the 70s. I absolutely flew through this book, Crowe really knows how to bring the stories to life and have them be full of atmosphere. There are silly, fun stories like how he was able to be underage and get into bars or venues to get interviews. But also more serious moments, like getting stories from musicians who had experienced great loss.

The vast majority of the book is focused on the years he was a rock writer. You do get some of his family life growing up, bits of his movie career, and some of the experience turning Almost Famous into a stage musical. But I was hoping for a bit more of a focus on the creation of Almost Famous as a movie. Or just for the book to not feel like it skips so much of his life as a filmmaker.

But overall I had a wonderful time reading this book. I’d definitely recommend it to people who are already fans of Crowe’s, but also to people who are interested in 70s rock overall. There are so many interesting stories about a bunch of iconic musicians.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Paperflame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I knew that this was going to be great, and it is. It’s spectacular. I loved it. Cameron Crowe was almost Forrest Gump-like in his uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time with the right people. He has some amazing stories to tell, and the talent to tell them well. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’d love to read a compilation of his Rolling Stone interviews. I would also like a Volume Two of this book, focusing on his movie career. Truly, I’m interested to read anything he wants to write! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. I had such high expectations for this memoir, and, while I enjoyed it, I was also somewhat let down. Crowe's memoir spends most of his time focusing on his music journalism career and his family, which included a sister who had mental illness and died young, a mother/sister conflict that defined their family, and his relationship with his mother. His movie career only gets a few blips--we spend way more time focusing on the making of Almost Famous: The Musical than we do that film or any of his movies, in part because of the tie-in to his mother.

The chronicles of his career as a teenager who ends up becoming a rock journalist is full of lots of instances of being in the right place or knowing the right people at the right time. He recounts a lot of stories of his encounters with everyone from the Allman Brothers to David Bowie to Joni Mitchell in a way that humanizes these iconic figures. There are some comical elements of being a teenager in this scene--not being able to get into the venues of the bands he's covering, lacking a driver's license to get there. I wanted more of Crowe's perspective of not just the stories but reflection on what it was like being included in this world and his feelings over its end, as his assignments dried up. Similarly, he mostly glosses over his undercover high school year researching what was to become Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the book the movie is based on. As a kid who skipped grades, graduated early, and ended up spending most of his time in adult spaces, this period seems ripe for more introspection, which was mostly lacking.

What was more successful for me were the parts about his family. I loved the details around how his sister's love of music influenced him. His mother's gumption, reinvention, and unconventionality, both in her own life and how she approached parenting, were also highlights. These family elements were where more of the author himself comes out and were some of my favorite parts of the memoir.

As it is Crowe's story to tell, it's a bit unfair to judge it based on what I, as a reader wanted him to include or how he chose to tell it. Also, in a life and career that is so full of fascinating stories and encounters and shifts and stages in life, it's impossible to cover it all in depth or with a lot of reflection. Overall, I enjoyed what was here, while also hoping there might be a second volume someday that covers more territory or digs a little deeper.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing an eARC of The Uncool prior to publication.

[Librariann · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I received an advance digital review copy from the publisher, because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome **

Are you ready for waves of Almost Famous nostalgia? Crowe's memoir put me deep into the years of 2000-2002, between watching the movie in the theatre as an ecstatic 20 year old and watching the DVD on repeat in the years that followed. (I experienced waves of indignance every time he mentioned that the movie flopped in theatres, because it had never felt like a flop to me.)

Even more than rehashing the movie (even though it recaptures dialog verbatim in places, to the point where I hear Philip Seymour Hoffman echoing in my head), it captured a time in history when you could be young and influential, just by being [young, lucky, white, male] present in a space at the right time. In that way, teen Crowe's journey reminded me of all I had forgotten about my youth - the reason why being an unpaid web journalist in the early 2000s felt like entering a new world of promise and possibility, and not just the 45 year old cynic's rearview mirror take that I was taken advantage of for free labor.

But! Enough about me! Crowe's writing style was absorptive (even though the Bowie chapter needs to run through some edits before final press) and the story of his family, vivid and tragic all at once, pulled this from the realm of 70s-rock-meets-wunderkind into something new and meaningful for anyone who has struggled with their family relationships. (That is, all of us.) Come for the pop culture, stay for the legacy of Alice Crowe.

[Amy Sunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to #AvidReaderPress and #NetGalley for the DRC of #TheUncool. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I've enjoyed most of Cameron Crowe's movies (especially Almost Famous) and I grew up in the 70s, listening to a lot of the music he wrote about as a teenaged writer for Rolling Stone magazine. Crowe chronicles his introduction to music, despite his mother's disdain for rock & roll, and how it impacted his life. This memoir is also about his family - especially his mother and older sister - but you still get the vibe of "uncool" kid who just loves the music.

If you're a fan, you've likely heard or read most of what this memoir includes. But it's still a fun and engaging read with several behind the scenes photos.

[Patrick Hanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A feast of a read. The book's gentle, vignette-brief chapters tell the tale of his life and his family's and expands in its closing pages with a heart-squeezing poignancy as he accepts the passing of his mother and reflects on the bonds he and his father did have throughout their lives. Beyond the family focus, there are, of course the portraits of the musicians that he had encountered throughout his precocious career. Crowe pulls back the curtain at times, but also sheds light on the questions that fame and those encounters have left him and would leave all of us with as we fantasize or simply reflect on aspects of life and the relationships we form along the way.

Apart from Crowe pulling back the curtain on his life and career enough to reveal how close Almost Famous actually was to his own life, there are accounts of the work that went into the interviews he did and the writing that came out of them -- something that might prompt a publisher to follow this up with an anthology of his articles from over the years. Brilliant.

[Sara Rishforth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, not only for the incredible music stories about musicians, but also for the narrative about Cameron Crowe's family. In the middle of a chapter, I would look up the cover of Rolling Stone magazine to see the bandshot Crowe was referring to or I would play songs like "Whipping Post" or "Take It To the Limit" and reminisce. "The Uncool" reminded me how much I love music and how it's always been a part of our family too. Thank you for sharing an ARC with me! Looking forward to handselling this book!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge fun for anyone with an affinity for early 1970’s rock and roll. Cameron Crowe was there as a precocious 16 year old whose talent and connections ended up giving him—and us—intimate experiences with many of the personalities of that dynamic era. There’s also Crowe’s mom, who’s an unforgettable character in her own right. Highly recommend the audiobook, which Crowe himself reads.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kindly sent an advance reading copy of this book. This is a solid 3.5 stars, but as a fan of Cameron Crowe, I just wanted a little bit more. Almost famous, is one of my favourite movies and this did accompany the story, filling in gaps of what the movie didn’t cover. All in all, a very enjoyable read.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cameron Crowe is a damn good writer, he knew, at 15 years old what he wanted to do and he did it. He loved music and the musicians that made it. Watch the film ‘Almost Famous’ then read the book —or vice versa. I can hear Frances McDormand saying Alice’s (Cameron’s mom) words. He tells so much about the stars he interviewed but plays his personal life very closed off. He writes about Fast Times At Ridgemont High but only mentions his future wife Heart’s Nancy Wilson as his girlfriend. She is never mentioned again. Shame. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.

[TLRHB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crowe's highly anticipated memoir begins strong, revealing unknown family secrets about a sister who committed suicide and a rich, complex portrait of his childhood, his strong-willed mother (made famous in Almost Famous) and a father who sacrificed his ambitions for his family. It's a story Crowe has never fully told. But you always get the feeling he is holding back something, that he is not willing to dive too deeply into how it affected him. That he is always looking out, not looking in. (Why was the father mostly absent from the movie version of Almost Famous, for example, when he wasn't in real life? It's one of many questions Crowe flags for a reader but doesn't answer.) There is also an unnecessary emphasis on the stage musical of Almost Famous that really bogs down the ending of the book. That said, there are many, many highlights, especially his amazing tales of being a teenager without a car or even a fake ID but hanging out with Gram Parsons and Emmyou Harris, David Bowie recording Station to Station, Gregg Allman snatching his interview tapes in a dark, drug-fueled state, and his brief domicile in LA with Glenn Frey and Don Henley (another example of Crowe obviously knowing much more than he is willing to tell). We meet Lester Bangs and he doesn't disappoint. Crowe is pretty good examining the psychology of the rock gods he met. But Crowe never really lets us know how he had the chutzpah to carry off his teenage adventures. There is always a formal distance, with Crowe ending up like a Zelig of '70s rock and roll. Who is Cameron Crowe? Not sure I really know after reading this. Therefore, the book feels bumpy, juggling some personal anecdote with more fully developed portraits of the rock stars he met. And he mostly ignores his movie career, except for some anecdotes about the making of Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Maybe he's planning other books. But I wish he'd either written just a book of memories about all the rockers he interviewed or a full bio into his moviemaking years. (For example, his father's background clearly informed the story of his movie, Elizabethtown, but he never mentions it.) Overall, we get an in-between book with luminous highs but one that, in the end, doesn't quite satisfy. Ironically, Crowe mentions how Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner once encouraged him to write more personally about his encounters with rock's royalty. That would make him a better writer, Wenner noted, handing him a Joan Didion book of essays to absorb. Crowe proudly says this book does that. But it really doesn't and his inability to see that might prove that he's still more comfortable telling other people's stories than his own. Or, as many journalists do, maybe he feels more comfortable hiding his truest self behind the protective mask of a reporter's notebook and tape recorder. Who is Cameron Crowe? It might take an impartial biographer to find out.

[Lynnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

I'm a big fan of Cameron Crowe's. I think his story of being a successful teenage rock journalist, as portrayed in his movie and musical, Almost Famous, is fascinating and he has written some of my favorite movies, so I was eager to learn more about his life from his perspective.

Ultimately though, I'm not sure what to think, and I wonder if that's because at the end of this memoir, Crowe also seems to still be searching for a larger meaning. A lot of this memoir seems to skate along the surface of the events of his life. It's a catalog of really remarkable events that he witnessed and was a part of, particularly as a young rock journalist and witness to some of the best bands of the 70s, 80s and beyond as they trusted him to tell their stories on the pages of Rolling Stone. What did these musicians see in this teenager that got him in the door? I wish that had been explored more deeply. Instead there was a lot of, "I went to this town, saw this band while they played these songs and these other cool people were there." And that's pretty much how the first 3/4 of the book goes. Interesting, but not riveting.

It gets a little more interesting when Crowe talks about his family dynamic which is woven throughout the book. The relationship between his parents and siblings, his own difficulty at school being a smart kid who skipped multiple grades, the mental health struggles within his household, the love of music shared between his siblings and how his mother eventually grew to accept music and his love for it were packed with an emotional punch. I also enjoyed learning more about his films; I would have liked to read more about each of them.

Overall, there is some good stuff in The Uncool, but also a lot of navel gazing. I expect navel gazing in a memoir, but there was more here than usual. Fans of 70s rock will find some interesting stories and the makings of a great playlist. I was adding songs to an Uncool playlist as I read through the book and listened to it as I read, which may end up being my favorite parting gift from any book this year.

Thanks to Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. The Uncool will be published on October 28, 2025.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cameron Crowe is most famous as a movie director, but before that, he was a music journalist starting in his teenage years - the inspiration for his movie Almost Famous. This memoir primarily covers that decade or so in the 1970s in which he was a music journalist, along with a little of his childhood, and a jump forward to turning the movie into a broadway musical in 2019.

And this legit was one of my favorite memoirs I’ve ever read! Usually I read memoirs on the side and pretty slowly, but not this one - I tore through it in two days during which I couldn’t put it down. Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies of all time - one of those movies I’ve seen countless times and if it’s ever on tv, I have to stop and watch the whole thing. So it was fascinating to learn how much of the movie really was drawn from his life. But this book is so much more too, because of the absolutely amazing stories of all the amazing musicians he met and interviewed - from the Allman Brothers to Lynyrd Skynrd to David Bowie and so many more. It’s fascinating, it’s funny and self-deprecating, it’s heartfelt - it’s just so great.

He does talk about the Almost Famous movie periodically throughout, and about writing the book and then the script for Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but I hope he’ll write a second memoir about the movies he directed because there’s so much there I’d love to hear about too - Say Anything (another all time favorite), Singles, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky… so many more stories to tell! I don’t know if there are rights issues, but I’d also love to see a book that compiles his old profiles of all these bands and musical artists!

If you’re at all a fan of Almost Famous or of 1970s classic rock, I think you will love this one too.

I usually like memoirs on audio, but I read this one with my eyes and I’m actually glad, because it also had so many great photos in it!

4.25 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy (out now); all opinions are my own.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am Cameron Crowe’s audience. I have loved his writing and movies from the beginning; I am his age contemporary. Some of my favorite movies, that I’ve seen more times than I can count, are FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and ALMOST FAMOUS. So learning he had a memoir coming out was exciting and I was thrilled to receive an early review copy.

THE UNCOOL fills out details of his family story while providing greater access to his memories and activities in the 70’s as a music journalist. The memoir is a basic coming-of-age tale, primarily set in Southern California during the 1970’s. The comings and goings of that era’s famous artists, musicians and journalists are described with enthusiasm and detail. I read the entire book in one day. When finished, I was surprised by a sense of incompleteness. It all seemed so easy, so fortuitous, for him. Not unlike the tales told to potential immigrants that the U.S. had streets paved of gold. As though living near LA in the early 1970’s was just one continuous opportunity to meet famous or future-famous people.

I wished he had described more of his challenges; it was not enough to keep learning about how young he was. I wished he had explored his own growth with greater insight. His mother was complicated but for the most part, he gives her a pass. He didn’t get the recognition from ROLLING STONE that he craved and, thinking the music was changing too much for him, he moved away from journalism to film. He didn’t reflect much about those assumptions and I wonder if he’d still think them true.

I think the book is a good one that missed opportunities for reflection. But, oh the stories! They’re great fun. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Brilliant Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one’s for the music heads, film nerds, and anyone who ever felt like an outsider sneaking into the party. The Uncool is Cameron Crowe’s origin story—how a 15-year-old kid with a tape recorder earned his way into the inner circle of rock’s biggest legends. Crowe carved out his place with talent, hustle, and a disarming honesty that even the most guarded rock stars respected. The fact that legends like Bowie, Zeppelin, and Joni Mitchell opened up to him says everything about how much he belonged there.

It’s not your typical rock memoir. Crowe skips the ego and delivers something way more interesting: a sharp, self-aware look at what it’s like to grow up obsessed with music, find your way into the scene, and somehow keep your soul intact. The behind-the-scenes stories are the real deal, but what makes the book work is the tone—funny, curious, humble, and always honest.

There’s also some real heart here. His family story—especially the dynamic with his mom—is way more layered than anything Almost Famous hinted at. But it never gets too heavy. It just makes everything feel more grounded.

Crowe’s not trying to mythologize himself. He’s just telling the story of how he found his people—and his voice—by saying yes to every weird, wild opportunity that came his way.

Bottom line: If you love music, good storytelling, and lived-in details from a golden era of rock, this is absolutely worth your time. Crowe’s still got it.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing an eARC of The Uncool prior to publication.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've seen Almost Famous or any of writer and director Cameron Crowe's movies, you know a little about his background. Almost Famous is a fictionalized version of his youth as a rock journalist but the true version is even better than the fictionalized one (if that's even possible.) I loved this book so much- I loved his stories of interviewing musicians, of the crazy things that happen on the road or when he was trying to get a story from someone who hated the press, or of his complicated family dynamics. I love Crowe's voice (Almost Famous and Elizabethtown are both some of my favorites but Fast Times at Ridgeway High is also great as is Say Anything.)

If you like classic rock or any of these movies, or especially like separating the truth and fiction of Almost Famous, this book is for you. It is very readable, not like a stuffy memoir, and is not terribly long. I enjoyed it thoroughly and it's time for a Cameron Crowe movie marathon while I listen to his favorite bands.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review. All books are read by me and reviews are all my own thoughts, not AI generated.

[Leila Coppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up

I grew up listening to the music Crowe covered and watching his movies (I still love Say Anything), so I was excited to read his memoir. The Uncool is full of his youthful exploits covering some of the '70s biggest bands when he was just a teenager. His ability to be in the right place at the right time to get these assignments seems like something out of a book (fiction, that is)! I enjoyed reading about his time spent with these musicians, particularly Bowie, but more than that, it was insights into his family dynamics that really propel the book. I was a bit disappointed that his movie career was largely glossed over aside for Almost Famous and a bit of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, seeing as how it was a much longer portion of his life than his tenure as a rock reporter. Still recommended for people who love bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who and those who enjoy Cameron's writing and movies.

Thanks to Edelweiss, Simon & Schuster, and Cameron Crowe for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. Almost Famous is my favorite movie and I was really looking forward to reading this memoir and learning more about Crowe's time interviewing some of my favorite bands as a teenage writer for Rolling Stone. I was surprised by just how much of Crowe's life was replicated in the movie. I enjoyed reading about the truth behind the story and doing the mental compare/contrast with the film.

My major qualm was that I didn't love the framing device of the musical version of Almost Famous and would've preferred a more chronological telling. By bringing the story to present day, I was expecting a bit more about Crowe's "second" career as a screenwriter/director, but there was only mention of Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the briefest of info about the actual filming of Almost Famous. I would've loved a bit more detail about the movie making.

Overall, glad to have read it and will recommend to any classic rock music lover.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this one took me a while to get through it’s definitely a long haul at some points. That being said it felt like being the one with the inside scoop. It’s so interesting to get this intimate view of all of the artist behind your favorite music the good the bad and sometimes the ugly.

I also had no idea that Cameron Crowe was behind some of my favorite films (and I the only one who didn’t know ?!?! Say anything ?!?!)

I can see how some people were disappointed because the main focus is his time as a music writer, but for one with that much life lived there’s only so much that can fit in one book. Second just because it’s a biography doesn’t mean it needs to be a tell all. I enjoyed the parts about his mother and her role throughout his life, but it’s okay to me that some things were left private.

Overall really enjoyed this one and learned a lot. Thank you Avid Reader Press via NetGalley for this eARC all thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes when I’m wavering on my feelings about a book, I read other reviews to try to make sense of it all. In this case, I found many others in the same confused boat. I wanted to love this book from the outset being a long time fan of Cameron’s movies, writings and previous books. Ultimately it just felt incomplete.

These stories are absolutely worthy of being told and I’m glad they were but it felt like a collection of Rolling Stone story backgrounds and a biography of his mother put together rather than a true autobiography. So much of his life is seemingly intertwined with his mother’s and I kept wanting him to tell his own story outside of hers. The moments of true introspection are fleeting and you’re left desiring more. You also come away from The Uncool hoping for a Part 2. There’s still so much to be told about his life and his filmmaking career.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir is a tribute to his mother, an honorarium to the members of his family, a study of his growth as a person from childhood on. He recounts exploits and awe as he meets and later writes about major and minor Musicmakers from the 1960s onward as well as meeting icon Cesar Chavez. He talks at length of his rather dramatic change of plans from pursuing a law degree like his grandpa to becoming a writer for the music scene. It is a real trip down Memory Lane for many of us.
I requested and received a temporary digital review galley from Avid Reader Press | Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster via NetGalley. Pub Date Oct 28, 2025 *****review #BookBub #Goodreads
#TheUncoolAMemoir by @cameronbcrowe @avidreaderpress @simonandschuster #NetGalley
#Memoir #Music #Nonfiction #Biography #mixtapes #journalist #director

[Sarah Wissinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of what I know of Cameron Crowe's life is from numerous watches of Almost Famous - I enjoyed this opportunity to get a deeper look at his family, how he became a successful music journalist as a teenager, and bits of his later career and life as well. His story is so fascinating to me because it seems like such an improbability now - a teenager writing cover stories for Rolling Stone, traveling the world on tour, and becoming friends with the musicians he idolizes? What a time to be alive. I loved getting to learn more about all of the artists he crossed paths with and his family dynamics during that time. I wish that we had gotten to learn more from his time as a director, but I greatly enjoyed the stories we did get and found this definitely worth the read. Thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this. Crowe’s most beloved film, Almost Famous, was largely based on his life, and this book is essentially Crowe telling the true behind-the-curtain version of it. Crowe burst onto the music journalism scene as a 14-year-old phenom, writing for Rolling Stone before he even graduated high school—his narrative style is engaging, humorous, wise, and chock-full of dirt on every conceivable musician and band recording and touring in the 1970s. This was so fun, so juicy, such a—as Crowe would say—“happy-sad” window into a bygone era. It’s almost fable-like in its recounting of the adventures of a starry-eyed kid who always managed to be in the right place at the right time. Crowe’s enthusiasm, even all these years later, remains infectious. I dare you to read it without envisioning Frances McDormand as his iconic mother Alice (complimentary).

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go buy this book! It came out yesterday and I loved love loved it! Cameron Crowe shares the real stories of his insane career - including what we saw glimpses of in Almost Famous. I can’t believe that the truth was even better than the movie. I’m a huge fan of his work and I was there for it. I wish it was twice as long so he could go into more about his movies- there is a lot about the origin of his music writing career (and his family dynamics- especially the relationship with his mother), and we follow along through the making of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, then it fast forwards to the making of Almost Famous: the Musical - probably in part because of the connection to his mother. I want more!

The ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is less of a full scale memoir than it is Cameron Crowe's stories and reflections about working as a writer for Rolling Stone as a teenager. There is a small bit of stuff about his personal family life as a kid, and one bit at the end about Fast Times at Ridgemont High that seems to have been included to demonstrate his pivot from music critic to screenwriter. You don't get anything else about his other movies, so perhaps he's saving that for a future memoir. I did enjoy his many tales from this time in his life, but I also would have liked to hear more about the other aspects of his life and career as well.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Avid Reader Press | Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing the copy of The Uncool by Cameron Crowe. If you don’t think you like memoirs, you will still love this one! Crowe’s writing is easy to read and sometimes the story reads like a good novel. I loved reading about his remarkable life and a career music lovers could only dream about. His self-deprecating humor shines through and makes the book relatable. The big draw for me was the music and the musicians he encountered when he was a music journalist. Imagine seeing Springsteen before he became Bruuuce or interviewing David Bowie, the members of Fleetwood Mac, or The Allman Brothers. 5 stars

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for a review.

I'm a huge fan of Cameron Crowe's movies, especially his autobiographical film Almost Famous. This memoir is his longer, true story of this time in his life, as a teenage writer for Rolling Stone and other music publications. I know the basics of 70s rock but am not a huge fan. Despite not knowing every musician's catalog, I really enjoyed reading about his real life journey, the rock stars he followed, and how his home life and family kept ties on him. I was happy that the ebook included photos that I could enlarge.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I was a huge fan of the film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and finally tracked down a copy of the book. I was hooked by Crowe's writing.

This book is for anyone who loves music and who has had wild dreams but feared that maybe they wouldn't come to fruition. Crowe has a wonderful voice, it was like being in the room with Gregg Allman or David Bowie. To think his dear mom kept pushing him to become a lawyer. Crowe followed his dream and, in this book, we get to come along for the ride.

**ARC provided by Edelweiss+**

[Sara Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a ride through the music landscape of the 1970s with the kid you fell in love with in Almost Famous. Cameron Crowe narrates this full memoir of his fascinating life - the scenes with Greg Allman alone are worth the listen. I guarantee that you'll be reaching for Eat a Peach after that chapter.

But, more than a rock and roll story, The Uncool is a family story with the strong heroine, Alice Crowe - Cameron's mother. Her aphorisms pepper the book and her spirit pushes the narrative. Just fantastic.

Thank you to Libro.fm for the advanced listening copy.

[Suzanne Gert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly a bit disappointing. My favorite parts were Bowie’s Station to Station sessions and Kris Kristofferson.

An overview of the real life of Almost Famous (he had a dad and a second older sister) and his love of bands I’m indifferent to (Deep Purple, The Eagles), it’s dismissive of Pamela Des Barres and the GTO’s, still buys into the idea that the Sex Pistols were the antidote to arena bloat, barely covers his screenwriting/directing career other than Fast Times, and I still have no idea how he started dating Nancy Wilson.