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Whitney & Bobbi Kristina
Shocking new revelations emerge about superstar Whitney Houston and her only daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, in #1 New York Times bestselling author Ian Halperin’s account of their tumultuous lives.
On July 26, 2015, after nearly six months in a coma, Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of musical megastars Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, tragically passed away at the age of twenty-two. Ever since she was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta home, a media frenzy of harrowing rumors and accusations swirled, particularly around Bobbi Kristina’s longtime boyfriend, Nick Gordon, who has been a part of the family since Whitney took him in as a teenager.
But #1 New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist Ian Halperin takes the story much, much further—back to the early days of Whitney’s career, exploring the devastating, self-destructive secrets that plagued the singer and led Whitney—and subsequently her daughter—down a dark and dangerous road.
Drawing on evidence from trusted Houston family members, friends, and other inside sources, Halperin paints a portrait of Bobbi Kristina’s downward spiral following her mother’s death, including drug abuse and abusive relationships. How did Bobbi Kristina end up unconscious in a bathtub, almost exactly three years after her mother’s mysterious death? What was her relationship with Nick Gordon really like? How did a childhood in the spotlight as the daughter of controversial pop royalty lead to her troubling fate? Halperin offers readers a fascinating and candid behind-the-scenes look at the glamorous world, personal demons, and never-before-told life of Bobbi Kristina Brown.
On July 26, 2015, after nearly six months in a coma, Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of musical megastars Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, tragically passed away at the age of twenty-two. Ever since she was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta home, a media frenzy of harrowing rumors and accusations swirled, particularly around Bobbi Kristina’s longtime boyfriend, Nick Gordon, who has been a part of the family since Whitney took him in as a teenager.
But #1 New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist Ian Halperin takes the story much, much further—back to the early days of Whitney’s career, exploring the devastating, self-destructive secrets that plagued the singer and led Whitney—and subsequently her daughter—down a dark and dangerous road.
Drawing on evidence from trusted Houston family members, friends, and other inside sources, Halperin paints a portrait of Bobbi Kristina’s downward spiral following her mother’s death, including drug abuse and abusive relationships. How did Bobbi Kristina end up unconscious in a bathtub, almost exactly three years after her mother’s mysterious death? What was her relationship with Nick Gordon really like? How did a childhood in the spotlight as the daughter of controversial pop royalty lead to her troubling fate? Halperin offers readers a fascinating and candid behind-the-scenes look at the glamorous world, personal demons, and never-before-told life of Bobbi Kristina Brown.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2015
33 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Ian Halperin
49 books32 followersIan Halperin is a Canadian investigative journalist and writer whose 2009 book, Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, which was a number one best seller on the New York Times list on July 24, 2009. He is the author or coauthor of nine books, including Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale, Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story and Hollywood Undercover. He coauthored Who Killed Kurt Cobain? and Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain with Max Wallace. Halperin has contributed to 60 Minutes II and is a regular correspondent for Court TV.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 17, 2015
A shameless money-grab
I knew that Ian Halperin was a bottomfeeding parasite and a sorry excuse for a "journalist" based on that slanderous piece of garbage that he published on Michael Jackson, so my gut told me that this book would be a whole steaming pile of nothing. But...I was curious and looked at the positive reviews on the Cobain book (perhaps his fan base is more easily duped?), so I read this to see if there was perhaps ONE piece of investigative journalism in it. What a crock.
As everyone else has said, this is a cut and paste job from tweets, other Whitney bios and articles, dubious claims made by nameless people and FILLER. (An entire chapter on Scientology and their claims to cure gayness? ABSOLUTELY no connection to the subject at hand.)
Don't be duped. And don't give Ian Halperin another dime for this trash.
I knew that Ian Halperin was a bottomfeeding parasite and a sorry excuse for a "journalist" based on that slanderous piece of garbage that he published on Michael Jackson, so my gut told me that this book would be a whole steaming pile of nothing. But...I was curious and looked at the positive reviews on the Cobain book (perhaps his fan base is more easily duped?), so I read this to see if there was perhaps ONE piece of investigative journalism in it. What a crock.
As everyone else has said, this is a cut and paste job from tweets, other Whitney bios and articles, dubious claims made by nameless people and FILLER. (An entire chapter on Scientology and their claims to cure gayness? ABSOLUTELY no connection to the subject at hand.)
Don't be duped. And don't give Ian Halperin another dime for this trash.
October 9, 2015
I wish I could go back in time and unread this book
January 30, 2018
Exploitative garbage. Just the way I like it!
January 10, 2016
I read the Hardcover version but it's unavailable as an Edition choice here on Goodreads; only Kindle editions/ebooks are listed.
This book was a total piece of shit. It reads as a full-on money grab for the author. With the state of the economy these days who can really blame him for writing a whole bunch of air and taking the money and running?! Speculation about Whitney's sexuality (if you haven't heard those rumors before you may have been a Nepalese Buddhist nun on a decades-long meditation retreat in a cave), copy-pasting Tweets from Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina, and some acquaintances, judging how fast a warm bath turns cold (because Bobbi Kristina was found dead in cold bathwater several people have assumed she was placed there to be revived from an overdose)...just your usual basic gossipy mess.
This book was a total piece of shit. It reads as a full-on money grab for the author. With the state of the economy these days who can really blame him for writing a whole bunch of air and taking the money and running?! Speculation about Whitney's sexuality (if you haven't heard those rumors before you may have been a Nepalese Buddhist nun on a decades-long meditation retreat in a cave), copy-pasting Tweets from Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina, and some acquaintances, judging how fast a warm bath turns cold (because Bobbi Kristina was found dead in cold bathwater several people have assumed she was placed there to be revived from an overdose)...just your usual basic gossipy mess.
August 27, 2015
This book was OK, but the last 20 pages or so were really exasperating. It was like some guy saying, "I spoke to this person, and they said something that really has nothing to do with the subject of this book and didn't get me any closer to figuring out what really happened when Bobbi Kristina died. Then I spoke with this other completely random stranger who doesn't know anything or anyone and isn't an expert on anything, and he said something that may or may not be something that actually happens in certain similar situations. But I thought I'd put it at the end of this book because I wasn't able to find out anything substantial and I needed to fill up some pages."
July 7, 2015
An astounding deeply profound and haunting portrayal: “Whitney and Bobbi Kristina” (2015) by bestselling and award winning author/journalist Ian Halperin. The extraordinary life and talent of Whitney Houston (1963-2012), her spectacular rise to super stardom, and the circumstances surrounding the lives of both Huston and her beloved daughter Bobbi Kristina (1993-) that led to loss and tragedy are expertly researched and investigated.
These engaging chapters alternate between Houston, raised in East Orange, N.J. Cissy Houston, a strict, righteous God fearing woman, raised her children in the Baptist faith rooted in gospel music expression. As a teen Whitney joined her mother singing back-up for popular A list acts including Aretha Franklin. Cissy Huston avoided a solo act, to the dismay of her manager husband John Huston, who later professionally managed Whitney’s career. After Bobbi Kristina was born, Whitney devoted most of her loving attention to her daughter and focused on her career… Bobbi Kristina was raised in the spotlight surrounding her famous parents and family members. A life of wealth and privilege depicted years later on reality television, her talent for singing and acting wasn’t as obvious. On January 31, 2015 Bobbi Kristina was discovered unresponsive in her bathtub at her home in Atlanta, G.A. This was a frightening and eerie mirror of the accidental drowning death which claimed the life of her mother in 2012. The “Repetition Compulsion” (Sigmund Freud) explains the psychological fixation to repeat a traumatic event in a person’s life. Bobbi Kristina remains cared for in a private nursing facility, and this incident remains under investigation.
The historical magnitude of Whitney’s music and movie career on popular culture is well documented. On April 13, 1989 Houston was heckled and booed at the Soul Train Music Awards. Weary of unfavorable media focus on her alleged lesbian relationship with her friend (since adolescence) and business partner Robyn Crawford, she may have decided she needed a husband. Houston vehemently denied involvement in a same sex relationship nor would she ever admit to this publically. At the Soul Train Awards she met Bobby Brown.
The lavish wedding ceremony to Brown (m.1992-2007), the million dollar reception attended by hundreds of guests, including Aretha Franklin, Dick Clark, Donald Trump. Music was by Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross, their costly honeymoon provided by Clive Davis. After returning, the press noted immediately the couple were rarely together. Eventually, Whitney would publically declare how much she loved motherhood, and focus on career decisions and achievements. Brown’s outrageous public conduct involving alcohol and substance, other women, paternity suits, involvement with the law, wrecked cars, and dramatic fights with his wife were vaguely explained to fans or overlooked without comment. Evidently these difficulties in her marriage, and later on, her professional and personal challenges, were preferable over the media publicity/speculation concerning Houston’s sexual orientation, which greatly affected her popularity, bankability and commercial appeal.
The stigma and homophobia particularly in the black American culture, the abandonment by the commercial music industry and fickle music fans, support and encourage the secretive closeted lifestyle of LGBT artists and entertainers. The recent publication: “Straight Dope: About Gays and Scientology” advocates the acceptance of LGBT members and the need for unity fight alcohol and drug addiction. The founder of Scientology L.Ron Hubbard lost his gay son Quentin to suicide in 1976. Halperin concludes that Scientology is no more homophobic then Christianity or Orthodox Judaism, his ideas and observations and possible impact on Whitney Houston’s life and legacy make this a notable and important book. Pages of excellent photos included.
Ian Halperin, an acclaimed Canadian multiple award winning and bestselling NY Times author, also recognized for his work in investigative journalism. A notable best seller: “Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson” (2009), other biographies written or co-authored include the lives of James Taylor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celine Dion, Kirt Cobain. A book about the Kardashian Dynasty is due for publication in 2016.
These engaging chapters alternate between Houston, raised in East Orange, N.J. Cissy Houston, a strict, righteous God fearing woman, raised her children in the Baptist faith rooted in gospel music expression. As a teen Whitney joined her mother singing back-up for popular A list acts including Aretha Franklin. Cissy Huston avoided a solo act, to the dismay of her manager husband John Huston, who later professionally managed Whitney’s career. After Bobbi Kristina was born, Whitney devoted most of her loving attention to her daughter and focused on her career… Bobbi Kristina was raised in the spotlight surrounding her famous parents and family members. A life of wealth and privilege depicted years later on reality television, her talent for singing and acting wasn’t as obvious. On January 31, 2015 Bobbi Kristina was discovered unresponsive in her bathtub at her home in Atlanta, G.A. This was a frightening and eerie mirror of the accidental drowning death which claimed the life of her mother in 2012. The “Repetition Compulsion” (Sigmund Freud) explains the psychological fixation to repeat a traumatic event in a person’s life. Bobbi Kristina remains cared for in a private nursing facility, and this incident remains under investigation.
The historical magnitude of Whitney’s music and movie career on popular culture is well documented. On April 13, 1989 Houston was heckled and booed at the Soul Train Music Awards. Weary of unfavorable media focus on her alleged lesbian relationship with her friend (since adolescence) and business partner Robyn Crawford, she may have decided she needed a husband. Houston vehemently denied involvement in a same sex relationship nor would she ever admit to this publically. At the Soul Train Awards she met Bobby Brown.
The lavish wedding ceremony to Brown (m.1992-2007), the million dollar reception attended by hundreds of guests, including Aretha Franklin, Dick Clark, Donald Trump. Music was by Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross, their costly honeymoon provided by Clive Davis. After returning, the press noted immediately the couple were rarely together. Eventually, Whitney would publically declare how much she loved motherhood, and focus on career decisions and achievements. Brown’s outrageous public conduct involving alcohol and substance, other women, paternity suits, involvement with the law, wrecked cars, and dramatic fights with his wife were vaguely explained to fans or overlooked without comment. Evidently these difficulties in her marriage, and later on, her professional and personal challenges, were preferable over the media publicity/speculation concerning Houston’s sexual orientation, which greatly affected her popularity, bankability and commercial appeal.
The stigma and homophobia particularly in the black American culture, the abandonment by the commercial music industry and fickle music fans, support and encourage the secretive closeted lifestyle of LGBT artists and entertainers. The recent publication: “Straight Dope: About Gays and Scientology” advocates the acceptance of LGBT members and the need for unity fight alcohol and drug addiction. The founder of Scientology L.Ron Hubbard lost his gay son Quentin to suicide in 1976. Halperin concludes that Scientology is no more homophobic then Christianity or Orthodox Judaism, his ideas and observations and possible impact on Whitney Houston’s life and legacy make this a notable and important book. Pages of excellent photos included.
Ian Halperin, an acclaimed Canadian multiple award winning and bestselling NY Times author, also recognized for his work in investigative journalism. A notable best seller: “Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson” (2009), other biographies written or co-authored include the lives of James Taylor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celine Dion, Kirt Cobain. A book about the Kardashian Dynasty is due for publication in 2016.
July 28, 2015
Clearly a tragic ending on both accounts. Author hits hard on the homosexual theory behind Whitney's friendship with Robyn Crawford, and the misguided youth in the spotlight theory for Bobbi, which we know to be unfortunately true. I've not read other accounts of this family, so this is new ground for me. According to other readers, much inf in this book can be had in other biographies on the Houston/Brown families.
May 18, 2016
When I look at the front cover of this book, I'm still in shock that both are gone too soon. I like the fact that the author spent time trying to explore possible truth but never discovering what really happen. The book kept my attention although sometimes he would get off topic speaking of other celebrity demises. If only we could rewind time when Whitney was at the peak of career and was able to be with her daughter and her daughter with her.
February 15, 2017
Based off of the reviews, I know that I shouldn't have enjoyed this book, but I truly did! I was born in the early nineties, so I was young through the height of Whitney's career. This book allowed me to learn about her early days before the chaotic and saddening downward spiral.
I did deduct a star because I felt the book heavily focused on Robyn Crawford. Yes, there are self-explanatory rumors, but I do not believe it should have been the focus of the majority of Whitney's story.
Although the book doesn't answer any questions about Whitney or Bobbi Kris death, Halperin tells a great story. It is sad to think about what could have been for both mother and daughter, but maybe a bright light is that they are back together.
I did deduct a star because I felt the book heavily focused on Robyn Crawford. Yes, there are self-explanatory rumors, but I do not believe it should have been the focus of the majority of Whitney's story.
Although the book doesn't answer any questions about Whitney or Bobbi Kris death, Halperin tells a great story. It is sad to think about what could have been for both mother and daughter, but maybe a bright light is that they are back together.
February 3, 2024
January 31, 2015, Bobbi Kristian, daughter of Whitney Houston, was found face down in tub and unresponsive..
Accusations her boyfriend Nick Gorden had something to do with it. Author takes you through Whitney’s early days and her daughters dark road.
Lots of questions were raised by author of both of their deaths.
“ I think they both over dosed and both didn’t care about their life in the end. While reading the book, I heard, not sure where, they pulled the plug and she died.
Author did a good job with book, he also wrote Unmasked, the final years of Michael Jackson and Love and Death of Kurt Cobain”.
Accusations her boyfriend Nick Gorden had something to do with it. Author takes you through Whitney’s early days and her daughters dark road.
Lots of questions were raised by author of both of their deaths.
“ I think they both over dosed and both didn’t care about their life in the end. While reading the book, I heard, not sure where, they pulled the plug and she died.
Author did a good job with book, he also wrote Unmasked, the final years of Michael Jackson and Love and Death of Kurt Cobain”.
February 5, 2025
This author wasn’t able to interview anyone who was in her inner circle and it shows. The chapters are very choppy. He goes off topic and into Scientology…maybe needed some extra pages to consider it a book…I don’t know…but my 7th grader could put chapters together better than this author. Thank god this was from the library. The best book so far on Whitney is the one Robyn Crawford wrote.
January 17, 2020
Intresting book. However, why it went off on a scientology tangent for as long as it did when Whitney wasn't even a member completely confused me. That could have been covered in a couple of brief paragraphs.
June 2, 2017
Sigh...
Don't even bother! Everything in this book can be found on Google.
Don't even bother! Everything in this book can be found on Google.
October 12, 2018
Thought It Would Be A Better Read
The Author Repeated The Same Stories Throughout The Entire Book. A ton of pages had nothing to do with Whitney or her daughter.
The Author Repeated The Same Stories Throughout The Entire Book. A ton of pages had nothing to do with Whitney or her daughter.
March 29, 2020
This book was so in-depth. It gave insight into their lives. R.I.P beautiful woman never knew some of the issues she endured
December 27, 2021
The sad tales of Whitney Houston & her daughter Bobbi Kristina and their involvement in drugs which led to their demise. A very sad story.
June 12, 2024
I started reading this book until chapter 7,then just skimmed though it.It was horribly written, chapters wasn't in order.The author took a lot from the other families memoirs.Not a very good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2017
Reason for 4 stars-it was an interesting book and kept me very engrossed to what would happen next. Why not 5 stars-because I don't know if it's truthful. I always liked Whitney Houston. I loved how she sang. Usually loved most all her songs, so I kind of followed her life. Not to the point of obsession, but just to the point of being interested somewhat. Anyway, I don't want to give anything away, but the things he talked of, drug use, yes, I knew of, but the other, I knew nothing of. He said they hounded her over it. If they did, & Im sure they would if it would provide a scandal, I never knew anything of it, never heard anything of it. And I'm not mentioning what the other "thing" was because, like I said, I don't want to spoil anything for others who may want to read. So, they can be as shocked as I was. I think possibly they may have thought it, so always questioned her on it and when she would adamantly answer no, they would keep on with it all. I believe possibly it was something she may have struggled with, but because of her faith, tried to turn away from or not engage in. I believe the media, if true, hounded her on it, and she just wanted them to stop hounding her. That, in itself, could have caused her drug use, to try to shut it all out and also, maybe, she thought, would help with the struggles, if that struggle was true for her. But for me, she had the greatest voice of the 1980/90's. I believe if she had stayed singing gospel, which, of course, probably wouldn't have made her a millionaire, but would have been the life that would have given her more peace. But she didn't choose that life, she chose fame and fortune. I believe, it was the ruin of her, her voice, and her daughter's life as well. It is sad and heartbreaking to me. And I'm sure for her mother, father, and family.
February 13, 2017
Will give review later. Just seeing hoe long it took me to read should tell you something. I was being generous with the rating too.
July 3, 2018
I was very interested in this book, as I love Whitney. However, this book is poorly organized, with many chapters being anachronistic or irrelevant. I did learn a lot of new info about her, which was a plus.
August 2, 2015
This book is like a summary of everything that I have ever read about Whitney and her daughter Bobbi Kristina. Tragic loss.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews