What do you think?
Rate this book
Freddie Mercury A to Z: The Life of an Icon - from Mary Austin to Zanzibar
Salute everyone's favorite Queen in this alphabetic journey through a larger-than-life career in artistry.
Celebrate Freddie Mercury in the next iteration of Steve Wide's Icons A to Z series. Follow Freddie, born Farrokh Bulsara, as he harnesses hyperdontia to develop an unparalleled vocal range. See Smile, Freddie's first complete band, graduate to become the global phenomenon Queen. Dissect lyrical oddities like "radio gaga" and "Scaramouch," and revel in the glorious chevron mustache Freddie grew in 1980...
Ripples of Freddie's legacy are still felt in music recorded today. He was a juggernaut of technical and conceptual innovation and left the world far before his time. This illustrated book pays homage to the impact Freddie left on pop culture and in all our hearts.
Celebrate Freddie Mercury in the next iteration of Steve Wide's Icons A to Z series. Follow Freddie, born Farrokh Bulsara, as he harnesses hyperdontia to develop an unparalleled vocal range. See Smile, Freddie's first complete band, graduate to become the global phenomenon Queen. Dissect lyrical oddities like "radio gaga" and "Scaramouch," and revel in the glorious chevron mustache Freddie grew in 1980...
Ripples of Freddie's legacy are still felt in music recorded today. He was a juggernaut of technical and conceptual innovation and left the world far before his time. This illustrated book pays homage to the impact Freddie left on pop culture and in all our hearts.
- GenresNonfiction
56 pages, Hardcover
First published November 5, 2019
4 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 22, 2019
Is it a comic book? Is it an illustrated biography? It’s “Freddie Mercury A to Z”!
If I had to put a label on it, I’d call this a reading primer’s funky and punky big brother. Seriously, why on earth didn’t I have this as a child?
For every letter of the alphabet, there is a corresponding item from Freddie Mercury’s biography or about Queen, along with several honourable mentions. Will you learn anything new from that? I really don’t know. A lot of this is common knowledge and I have no idea how detailed and thoroughly researched the facts are, but I enjoyed this little encyclopaedic display immensely. If you’re one of those weird, obsessive fanboys/fangirls who claim to love something, while fanatically trying to prove how you know more random facts and someone else is wrong, then just go back to your Fortress of Solitude and brood to your heart’s content or go dis Star Wars or something. Here you’ll find little bite-sized trivia, pretty much like assorted sweets. And since every selection is flawed, you might easily find no mention of some of your all-time-favourite songs, or too strong a focus on something that doesn’t interest you all that much. Still, some of those bits of information piqued my curiosity, some made me literally laugh out loud, some summoned all those damn ninjas cutting onions. And I found out that the coolest person I’ve ever met in my life shares a birthday with Brian May (it is a truth universally acknowledged that being a brilliant rock guitarist and astrophysicist adds up to being a real-life superhero), so there’s that.
Since I settled on this being a badass, coolness overload reading primer, I have to say: The illustrations are brilliant! This isn’t a comic, so there is no flow or narration, but a series of static pictures, meant as an iconic representation of the contents. And iconic they are. Whether they recreate some of Queen’s most memorable images or provide a completely new visualisation, you could easily hang every single one of them on your wall, as a perfect mixture of realistic depiction and artistic stylisation.
This is comfort food. You can criss-cross through it in any direction, read in in alphabetic order or spell out your own name or whatever you please. Over and over again. This made me feel all fuzzy and warm inside, like dark chocolate truffle ice cream that won’t make you fat.
If I had to put a label on it, I’d call this a reading primer’s funky and punky big brother. Seriously, why on earth didn’t I have this as a child?
For every letter of the alphabet, there is a corresponding item from Freddie Mercury’s biography or about Queen, along with several honourable mentions. Will you learn anything new from that? I really don’t know. A lot of this is common knowledge and I have no idea how detailed and thoroughly researched the facts are, but I enjoyed this little encyclopaedic display immensely. If you’re one of those weird, obsessive fanboys/fangirls who claim to love something, while fanatically trying to prove how you know more random facts and someone else is wrong, then just go back to your Fortress of Solitude and brood to your heart’s content or go dis Star Wars or something. Here you’ll find little bite-sized trivia, pretty much like assorted sweets. And since every selection is flawed, you might easily find no mention of some of your all-time-favourite songs, or too strong a focus on something that doesn’t interest you all that much. Still, some of those bits of information piqued my curiosity, some made me literally laugh out loud, some summoned all those damn ninjas cutting onions. And I found out that the coolest person I’ve ever met in my life shares a birthday with Brian May (it is a truth universally acknowledged that being a brilliant rock guitarist and astrophysicist adds up to being a real-life superhero), so there’s that.
Since I settled on this being a badass, coolness overload reading primer, I have to say: The illustrations are brilliant! This isn’t a comic, so there is no flow or narration, but a series of static pictures, meant as an iconic representation of the contents. And iconic they are. Whether they recreate some of Queen’s most memorable images or provide a completely new visualisation, you could easily hang every single one of them on your wall, as a perfect mixture of realistic depiction and artistic stylisation.
This is comfort food. You can criss-cross through it in any direction, read in in alphabetic order or spell out your own name or whatever you please. Over and over again. This made me feel all fuzzy and warm inside, like dark chocolate truffle ice cream that won’t make you fat.
June 1, 2021
Freddie Mercury is art. I want him to haunt me and teach me his musical ways, like the Phantom of the Opera. But like, as a friend.
January 20, 2025
Lots of the facts were repeated like 3 times but the layout was great
February 18, 2025
Queen es uno de mis grupos de referencia, y no es la primera biografía que leo, ni sobre la banda ni sobre Freddie Mercury. Sin embargo, en el caso de Mercury, no siempre han sido lecturas que me hayan convencido.
Esta biografía, perteneciente a la colección 'De la A a la Z' de Redbook, se aleja del esquema tradicional. No sigue un orden lineal ni se centra en los elementos clásicos del género
Organizada con un esquema alfabético, donde cada letra introduce un tema central: un momento clave en la vida de Mercury, una canción, un compañero de banda u otros aspectos relevantes. Cada entrada principal ocupa una página, acompañada por otra con anotaciones adicionales y una sección lateral con varias referencias relacionadas, como discos, personajes o efemérides que empiezan por la misma letra.
El libro combina datos biográficos, curiosidades y testimonios de personas cercanas, logrando una biografía concisa pero completa, que recoge los momentos más importantes de su vida.
Los datos biográficos no buscan el sensacionalismo, como ocurre en otras biografías. No elude narrar su vida privada, incluidos sus excesos y fiestas, pero siempre en su justa medida, dando prioridad a su trayectoria artística, tanto con Queen como en solitario.
A pesar de haber leído mucho sobre el tema, he encontrado detalles y anécdotas que desconocía, lo que aporta un valor añadido a la lectura. Se agradece el esfuerzo de los autores por evitar los tópicos.
El apartado gráfico del libro es tan relevante como su contenido. Cada entrada está ilustrada con imágenes exclusivas que representan a Mercury, los sucesos narrados y los personajes mencionados. No incluye fotografías de archivo, sino ilustraciones originales, algunas de ellas recreaciones de momentos icónicos o portadas de discos. El estilo, cercano al collage, utiliza una explosión de colores vivos que reflejan la energía y vitalidad de Mercury
Un libro ideal para amantes de la música y los libros ilustrados, así como para quienes disfrutan con biografías pero prefieren un enfoque dinámico y visual. Una lectura amena y ágil, perfecta para acompañarla con la música de Freddie Mercury.
¿Tenéis una canción favorita de Queen o de Freddie Mercury? ¿Os gustan las biografías?¿Las preferís clásicas o cortas y ilustradas? Os leo
Esta biografía, perteneciente a la colección 'De la A a la Z' de Redbook, se aleja del esquema tradicional. No sigue un orden lineal ni se centra en los elementos clásicos del género
Organizada con un esquema alfabético, donde cada letra introduce un tema central: un momento clave en la vida de Mercury, una canción, un compañero de banda u otros aspectos relevantes. Cada entrada principal ocupa una página, acompañada por otra con anotaciones adicionales y una sección lateral con varias referencias relacionadas, como discos, personajes o efemérides que empiezan por la misma letra.
El libro combina datos biográficos, curiosidades y testimonios de personas cercanas, logrando una biografía concisa pero completa, que recoge los momentos más importantes de su vida.
Los datos biográficos no buscan el sensacionalismo, como ocurre en otras biografías. No elude narrar su vida privada, incluidos sus excesos y fiestas, pero siempre en su justa medida, dando prioridad a su trayectoria artística, tanto con Queen como en solitario.
A pesar de haber leído mucho sobre el tema, he encontrado detalles y anécdotas que desconocía, lo que aporta un valor añadido a la lectura. Se agradece el esfuerzo de los autores por evitar los tópicos.
El apartado gráfico del libro es tan relevante como su contenido. Cada entrada está ilustrada con imágenes exclusivas que representan a Mercury, los sucesos narrados y los personajes mencionados. No incluye fotografías de archivo, sino ilustraciones originales, algunas de ellas recreaciones de momentos icónicos o portadas de discos. El estilo, cercano al collage, utiliza una explosión de colores vivos que reflejan la energía y vitalidad de Mercury
Un libro ideal para amantes de la música y los libros ilustrados, así como para quienes disfrutan con biografías pero prefieren un enfoque dinámico y visual. Una lectura amena y ágil, perfecta para acompañarla con la música de Freddie Mercury.
¿Tenéis una canción favorita de Queen o de Freddie Mercury? ¿Os gustan las biografías?¿Las preferís clásicas o cortas y ilustradas? Os leo
February 19, 2020
This isn't your average A to Z book.
'Freddie Mercury A to Z: The Life of an Icon - from Mary Austin to Zanzibar' is the perfect book for any fan who's just getting into Queen and Freddie Mercury, fans who already know the band and its front man, and for anyone young and old looking to brush up on facts about one of the world's best musicians. This book has everything you can think of for Freddie facts without going into so much detail. The graphics are beautiful and the layout overall is fantastic. It's written with the intent to have people get to know Freddie Mercury well without trying to pretend that they know everything about him (as most biographies will show these days) or by trying to give out too much information.
Any fan would be grateful for this book. For someone who already knows so much about his history, I still loved this gem from Steve Wide.
*Fun fact - in the 'Z' section on the graphic of Freddie's birth certificate, his parents' names are written in the wrong spots. Bomi, Freddie's father, has his signature on the left with "mother" underneath and Jer, Freddie's mom, has her signature on the right with "father" underneath.*
'Freddie Mercury A to Z: The Life of an Icon - from Mary Austin to Zanzibar' is the perfect book for any fan who's just getting into Queen and Freddie Mercury, fans who already know the band and its front man, and for anyone young and old looking to brush up on facts about one of the world's best musicians. This book has everything you can think of for Freddie facts without going into so much detail. The graphics are beautiful and the layout overall is fantastic. It's written with the intent to have people get to know Freddie Mercury well without trying to pretend that they know everything about him (as most biographies will show these days) or by trying to give out too much information.
Any fan would be grateful for this book. For someone who already knows so much about his history, I still loved this gem from Steve Wide.
*Fun fact - in the 'Z' section on the graphic of Freddie's birth certificate, his parents' names are written in the wrong spots. Bomi, Freddie's father, has his signature on the left with "mother" underneath and Jer, Freddie's mom, has her signature on the right with "father" underneath.*
February 17, 2020
This book was enjoyable and fun, with the gorgeous illustrations capturing my eye on every page.
I’ve been interested in the life of Freddie Mercury since the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and this book taught me more about his extraordinary life. What a man, and what a loss to the world when he passed.
I’ve been interested in the life of Freddie Mercury since the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and this book taught me more about his extraordinary life. What a man, and what a loss to the world when he passed.
July 11, 2023
A pesar de ser un icono mundial de la música igual tiene sus lados negativos como cualquier persona, amores y engaños, amistades, compañerismo, salud, este libro sin duda marca un antes y un después de la vida de Freddie Mercury, su religión, sus padres
January 23, 2020
nobody is surprised
this was so cute and soft :')))))
this was so cute and soft :')))))
January 22, 2022
I really enjoyed reading about Freddie Mercury and Queen in this nicely illustrated book! I found each page to be quite engaging, and it was fun learning facts about Freddie and/or Queen that I did not previously know. I do wish that some paragraphs were more carefully proofread, as the spelling and grammatical errors took me out of the reading experience a fair bit.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews