Product Description

All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine has written, Even when he was out of fashion in the '80s and '90s, it was clear that Bowie was one of the most influential musicians in rock, for better or worse. In this comprehensive analysis of David Bowie's career, author James Perone examines the many identities and styles Bowie has developed over the years, and in so doing provides a stunning chronicle of creativity at work.

Born David Jones in a London suburb in 1947, David Bowie changed his name in the late '60s to avoid confusion with the singer David Jones of The Monkees. This name change would turn out to be a highly prescient act: for in incorporating an exceptionally wide variety of styles, Bowie would become the most notorious chameleon of the rock era. Due in large part to his early success in the glam rock subgenre and his claims of homosexuality (dismissed by many writers as a ploy to generate public interest and record sales), Bowie raised serious issues about sexual orientation in rock music, regardless of whether or not his claimed homosexuality was genuine or part of his on-stage character. His regular use of theatrical personae also raises interesting issues concerning authenticity and the perception of authenticity in rock music.

Although Bowie has been primarily an album artist, his recordings of Fame, Golden Years, Let's Dance, China Girl, Blue Jean, and Dancing in the Streets, all made it into the Billboard top 10 singles charts. Of these, all but one was written or co-written by Bowie. Even more notable are the songs he wrote and recorded that have made an impact far in excess of their chart standing. These include Space Oddity, Rebel, Rebel, Changes, Modern Love, and Young Americans. From his early 1970s albums like Hunky Dory and The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars-in both of which he assumed the character of the fictional, androgynous Stardust-to Diamond Dogs, Heroes, Tin Machine, and Black Tie White Noise, Bowie's albums generated both significant word-of-mouth interest and some of the most contentious critical reactions of any artist of the rock era.

This long overdue investigation lets Bowie's artistry speak for itself. After a biographical introduction, chronologically arranged chapters discuss the singer's fascinating—and iconoclastic—body of work. A discography and annotated bibliography conclude the book.

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice; concise
This is a concisely-written book, covering Bowie's entire career from the beginning up to 2003's "Reality".It is not a book of lyrics or words, etc., by David Bowie.Fans continue to wait for a Bob-Dylan-like collection of lyrics and great photos from BOWIE (something like that we will pay for).

Be happy if you can find "The Music and Words of David Bowie" on Amazon for under $15.00.No photos here.However this is a great reference book for musicians and serious fans who want to understand this performing artist and his approach to music composition.BOWIE is paradoxical and mysterious, connecting melodies, stretching his own vocal range and angst around the sounds he creates.He often resorts to the strange and unexpected implementation of keyboards, horns, saxes.He was one of the first to choreograph "vogue" dancing to his songs.Bowie used dance-music as a way to go from jazz and rock sounding electronica...To a blend of modern drum-and-base-beats and trance-loops and mantras.(Yes, I'm a fan!)

I like this little academic book.The chapters are short, to the point, and easy to get through.It includes descriptions of sounds that were influential on Bowie throughout his career.This is interesting, as most fans know Bowie's brother Terry was a big influence.I find this book sensitively-written.It gives some guidelines to the steps and innovations Bowie was taking on his own to write.Bowie himself would get a kick out of this!But I recommend this book to other musicians and serious fans for the reason that it's a study of the space Bowie goes into, yeah?To write music.

I'm giving it 3 stars, because serious writers forget Bowie has a innate, fine sense of humor.And he has an appreciation for the absurd!After all these years, these virtues have kept Bowie at the top of his game.

THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF DAVID BOWIE should not be overlooked by any serious music library.
Joining others in Praeger's college-level 'Singer-Songwriter Collection' series is The Words and Music of David Bowie, an excellent survey of a rock era champion who gained early success in the glam rock subgenre, and whose work raised many issues about sexual orientation in rock music. Bowie has written and recorded music which has made an impact not just in the charts but upon rock music as a whole: because of this widespread impact, THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF DAVID BOWIE should not be overlooked by any serious music library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

Product Description
The story of one of rock music's enduring stars--the creation of a reputation and a fortune. Behind the imagery revealed in this fascinating biography lies a remarkable man: charming and uncompromising, endlessly gifted, and determined to control every aspect of his career. of photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A bit uneven
This was a good book, but I only found out after laboring through a very slow start.

Good points:

1. The writing is very light and easy to read and not overwrought with detail (like some biographies often can be).

2. The book is written in such a way that the chapters can be read in any order. (I myself was very interested in how Bowie made his fortune and that was covered in a very nice and succinct way in a single chapter.)

3. The characterization of Bowie was good and strong. In a way, it is good that Tremlett did not take on a product over which Bowie had final control. In this way, both the flattering and unflattering aspects of Bowie were included.

4. There were some interesting (if unintentional) portraits of some *really sick* puppies in the rock/ art industry (Andy Warhol and the foot fetish).

5. There was at least *some* discussion
Bad points:

1. There is no index.

2. The book could have done with many more photos.

3. The writing seems rather.......choppy and disjointed at times. This author writes in very much the same way that a person speaks, and that seems inappropriate at times.

All in all, definitely worth a second hand purchase price.

One of the best on Bowie
There are a number of Bowie bios, or "me-and-David-Bowie" volumes around, but few really good. The Brixton-born star has always been careful not to expose his past, and not to turn down rumours; many books about him get stuck in the sensational. Tremlett's book is one of the best, perhaps *the* best Bowie biography I've read, and for a number of reasons.
The writer knew Bowie long before he became a star and did hours of interviews with him around 1970. Years later, at the point when Bowie broke with MainMan, Tremlett became an insider again in a crucial phase. He makes good use of this material to interpret Bowie's winding road from half-esoteric post-hippie and "artist without a niche" to a million-selling teen idol (some of the best pages are about Bowie and his friend/rival Marc Bolan, who in some sense cleared the way for Bowie to become Ziggy Stardust).
While he's clearly an admirer of Bowie's artistic genius and sometimes good sense, he doesn't lose sight of his occcasional ruthlessness and manipulation of the media. He's also enough of a literary man to do some useful interpretation of Bowie's lyrics.

The book is very good on the business side of rock'n'roll. Tremlett goes through the phases of Bowie's career, explains settlements, discusses the incomes, royalties, credits and the sometime lack of a steering hand on the budget. He's also got an excellent sense of the absurdity of rock life, as when Bowie makes the first Ziggy tour of the USA, playing to half-filled venues but living it up like a star- at the command of his manager Tony DeFries, of course. The financial straps were all with the record company, so Bowie and the band had almost no money in their own pockets. By the time they reached L.A. and checked into a top-notch hotel, everyone had learnt the trick: you could get whatever you wnated just as long as you could say "pass it to the RCA". Bowie and trhe guys made limo trips around L.A. rather than going anywhere by bus or cab, because when you're in a limo, you never have to pay in cash.
Some of the material on the MainMan business side is of course from Tony Zanetta's "Stardust" but Tremlett buttresses it with his own analysis. His account of the economy of Bowie's 1980s tours is a bit guesswork but very useful and also shows that he's under no obligations to Bowie.

It should be said that we don't learn much about Bowie in private after the mid-seventies, but this is because the star has wanted it that way. About four fifths of this book deal with the decade 1966-76, and after Bowie has returned to Europe and began his "Berlin" phase - in reality, he made his home in Switzerland already before recording "Low" - he's almost impossible to follow on a private plan; there's no one to ask, and the guy himself gives no in-depth interviews anymore (and in most people's books, the sventies were his classic years). The book takes a nuanced, amused, and sharp look at Bowie's career.

Observations from the "Brink"
He's a rock chameleon, a musical star who has acquired and shed all sorts of onstage personas -- Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke among them. George Tremlett's biography "David Bowie: Living on the Brink" doesn't reveal much that's new, but he does manage to give a new spin to Bowie's story.

Author George Tremlett first encountered David Bowie (born David Jones) in the 1970s, as the talented young musician was blossoming into what would be a long and fruitful career. He chronicles Bowie's troubled family (including a family history of schizophrenia), Bowie being taken under the wing of Kenneth Pitt, his marriage to wild child Angela Bowie, and a colorful career that never failed to fascinate.

Most biographers either trash or glorify the people they are writing about. George Tremlett really does neither. Not for long, anyway. On one hand, he analyzes song lyrics, quibbles on Bowie's sexuality and sometimes makes excuses for dumb stunts. On the other, he is quite willing to chronicle Bowie's flaws -- his sometime insensitivity, coldness and weirdness. Bowie's complexity seems to fascinate Tremlett.

His writing is a hodgepodge of the conversational, the distant and professional, and his own experiences. It's a bit uneven, but it works. Most of the information is gleaned from other books; Tremlett gives it a slightly new outlook, refuting some rumors and questioning others. Thankfully, he does not try to spin up his conversations with Bowie into a friendship, as many rock journalists do.

Those looking for a trashy read will be sated by anecdotes like Bowie's two lovers (one male, one female) arguing over him, and the glitz, seediness and glamour of 1970s London. But Tremlett also covers a side of Bowie that you don't see often: the businessman. He tackles the complicated world of agents, music deals, bestselling records and everything that fills in the gaps. And he makes it clear that Bowie is not just an excellent musician, but a capable businessman as well.

Sometimes conversational, sometimes distant and professional, "David Bowie: Living on the Brink" is a nice solid read about the Man Who Fell To Earth. Recommended for fans of classic rock'n'roll, and Bowie himself.

Excellent for Bowie fans
Tremlett recycles the best bits from older, trashier bios, and adds his own, substantial pre-Ziggy interview material. His presentation is clear, concise, and buttressed by a detailed chronology and annotated bibliography, and his record critiques are fair if overly focused on lyrics. There's enough name-dropping and 70's hedonism for smut grazers, and plenty of financial analysis for those interested in rock's corporate machine. But there are weak points: Tremlett runs through the last two decades with no enthusiasm or insider knowledge, there's no index or discography, and the photo section isn't anything special.

Great insight on a cloudy past!
It helps when you have interviewed a rock legend before he earned his fame, success, power, and wealth. George Tremlett got into rather lengthy interview with Bowie in Ken Pitt's apartment. This is where George getsmuch of his information of Bowie's early days, and of about up to 1970. Ibelieve after this personal interview, George became a huge fan of David's.Which, for the reader, is not a good thing. Tremlett seems to make upunbelievable excuses for some of the most obscene things Bowie has everdone. For instance, when Bowie gave his infamous Nazi salute on a train.Tremlett likes to explain that it was misunderstanded as a Nazi salute whenBowie was actually waving to all of his adoring fans. Now, as a devotedBowie I would like to believe this garbage, but my intelligence asks: Thenwhy did Bowie move to Berlin and visit Hitler's bunker so often? Tremlettalso seems to think that Bowie was never gay. The infamous interview inwhich Bowie was quoted as saying he was gay was probably invented by TonyDeFries. (Which is most likely true.) But then Tremlett goes on to say thatBowie never had a male sex partner and merely "experimented". Whoknows what George means by that. My point is that Tremlett is nothing morethan adoring fan trying to make excuses for Bowie's faults in life. Heseems to be more interested in making excuses then to sharing detailedinsight on Bowie's true nature. ... Read more

Product Description
David Bowie is a global superstar. One of the most extraordinary icons of our times, Bowies career spans five decades of popular music. From his first recordings in the sixties, through the invented characters of the seventies (Ziggy Stardust, Aladin Sane and The Thin White Duke), to the stadium rock of the eighties and attempts to recapture his creativity in more recent times, David Bowie has inspired millions of followers and fans the world over.

This culturally sensitive re-reading of the life, image and music of David Bowie offers a detailed understanding of his importance to modern times. The story of David Bowie involves questions of comodification, youth culture, history, individualisation, racism and gender and sexual politics. Yet this is also a tale of ambiguity and pleasurable confusion. Among the many talents of David Bowie has been his ability to capture through popular culture key contradictions of the modern era. Through the interpretation of images, music, text and interviews with many Bowie fans this book seeks to unravel some of the mystery that continues to surround the bohemian prince of pop.

Nick Stevenson has written a sympathetic and critical study of one of the enduring stars of popular music. David Bowie is a subtle and accessible exploration of the complex cultures of celebrity.

This text will appeal to those teaching and studying cultural and media studies, visual culture, sociology and popular culture, as well as to general readers interested in David Bowie. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I don't think that means what you think it means
First, let me say that I haven't read anything else on David Bowie so this book actually had a lot of new information for me. That said, anyone whose read a biography on Bowie and done a little analyzing of his songs is probably going to be bored out of their minds. There are a lot of interesting points but they don't feel fully fleshed out so I ended the book somewhat unconvinced. I enjoyed the book but it was annoying when I noticed that the author kept using the words "ambivalence" and "ambivalent" over and over again. At times Stevenson uses these words instead of the more obvious and natural "ambiguous" and it ends up sounding awkward and strange. It kept reminding me of The Princess Bride when the villain says "inconceivable" all the time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Little Boy Blue
This is a terrific book, worth getting in hardback for the collector.The authors claim that they were working in the beginning with Bowie, and he later changed his mind and would not authorize this book.I believe it's because they outlined Bowie's relationship with his older brother, Terri, who committed suicide.Regardless, I feel this is the most compassionate book I've read on Bowie (and I've got them all).This book describes Bowie's family background, and gets into the darker aspects of what would drive an artist such as David to become what he is.David Bowie has said himself, in later years, that he was lucky to fall-into his chosen profession as a musician, or he might have otherwise lost his mind.

The Gillmans cover Bowie's slow rise to fame, his relationships with his bandmates, managers, other rockers of the time,his first wife Angie, and all the tours up through 1986.As I've mentioned in another review, David Bowie paid through his teeth for the price of his fame.And his mother was no exception to adding to his grief.So David's relationships, or should I say, ability to be emotionally intimate with women especially, were strained at best.I tend to think Bowie rebelled against his mother constantly, and she incited and indulged that. David's first wife, Angie, had the same effect.For many years after his divorce, consequentially, Bowie was a bachelor.

The consistent thing about David Bowie's personality is that he does not appreciate being manipulated by people.He does not come across to me as that way in this book.He seems to be more of a soulful, private person who needs simplicity and sincerity as a basis from which to create.I think in the past, women undermined that for him.He had to teach himself how to respect women, somehow.Not knowing who he was, they couldn't really see WHY he was vulnerable.You would have to know some things about mental illness; and Bowie did. So perhaps he could see through the craziness of females, as well.In many ways he unable to fully come into himself until his 40's, when he married Iman.This is the story of what happened.

Very well done
This was a very well written, very well researched biography. It was an interesting read and the authors obviously knew exactly what they were talking about. They interviewed a vast range of sources, had all sorts of good quotes, anecdotes and pictures. I felt like I was getting the real deal. This is the best Bowie biography I've read. (In case you're wondering, I've read five. I'm doing a report for my arts class.) This answers most of my questions about Bowie, my only regrets being that it was published in the mid-eighties, so I don't get any info on what he's doing now.... ... Read more

Product Description
Taschenformat Album-by-Album und Song-by-Song Aufschlüsselung der jeder Track von David Bowie. Tracking seine gesamte Karriere durch den Ziggy Jahre und die Berlin-Ära, die electronica und Glamrock Dies ist eine komplette Anleitung, um seine Musik - deutschen Sprache. ... Read more

Product Description
The Ultimate Collector's Edition celebrating David Bowie's 60th Birthday in style! His life, his music and his legend are dealt with in full with plenty of great photos, reviews, commentaries and a forward from Kate Bush! 146 pages of Bowie, BowieOh, Bowie! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Great (but Dated) Resource to Collecting Bowie Concerts
Though somewhat outdated, poorly written/translated, and incomplete given what we know about Bowie's live performances at this point in time, this book is still a stellar achievement and should be required reading for anyone who collects Bowie's "unauthorized" recordings. The author infuses his narrative with the passion of an ardent fan and true collector. He discusses Bowie's live recordings chronologically up through the 1983 tour, providing details about the characteristics of Bowie's performances as well as the quality of the recordings that were typically made from the audience over the years. The book (and the hobby of collecting Bowie recordings) is really a "people's history" of his amazing career. While there is definitely is a need for an updated version (i.e., one that might include a little information on the last 19 years!), much of the information is still incredibly relevant, since there were seldom multiple source recordings of a given concert, especially in the early years ('72-'74).(They became more plentiful in the '80s and '90s.) Even if you collect live Bowie shows on CD these days, many of the author's descriptions will be of the shows that are still circulating widely as "The" copy.

Aside from the utility of the book as a discography of rare recordings, it also features wonderful, rare pictures of Bowie concerts taken from audience members over the years. Just the pictures alone make this book worth seeking out. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The best Discography of Bowie's early career - ever
In 1985 there was Live Aid, I was 14 and had just seen Bowie performing while watching this marathon concert on TV.I was smitten.Totally.

As a poor teenager with limited pocket-money, I struggled with what book of Bowie's to get first, let alone the dilemma of purchasing my first bowie album on tape.I came across this book and I can honestly say that it's the best 'Bowie' purchase I've ever made (well, apart from the concert tickets !).

So as a 14 year old girl in 1985, while all my school mates where into Wham or the new romantic type stuff, here I was pouring over Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke.I was NOT popular at school. I even sported his red ziggy mullet, at age 14, when I was supposed to be growing into a precocious young girl, I was listening to this weird music and driving my mother insane relating lyrics to her while she washed dishes.

I digress.after reading this large square book cover to cover, pouring over every detailed word that Murray and Carr bestowed on just about every song on every album up until 1981 (I had the original book which ended at 1981), they all sounded so fantastic and strange and intriguing, I had real trouble deciding which album to buy first.I had settled on two choices.... Low or Diamond Dogs.

THANKFULLY I decided my 5 pounds be spent on a tape of the Diamond Dogs album.... looking back I was just NOT ready for the mysterious and haunting sounds of Low.I think if I had listened to Low first, it would have put me off for life.Of course now I respect Low for what it is, but Diamond Dogs will ALWAYS be my favorite album of Bowies'. At 38, it still is, I'm still infatuated,, and IMHO nothing he's done since Scary Monsters carries any of the fantastical, explorative and unique work he did throughout the 1970's.

In conclusion.... should anyone be only just discovering Bowie.... this is the ultimate tome for deep album exploration..... a nice list of bootleg albums at the back too, and GREAT pictures.

I need to buy a 'new' old copy.

Essential reading for Bowie fans
Easily one of the best analyses of Bowie's recorded work up to 1980. Carr & Murray write thoughtfully about every Bowie release (45 and LP) from the start of his career up to Scary Monsters, charting Bowie's growth as an artist alongside the merits of each release.The writing is engaging, occasionally funny, and always enjoyable. The book also includes great photos and reproductions of album and single sleeves. In the heyday of my Bowie fan-dom, I read this countless times.

It's a shame this book is out of print. It's also a shame that it ends in 1981, as Bowie has done quite a bit of recording since that time (12 albums, including Tin Machine, not including live albums, many soundtracks, etc). Time for an update?

Bowiefile Muso-journo's fail to fawn over rock god! (almost)
It should be noted first, that the look of this book may have spawned that primary & pastel coloured graphics look that culminated in those dodgy Culture Club-esque album covers of the 80's.

This is, however, not a bad thing. Remember that Bowie himself spawned Icehouse, Bauhaus (and therfore 'the fields of the nephilm'- a gothic embarrasment from the UK that mass cringing couldn't drive away)and a whole gamut of pass the sick, or make up, bag 'artistes'.

The photos were a revelation, in terms of size and quality, when first published and it must have been obvious to Eel-Pie (Publisher owned by Pete Townsend) that sad spotty but 'different' - i.e. couldn't score chics - schoolkids like myself were going to buy two copies at a time. One for perusing and dripping saliva on and the other for the bedroom wall. Some of us particularly sad types bought three, as some pages had 'crucial' snaps on either side.

In fairness, up until then in the UK (or at least Scotland) there were about 20 unofficial Bowie books that you could buy. All of which had little of written interest and shared the same newsprint qualiy black and whites. Face it, the photos were all that really mattered. As soon as I had parted with my pocket money, the cellophane wrapping was aibourne and my mums scissors were gummed up with cellotape as I added the latest installement to the 'installation (conversation?)piece' that was my bedroom 'collage'.

Once I had bought my third copy and actually started to read the thing (only joking, I read the second one before I cut it up) I realised that this was not going to be the same old cliche ridden sychophantic drivel that I was used to swallowing so gratefully. When you are a young teenager and your mates periodically want to beat you up 'cos you listen to a poof', it can be quite comforting having some hack confirm to you in print that 'the chamelion of rock' is actually the second coming in mascarra. Like, it says so there so it must be true!

How refreshing then, to read a book that praises and ridicules Bowie in fairly equal measure, even though it's obvious that Carr & Murray love 95% of the music they are critiquing. I didn't agree with all of their observations and conclusions, but neither I or the authors should mind about that. This was then, the first music publication that for me, made reading it feel like an adult pursuit.Just before I cut it up and used it to cover every inch of my bedroom.

Two more things, 1. If you buy a copy, you will need a bigger coffee table 2. I wish I had kept one. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Early Bowie Book
Good pictures, not to many though. This book from 1977 has a lot of excellent pictures of Bowie from his Hunky Dory phase through his Thin White Duke incarnation. Good for the serious collector only. ... Read more

Product Description
Three Roads to the Alamo  is the definitive book about the lives of David Crockett, James Bowie and William Barret Travis--the legendary frontiersmen and fighters who met their destiny at the Alamo in one of the most famous and tragic battles in American history--and about what really happened in that battle.Amazon.com Review
Ever since the day in March 1836 when an obscure Spanishmission in Texas fell to Mexican forces led by President Santa Anna,Americans have been exhorted to "remember the Alamo." And remember itwe do--primarily as the place where American folk legends DavyCrockett, Jim Bowie, and William Travis met their end fighting forTexas independence. Though it is primarily the Alamo we remembertoday, the battle itself takes up just a few pages of WilliamC. Davis's Three Roads to the Alamo; Davis is far moreinterested in what brought three such disparate men as Crockett,Bowie, and Travis to Texas in the first place than in how they diedthere. As any schoolchild knows, Davy Crockett was the "king of thewild frontier," a bona fide folk hero in his own time who rode hislegend to political office first in Tennessee and then as a UnitedStates congressman. Bowie was both less well known and less heroic--aland speculator not above resorting to fraud and forgery to get whathe wanted, while William Travis, the youngest of the three, broughtlittle but potential with him to Texas.

Davis does a good job of illuminating both the personalities of hissubjects and the situation in which they found themselves in Texas. Hethoroughly explores the lives of these three men--their successes,their failures, their hopes for the future--and lays out the argumentsfor and against Texan independence from Mexico in which they foundthemselves embroiled. By the time Crockett, Bowie, and Travis finallyarrive at the Alamo, it seems the inevitable conclusion to the roadsthey each have been traveling over the course of theirlifetimes. Three Roads to the Alamo is a fine piece ofhistorical research and an entertaining read, as well. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

Review of "Three Roads to the Alamo"
This is possibly one of the greatest and well written books about the Alamo and the three most legendary men that were behind the walls those 13 days. I would suggest this book to any historian.

This book needed to be edited with a BOWIE KNIFE!Far too long!
It's fairly obvious that by themselves, neither David Crockett, James Bowie nor William Barrett Travis would merit a full-scale biography.In fact, even together it beomes a stretch.

Of the three, Crockett certainly comes the closest because of his extended exposure on the national stage, while Travis due to his short life span, leaves the author very little to actually talk about.

So this leaves James Bowie and my goodness!! ... how much minutiae about land speculation and fraud does one need to read before they've heard enough about Bowie's life prior to The Alamo?!?His entire life up to 1834 could have easily been summed up in about 50 pages, and Travis in about 25 pages.

Instead, we grind through almost 400 pages before the author finally reaches the point most people picked the book up for in the first place.Specifically, how the heck did these three end up together defending The Alamo?

Don't get me wrong ... the historical and political backstory concerning the American frontier, Texas land speculation, and Jacksonian politics is important, and this book helps to clarify the issues and to explain how things occured as they did.

But, the convoluted (and frankly boring) facts involving every single honest and dishonest facet of Bowie's career in land speculation was almost enough to cause me to put the book down.

I've enjoyed hearing William C. Davis on shows like Civil War Journal, etc., but this is the first time I've read him.

Not sure I'll read him again after this.

Three Roads to the Alamo: The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie and William Barret Travis
Delivery time was exceptional!Book is fantastic! A great biography of each man, and a great historical piece!This has got to be the best history written of each of these men!A true bargain and very pleased with delivery!

Good book, but problems with the electronic version
This wasn't the greatest history I've ever read, but it was quite good.Davis seems to have been scrupulous about using only primary sources, and presents a lot of fascinating detail about lives that are frequently mythologized.

My only quibble is with the Kindle version, which is loaded with typographical errors.Some are simple mis-spellings which the spell checker should have caught.However, in many instances, the text was garbled to the point of incomprehensibility.The book also refers to several fairly obscure parts of Texas and Louisiana, but the maps were essentially unreadable as reproduced on the Kindle.It was still worth reading, but more trouble than I expected.If you're really interested in this topic, you might want to get the paper version instead.

Thorough History Lesson
Very thorough and well-organized. The story lays to rest the myths good and bad of these three heroes of the Alamo, but this only serves to make them more human and far more interesting. As a Texan who was raised on many of the legends, I was a little upset that some of the stories may not be true (the line in the sand), but was actually more impressed with the three as individuals by the end of the book, and appreciated more the often contentious road to Texan independence. Furthermore, while the book focuses mainly on Bowie, Crockett, and Travis, there are tremendous insights into many individuals and processes involved in the revolution, including reflections on the reluctant leadership of Stephen F. Austin (whom I greatly respect) and the unsteady and unpredictable leadership of Sam Houston (whom I do not). Very informative and well worth the time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A classic, but not for the casual fan
Kenneth Pitt was David Bowie's manager from 1967 (the year of David's debut album) to 1969 (the year of David's first hit single, "Space Oddity"). In this book he describes in detail the events that tookplace in that short but pivotal period of David's career. By now, ofcourse, Pitt's accounts have been exhaustingly recycled in other Bowiebooks. If you're a casual fan who just wants a good, comprehensivebiography, you're better off with the recently released "StrangeFascination", by David Buckley (available only in Britain at the timeof writing). But if you're a bona fide "Bowiephile", this book ismandatory. And it will never be outdated, since it covers a time span inthe past which will always be history and can never be changed. ... Read more

Product Description
When David Bowie first visited the USA in February 1971, he was an obscure English folkie in what he described as a man's dress. By the time the author was finished with him, though, he was an obscure English folkie in a man's dress with a Rolling Stone article about him forthcoming, and a newfound appreciation of an obscure Midwestern garage band called The Stooges. ... Read more