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christopherc's review
2.0
This book strikes me as an attempt at a quick cash-in after David Bowie’s death, the editors throwing together whatever archival material they could quickly license. The “last interview” mentioned in the title is actually just the very brief gag interview that David Bowie did for the BBC in 2006 in connection with his appearance in the television series Extras. He just takes the piss out of Ricky Gervais for one page, he doesn’t actually talk about his own life or work.
Otherwise, the interviews here are from 1964 (this earliest of all interviews is another gag one, a young Bowie pretending to have founded an organization protecting the rights of young men with long hair), 1973, 1974, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2001. Two of the interviews are as much Bowie interviewing someone else as they are him being interviewed, namely conversations with artist Tracey Emin and fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
Few of these are particularly insightful or informative. In the earlier interviews, the younger Bowie just makes rather inane pronouncements about aesthetics and his view of the future without much clear substance behind them; Bowie was pretty drugged up in this years, as a look at early-mid 1970s television footage will show, and this interviews are in the same vein. In the later interviews, he sounds considerably more sober, but there is still very little information here about his music. Probably the most worthwhile interview is the 1992 one, but this, for the publication Movieline concerns entirely Bowie’s roles in films and his reflections on cinema more generally. All in all, this book is probably a waste of time for all but Bowie completists.
Otherwise, the interviews here are from 1964 (this earliest of all interviews is another gag one, a young Bowie pretending to have founded an organization protecting the rights of young men with long hair), 1973, 1974, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2001. Two of the interviews are as much Bowie interviewing someone else as they are him being interviewed, namely conversations with artist Tracey Emin and fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
Few of these are particularly insightful or informative. In the earlier interviews, the younger Bowie just makes rather inane pronouncements about aesthetics and his view of the future without much clear substance behind them; Bowie was pretty drugged up in this years, as a look at early-mid 1970s television footage will show, and this interviews are in the same vein. In the later interviews, he sounds considerably more sober, but there is still very little information here about his music. Probably the most worthwhile interview is the 1992 one, but this, for the publication Movieline concerns entirely Bowie’s roles in films and his reflections on cinema more generally. All in all, this book is probably a waste of time for all but Bowie completists.
catz853's review against another edition
4.0
Thousands of little mirrors reflecting pieces of a life while the original stands somewhere off stage...how better to tell this story?
adambecket's review against another edition
4.0
A very in depth biography of Bowie. Fascinating insight. I didn't like the bits where Jones wrote about his own experiences, however.
aoifecait's review
took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to finish this & my brain is lowkey not big enough to understand half the shit that man says. rip u silly little man
pbobrit's review against another edition
5.0
I got this as a present and really loved this book. The format works so well, this is not a traditional biography but more of an oral history. The whole book is made up of interviews with people who knew and interacted with David Bowie throughout his life. From his days a school right up to his death. There are some interviews with the man himself but those are minimal. So what you end up with a beautifully unreliable history, that gives you a sense of what he must have been like but still leaving a lot up to personal interpretation, which I think was Bowie gave to his fans, the ability to interpret and reinterpret his artistic outputs. For fans of Bowie or anyone interested in an account of a life filled with art, this is definitely a great read.
revengelyne's review against another edition
3.0
Real Rating: 2.5
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I remember my first taste of Bowie's music. It was the early 80s and MtV was still in the stages of infancy. Yet whenever "Let's Dance" came on I always found myself singing along. I really did not get into music until I saw him as the Goblin King in The Labyrinth. Since then his music always plays whenever I am in the car or I am in the mood to listen to music.
When I found this book, I was excited. This book offered a glimpse behind the scenes with friends, lovers, and family. However, I found myself disappointed. This book did not seem to be a biography in anyway but disguised more as a lazy interview. Although it offered some fascinating information about David, it felt like the author was a bit lazy when he wrote it. I had to put the book down several times before I came back to it early this afternoon to finish it.
Will I recommend this book? I may to friends who are, much like myself, enjoyed Bowie's music.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I remember my first taste of Bowie's music. It was the early 80s and MtV was still in the stages of infancy. Yet whenever "Let's Dance" came on I always found myself singing along. I really did not get into music until I saw him as the Goblin King in The Labyrinth. Since then his music always plays whenever I am in the car or I am in the mood to listen to music.
When I found this book, I was excited. This book offered a glimpse behind the scenes with friends, lovers, and family. However, I found myself disappointed. This book did not seem to be a biography in anyway but disguised more as a lazy interview. Although it offered some fascinating information about David, it felt like the author was a bit lazy when he wrote it. I had to put the book down several times before I came back to it early this afternoon to finish it.
Will I recommend this book? I may to friends who are, much like myself, enjoyed Bowie's music.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2017 staff favorite recommended by Susie. Check our catalog:
https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sdavid%20bowie%20dylan%20jones__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sdavid%20bowie%20dylan%20jones__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold