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tikimark's review
4.0
Great collection of interviews, smartly broken up into bite-sized chunks in an interesting order. Highly recommended for students of pop culture and music.
claudiavolano's review
5.0
Everything [and more than] you ever wanted to know about rock and rollers and various other performers. Not necessarily a pretty picture but I was drawn in and kept going. Neil Strauss has a gift for being non-judgmental and so folks just open up to him. Sometimes it's just ego blasting and lots of F-bombs but it's engrossing and you just want more. Human nature - more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
loonyboi's review against another edition
3.0
This is a weird book. Neil Strauss is a great (albeit extremely manipulative) interviewer, and he speaks to some very, very interesting people. However the book itself, rather than taking those interviews and stitching them together into meaningful and interesting essays, simply presents their comments as question and answer segments. Strauss fills in the blanks with interesting anecdotes and asides, but it's hard shaking the feeling that this is a peek into his research files, rather than a finished book.
Having said that, there are some really great moments in here, and some very unusual comments from people. There was the opportunity to create a truly great book here. Instead you're left with one that's merely very good. If you're okay with that, I recommend reading it.
Having said that, there are some really great moments in here, and some very unusual comments from people. There was the opportunity to create a truly great book here. Instead you're left with one that's merely very good. If you're okay with that, I recommend reading it.
thisknife's review
5.0
This is a great read for any music fan. It's done in ten acts (instead of chapters), with themes for each act, and feature clips of interviews from Neil Strauss' career over the years with everyone from Marilyn Manson, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears to musicians and music business related folks from all backgrounds. Not every interview is with a celebrity, but all are intriguing. He asks fantastic questions, and keeps good conversation with who he is talking with. The last act, and story of interviews is what made me adore this book. I loved it up until then, but the story was so beautiful and devastating to read.
clairelorraine's review
5.0
Strauss is just such a great interviewer! And the stories are interwoven in a lovely way.
hollandsays's review against another edition
5.0
Doesn't come out till March but I got an advanced copy and it's brilliant! Excerpts from former interviews with some of the biggest names in music and entertainment...and it's unimaginable what people will admit to when the tape is rolling. WOW!
christinel's review
4.0
The author of this book is a famous rock and roll journalist who has interviewed many, many celebrities for publications like Rolling Stone and the New York Times. This big fat book is a compilation of little snippets of interviews, but they're arranged by themes that are a little oblique to anyone who is not Strauss. While there are a few gossipy bits, what you really get is an overview of what it's like to be Neil Strauss and have a front row look at fame and art and rock and roll without being a rock star himself. Many of the interviewees seem ruined by fame and drugs, but some of them are caught at moments of wisdom or insight. You get a real sense of the frustration of the interviewer in trying to take these often banal moments and make them seem epic. And you do wind up with a clear sense of what does and does not make people (rock stars?) happy in life. It's a wild ride; I liked it a lot.
thisknife's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great read for any music fan. It's done in ten acts (instead of chapters), with themes for each act, and feature clips of interviews from Neil Strauss' career over the years with everyone from Marilyn Manson, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears to musicians and music business related folks from all backgrounds. Not every interview is with a celebrity, but all are intriguing. He asks fantastic questions, and keeps good conversation with who he is talking with. The last act, and story of interviews is what made me adore this book. I loved it up until then, but the story was so beautiful and devastating to read.