'The Obsessions And Passions of Janis Joplin' is a very accurate description of the book - it doesn't deal much with the artist, it tells a lot more about her sex life and drug abuse. I myself prefer at least a bit more information on the music of the musician in question, but I must admit the book does a good job of showing us the confused, extremely talented, both loved and rejected personality that was Janis Joplin.

This well-written book is very descriptive! From Port Arthur, Texas, to San Francisco's Haight / Ashbury, scenes of tragedy & revelry are given a jolt of life. Author really sought out the witnesses who are still around (and not too wasted) to tell the tales. Great book for fans of San Francisco, rock music, and of course Janis.

Plenty of sleaze, drugs, and sex, but author nicely presents the tender-hearted girl that was Janis Joplin.

I recently had to order my second copy of this one because I had worn it out. My only issue is that it seemed more downbeat. Yet, considering how her life ended maybe it was more realistic. If you buy any Janis bio's this in the one, also Scars of Sweet Paradise is very worthy.

It surprises me to see so many positive reviews of this biography here. Mister Amburn never gets to know his subject, but makes wildly off-base observations Orbison's psychological make up. He also talks about Orbison's so-called big cocaine habit...What he has to back that up ONE quote from ONE person, claiming Roy TOLD him that he had done $700 worth of the drug one night. I could go on, but why bother. Ellis Amburn did a poor job of writing his book. I don't know anything more about Roy Orbison now than I did before reading the book. Hopefully, someone who can actually WRITE will attempt another bio soon.

Dark Star chronicles the life of the big O from boyhood. It doesnt jump about like some biographies that get lost on the way. There are comments from those who not only new and liked him but also those who were slightly put out by some decisions that were made, by others, on his behalf. Not that he agreed with those decisions e.g. going from The Candymen to Roy Orbison and the Candymen. All in all a very informative book which includes a bibliography of his singles at the back.
John Keeble U.K.

After reading this book Roy s music took on a whole new meaning to me. What a tradgic life for a remarkable man who was admired and respected by his peers. A person and voice we could only dream of having. I also need a copy,can anyone help me?

Ellis Amburn's thesis is that Kerouac's personality and art were shaped by his struggle to reconcile his macho side with his latent homosexuality. His argument is not altogether convincing but thankfully it is basically a minor theme in what is otherwise an excellent biography. And Amburn's theme does raise valid unanswered questions about Kerouac's sexuality. Ginsberg's homosexuality is, of course, no secret, and both he and Kerouac acknowledge that there was some activity between them. And Neal Cassady's attempted hustle of the homosexual driver of the "fag Plymouth" in the motel scene in "On the Road" suggests that he was probably bisexual. But Kerouac himself is purposely vague on the details of his own homosexuality, so Amburn's interest is justified.
Anyone familiar with Kerouacs work, however, will likely have problems accepting Amburn's argument. Conflict over sexual ambivalence simply seems inadequate to explain Kerouac's obsession with life and death, joy and suffering, and man's relationship with God. Certainly Kerouac's loss of his brother Gerard at age 4 had a greater impact on his art than did reconciling whatever homoerotic feelings he had with his self-preferred image as a macho writer.
Many critics have apparently dismissed Amburn's book altogether. The fact that the chapters have been given ridiculously purple titles like "Muscles, Meat, and Metaphysics", and "Sucking Asses to Get Published" doesn't add much to the book's claim to respectibility. ButI found it a valuable and highly readable biography, which presents a picture of the author which I found more accessible and understandable than the Charters or Nicosia books. His research seems sound enough,and there are extensive notes and references, many from JK himself.
Amburn was Kerouac's last editor (he edited "Big Sur") and his comments on working with Kerouac are interesting in their own right, especially when he comes out and asks Kerouac just what he meant in certain ambiguous passages. He also presents numerous details that are omitted or glossed over in the other books, such as the details of the Kammerer murder and the exact nature of Bill Canastra's gruesome death during a subway prank. After reading his book I have a much better understanding of Kerouac's football career, the attraction he felt for Borroughs, and his comples relationship with his mother and with women in general. Details like this flesh out the picture, and do much to make Kerouac's personality more understandable.
I disagree with those who denigrate this book, and after two readings, it has become my favorite Kerouac biography. That Amburn's central thesis doesn't quite hold water (for me, at least) does nothing to lessen the value of this very enjoyable book.

Ellis Amburn's biographical account of Jack Kerouac is a phenomenal undertaking of this brilliant writer's life. To paraphrase, Kerouac insisted that he wrote the truth as he saw it. Kerouac's life story as Amburn writes it, is full of the lurid (Kerouac's homosexual past heterosexual & homosexual activity and substance abuse may far exceed the comfort level of readers) is an inverse tragic story -- Kerouac's genius could have taken him to the heights of one of the greatest American writers (& Kerouac would have thought so himself, too), rather than that of the Beat period. Amburn certainly conveys that sense of a broken promise in Kerouac. Amburn's research is meticulous, being that he was Kerouac editor; yet, his account of Kerouac is fond and the tone of the biography is that of a close friend. You will be heartbroken as you ride the crests and valleys of Jack's life. It has provoked my interest in reading other biographical accounts of Kerouac, as well my shelved copies of Kerouac's work.

This is pure, addictive reading pleasure as it leaves no stone unturned in its investigation of Kerouac the author and Kerouac the man. Not only that, but it also sheds light on a whole generation of bohemians and contemporaries of Kerouac whilst providing valuable background and insight into the literary masterpieces produced by this generation that included William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Bowles, Neal Cassady and many others. Their lives prove that the path of excess often leads to the most sublime literature. This book has stimulated my interest in the Beat writers all over again and I shall reread their classics once more, this time with a clearer understanding of the interpersonal relationships and mutual influences underlying the text. I believe Amburn's excellent book is indispensable for a thorough understanding of the Beats and is a brilliant reference work with its copious notes, extensive bibliography and thorough index. The text is enlivened by black and white photographs all the important people, places and documents that played a part in Kerouac's life. Impeccable scholarship and an engaging writing style combine to ensure a riveting read and a valuable reference source that I certainly will return to again and again.

I HAVE BEEN A BUDDY HOLLY FAN SINCE THE AGE OF 3 IN 1970.HIS MUSIC HELPED ME DISCOVER THE BEATLES AND EVERYTHING SINCE.THIS BOOK IS ABOUT 60-40 ON AN ACCURACY SCALE.I HAVE MET MANY OF BUDDYS CONTEMPORARIES INCLUDING JERRY ALLISON AND NIKI SULLIVAN.THIS BOOK WOULD BE MUCH BETTER WITHOUT THE SENSATIONALISM(SEX AND ALCOHOL)THAT IS OF QUESTIONABLE VALIDITY.WHAT MADE THE MAN GREAT WAS HIS MUSIC AND THAT SHOULD BE THE FOCUS OF ANY DISCUSSION ON HIS LIFE.STILL WRTH PICKING UP BUT DONT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO THE TABLOID STUFF

The true story of Buddy Holly told by his friends,family,wife and fans. I loved this book i hope you do too! This book traces Buddy's career from the day he was born to the day he died (and after). This is the best book on Buddy Holly i've read (i am a huge Buddy Holly fan). So,if you want to know about Buddy Holly this book is for you!!!!

A very well-written book, meticulously researched, and logically paced. OF COURSE, Buddy's sex life needs to be discussed to fully understand one of the roots of his brilliance. For anyone who has ever pondered the origin of the words "rock 'n' roll," it should be obvious why some of these details are included. (If you want a pious, fictionalized recollection, go watch "The Buddy Holly Story.")

If your perception of Buddy was that of a nerdy, goody two-shoes hillbilly who hiccuped his way through a few catchy songs, you're about to have a wake-up call. Ambrose's portrait of Buddy as an explosively confident creative visionary and street-wise "ladies' man" makes for a fascinating and entertaining read.

This book is the tabloid version of an Elizabeth Taylor biography, reading like stiched-together daily exposes in such a newspaper. It displays in endless detail the sexual orientation of virtually everyone she ever spent time with, any arguments she ever had where someone else was present, and any unladylike things she may have said or done. Her movie work is discussed in terms of how it related to her marital relationships and financial problems. Occasionally, the book also criticizes her for having a healthy sexual appetite.

Normally, biographers either like the person they write about or want to create a more accurate account of the person. Mr. Amburn did not seem to fall into either of these categories. His objective seems to be to portray some of the other people in Ms. Taylor's life more sympathetically.

The book's main thesis is that Ms. Taylor has had loving relationships in her adult life with people who are gay or bisexual and unloving ones with everyone else. This connection is also made to Ms. Taylor's relationship with her father, despite the fact that she did not have a good relationship with him. But the book doesn't get beyond that into much of the motivation. Many men were attracted to Ms. Taylor like moths to the flame, and this attraction did nothing to bring out their better qualities. She seems to have lived in a world where her physical attractiveness made her a target for fans, men, and exploiters of all sorts. Little is made of the potential to see her as victim of peoples' perceptions of someone who is physically attractive. She also doesn't seem to get enough credit for generally being an open-minded person, which may explain her lack of sexual-orientation prejudice.

According to press reports and this book, Ms. Taylor has had more than her share of illness, injury, and physical and emotional pain. Yet she has led a generally productive artistic life, and has played an increasingly important role in bringing sympathy and support to the cause of overcoming AIDS. It would have been natural to have focused on these positive reflections of her underlying character, and the difficulties involved in overcoming ceaseless, searing pain addiction. No one is going to be perfect under such circumstances. Yet the book wallows in her use of drugs and drinking to soften the pain, in endless tales that add little to the biography.

Naturally, Ms. Taylor is famous in part for her marital difficulties. Those should have been in the book, but they became too much of the book to be rewarding to the reader.

As someone who was a working actress for most of her life, another aspect of the book you might expect would be extended dicussions of her work. You will find relatively little of that. It is as though the author thinks that her work is of virtually no importance. I certainly was moved by her performances in National Velvet, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Giant, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I liked her performances in many other movies. I would have liked to have read much more about her work in these roles where she was more successful.

The best part of this book is the beautiful color photograph of Ms. Taylor on the cover.

If you are wondering why I did not give the book a one star review, it is because the photographs are good and the writing style is perfectly adequate. The three star downgrade is for misfocus, exploitation, and a hidden agenda.

After you finish looking at Ms. Taylor's cover photograph, consider what you would like to know more about public figures. Then when you are thinking about reading a biography about that person, check to see if the biography focuses on the areas you care about before reading them. That will save you a lot of time.

Also, ask yourself how we should consider someone's life. To what extent should we consider good deeds? Bad deeds? Repentance? Motives? Physical appearance? Obstacles to progress? Ms. Taylor's life raises these issues rather nicely.

By the way, if you find a biography of Ms. Taylor that you like, please do write to me. I'd like to read it.

As another reviewer said, I have read most ot the biographies written about Elizabeth Taylor, and I am usually disappointed! They seem to never capture the woman; the authors tend to rehash old news clippings, or scandal sheet gossip.In doing this, the authors never do this woman justice. Not only is Elizabeth an icon of our time, but she has become one of countries greatest AIDS activists.This in itself took tremendous courage! There is more to this woman than celluloid, and ex-husbands. Face it, she's one great dame! I wish to some day read a biography of her that truly celebrates the woman that is Elizabeth Taylor!

It's not the author's fault, but unfortunately the subject of this book is extremely boring. Two words describe Elizabeth Taylor's life, at least prior to her involvement with AIDS funding and research: WRETCHED EXCESS. This is not a fun read, not because the author didn't try, but because he wrote about a person that just wasn't very interesting.

Ellis Amburn continues his reign of biographical terror. In the same vein as his hideous Elizabeth Taylor biography, he now has penned the basic outline of the bedroom life of Warren Beatty, a guy whose teenage years extended well into his fifties. (Or until people stopped taking him seriously -- whichever came first)

It traces the career of Barbra Streisand's old schoolmate, an emotionally-needy Don Juan who went to bed with just about any woman he came across, married or single, famous or not. He remained a heartthrob in Hollywood for many years, reappearing with a bang and a flash when critics had declared his career dead. He dated women like Diane Keaton, Madonna, Michelle Phillips, and finally settled on Annette Bening, whom he married.

This book is less about Beatty's life than his bedroom life. We get extensive chronicling of, if not every woman he ever slept with, then quite a few of them. Most of these affairs add nothing either to the book or to our understanding of Beatty. And, as he did in "The Most Beautiful Woman In The World," Amburn is not satisfied merely to present Beatty's sexcapades: he does so for just about everyone else in the book. Madonna, Lara Flynn Boyle, Roman Polanski, and dozens of other people have their randy bedroom lives outlined in this book, usually with plenty of detail. Why? No reason. It makes for more titillating reading, I suppose. (The description of videotaped sex games by Sharon Polanski, who was stabbed to death while pregnant, and the first-person description of seduction of a thirteen-year-old, crossed the line into insensitive, tasteless, even pornographic)

The actual writing style is plodding and repetitive. Like many bad biographers, Amburn feels the need to spread anecdotes about the main personality traits of his subjects throughout the book. He repeats constantly on the predatory attitudes of Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, or the strained relationship between Beatty and his sister Shirley MacLaine, or Madonna's liking for other women.

Perhaps the most unforgivable aspect of this book is the lack of insight into Beatty's mind. There are a few half-hearted attempts to explain why he tries to bed all these women, to the point of threatening to rape one girl and stalking another, but it's skimming the surface. Near the end of the book, he inexplicably decides to grow up and be responsible -- but by that time, the readers may be so disgusted by him that they will no longer care.

If you're hunting for a compendium of every tabloid article ever written about Warren Beatty, this is the book for you. But for a serious biography, look elsewhere.

This is a poorly written, slapped together (from lots of old magazine articles) Hollywood bio that COMPLETELY fails to explain one of the more complex, artistically daring figures of the film business. Of course, any book about Warren Beatty is going to have a lot of sex in it, but Amburn is not gutsy (like the late Julia Phillips) or salacious (like Kitty Kelly); his recounting of Beatty's numerous liasons is just recycled National Enquirer stuff. What really sinks this pathetic book is Amburn's inability to suggest just what makes Beatty tick: why does he take so long to make a film? why are his best films (Bonnie and Clyde, Reds, Shampoo, Bullworth) all about dreamers who wind up dead or deserted? Don't look to this book for the answers. Most annoyingly, the author seems to have scores to settle, having managed (appearantly) to live on the edge of the film/literary world. He constantly disses Shirley MacLaine, largely because she didn't pick up a check when they had a publishing lunch decades ago! His opinions of Beatty's films are frequently off the mark: he brushes off Bonnie and Clyde as too violent, paying little attention to the film's artistry, and he totally misreads McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Even if he hates the movie (and he does), Amburn should note that many consider it a classic. Beatty has spent much of his public life trying to appear as an enigma; Amburn has been unable to pierce the veil of secrecy, largely through his inept writing. Avoid this piece of junk and rent Splendor in the Grass or Shampoo instead. You'll have a much more rewarding evening.

As a Warren Beatty fan I didnt dislike it enough to not finish it but I remember thinking .. Is it over yet? Not much new information and mostly quotes from other books or articles. There seemed to be a good bit of information on other celebs (also quoted from other sources).

I was left feeling as if I really didnt read a biography. In fact I left it at a friends house and I really feel no need to get it back.

My advice would be .....SKIP IT but if you really, I mean really, think you want to read this, wait for the paperback or get it at a flea market.