Thanks to this book, it will probably be a long time before Bernstein can really be apprediated for what he was: a musician. One could read a generous portion of this book and never know that Bernstein was a musician, so obsessive is Peyser's interest in his personal life. Bernstein was not perfect; sure, it's the easiest thing in the world to smear and smear until biography becomes gossip. You can pick apart Bernstein's sex life, his politics, his manners, or whatever you please. But that was not what Bernstein was about. What must be remembered - and what Ms. Peyser seems to forget in the course of this book - is that Bernstein was above all a musician, and one of the greatest in history. Sure, Peyser can write all she likes about how Bernstein's personal life, and some of it (all to rarely) is even interesting. But in the final analysis, Peyser royally misses the point. The question is not "How much dirt can we get on this guy?", but "What was it that made him, in spite of all his obvious faults, such a powerful and good presence in his time?"

This is the one question you will never hear Peyser answer, nor any other Bernstein biographer for that matter. There is nothing worth knowing in this book that one would not know from hearing Bernstein's conducting and compostitions, from seeing his "Young People's Concerts' and 1973 Norton Lectures, or from reading his "The Joy of Music". This is the real Bernstein, and is an eloquent testimony on Bernstein's behalf that the efforts of all the gossip-columnist biographers like Peyser are rendered irrelevant in light of Bernstein's extrordinary artistry, and his unparalleled ability and desire to communicate.

He lives on in spite of all the Joan Peysers in the world, and let us hope to God that he continues to do so.

This book is one big gossip column about Bernstein 1) being bi-sexual or 2) Bernsteins apparent motivation to constantly undermind other people and turn the focus of anything to himself. Bernstein certianly had an ego, but this book is simply not accurate. In the introduction the author says, "The crevices of character have to e explored as fully as the peaks of achievements to understand...." She certianly explored the "crevices." Instead of spending $18 on this go buy the National Enquirer.

While this much maligned biography may indeed dwell a little too much on Bernstein's personal life (how many times do we really need to be told he was gay? this gets tiresome after awhile...) Peyser does include a wealth of competently researched background on the life of this most American of musicians. If you aren't offended by the cheap and trashy (but rarely explicit) parts, it's worth a read. Keep your nose in joint and take this biography for what it is and you'll probably learn a few things!