The Man Who Sold the World: David Bowie and the 1970s - Hardcover

Doggett, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062024655 ISBN 13: 9780062024657

Publisher: Harper, 2012

Synopsis

The Man Who Sold the World by Peter Doggett—author of the critically acclaimed Beatles biography, You Never Give Me Your Money—is a song-by-song chronicle of the evolution of David Bowie.

Focusing on the work and the life of one of the most groundbreaking figures in music and popular culture during the turbulent seventies, Bowie’s most productive and innovative period, The Man Who Sold the World is the book that serious rock music lovers have been waiting for.

By exploring David Bowie’s individual achievements and breakthroughs one-by-one, Doggett paints a fascinating portrait of the performer who paved the way for a host of fearless contemporary artists, from Radiohead to Lady Gaga.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Doggett's books include Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock,the award-winning There's a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars and the Rise and Fall of the '60s, and You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup, which was chosen as one of the 10 Best Books of 2010 by the Los Angeles Times.

From the Back Cover

The Man Who Sold the World is a critical study of David Bowie's most inventive and influential decade, from his first hit, "Space Oddity," in 1969, to the release of the LP Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) in 1980. Viewing the artist through the lens of his music and his many guises, the acclaimed journalist Peter Doggett offers a detailed analysis—musical, lyrical, conceptual, social—of every song Bowie wrote and recorded during that period, as well as a brilliant exploration of the development of a performer who profoundly affected popular music and the idea of stardom itself.

Dissecting close to 250 songs, Doggett traces the major themes that inspired and shaped Bowie's career, from his flirtations with fascist imagery and infatuation with the occult to his pioneering creation of his alter-ego self in the character of Ziggy Stardust. What emerges is an illuminating account of how Bowie escaped his working-class London background to become a global phenomenon. The Man Who Sold the World lays bare the evolution of Bowie's various personas and unrivaled career of innovation as a musician, singer, composer, lyricist, actor, and conceptual artist. It is a fan's ultimate resource—the most rigorous and insightful assessment to date of Bowie's artistic achievement during this crucial period.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062024655
• ISBN 13: 9780062024657
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512