Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince Hahn, Alex

Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince is the definitive biography of one of the most talented and enigmatic musicians of our time, a figure who has seized international attention for decades and will continue to do so, both for his artistic talent and his bizarre behavior. While a handful of quasi-biographical efforts have been undertaken on Prince, Possessed is the first full-length, full-scale biographical treatment. Drawing on sources unavailable to other authors, it is the first book to fully analyze the creative legacy and unveil the psychology of this tortured, messianic artist whose ceaseless reinventions have at times rendered him a profoundly original artist and at other threatened to make a mockery of himself and his music. Blending biographical storytelling, pop cultural history, and music scholarship, the book will appeal to a broad general audience as well as to music fans.

Author Alex Hahn, a journalist who has written for The Boston Globe and The San Francisco Chronicle, taps key sources - such as friends, employees, and industry insiders - to place readers at the scene of some of the artist's most important recording and song writing sessions; relate how his compulsive sexual behavior led to revolving-door romances with Kim Basinger, Carmen Elektra, Vanity, and others; reveal that Prince on many occasions plagiarized band members' musical ideas; and explain why he has become such a paranoid, vindictive, and isolated figure. The book also draws upon the hundreds of interviews given by Prince over his career.

The book contain 30 high-quality photographs of Prince and his associates from all points of his career.

Possessed also contains the most detailed appendix of song and recording session information ever assembled for a pop musician, including information about Prince's vast canon of unreleased music and the hundreds of songs he has written for other pop artis

Alex Hahn, a resident of Boston, has written for the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle. Also an attorney, Hahn defended Uptown, the leading Prince fanzine, in a suit brought by the artist himself.