Stardust: The David Bowie Story - Hardcover

Edwards, Henry; Zanetta, Tony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 007072797X ISBN 13: 9780070727977

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1986

Synopsis

Bowie's former manager traces the entertainer's life and career from working-class childhood to international fame, illuminating Bowie's drug problems, flamboyant affairs, relationships with other celebrities, and successes

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Zanetta, head of MainMan, the corporation that handled Bowie's business affairs, has collaborated with Edwards (Loving John on this superficial biography. Although full of informationincluding much material about Bowie's sex lifethe book suffers from antipathy toward its subject, whom the authors view as plastic, infantile and disloyal, ready to "erase" lovers and friends who can no longer help him. The book jumps from Bowie (born David Jones in North London in 1947) as a frightened child to an exhibitionistic teenager, with no sense of the process in between. Bowie remains opaque throughout, as we see him adjust his image to meet the demands of career. His outrageousness has drawn more attention than his recordings, which have only rarely sold well. Zanetta and Edwards present an interesting picture of the rarefied and fashionably decadent circles in which Bowie and his entourage travel, the best part of this otherwise flawed biography. Photos. 60,000 first printing; $35,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

In obsessive and relentless detail, and in truly tacky prose, Edwards and Zanetta chronicle the rise of David Bowie as rock star and pop idol. Using the tools of pop psychology, they examine his desire for control over his universe, his mesmerizing charm, and his wanton "erasing" of anyone in his past who no longer meets his needs. They make a case for Bowie as the product of carefully orchestrated media hype rather than a real talent; but his influence on rock music and on the glitterati are real. Endless sexual escapades involving partners of any persuasion and heavy use of cocaine also figure prominently in the narrative. And to what end? Even the disenchanted authors cannot deny the strength of Bowie's music or the effects of his ever-changing image. GraceAnne A. DeCandido, "School Library Journal"
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 007072797X
• ISBN 13: 9780070727977
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 433