Alias David Bowie [Hardcover]

Peter Gillman (Author), Leni Gillman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this unauthorized biography based on extensive interviews with David Bowie's relatives and associates, an English journalist and his wife, a college teacher, explore the world of this enigmatic entertainer. Raised in a poor South London family with a history of mental illness, David Robert Jones was to become an emblem of his time whose fame rivaled that of Elvis Presley and the Beatles. He sang some of the most haunting pop songs of the 1970s and starred in some of the strangest plays and films of the period (The Elephant Man, The Hunger, The Man Who Fell to Earth). Androgynous, Jekyll and Hyde by turns, susceptible to cocaine and paranoia, casting off a series of managers and involved in complex lawsuits, Bowie eventually deserted Britain and America and moved to a house near the Berlin Wall. The Gillmans' formidable research enables them to smash many Bowie myths, but their sympathy for him and his disturbed family is evident, and they deal fairly with his wife, agents and lovers. Still, only obsessed Bowie fans will have the stamina to get all the way through this depressing 500-page odyssey. Photos.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA That David Bowie should earn two critical biographies published within a few months is a tribute to his stature as a musician and performer; that both should be quality titles is greater tribute. Unlike many stars of the '60s, Bowie has shown versatility in music, in theater, and in combining the two. The Gillmans delve into the biographical details, the familial influences, career moves, images, and materials. This title offers insight into the enormous pressures of a career musician and the ravages of the drug culture; it provides an honest account and analysis of the good career moves and the bad decisions. Matthew-Walker, on the other hand, has chosen to focus on this theatrical aspect of Bowie's performing style. He provides in-depth historical background as well as analyses of Bowie's musical materials, opening up the broader picture of Bowie's importance in the contemporary arts. He offers a comprehensive view of Bowie artistically, historically, and personally, which gives insight into Bowie's meanings and motivations for his writing and his actions; he also gives a feel for the artistry of Bowie's craft and his flexibility as proven in concert, in writing, and in dramatic roles. Both titles are complementary treatments of Bowie's life as a rock musician, an actor, and a contemporary artist, and both deserve consideration for collections serving students with a strong interest in modern music and performing artists. Rebecca Holt, Episcopal High Sch . , Bellaire
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 511 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (September 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340368063
• ISBN-13: 978-0340368060
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,628,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Gillman was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1942. He attended Hawes Down school, Dulwich College (1953-61), and University College Oxford (1961-64). He was editor of Isis magazine at Oxford. He became a journalist on leaving Oxford and was soon writing for the Sunday Times, first as a freelance, then on the staff, where he spent five years on the newspaper's Insight team. He became a freelance journalist in 1983 and has written for most British newspapers since. He has also written or co-authored a number of books, including Eiger Direct (with Dougal Haston) (published 1966); The Plumbat Affair (with Paul Eddy and Elaine Davenport) (1978); The Falklands War (with Paul Eddy and Magnus Linklater) (1982); Collar the Lot, co-authored with his wife Leni Gillman (1980); Alias David Bowie, with Leni Gillman (1986); The Duty Men (1987); In Balance: 20 years of mountaineering journalism (1989); Everest: the best writing and pictures (1993); The Wildest Dream (biography of mountaineer George Mallory) with Leni Gillman (2000) - winner of Boardman Tasker prize for mountain writing; Everest: 80 years of triumph and tragedy (2001). He has a specialism in mountain writing and has won a record six annual awards from the Outdoor Writers Guild. He has worked in television and cinema and also works as a trainer in journalism and writing. See website www.peterleni.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well done, November 19, 2000

By 

R.K.M. "RKM" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alias David Bowie (Hardcover)

This was a very well written, very well researched biography. It was an interesting read and the authors obviously knew exactly what they were talking about. They interviewed a vast range of sources, had all sorts of good quotes, anecdotes and pictures. I felt like I was getting the real deal. This is the best Bowie biography I've read. (In case you're wondering, I've read five. I'm doing a report for my arts class.) This answers most of my questions about Bowie, my only regrets being that it was published in the mid-eighties, so I don't get any info on what he's doing now....

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Boy Blue, July 6, 2007

By 

O. Marie "Stargoddess7" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ALIAS DAVID BOWIE: A BIOGRAPHY. (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book, worth getting in hardback for the collector. The authors claim that they were working in the beginning with Bowie, and he later changed his mind and would not authorize this book. I believe it's because they outlined Bowie's relationship with his older brother, Terri, who committed suicide. Regardless, I feel this is the most compassionate book I've read on Bowie (and I've got them all). This book describes Bowie's family background, and gets into the darker aspects of what would drive an artist such as David to become what he is. David Bowie has said himself, in later years, that he was lucky to fall-into his chosen profession as a musician, or he might have otherwise lost his mind.

The Gillmans cover Bowie's slow rise to fame, his relationships with his bandmates, managers, other rockers of the time,his first wife Angie, and all the tours up through 1986. As I've mentioned in another review, David Bowie paid through his teeth for the price of his fame. And his mother was no exception to adding to his grief. So David's relationships, or should I say, ability to be emotionally intimate with women especially, were strained at best. I tend to think Bowie rebelled against his mother constantly, and she incited and indulged that. David's first wife, Angie, had the same effect. For many years after his divorce, consequentially, Bowie was a bachelor.

The consistent thing about David Bowie's personality is that he does not appreciate being manipulated by people. He does not come across to me as that way in this book. He seems to be more of a soulful, private person who needs simplicity and sincerity as a basis from which to create. I think in the past, women undermined that for him. He had to teach himself how to respect women, somehow. Not knowing who he was, they couldn't really see WHY he was vulnerable. You would have to know some things about mental illness; and Bowie did. So perhaps he could see through the craziness of females, as well. In many ways he unable to fully come into himself until his 40's, when he married Iman. This is the story of what happened.