An Ideal for Living: An History of Joy Division [Paperback]

Mark Johnson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Music Sales Corp (June 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0711910650
• ISBN-13: 978-0711910652
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My FIRST Joy Division book, and still THE BEST!!!, February 12, 2010

By 

Coleen "frankie-machine" (Down in the alley) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Ideal for Living: An History of Joy Division (Paperback)

This book is of its time, and as such, it is an excellent read, with superb b & w pictures. New Order were still a very new band, yet Joy Division were already a legendary band when this book was written. My favorite parts of the book are the essays that are about Joy Division directly and/or allude to the band. I believe "An Ideal For Living" is the best book on Joy Division. It was the first JD book I ever bought, and it still holds up well. The choice of photos and the layout of the book really suit Joy Division/early New Order's visual ethic, as well.
It gets to the point: the music, artwork,and gigs, while leaving out most of the sensationalism which still surrounds Ian Curtis' suicide. However, the book does somehow capture the mystery and tragedy of Ian Curtis.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great work of reconstructing a past, day-by-day., May 9, 1998

By 

Luis ([e-mail]) (são paulo, Brasil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Ideal for Living: An History of Joy Division (Paperback)

It describes incredibly detailed the birth and the growing up of this great band, a few years almost day-by-day (not to mention the very nice pitures).

5.0 out of 5 stars day in and day out, day by day, January 28, 2011

By 

luish - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Ideal for Living: An History of Joy Division (Paperback)

This is an amazing book, an incredible compilation of small facts, written and put together as a diary, almost day by day, while those kids were having their - day in day out - time of their lives. It is a book for those who love Joy Division and wish to get closer to the atmosphere they breathed, through a very detailed text. Sometimes, it seems like a live transmission from the past.