Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain [Hardcover]

Max Wallace (Author), Ian Halperin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2004

A stunning and groundbreaking investigation into the death of one of the great rock icons of our time, Kurt Cobain -- revealing new evidence that points to a terrible conclusion. Max Wallace and Ian Halperin have conducted a ten-year crusade for the truth about what happened to Nirvana's former frontman, and in Love & Death they are finally able to present a chilling and convincing case that points to one thing: Kurt Cobain did not commit suicide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is valuably different in tone to everything else you'll read on the subject....Right though it is to celebrate this man's talent and his life, it's undoubtedly just as valuable to learn a lesson from the tragic confusion around his death."

-- The Guardian (London)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Max Wallace is a recipient of Rolling Stone magazine¹s Award for Investigative Journalism; he is also a documentary filmmaker. In 1998, he coauthored the international bestseller Who Killed Kurt Cobain? with Ian Halperin. He is also the author of Muhammad Ali¹s Greatest Fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America, and The American Axis: Ford, Lindbergh, and the Rise of the Third Reich. His first documentary film, Too Colorful for the League, was nominated for a Gemini Award (Canada¹s equivalent of an Emmy). Max has been a guest columnist for the Sunday New York Times, and contributed to the BBC.

Ian Halperin is also a former winner of the Rolling Stone magazine Award for Investigative Journalism. He is the author or coauthor of five books, including the bestsellers Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story, and Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale, as well as a number of exposÉs on the modeling industry. He coauthored Who Killed Kurt Cobain? with Max Wallace. Ian is a regular correspondent for Court TV and has contributed to 60 Minutes 2. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Atria (April 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743484835
• ISBN-13: 978-0743484831
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #793,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Cobain, Kurt

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Other Side of the Story, May 13, 2004

By 

Velouria (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain (Hardcover)

I loved Charles Cross's "Heavier than Heaven" but was always a little disappointed at the overly-flattering portrayal of Courtney Love in the book. This book is an important follow-up to the large collection of writings and film about Kurt and Courtney. I was a major skeptic about the murder theory, but I must admit this book has at least prompted me to think about the possibilities - and to become even more convinced that Love is a sociopath much like Nancy Spungen before her. Spungen's biography, written by her annoyingly self-righteous mother, was an eye-opener about anger, hate and mental illness hiding behind a contrived persona. In Nancy's case, punk rock provided an outlet for her hatred, and I think the same thing happened with Courtney. Some psychopaths enjoy great success by posing as the guy-next-door, copying the lifestyle they see around them. Courtney emulated her surroundings, the alternative music scene, in much the same way. Did it allow her to get away with murder? To accept the murder theory means to shift my opinion of Love from a pathetic wannabe to a brilliant manipulator. I am not sure I'm ready to do this...yet.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done Halperin and Wallace. I salute you!, April 29, 2004

By 

Drew J "Drew J" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain (Hardcover)

This book may not go in chronological order(...) This is not meant to be written like a fiction novel, but to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding Kurt's death. I'll let the quotes speak for themselves and let future reviewers who, after reading the book may still believe Kurt suicided, tangle with them.

Crime scene and the note:
Denise Marshall, a deputy coroner in Colorado says the body was touched when it should not have been and the judgement was rushed since it was reached at the death scene (78). She also complains that the note can hardly be classified as a suicide note(78). "Nowhere in the note does he say he wants to die. He just doesn't like what he is doing, and he wants to change his life...I think it was really unprofessional for them to judge on it so early."(78) The note is also examined in the latter half of the sixth chapter. Rosemary Carroll, who thought Kurt didn't write the note (Tom Grant has his own theory), found a piece of paper in Courtney's backpack where she had been practicing different handwriting styles: "It sure looked to us like she had been practicing how to forge a letter." (150)

Heroin:
Kurt's body had 1.52 milligrams per litre of morphine in it (79). Heroin almost immediately turns into morphine in the bloodstream. Denise Marshall could not find a single case that paralleled this amount (79). Although Nikolas Hartshorne (who knew Courtney and had a conflict of interest as one will see in the book), invoked the high tolerance argument, Marshall says, "I've seen some amazing amounts...but I`ve never seen anybody with his levels...If tolerance was that important, you wouldn't have so many heroin addicts overdosing all the time, and with levels significantly lower than what Cobain had in his blood." (80) This level is enough to kill a severe 150 pound heroin addict three times over, but Kurt didn't weigh that much so in his case, the maximal lethal dose is more than three times. (82) A study in 1996 showed that a "user experiences a state of acute shock `WITHIN SECONDS' after injecting the fatal dose. In all of the 26 known cases where the morphine levels were close or equal to Cobain's level, "the tourniquets were still in place when the body was discovered, and the syringe was still affixed in the victim's arm of lying on the floor next to the body...yet...the police reports describe no such scenario when Kurt's body was found...`I do not see how he could have injected himself with the amount of heroin to cause those levels, put the syringe and other drug paraphernalia away, folded his sleeve down, grabbed the gun, positioned it backwards in his mouth and pulled the trigger.'"(84) Also discussed is how Broomfield's film "Kurt and Courtney" does a terrible job of showing how someone can function with the amount of morphine Cobain had (85-87). When Halperin and Wallace break it down and show its errors, it brings one to laughter.

Courtney:
She has lied and behaved strangely. Cali, the male nanny saw Kurt at the house on the morning of April 2. Afterwards, he stayed at his girlfriend's house (116). Love's phone records show she made several calls to Cali at the girlfriend's house in the week of April 8. "She knew Kurt had been to the house, she knew Cali was no longer staying there, yet she wouldn't let us set up surveillance there. It doesn't make any sense."(116) On the morning of April 8, Love told the world for the first time that Rome was a suicide attempt (126) when it wasn't as is later shown. There is a startling tape conversation where even Courtney didn't think Kurt was suicidal after Rome and it stands in contrast to what she told the media for months after Kurt died about his alleged suicidal tendencies (211). Carroll mentions that Kurt before he died asked Courtney to be taken out of his will (136). If he divorced her, she would get none of his money due to a prenuptial agreement. There was also a former nanny who was shocked at Courtney's constant will talk before Kurt died. "There was just way too much will talk...what a thing to talk about...What do you think he wanted? To get away from Courtney."(136-137) Courtney always said she never heard from Kurt after he escaped from the rehab centre but Kurt left a message for her at the hotel proving he had contacted her (151). Tom Grant wonders why Courtney never mentioned this since she just hired Tom to find her missing husband (153). Charles Cross' book HTH is criticized very well later in the book and HTH states that Courtney was on the phone every moment trying to find someone who had seen Kurt Saturday; however, her phone records prove she made repeated anonymous calls to the request line of a radio station in LA to play the single from her upcoming album (153).

There are many other great and important details about the case that I can not touch upon due to my limited space for a review. I recommend seeking out Roger Lewis' essay "Dead Men Don't Pull Triggers" on the internet. By the way, the book also has an excellent refutation of a criticism of Lewis' essay (89-91). For anyone who wants to call these two authors money hungry conspiracy nuts capitalizing on Kurt's death, keep in mind that Cross sold the rights to his book HTH for an upcoming movie about Kurt's life (http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=217818) and that Courtney sold his journals for $4.5 million. I better not see either of these two parties saying H & W are only doing this to profit from Kurt's memory because they will render themselves hypocrites.

52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent read! Shocking and thought-provoking., April 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain (Hardcover)

This well-researched and well-written book puts forward a very plausible scenario whereby Courtney Love hired a killer to murder Kurt Cobain and make it look like suicide. The evidence is plentiful and the motive is substantial. Kurt had begun the process of removing Courtney from his will and they were heading for divorce. Had he been able to follow-through, she would have been entitled to none of his millions. As a result of his 'suicide' she received everything. No fingerprints at the scene, a man with a triple-lethal dose of heroin in his body rolling down his sleeves, tidily putting away his paraphenalia and then shooting himself in the mouth is simply not a plausible scenario. Far more likely is that someone injected him (whoever brought him the stuff), killed him and then made it look like suicide. Read this book and the truth will be self-evident. Hopefully enough to reopen the case. The authors are investigative journalists, not Nirvana fan- fanatics. A very credible book that will surely cause great controversy. Buy it and read it - you won't be disappointed. This is serious journalism and a reminder that people do often get away with murder...