Customer Reviews

Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Kurt St. Thomas sure likes to throw around how legitimate he supposedly is. He loves pointing out that he interviewed Nirvana for "Nevermind, It's an Interview". He even included a photo of him and the band as the first thing we see when we open the book. And for someone so concerned with credibility, you'd figure Kurt St. Thomas could write his own material. After all, he spent all that time with the band... right? Apparently not, because he actually uses Michael Azerrad's material from Come As You Are. I've read CAYA, Heavier Than Heaven, and Journals, and by the time I got to the end of chapter two of Chosen Rejects, I knew Kurt St. Thomas was going to continue taking entire passages from Azerrad's book. Sure enough, that's all Chosen Rejects "offers"; Michael Azerrad's passages chewed up and spit out by Kurt St. Thomas, sometimes word-for-word.

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was good but lacked a little in detail. It skimmed over some parts when discussing various events the band experienced. At first, I thought this was because so much has been written about these before. But as I read on, it appears more that the author either didn't do his research, or didn't do enough of it. When it comes to Kurt's experiences with Courtney, no mention is made of Courtney's actions, leaving the reader to believe Kurt was always at fault. Also, it glossed over the heartbreak Kurt suffered when Frances was taken away and what they both went through to get her back. Considering what an impact this had on all three of them, the lack of information is questionable, at best. He also never mentions the fact that the doctor who treated Kurt during the Rome incident said there was no evidence Kurt had swallowed ANY, let alone 50, Rohynols. He simply goes by Courtney's comments around this event. When it comes down to Kurt's death, not only does the author always refer to it as a suicide, which has not been 100% proven to many people, but he gets his 'facts' wrong. Kurt was not disfigured so badly that he could only be identified by his fingerprints. He did not barricade himself in the greenhouse; the stool in front of the back door - where there was no way of gaining entry as it was a balcony - was a small barstool that couldn't block anything even if someone could scale the balcony. Kurt's wallet wasn't lying open next to his body; a policeman stated HE had opened the wallet and put it there when they were taking pictures. Also, Wendy didn't make the missing person's police report; Courtney has admitted that she called the police pretending to be Wendy. The author states that Wendy, Courtney, and Krist decided where Kurt's ashes would be spread. As far as anyone knows, besides Courtney, some of Kurt's ashes were made into several tsatsas by monks in Ithaca, NY, some were buried under a tree at the Lake Washington house (both of these according to Courtney), and some were allegedly spread on the Wishkah River. No one really knows what happened to Kurt's ashes, except for Courtney. When one looks at these items the author either didn't include, or made major mistakes about, it makes it hard to take any of the rest of the book as truth. While it's a good read - at least the first part of it - there are many other books out there about Kurt that are much better.

If you want a text book read of Nirvana, then get this.

The book is very dry, but the author tosses in some fan-dribble attemping to build some momentum into a segment or chapter. The main problem with this book is it (admits) to using Michael Azerrad's Come As You Are as a source.

Source is an understatment - it's just a copy & paste of Azerrad's CAYA. Sure there are some extra details in Chosen Rejects but it just feels like a Wikipedia entry.

I would suggest ANY true Nirvana fan start with Michael Azerrad's Come As You Are, then read the Godspeed graphic novel, then Cobain Unseen, Chosen Rejects then Journals.

A really awesome book. Talks about the whole band and not just Kurt. As a die hard, skeptical fan of Nirvana, I am sick and tired of reading about Kurt's drug habit and Courtney Love whenever someone wrote something about Nirvana. This is the first book I've seen that talks about the band, how they got started, how they grew together, how they wrote their songs together. What's really cool is that the story is told by Kurt and Krist and Dave - lots of quotes, I like that. The color pictures are way cool (never seen that in a Nirvana book before) and all the songs listed in the back answers a lot of questions for me!

If you bought Nevermind you should by this book. It really does put the whole Nirvana story together in the order that it happened. The guys who wrote it sound like real fans, and not somebody just trying to make a buck. A special thanks to them for not going on and on about Courtney Love and giving their opinions about what killed Kurt.

Yes, I highly recommend you by this book.

Thanks

Hey, the link someone else provided is not working. I think they changed it. [...]
As far as the Chosen Rejects book, it's okay, but not great. I don't know if its a rehash of come As You are because I didn't read that one yet.

Combining the affection of fans and the access of insiders, Thomas and Smith have delivered an essential addition to the Nirvana library. "The Chosen Rejects" is the next best thing to a month in the tour van.

Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects is a book about the life of the band Nirvana. It starts out with the life of lead singer and lead guitar Kurt Cobain. The book takes you through his childhood growing up in Aberdeen, Washington. Next it shows you how Kurt and Krist Novoselic (bass) met and became friends. Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects goes through the trials of the band was put through. Looking for the drummer that fit there style and Kurt's problem with drugs. The book goes all the way through the existence of Nirvana and after Kurt's death. It talks about Kurt's marriage to Courtney Love and the birth of his child Frances Bean.
One thing that I like that sticks out in the book are all the quotes that were gathered and placed in it. It gives almost like it was written by the band. There is plenty of evidence that supports the author's words and the quotes the give Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects its credibility. At the beginning of each chapter it has a quote that makes you think.
The thing that I disliked about the book is that it didn't give to much information about the life of drummer Dave Grohl. It just talked about when he was apart of the band from Nevermind and on. The authors didn't give much incite in to his childhood or anything he did pervious to Nirvana.

Got an early copy of this and found it to be very good. There is excellent attention to detail and rather than being another book about "the drama" it sticks to facts and figures, including a comprehensive list of stuff at the end of the book that i've never seen anywhere before. It seems objective and doesn't really try to paint a picture of what the author wants the story to be, which i've found other Nirvana books to be like.

Finally a book about Nirvana the band and not just Kurt Cobain's drug habit. I thought the part with all of the songs listed and the sources was incredible. Great color photos. This book is totally worth it.

"Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects" is a great book for all Nirvana fans!

It is very no nonsense, has great attention to detail and reads very easily. The authors had interviewed all the band members, so they were dealing with first hand information and not just researching previously written material. Which means, you aren't reading the same old information.

Most of all, "Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects" has the most amazing discography and a listing of all Nirvana's songs. This is the most comprehensive listing I have ever seen! Buy this book for the discography/song listing alone and you won't be disappointed.