I liked this book, but if you are looking for a "Tell all Book" then keep looking, which is good mind you. Most of his encounters are very brief and Banksy only says a few sentences to him at most on some of those occasions, which according to the author is Banksy through and through since he doesn't not say much anyway. It was cool to read about Banksy in his earlier years and how he kind of became the man he is today. However, I agree with another reviewer who said that it was rather odd that the author doesn't wish to reveal Banksy's identity, however, used his "real first name" which has been confirmed as his real name in other tabloids and such. I think he did it as a way to validate his book and get people more interested in the story. Makes him more human if you have his name, instead of his alias. Either way it was odd.
Also, I don't know if it was just me, but it seemed like this guy had a huge hard on for him. I mean every other sentence, he is just GUSHING about Banksy and how wonderful, talented, smart and awesome he is, which is nice and all but spare us the propaganda. We get it he's this amazingly talented street artist, but going on and on about how wonderful he is gets repetitive and annoying.
If you are a Banksy fan, nothing in this book will surprise you. It's all pretty much the same things you learn in interviews with Banksy and other people's encounters with him. He's nice, he's tall, he's down to earth. It's all the same. It gives some insight into his early years as a street artist in NYC, but thats about it. Even the parts when he "helps" Banksy on his art escapades like at the Zoo, it's very brief, vague and anti-climatic.
Theres speculation about whether or not the author is exploiting Banksy or just trying to get people to understand him better, and I'd say both. I don't think he's trying to be malicious toward Banksy, however, he does make it clear that Bansky did not ask nor give him permission to write this. Therefore, you can't say that he's exactly doing the guy a favor by publishing this book. He seems to be trying to capitalize on the Banksy mania, but putting in his two cents. Nevertheless, I can see how this book is not so much for the fans, but for the non fans, the ones who do not get his work and think he's this punk criminal. I can see how this book would be geered more toward that crowd, which is why I don't think he was trying to disrespect Banksy in that sense.
I give it a 6/10
