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Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin : A Biography
  
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Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin : A Biography (Hardcover)

by Ellis Amburn (Author) "On a sweltering street corner in Port Arthur, Texas, hometown of Janis Joplin, the greatest female singer in the history of rock 'n' roll, I..." (more)
Key Phrases: Big Brother, San Francisco, Port Arthur (more...)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)


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Product Description
An ace celebrity biographer reveals the truth of the rock legend's troubled childhood, drug and alcohol problems, numerous affairs, and much more. By the author of Up and Down with the Rolling Stones. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 340 pages
  • Publisher: Warner Books (October 1992)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0446516406
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446516402
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #679,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
On a sweltering street corner in Port Arthur, Texas, hometown of Janis Joplin, the greatest female singer in the history of rock 'n' roll, I watch a construction crew demolish the twelve-story Goodhue Hotel, scene of Janis's last public appearance twenty years ago. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Big Brother, San Francisco, Port Arthur, New York, Janis Joplin, Dave Richards, Linda Gravenites, Kozmic Blues, Rolling Stone, Monterey Pop, Nick Gravenites, James Gurley, Dave Getz, Sam Andrew, Grateful Dead, Hell's Angels, Jim Langdon, Jim Morrison, North Beach, Albert Grossman, Clive Davis, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez
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This book cites 75 books:
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
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 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, June 14, 2000
By Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews
This well-written book is very descriptive! From Port Arthur, Texas, to San Francisco's Haight / Ashbury, scenes of tragedy & revelry are given a jolt of life. Author really sought out the witnesses who are still around (and not too wasted) to tell the tales. Great book for fans of San Francisco, rock music, and of course Janis.

Plenty of sleaze, drugs, and sex, but author nicely presents the tender-hearted girl that was Janis Joplin.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars the life and times of Janis..., December 16, 2001
'The Obsessions And Passions of Janis Joplin' is a very accurate description of the book - it doesn't deal much with the artist, it tells a lot more about her sex life and drug abuse. I myself prefer at least a bit more information on the music of the musician in question, but I must admit the book does a good job of showing us the confused, extremely talented, both loved and rejected personality that was Janis Joplin.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars She sang, she lived, she died., March 2, 1999
By A Customer
She lived, she sang, she died- the unbias and unforgettable true tale of the life and loves of Janis Joplin. A flowing read and a great time. You may even win a concert ticket or two when you listen to the radio, but sadly not hers, of course. If you are out there looking for some entertainment-read it. If you love the music and looking for some insight into the songs...pick it up. If you're on the verge of or in the middle of your mid-life crisis...perfect. Heck- even if you are one of those want-to-be hippies out there. Read this book. You'll like. SOme of you will walk away with new thoughts to think and new songs to sing. Enjoy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Amaizing!
This book is absolutley great! Love it! I am so glad that I added this book to my collection!
Published 3 months ago by Della P. Conrad

5.0 out of 5 stars Fanastic book
The book came in excellent condition and it was a fanastic book. Thank you for selling it to me.
Published 4 months ago by Ellis A. Muncy

1.0 out of 5 stars Soul-Diminishing Treatise on a Lost Little Girl
I didn't enjoy this book at all. The author's writing was often circular and obtuse, not easy to comprehend. Read more
Published 5 months ago by O. Marie

4.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched biography -- lots of sex too!
This biography of Janis Joplin is a well-done account of her entire life, most of her heinous activities, her good times, her multiple drug addictions, her death in 1970, and a... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Patrick W. Crabtree

5.0 out of 5 stars Pearl...Janis Joplin story
Actually I bought this for my daughter-in-law for her birthday. I can tell you she did not put it down till she conpleted it. She even took it to work with her. Read more
Published on February 6, 2007 by Christina Gakias

1.0 out of 5 stars We'll Never Know What Janis Would Have Said Had She Lasted
I don't have a copy of the book handy, so I can't provide the page number.

But I distinctly recall a passage in which author Ellis Amburn asks a friend of Janis... Read more
Published on August 27, 2004 by Flower Child

1.0 out of 5 stars Cartoonish portrait
This book has a tabloid quality to it. The "obsession" part of the title more accurately reflects the author's own obsession with sleazy assertions. Read more
Published on November 13, 2003 by Karen Anderson

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Joplin book , so far.
I recently had to order my second copy of this one because I had worn it out. My only issue is that it seemed more downbeat. Read more
Published on January 20, 2000 by gene blue

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
The first book on this wonderful artist I've read and by far the best written. The author not only had captured the spirit of Janis but also has made a larger than life figure... Read more
Published on November 18, 1998 by Ash40@aol.com

5.0 out of 5 stars WorseThan the National Enquirer
Ellis Amburn's biography of the great Janis Joplin is an insult to it's subject, and is a genuine piece of trash. Read more
Published on November 7, 1998

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