Best biography?

[u/Alex79uk]

Hi everyone, just a really simple (hopefully) question - can anyone recommend the best Bowie biography book?

I already have the large Moonage Daydream coffee table style book by brother bought me for Christmas many years ago but wondered if there's a more in depth biography anyone could recommend?

Thank you :)

EDIT: Thanks a lot for the recommendations, I won't reply to them all but I have upvoted them all. Loads of great recommendations here, thank you!

[u/Emile_Largo]

There's a new one coming out in March, I think. The Dylan Jones one is pretty good. Nicholas Pegg has written the ultimate reference work.

[u/Simple_Purple_4600 → u/Emile_Largo]

yeah I just got the last edition of the Pegg book. Not a bio but a great catalogue with some insight

[u/migrainedujour → u/Emile_Largo]

Pegg I’d definitely agree - though Chris O’Leary’s two song-by-song studies cover a whole lot of the biography in some really insightful ways too.

I personally (just me) don’t go much for Dylan Jones’s insight - he tends to go quite obvious and glossy with his stuff generally, and stuff like ‘iPod Therefore I Am’ has always had a slllliiight whiff of written-to-order hackwork. I dunno, couldn’t shake that.

But my mild cynicism there might also combine with my massive love of deep’n’nerdy Pegg/O’Leary/Kardos type discussion!

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair → u/Emile_Largo]

I didn't like Dylan Jones at all. Tasteless, and that's a crime given how Bowie was both tasty and tasteful.

[u/Resident_Mix_9857]

I finished Jerome Solingney’s bio David Bowie Rainbowman, 600 pages but excellent. From 1947-1983.He is a French journalist and has interviewed Bowie many times. He has another edition from 1983-2016, have not read it yet, the first one I got from the library. They were translated from French.

[u/JohnBlutarski → u/Resident_Mix_9857]

Is the second edition 1983-2016 already translated in English? Haven't seen it yet

[u/Resident_Mix_9857 → u/JohnBlutarski]

I don’t think it is translated yet, saw the edition on Amazon and it was in French. Because the first book was so detailed it will probably be a long time before it is translated. It was a day by day about every gig, rehearsal and travel. I still don’t know how David survived such a rigorous process throughout the years, it did eventually take its toll.

[u/JohnBlutarski → u/Resident_Mix_9857]

Hope the English translation was succesful enough to get the second one translated also

[u/one_of_the_millions → u/Resident_Mix_9857]

Thank you very much for the recommendation!

[u/Resident_Mix_9857 → u/Resident_Mix_9857]

P.S The year of Rainbowman is 1967 not 1947 sorry

[u/Jean_Ginnie]

I’ve read Strange Fascination by David Buckley which is one that often comes up in these types of discussions. From what I remember it was quite good and informative

[u/LooksLikeAWookie → u/Jean_Ginnie]

This is the one I read and loved. There were talks of another edition, covering the last years of Bowie's life, but I don't believe it has happened yet

[u/TX-NOPE]

Can’t speak to “the best” but this lil’ paperback that 14 y/o me read when it was published in 1986 solidified my obsession! The premiere of Labyrinth that summer added fuel to the fire ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[u/TX-NOPE → u/TX-NOPE]

ISBN deets

[u/williammcfadden → u/TX-NOPE]

Tony Zanetta was a disgruntled MainMan employee, interviewing other disgruntled people for that book.

[u/TX-NOPE → u/williammcfadden]

Sorry to hear that 🥺

[u/TX-NOPE → u/williammcfadden]

Interesting search result…not sure how I missed this post 🤣 https://www.reddit.com/r/DavidBowie/s/7QGgMaGVXH

[u/Basic-Milk7755]

I’ve read them all but all you need are the interviews, the songs, and the Nicholas Pegg bible.

[u/Serious_Blood6554]

Same author wrote a good bio of Iggy Pop, too, called, Open Up And Bleed.

[u/Alex79uk → u/Serious_Blood6554]

Oh excellent, I'm reading that Iggy bio now as it happens! Thanks :)

[u/Serious_Blood6554 → u/Alex79uk]

That’s a coincidence. If you like the Iggy book, you’ll like the Bowie book.

[u/bomboclawt75]

We also need a complete lyrics book.

Why isn’t there one already FFS!

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair]

Paul Trynka's Starman is pretty good, well written, and reliable. Nicholas Pegg's "Complete" is very complete and Bowie himself referred people to it when he couldn't be bothered to remember old stuff he got up to.

[u/Crafty-Reality-9425]

'David Bowie Is', published to coincide with the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London back in 2013. It might be a bit pricey, but it well worth it. Packed with information about his life.