David Bowie Is Hardcover – Special Edition, 23 Mar. 2013

I am a big Bowie fan and have a ton of books about him. Created as a companion to the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, this is one of the best. Several reasons:1. The exhibition was given full access to the official David Bowie Archive which means there is plenty of material you have not seen before, such as handwritten lyrics with corrections (that line in "Heroes", "and we kissed as though nothing could fall", was drafted as "and we kissed and you felt called"), minor details maybe but it is fascinating to get a glimpse at how these songs evolved. There is also a big focus on costumes, photographed in superb quality, many of which are stunning, as well as photographs, posters, artwork done for album covers complete with some early mock-ups and that I have not seen before, and other memorabilia.One costume example is Natasha Korniloff's "cobweb bodysuit" designed for the 1980 Floor Show, which has a pair of hands clutching Bowie's chest stitched into it. First we see Mick Rock's photo of Bowie wearing this on stage, then pictures of the costume itself. Fantastic.2. This is not just a picture book. There is a lot of text, and it's good stuff. The authors are various, but the editors are Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh from the V&A, who take a scholarly approach though they still convey enthusiasm for their subject (and overall this is a book for fans, there is not much here that is negative). There is a lot of factual information though, both biographical and cultural. The cultural bit is important. As you would expect from people working for a museum, the editors are interested in how Bowie was influenced by the culture of his times, and in turn how he influenced it.The book is organized into nine main chapters. These are as follows:- Astronauts of Inner Spaces: by Geoffrey Marsh, mainly covers early career in London- Theatre of Gender: by Camille Paglia, covers Bowie and sexual revolution- Oh you pretty things: by Jon Savage, about Bowie and youth culture- Putting out fire with Gasoline: by Victoria Broackes, covers bowie and design, costumes, album covers and more- Bowie Music: by Howard Goodall, about the music, pictures of lyrics and sheet music- For 'We are the Goon Squad': by Christopher Breward, about the album covers- Changes: by Oriole Cullen, an essay on Bowie and fashion- David Bowie then ... David Bowie now: a roundtable discussion with Christopher Frayling, Philip Hoare and Mark Kermode. Wide-ranging, enjoyable.- David Bowie is Photographic: by Nicholas Coleridge, short piece on 16 favourite photographs, reproduced in small size on a single page. Most if not all of these pictures are properly reproduced elsewhere, but there are no page references which is a shame.3. The production is superb. Stitched binding, fabric-covered spine, interesting textured feel to the cover, and excellent reproduction of the pictures. Some of the early pictures are not so good, but this is because of the quality of the originals (or the best copy that was available to the publishers).Having said all that, some Bowie fans may find the text over-scholarly; I can imagine some finding it pretentious though personally I would disagree. Not a problem though, ignore the text if you don't like it and just enjoy the images.Anything to criticise? Well, bear in mind that the book was done along with the exhibition, and reflects the content that is there. It is not in any sense a comprehensive Bowie book. The text does tend to focus on the early years which is fair enough since this is when Bowie was culturally most influential, but you could say that it is unbalanced.As you will note from the above guide to the chapters, the book is not chronological but rather, loosely thematic. A bit confusing, and it means that if you want, for example, all the material relating to the Thin White Duke era, you have to look here there and everywhere.None of this troubles me in the least. The book exceeded my expectations and is essential for fans (and easier to get than a ticket for the exhibition). Sometimes these exhibition-related books do not stay in print for all that long, so I recommend grabbing it quick.

I have never reviewed anything that I have bought before, but having looked at this book it made me decide to break my duck.I have only just received it this morning and as somebody else said what a year to be a Bowie fan.I was very surprised on opening the box as having only seen the book in a picture I never really thought about the size, although if somebody had asked me I would of said, I think its the size of a smallish hard backed book.Boy was i wrong it is huge!.I have only had time to flick through quickly but from what I have seen it is well worth the discounted price, in fact it is worth the recommended retail price, that's how good it is.There are some great photos of the different Bowie stage costumes, that are in the V+A museum show,and various others from different stages of DB's extraordinary career, I am sure I will find a lot more tonight when I sit down to have a good look.This is a very very well put together book, and I now cant wait to go to the exhibition and see it all first hand.If you are going to the show, buy this book it is a must, in fact if you are not a DB fan and you are not going to the show,this book is still a must! Only problem is you might kick yourself for discovering DB 40 years to late!!.

Delighted to open the door on the Saturday to find this book arrived ahead of the estimate, the order had already been amended to arrive earlier on Monday the 25th March... the very day I was going to visit the exhibition behind this book!I bought this book as no photography is permitted at the exhibition and I wanted to have a permanent reminder of the day, torturous as it was, I resisted opening it before my visit!... its worth noting that here is a lot at the exhibit to take in, its vast and overwhelming and this book is gives you a more leisurely chance to look at anything you missed or couldn't absorb at the time, but don't get me wrong, this is a book that can be totally appreciated as a stand alone piece.Speaking as a Bowie fan, I would recommend this book to any Bowie fan, beautifully photographed, well bound and larger than A4 in stature its an impressive weighty tome, I'm guessing it will be a firm fave gracing manys a coffee table, BUT this is more than just a 'pretty picture book' , in my opinion it is more insightful and significant than most 'Bowie biogs' which we usually find rehashing a lot of second hand words and the same old quotes and misquotes. Although I haven't had a chance to read all the text yet, just on pictorial merit alone, I see enough of a glimpse of Bowies past captured in highly relevant freeze frames telling his unique story in a 'speaks for itself' unique kind of way which I truly appreciate, this is a fine representation of a vast, archived collection, gathered during a huge portion of a mans lifetime, illustrating a widely varied career simply like no other.David Bowie is... many things to many people.David Bowie is... beautifully presentedDavid Bowie is... Future History and this book recognises that.

A must to have!

I reckon this book will appeal to Bowie nerds (like me), and to everyone else too.It's ostensibly a companion to the recent V&A exhibition, but don't let that put you off, as you don't need to have seen the show to enjoy the book.I found it well written, engaging, and very enjoyable. The production value are high too, with my only criticism being that in a couple of places the ink from a very dark page has marked the page opposite.This is probably the most authoritative and comprehensive Bowie biog ever written, and usefully all of the reference sources are footnoted.You can buy other Bowie books for a lot less than this one, but this book really is in a different league.