Nirvana: The Biography

by Everett True

Book Overview

As the assistant editor of Melody Maker , Everett True was the first journalist to cover the Seattle music scene in early 1989 and interview Nirvana. He is responsible for bringing Hole, Pavement, Soundgarden, and a host of other bands to international attention. He introduced Kurt Cobain to Courtney Love, performed on stage with Nirvana on numerous occasions, and famously pushed Kurt onto the stage of the Reading Festival in 1992 in a wheelchair...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306815540
• ISBN13: 9780306815546
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 688 Pages
• Weight: 1.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

true nirvana

ok to the point: this is my favourite nirvana book 9 out of 10 times. the only problem i really have with is that mr. true can be narcissistic at times. having said that however, this is by far the most engaging book i have read about the band. it's nice to read a book by someone who was there. it's also nice to read a book where there's not constant foreshadowing of kurt's suicide.

The Real Story

I've read many books about Nirvana and the life of Kurt Cobain. This book gives you an inside look at part of their lives told by someone who was there. Nothing added for shock value, just what happened. Along with his own experiences, there are other stories from people who were close to the Nirvana camp during this period. It's very informative, and if you're a Nirvana fan, this is the book for you.

Very good biography definetly worth it

this biography is even better than charles cross's in heavier than heaven, it portrays alot of things that heavier than heaven did not and it also a few times mentions heavier than heaven and what is wrong at some parts of the book, when i first read heavier than heaven i thought that it couldnt have a better biography but this one is alot better people should buy this one instead of heavier than heaven if you want the true biography of nirvana and kurt cobain.

An excellent addition to the Nirvana library

Having read Thackray's previous book "Live Through This: American Rock Music in the Nineties," I was not sure what to expect with this book. "Live Through This" almost read like an open love letter to Courtney Love, and The Legend! seemed way too enamored with his own role in the story, so I was worried "Nirvana" would be the same. But that wasn't the case at all (or at least not nearly as much.) Perhaps enough time has passed for Thackray to look back with a more objective eye. "Nirvana" is an excellent account of the band's rise and fall, and it is indispensable for anyone who wants the entire story. This book does not contain the entire story itself, mind you, but it contains a lot that is not in other books. It reads almost like an oral history of the band, with a lot of quotes from Seattle/Olympia/etc. insiders. I have seen and heard criticism of this book for focusing on Cobain too much, but I can't imagine writing a book on Nirvana that didn't focus on Cobain. While it seems that Grohl and Novoselic were "cooperative" with True according to his acknowledgements section, there aren't a lot of quotes from them in the book. I think if he could have interviewed the two of them extensively, he could have written the perfect Nirvana book. It's pretty cool to see extensive quotes from Channing and also some from Smear in this book though. I would add this book to the top of the list of books every Nirvana fan must read, along with Azerrad's "Come As You Are" and Cross' "Heavier Than Heaven." If you have not done so, I would read the Azerrad book before the True book if you can. The True book references the Azerrad book fairly frequently. You won't be lost if you haven't read it or anything like that, but the Azerrad book is a good source for an introduction to the history of the band, and from my experience I think it is good to read True's account with the Azerrad framework already in place. I really liked the Cross book and definitely recommend reading it, but I don't feel it is nearly as essential as the Azerrad book or this True book. Cross took a lot of artistic license, especially in his account of Cobain's last days which is almost entirely fictional considering that neither Cross nor anyone Cross cites was actually present for any of the events he writes about. Accordingly, Cross has to be taken with a big grain of salt. But then again, Everett True has to be taken with a pretty big grain himself. I guess the lesson is, as with anything else, you have to consider the source and the context with whatever you are reading...

The END

Basically this book "fills in the dots" that was left after you read "Heavier Than Heaven" and "Come As You Are" and came out having more questions than answers. This book answers all those questions (well most of them-until Krist/Dave write a book about their experiences). The book also goes on to 'correct' some of the myths that surrounded the band. Charles Cross' book is such a ridiculously melodramatic book, it's a joke (yeah it's gripping like a novel) it's just so pompous and lame. Maybe a lot of that stuff happened but it was so dramatic and heavy that Cross should be embarrassed for writing a book about a movie -just like any other bio/movie that are out today-nothing unique and NOTHING special. Sorry Charlie-LAME! I re-read it Charlie and it doesn't age well. True's book is funny (ex. Bums wearing Mudhoney T-shirts!)-I actually laughed out loud while reading-I don't think I've ever done that before! This book may or may not be the essential Nirvana book but I'd lean towards yes since in my opinion it (includes excerpts from CAYA & HTH) just tells the truth. The only thing "new" is insight from Everett True himself and new interviews with: Tobi Vail, Slim Moon, Mudhoney, & most importantly several nannies that were with Kurtney from when Frances Bean was born up until Cobain died. Cali Dewitt's info is disturbing and the highlight of the book. Courtney is a monster...or at least was. Only thing that really sticks out is it finally tells why a man would commit suicide-he had a broken heart. He was on drugs, no one was his friend, people all had reasons to hate him or use him as a scapegoat and most importantly-his wife and mother of his child was cheating on him and fell out of love with him. The end.