Rating:  Summary: Very insightful Review: I bought this book a while back and have thoroughly read it twice. This book is very insighful,interesting,happy,and sad.The author did a excellent job capturing the life of Kurt Cobain,and I loved how he told the story behind many of my favorite songs ("Heart-Shaped Box" "Polly" etc.).Of course nobody will ever know the real Kurt Cobain,but it do believe this book gave fans an insight into what kind of a person he was.This book proved that he was an incredibly insightful,artistic,open-minded,creative,talented,and ultimately troubled person.I also believe this book showed that Kurt loved his wife,and she is not the villian most people make her out to be.This book proved that like in any other marriage they had problems,but they did love each other.Ultimately at the end I was incredibly sad for Courtney and Frances Bean,and for Kurt who felt he had to die. I would definetly reccomend this book to anyone who loves to read even if you are not a Cobain/Nirvana fan.
Rating:  Summary: Heavier Than Heaven : An Excellent Book! Review: This is one book that I could not put down. Being a huge Kurt Cobain fan I thought this book had tons of information on the life and death of Kurt Cobain. Charles Cross did an amazing job researching and writing this book.
Rating:  Summary: .......inteligent, revolting Review: all i can say is wow... i am half way through the book and it is absolutley amazing how one single person can withstand rejection, heartbreak, and internal isolation. im a big fan of nirvana since the start, but this was totally new to me.... i have honestly never cried as hard as i did reading this book.. its powerful and revolting and amazing. i highly recomend it to ANYONE! just be sure to have a box of tissues close by!
Rating:  Summary: Excellent Book Review: Ive never thought about thinking about puttin a review about how i think about a book, But I think you should read this. This is an amazing book. IM the type of person who drifts off when they read.. and im half way through this book and it has kept my attention the whole time. Excellently written, and is full of very good information on Kurt. Truely a great book.
Rating:  Summary: Worthwhile, though not definitive Review: Charles Cross' biography on Kurt Cobain is a thoroughly researched, highly intelligent, thoughful book. Even if you are not familiar with the music - or even care for rock as a whole - it is a solid read. However, it is important to bear a couple of factors in mind: a) the access to Cobain's journals was granted through Courtney Love, Kurt's surviving wife. Therefore, the book casts her in a sympathetic light, and maybe a little too much so at times, losing its' objectivity. b) The book is essentially in many ways a very well-written transcription of Kurt's journals and Michael Azzerrad's "Come As You Are", which is the preferable of the two, and the more relevant (though it was written during Kurt's life - so it may seem a little out-of-date, it features many interviews with him and his bandmates, and the tragedy (and drama) of his death becomes more apparent) c) Greater participation from his former bandmates would reveal still further layers of Cobain's life and psyche.d) Cobain's legacy is evolving still, so - in the wake of the realease of Journals and the Nirvana greatest hits package - even this book could benefit from an updated revision. So what to do? Of course, check out nirvana's Nevermind and In Utero (as well as unplugged). From there Michael Azzerod's Come As You Are, then read Journals. This book is by no means redundant at that point. In fact, I had read this initially when it first came out, and didn;t really care for it. Having thumbed through journals and coming back to the recently published paperback edition, I found Cross' book much more illuminating and compelling.
Rating:  Summary: Deffinitly worth a read for nirvana fans Review: im in the process of reading this book, so far it is brilliant. the author has so much information on kurt, from his childhood up until he died. this is a deffinate must for nirvana fans. he even tells you how his faceual expressions are when mentions something he said in the book. includes photos of him as a child right up until nirvana and has many cotributions from his past bandmates, familys and friends. definnitly worth it!
Rating:  Summary: A TERRIFIC READ Review: Having just purchased and read "The Journals" ..I found myself reflecting on how good this (Heavier than Heaven)book was. I remember when I first read it walking around in a haze,like I had just emerged from a movie each time I put the book down. The descriptions were amazing. I believe that this book will be picked up and made into a movie. The author truly is a gifted writer .It was a great book. I highly recommend it.
Rating:  Summary: Complete work, but you still won't know Kurt Review: First of all, I certainly concur with other reviewer's comments about this biography being a complete and well research work of Kurt's short life. Mr. Cross certainly brings his journalist's talents to the work, presenting a well researched book rich in details. The book is an entertaining and interesting story, both for the Nirvana fan and those who unfamilair with his work and the music genre that he helped launch. Cross covers the beginning of his life that initially fueled Kurt's music ability, his move away that continued his music and the formation of his character, and Kurt's rise into success and how it changed his life. What is expecially useful is the author's ability to detect and call forth the duality, or condradictary, nature of Kurt's personality. For instance, Cross points out when Kurt's stories with interviewers were embellished. For Kurt, some of the stories he told came from his emotional truth, but the actual historic circumstances were different, and often less dramatic. Likewise, Kurt manufactured some of these contradictions himself, which the author points out. Kurt seemed to loath his own fame, yet this is what he dreamed of since his junior high years. These become the strongest points of the book, cutting a new path of understanding to the Kurt story. I do think the book tends to be heavily handed at times against Kurt and his faults, not placing the same weight of analysis and finger pointing on Courtney, his bandmates, his business associates, or his those in his group of friends. I suppose this is to be, since the author was able to talk to everyone except Kurt. After reading the book, I feel like I know about Kurt, but I still don't know Kurt. Perhaps that is too much to ask, since Kurt was a complex, and disturbed individual, his thought process difficult to comprehend. People still analyze his lyrics ad naseum to devine their meaning. I wanted to peer inside the mind of this individual. While I now understand the circumstances that formed Kurt, I still don't understand Kurt.
Rating:  Summary: solid bio... Review: A very good read, even if you would only be a marginal Nirvana fan. The style presented here is a case study, rather than an homage to Cobain. The facts are presented, and though the author never really comes out and says it, one can sense his disdain at the behavior of his subject. I have to give Cross credit for not trying to mythologize Cobain's childhood, which is well-researched and dispels many myths Cobain himself created. On paper, it comes out as a sad yet typical portrait of childhood dysfunction; parents who never really loved each other, almost constant relocation, and a father figure who unwittingly tried to bully his son into being a man. After the rise to fame and glory and rock star fantasies lived out, Cross then depicts Cobain's descent into a netherworld of heroin, self-pity, failure to appreciate the fact that he was loved by millions, and a strong determination to kill himself. He alienates everyone around him. According to Cross, it wasn't fame that killed Cobain, nor was it a hit man hired by Courtney Love, it was the drugs, and the spirit of a man who apparently didn't like himself very much.
Rating:  Summary: An American Icon Review: ...Heavier than Heaven gave an amazing insight to Kurt's life. A ultra compasionate view for a musical genious that suffered from depression, drugs and the image of fame. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of this band should read this book. It makes a legend become human. The book is humorous, compasionate, and sad all between two covers. An amazing read for anyone who wants to know where Nirvana's music came from.
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