Rating: 
Summary: The definitive chronicle of jazz's gentle madman
Review: "Milestones" is THE Miles Davis book to read. It has a wealth of knowledge of recording information, including Miles' early days as a sideman for Charlie Parker (which includes details of their rocky frienship). There is also a great account of the evolution of jazz and reveals the trials faced by upcoming jazzmen in the early 20th century. The book deals with Miles' problems with women, drugs and his 6-year seclusion without hype or pompousness, as well as his sometimes unusual method of recruiting musicians. It also puts to print the never-ending health problems Miles had that metaphorically ended up in the wailing of his trumpet (after reading it you will probably never hear of or know anyone who dealt with so many illnesses & ailments as much as Miles; it's a miracle he lived to be 65). Many of Chambers' details surrounding his life would be plagarized by Miles' himself in his own wild autobiography. This is a must-read for fans who wish to know the man inside the maniac.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive chronicle of jazz's gentle madman
Review: "Milestones" is THE Miles Davis book to read. It has a wealth of knowledge of recording information, including Miles' early days as a sideman for Charlie Parker (which includes details of their rocky frienship). There is also a great account of the evolution of jazz and reveals the trials faced by upcoming jazzmen in the early 20th century. The book deals with Miles' problems with women, drugs and his 6-year seclusion without hype or pompousness, as well as his sometimes unusual method of recruiting musicians. It also puts to print the never-ending health problems Miles had that metaphorically ended up in the wailing of his trumpet (after reading it you will probably never hear of or know anyone who dealt with so many illnesses & ailments as much as Miles; it's a miracle he lived to be 65). Many of Chambers' details surrounding his life would be plagarized by Miles' himself in his own wild autobiography. This is a must-read for fans who wish to know the man inside the maniac.
Rating: 
Summary: fine book, but . . .
Review: A fine book.
But Chambers is also slightly upset, I think, that Quincy Troupe got to work with Miles on his autobiogrpahy and not he -- and what Chambers' book is missing is exactly the kind of personal material (and voice) you find in Miles' autiobiograpy ("Miles").
The best thing about this book is the discussion of the wider context of Miles' music and performance ("the times"), but without Miles own voice it degenerates through the end of Part Two into a kind of annotated discography (mind you -- that's not all bad -- it is accurate and gave me a few ideas for out of the way purchases).
So, I recommend reading both this book and "Miles", for a complete picture.
Rating:
Summary: Superior biography and reference of all recordings
Review: A new edition of a two volume set in a single volume. A very honest and accurate tome. For the serious, as there's not much sensationalism or photos here. The focus is on musical development, Miles' ability to assemble incredible ensembles, collaborators and a hint of how he made the choices he made. Many comments & notes about his influences and those he influenced through the University of Miles Davis. The book has the best comprehensive synopsis of every record, every session, every club recording, ever made of the Man. Its insane, borderline obsessive and gets overwhelming; but, if you know the music it's worth going through. Especially while listening to the recordings. Prepare for your robust Miles collection to look limp compared to the exhaustive list in this 800+ page number. No matter how much you thought you knew there's tons to glean from this book. You will hear the recordings in a different light under the influence of this book. It also makes an great reference. Definitive enought to settle any arguements over recordings, personnel, location, etc. I recall a fair amount of personal information regarding his health, habits and situations. But that's not what you pick up this book for as it stays fairly distant and biographical. More facts than fanzine. But good background on how his business worked and got mean at times. Far superior to the self titled ~autobiography : "...I never read it..." says Miles about the book Miles on 60 Minutes.
Rating: 
Summary: Caveat Emptor
Review: Be forewarned: Much of the information in this book is inaccurate, and many of the authours opinions are simply regurgitations of news articles and reviews. At times it seems that Chambers has never heard the music he 's criticizing, or at least does not understand it. And it often reads like a high school term paper. To the book's credit, Miles and Quincy Troupe seemed to find it useful enough to plagiarize most of it for Miles' autobiography. Thankfully Chambers crams this book with enough information you and I were unlikely to find and compile ourselves to cover up his ignorance as a critic. And that he puts everything in chronologicasl order is the greatest achievement of all.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Miles Biography
Review: By the time I found out about Jack Chambers' Miles biographies (two volumes, originally) they had been combined into this single book with some new material that brings the original manuscripts from the 1980's up to date. Despite the heading on this site, this is the complete 800-odd page monster bio, not an "introduction"! This is a fantastic bio. Like many other critics and older fans who were raised on jazz, Chambers can't really relate to Miles' work from the late 1960's onwards, but he does give it comprehensive coverage, rather than pretend that it all ended with "The Quintet". I'm not sure that criticisms about his quoting reviews are justified. I saw it as just being thorough - giving details of the critics' reactions to recordings rather than just his own. I learned much from his chronicling of events, right through to the seventies, that I did not know. If you are a fan of Miles' final period (1981 comeback to his death in 1991), then you're probably the only one who will feel short-changed. As this was not a period that interested me greatly, I was not particularly bothered (probably exhausted by then!). A really professional effort.
Rating:
Summary: A decent book, worth the read.
Review: I felt that this biography of Miles, as the previous viewer said, is very inaccurate. It really does seem like Chambers has not heard the music he is critisizing. Actually, I know so because a lot of the music he's critising has not been released. Also, there have been parts of the book where he reviews songs I'm not sure really exist. I am the biggest Miles Davis fan; I own every single song he has recorded, and am also saying that Miles didn't plageurize it for his autobiography. The books has some very different views; Miles tells some very gross stories (see the incident with prostitute Dorothy Cherry and the Charlie Parker incident, as I call it, as Bird gets oral sex from a prostitute while Miles was in the taxi cab with him, not that that's worth mentioning). On the good hand, Jack Chambers covers the life of Miles extremely well, and he especially has a vast knowledge of Miles songs, which was very helpful. I enjoyed the book, even though it had its problems.
Rating:
Summary: The definitve biography of Miles Davis written thus far
Review: Jack Chambers has done a very hard task and that is to present the life of the legendary Miles Davis to readers in a very interesting, yet complex style which was reflective of the way Miles Davis led his life and music. Miles Davis was the premiere jazz musician of his time along with John Coltrane, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Herbie Hancock, etc, yet while you can love Davis's music, to know the man was very hard to do, since Miles Davis was a standoffish and sullen individual. Chambers describes Davis's behavior as being sullen and hard to know because Davis's was a very shy man. I am sure that Davis lived a tough life because of injustice, yet it is sad that he didn't trust his fans and those who cared for him. Davis certainly lived the life of a "star", he over-indulged in sex, was an abuser of drugs, and had split personalities later on in life, yet his musical vision was almost always focused and clear, whether it be in the pinnacle of his talent (1950-1962), or his creating fusion (1967-1973), or the later part of his life. Chambers does an excellent job of detailing the relationship Miles had with his fellow musicians such as the love-hate relationship with Theolonius Monk, the admiration and jealousy between Coltrane and Miles, as well as Miles being a mentor to such jazz greats as Herbie Hancock, John McGlaughlin, Chick Corea, etc. I am a tremendous fan of Miles Davis jazz visions, I love his music and his musical style, yet after reading this book I feel sadness because I don't know if I pity Davis or just not liking him altogether, or admiring him no matter what, his final years were spent in paranoia, suspicion and feeding his ego, that is sad because if he would of just relaxed and enjoy his fans admiration I believe he might have lived longer. Anyways, this is an outstanding book and is highly recommended to all jazz lovers and fans of the immortal Miles Davis.
Rating:
Summary: Milestones: More than about Davis, a great Jazz History
Review: Milestones is a great, indepth biography on possibly the most important and influential Jazzman of all time. This book not only showcases Miles life as a musician, but also gives a histroy lesson as to what was happening to the Jazz world. For any Jazz lover...this book is a must!
Rating:
Summary: Milestones: More than about Davis, a great Jazz History
Review: Milestones is a great, indepth biography on possibly the most important and influential Jazzman of all time. This book not only showcases Miles life as a musician, but also gives a histroy lesson as to what was happening to the Jazz world. For any Jazz lover...this book is a must!
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