Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.4 / 5.0

Good biography:

I was no fan of Lester Bangs' critical ravings when he was alive, but you don't have to be to be hooked by Jim Derogatis' bio of the man. He captures Bangs in all his high and low moments with an eye for detail and with great empathy, but without blinders on. Derogatis also manages to get all the, ahem, nuances of rock in the Seventies, certainly the rock of the Seventies that Bangs was most interested in. Whatever quibbles I have with the book are personal biases about how vital or not punk, New York, Lou... more info

And what a brilliant blurt!:

This brilliant biography of Lester Bangs captures the essence of the man and what he was about with great clarity. DeRogatis writes with passion (I mean, he makes Lester's passionate sense of life come alive) and unlocks great swathes of rock culture and rock literature that I had not been aware of. It pleases me to know that Bangs was a kind person with integrity. The afterword covers his legacy in the work of music writers, in the lyrics of other artists, in his musical influence on certain alt-country... more info

Derogatis does Bangs justice:

Derogatis does a fine job telling the tale of the Lester Bangs legacy. I will spare the great details that other reviewers have mentioned, however I will say that Derogatis made me feel not as if I was reading a fantastic biography of Lester's life, but as if I was present for it. Very few authors have that ability, which is why I would highly recommend this great read.

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