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List Price: $19.95 | | Publisher: Da Capo Press
Salesrank: 675589
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| Our Price: $9.78 |
| Used Price: $9.50 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
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. Nirvana: The Biography is an honest, moving, incisive, and heartfelt re-evaluation of a band that has been misrepresented time and time again since its tragic demise in April 1994 following Kurt Cobain’s suicide. True captures what the band was really like. He also discusses the music scene of the time-the fellow bands, the scenes, the seminars, the countless live dates, the friends and allies and drug dealers. Drawn from hundreds of original interviews, Nirvana: The Biography is the final word on Nirvana, Cobain, and Seattle grunge.
Nirvana: The Biography Reviews:
true nirvana 
2009-06-10 - 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
2009-04-20 - 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
2009-03-01 - 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.
There's a lot of information, but... 
2008-10-22 - First of all, I bought this book because I wanted to know more about the band, not because I already knew everything and wanted to check out this book to see if the author got everything just right. That being said, I know little to nothing about what happened during the late 80's or even the early 90's, especially when I was living in the Southeast. I didn't check every date or quote or fact for accuracy, because the reason I was reading the biography about the band was because it was supposed to inform me of that, and be accurate.
Anyway, before I can start, I have to mention the author. I had never heard of Everett True before reading this book, and after finishing it, I don't really care about the guy. That seems like a simple statement, but he keeps interjecting himself into the text. Of course, he was there for a lot of this stuff, and a firsthand account is a bit nicer than a bunch of interviews lumped together, but his writing style ran perpendicular to the way I like to read.
As I also didn't know, the author is British. He writes using a few alternate spellings, which is perfectly fine, but when those end up in interviews (along with a few British terms), it doesn't really seem like the American interviewees would use those words (or spellings, like cheque for check, colour for color, etc). While it's a trivial issue, it's consistant, which makes it annoying.
Overall, it was easy to read. It would have been fun, actually, to go through this entire experience, as all of the interviews and interjections and anecdotes kind of meld together into one big story. Something just got in the way, and I feel like the author should take credit for that.
After reading, I did get a sense that I knew the band better (especially their background, that was the strongest part in my opinion), which was the point of reading the book. Whether or not what I read actually happened, that will probably never be proven. In the end, it doesn't really matter, but all of those tiny little - not mistakes, but akward writing parts add up to a better than average book brought down to mediocrity because of the flaws.
The most entertaining Nirvana biography out there
2007-11-30 - I've read Heavier than Heaven and Come as You Are (both excellent), but this is just a lot more interesting. Not quite as factual and more fun. Everett True's writing style makes you feel as if you're right there in the middle of the action. He really captured the goofiness of Nirvana and Kurt. I also like the fact that he didn't have a bias against Courtney and he didn't buy into the ridiculous "murder conspiracies." Kurt is not put on a pedastal and regarded as some god, but is portrayed as a goofy, sincere, empathetic, and creative musician. True does not dwell on the bad, but rather emphasizes the pure fun as he details (LOTS of detail) the story of the band.
