It seems fitting that the "real" David Bowie, long a master of chameleon-like ch-ch-changes, has remained an enigma despite a slew of biographies. Paul Trynka's new book--unauthorized by Bowie and containing no new interviews with him--does not solve the mystery or provide anecdotes of the "never before revealed" variety, but it offers a thoughtful and meticulously researched study of one of rock's few supernovas and his era.
A former editor of MOJO magazine, Trynka packs a great deal about particulars of songs into this book (e.g., how Robert Fripp got that haunting guitar sound on "Heroes"). But there are also plenty of gossipy (albeit restrained) tidbits from the 250 new interviews with Bowie's friends and family that Trynka conducted.
Through a recounting of Bowie's early years, Trynka offers evidence that, although capable, Bowie was not himself a particularly gifted musician. His brilliance was in extracting and combining the musical gifts of others. Of course, the timing had to be right as well, and it was: Trynka does a terrific job describing the scene in London, New York and Los Angeles in the 1970s, including drugs, debauchery and the shift of the music industry into big business. Following a major heart attack and surgery in 2004, Bowie all but disappeared from public view. Trynka speculates on why but doesn't spend much time discussing this (nor much of what many fans consider Bowie's subpar post-Scary Monsters work). What he does do--admirably--with this fine biography is to foster an appreciation of an artist who inspired countless others. --Debra Ginsberg