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Summary: If you've read this one and "Love, Janis" by Laura Joplin...
Review: ...which one is better? Why? Email me - aron_co@yahoo.com Thanks!
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Summary: Truly excellent.
Review: ALice Echols did a superlative job with this book. I learned about a side of Janis that I always thought she had, but never heard anyone else discuss-- the young girl in pain. Also, Ms. Echols writes Janis's life as the truly great performer she was. She was the first of her kind-- the first white woman with the guts to show her pain in her songs. WIthout Janis, there would be no Melissa Etheridge or Patti Smith or Courtney Love or Sheryl Crowe. I continue to hail the great one. Thank you, Alice.
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Summary: Nothing New Here
Review: Alice Echols new biography of blues legend Janis Joplin is essentially a rehash of what we already know about this great artist. The details of the singers life are stated in a very academic fashion, with a slight edge of emphasis from the perspective of a feminist and lesbian view. The author appears to have little knowledge of Joplin's music, and a reader does not get a sense of what was important about Janis. I am baffled by reports I've read that this biography contains a new perspective on Joplin. This book covers no new ground that hasn't been covered previously in Myra Friedman's classic, Buried Alive.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: Alice Echols skillfully weaves the cultural nuances of the complicated '60s with the life and times of the great Janis Joplin. Informative and painstakingly researched. This book is far superior to Myra Friedman's overrated "Buried Alive," which is a vast pile of stinky doo-doo rather than a definitive biography. Avoid "Buried Alive" and get this book instead.
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Summary: Terrific book!
Review: Alice Echols teases out the meanings of Joplin's short life -- the predicament of thebrilliant woman artist trapped in the same masochistic love-me leave-me I'm worthless mentality that characterizes her songs. Much more than a show-biz biography, this is a wonderful work of feminist social history, full of information, insights, and extremely well written.
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Summary: A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME!
Review: Anyone who remembers Woodstock, the hippie 60's, the Bohemian lifestyle and the flower children, remembers Janis.... Apart from her extraordinary talent, she was really no different than you or I...she was simply, Janice, and I do believe that is the way she would like to be remembered...Freedom was key and war was protested. Janice blended in with the time and the culture, unfortunately, the pressures of the day caught up with Janice and her life ended in tragedy. Of all the books and accounts I have read on Janice, and there are several, this one is the closest to what I remembered Janice to be. She was not the bizarre, strung-out, irresponsible person many believed her to be. Deep inside, there was a beautiful person with a dream, a dream she never realized. A lesson can be learned from her tragic ending: fame does not guarantee happiness. For anyone who truly wants to understand who the real Janis was, this is a book you will not want to miss. Her memory and her music still live on in the hearts of those who remember her incredible talent and gutsy style. What greater legacy could she possibly have left us?
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Summary: BUYER BEWARE!!
Review: Barnes & Noble.com has this book for $15.60, a savings of $10.40, Amazon.com is $18.20, a savings of only $7.80.You choose.
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Summary: Janis Agonistes
Review: Because Ms. Echols does such a thorough and sensitive job of providing readers with understanding of both the personal and external worlds of which Janis Joplin was a part, I feel that Janis here becomes a classic Greek heroine, one whose tragic flaw is her unquenchable desire for genuine familial love and understanding. Her end is implicit in her beginning. Any sympathetic reader will read in tears as the inevitable occurs. Ironically, so many of us still love Janis. I hope, somehow, she knows. This is a great book!
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Summary: Sums up Janis and the times well
Review: Echols provides an excellent retrospective of Janis and times in which she lived. The entire story in interwoven into a seemless picture of the 60's, San Francisco's music scene, and the life of this tragic figure. Not overly depressive or gossipy like other bios.
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Summary: A solid behavioral profile within the context of the times.
Review: Echols provides rich and detailed insights into the motivations and behaviors of Janis Joplin. Her interviews with Joplin's friends, associates, and lovers, adds a complexity and understanding as to why this great talent was so self-destructive. Echols does all of this with a historian's need to place the events within their context...the 60's. I came away with a better understanding of this cohort. Myra Friedman's book pales in comparision.
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