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Rating: 
Summary: the life and times of Janis...
Review: 'The Obsessions And Passions of Janis Joplin' is a very accurate description of the book - it doesn't deal much with the artist, it tells a lot more about her sex life and drug abuse. I myself prefer at least a bit more information on the music of the musician in question, but I must admit the book does a good job of showing us the confused, extremely talented, both loved and rejected personality that was Janis Joplin.
Rating: 
Summary: We'll Never Know What Janis Would Have Said Had She Lasted
Review: I don't have a copy of the book handy, so I can't provide the page number.
But I distinctly recall a passage in which author Ellis Amburn asks a friend of Janis more than twenty years after the singer's death if "Janis was simply gay?"
Then Amburn provides said friend's reply. The friend said in effect that Janis did love men.
I agree with the friend. Janis herself convinces me that she's not a lesbian whenever I hear her on CD singing these tracks: "I Need A Man To Love" and "Move Over." (In the latter she sings, "You know that I need a man / Honey, I told you so.")
Mr. Amburn includes many details about the drug and alcohol abuse. He illustrates the boring, not - very - sensual addict developing a tolerance level for the stuff, increasing the dose, kicking for a month then starting over with a low dose.
Just because Mr. Amburn is accurate about addiction issues doesn't mean he has the right to slant the stuff about sexual preference. The truth is that Janis wasn't around long enough to speak for herself about what she really wanted. She was in the national spotlight (as opposed to San Francisco public parks) for the short time of 18 months.
Eighteen months isn't even enough time for Melissa Etheridge to become a lesbian icon. (What about all the rehearsals that any singer on the road needs ? Nobody wants to become the new Doodletown Pipers or another Milli Vanilli.)
Would Janis have chosen to admit publicly her lesbian experiences had she lived longer ? We'll never know. Please leave it that way. Please don't buy this obsessive book. Read the Janis biographies by her sister Laura and her PR person Myra Friedman. Myra doesn't dwell on the sexual preference issue. She can't because she talks too much about the substance abuse. Oh, well. ANY writer under contract to a publisher has freedom, but fans of Janis know that freedom's just another word for ...
Rating: 
Summary: The best Joplin book , so far.
Review: I recently had to order my second copy of this one because I had worn it out. My only issue is that it seemed more downbeat. Yet, considering how her life ended maybe it was more realistic. If you buy any Janis bio's this in the one, also Scars of Sweet Paradise is very worthy.
Rating:
Summary: She sang, she lived, she died.
Review: The first book on this wonderful artist I've read and by far the best written. The author not only had captured the spirit of Janis but also has made a larger than life figure seem more human. And given us a glimpse into what was not only a tortured soul but what was also a wounded and beautiful one.
Rating:
Summary: Cartoonish portrait
Review: This book has a tabloid quality to it. The "obsession" part of the title more accurately reflects the author's own obsession with sleazy assertions. It's unfortunate the way he twists the personal accounts of friends and associates to fit his agenda/theory about the life of Janis. This account is stereotypical, salacious and fails provide any new insight beyond the standard caricature of Janis as a boozy, promiscuous broad.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This well-written book is very descriptive! From Port Arthur, Texas, to San Francisco's Haight / Ashbury, scenes of tragedy & revelry are given a jolt of life. Author really sought out the witnesses who are still around (and not too wasted) to tell the tales. Great book for fans of San Francisco, rock music, and of course Janis.Plenty of sleaze, drugs, and sex, but author nicely presents the tender-hearted girl that was Janis Joplin.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This well-written book is very descriptive! From Port Arthur, Texas, to San Francisco's Haight / Ashbury, scenes of tragedy & revelry are given a jolt of life. Author really sought out the witnesses who are still around (and not too wasted) to tell the tales. Great book for fans of San Francisco, rock music, and of course Janis. Plenty of sleaze, drugs, and sex, but author nicely presents the tender-hearted girl that was Janis Joplin.
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