Rating: 
Summary: The facts of a lifetime
Review: The book heavier than heaven is a magnificent work of art andshould be read by everyone whether they are passionite or unimformed about the best musician of the 20th century. .... Peace, LOvr , Empathy, ALbert Diaz
Rating:
Summary: Amazing...dont listen to these other reviewers...
Review: This book was abslutel fabulous...Cross does an amazing job bringing detaisl of Kurt's life into the spotlight -- it's riveting to relive Kurt's beginnings through his tragic end one step at a time. A must have for Cobain fans.
Rating: 
Summary: better sources
Review: if you're really interested in kurt cobain as a man and a musician, read michael azzerads's book or christopher sandfords' - this book adds less to the story, covers the same ground and isn't as well written as the aforementioned. it's a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Very in depth, great book
Review: I'm only half way through this book, it's been excellent so far. I really enjoyed learning about his childhood, and how sometimes Kurt exagerated on things. Definately recomend this book,
Rating:
Summary: finally- a rest from the junk and the crud
Review: After Andy Rooney pathetically went on "60 minutes" the day after Cobains suicide decrying him as useless and a waste of life- the separation was clear- a lost generation had lost- with kurts final act- one he had always planned. After ( and before) his death there was a plethora of tabloid crap and i have been waiting 8 years for a realistic and real biography of gen xs sole musical genius. Cross did research. Five years of it; real research, with statistics, data, and facts this is a first in the Cobain ( and Love) cottage industries of supermarket tabloids/ kurt was worthless/ courtney is a __________fill current female pejorative here/ crud that flooded themarket for the last decade. Screes based on non data and fueled by a false fantasy of Cobain and a false fantasy of Love. This bringing of them both to life and also, thank God a seperation between them ( newsflash!!! - cobain had other girlfriends! cobain had three suicides in his immediate family! Cobain was Cobain! Love is Love!) This is obviously the first definitive factual Cobain book. Cross did real research ,and its fascinating, hilarious, beautiful and had me sobbing in many parts. The fact that the 'Courtney" half finally gives her the reality she lived and this seems to bother the few people who cant accept the truth of thier love affair or thier relationship (ie- her contributions to him were obvious to any of us that are fans of both or hers- not surprising considering the 'In Utero' lyrics are very Love like and a vast growth for Coabin as a lyricist- Love who is unarguabley a better lyricist as almost anyone of this generationa nd certainly cobain was a better composer than Love ,but NOONE can argue that Love is not one of the greats when it comes to staight up song lyrics- that is a critically and publically accepted fact so get over your mysogism - this isnt Beatle John married to a Fluxus/Surrealist artist- this was a guy who aggresively pursued a peer who was as critically acclaimed and in many quarters more critically acclaimed- at least as a lyricist as cobain- the sexism was ridiculous- and as a man im glad to see it put to rest by facts and data and statistics and paperwork- these are things oine cant argue with no matter how hard it is to accept Loves genius or contribution to thier relatioship ) Love carried a great burden in this marriage and its nice to see data and specific facts based on reality- hospital records - police records-Cobains own many, many brilliant diary entries ( somneone wrote in these reviews there were a "few"- In the bibliography there were HUNDREDS of letters never sent and journal entries by Cobain) finally come to light- this book will set the standard for all future Cobain books, and its nice to see a woman who has carried one of the worst, most sexist burdens in the history of pop culture relieved by inarguable FACTS- it does in no way sanitise Love as a matter of fact shes never winning mom of the year award but ive long suspected the generalisations and sexist villification of her was based in cheap sensationalism and a lackof male imagination to imagine that a woman can be strong and equal and as genius as her mate- didnt seem to appeal to the violently mysoginsit segment although a minority -like th eklux klux klan a vocal minority- gets blasted here- beyond that Cobain is revealed as acomplicated hysterical equally evil and equally kind guy- I loved his ambition revealed in his diaries- the idea that fame came to him effortlessly is dispelled here again with facts data and documents- NOT generalisations or cultural guesswork but with Cobains own words and family and friends- its a story we can all relate to- wanting to be a rockstar and drawing diagrams of our future interviews- and our future plans, step by step made me adore the guy; i dont know that i agree with cross that his suicide was totally inevitable. The sleaziness of the people surrounding kurt ( and Love) at his heigth greatly disturbed me the Doctors- the one who prescirbed cartons of injectable opiates to Cobain who died of an overdose at his desk- the sleazy manager who disdained him while making millions off him who referred to him as "the junkie" while not giving Kurt his simple request of Kraft macoroni and cheese-so he could eat his fancy pasta while his charge went to hospital after hospital, who didnt feed him or help him seek medical attention or psychiatric help- when he cried out fo r it- the abuse he suffered while making millions of dollars for executives- this made me sick and they- the doctors and management emerge as absoloute villians- gently-and although Cross ( like Peter Guaralnick in his fine fine Elvis bios"Last Train To Memphis " and"Careless Love") allows people to hang themselves gently. He never points a finger. He simply states facts and they build up into a horror story that was so full of love and hate and Oedipal rejection and an absouloute lack of ethics on the part of Geffen Records and Kurts management it reminded me of Hamlet. I cried all week after reading this. If you are part of the pre Britney generation this book will shake you to your core. This book is like thinking you can boogie board in the big waves. If you care about Cobain- so proceed with some respect and emotional caution. Its the first real book in the canon and i am finally glad to see one
Rating:
Summary: finally- a rest from the junk! the first legit Cobain book.
Review: After Andy Rooney pathetically went on "60 minutes" the day after Cobains suicide decrying him as useless ,the separation between generations was clear. the "x" generation had lost the "war". Its nice to explore why. Wich this book did for me spectacularly. After Coabins death there were trashheaps of sensationalism about him mostly centering around Cobains marriage. Wich is covered here, but theres also pleanty of material that has nothing to do with the "tragic couple". I've have been waiting years for a realistic and legit biography of gen xs sole musical genius. Afraid it would never happen and thered be yet another 400 page "definitive" Dylan Bio-w ich seems to happen every two years. Cross did research with statistics, data, and facts. This is a first in the Cobain ( and Love) cottage industries of supermarket tabloid fodder and insulting an entire generation with the flood of trash about Cobain. too much worthless crud came on the market and in the media for the last decade. Screes fueled by a false fantasy of Cobain. As a sort of irrelevant saint. This bringing of him to life as a man,and also, thank God a seperation between him and Courtney Love ( Newsflash!!! Cobain had other girlfriends!) This is obviously the first definitive factual Cobain book. Cross did real research ,and its fascinating, hilarious, beautiful and very sad. The fact that the 'Courtney" half finally gives her the reality she lived , is a fantastic and fun read. I love that this seems to bother the few people who cant accept the truth of thier relationship (ie- her contributions to him were obvious to any of us that are fans of both Nirvana and Hole ) Cross talks about Loves contribution to "In Utero" . this is no big deal to me, and shouldnt be at all surprising considering the 'In Utero' lyrics are very "Love" like, and show growth for Cobain as a lyricist from "Nevermind". Love who is unarguably a better lyricist as almost anyone of that generation ( i am 22 and came of "age" in the rap era,but I am a "Lollapalooza" romanticist. it just seems like a better time musically, and sexier, more rockstars and more rock, riot grrl and indie and it just feels like it would have been funner to be a rock fan back then than now. Im not exactly thinking "Staind" is something i want to wait around for!) Noone can argue that Love is not one of the Greats, when it comes to song lyrics; and not many do. With all her bad press ive actually never read a bad review of her work. Her lyrical talent is a critically and publically accepted fact , and i think its funny to watch these reviewers get blue in the face about it. This was a guy who aggresively sexually pursued a peer who was as critically acclaimed and in many quarters more critically acclaimed (at least as a lyricist) than Cobain. As a man im glad to see the " Courtney " tabloid stuff finally put to some rest. With facts and statistics and paperwork. I read the extensive bibliography in the back of the book and its obvious Cross did exhaustive research. Love carried a great burden in this marriage and culturally as a woman, and its nice to see facts based on reality, such as; hospital records ; police records;Cobains own many, brilliant diary entries . Someone wrote in these reviews there were a "few" diary entries. In the bibliography there were HUNDREDS of letters never sent and journal entries by Cobain. Nice also, to see a woman who has carried one of the worst, most sexist burdens in the history of pop culture relieved by inarguable facts. The book in no way sanitise Love. But it does.....relieves her. And more importantly separates Love and Cobain as artists by the act of relieving her. I was able to see more of him and less of 'them" as a "tragic couple". Ive long suspected the extreme sexist villification of Love were based in sensationalism and a lack of (male) imagination to understand that a woman can be strong and equal and as brilliant as her mate. Cobain is revealed as a complicated ,hysterical, equally evil, and equally kind guy. I loved his ambition revealed in his diaries and letters he never sent. The idea that fame came to him effortlessly is dispelled here again with facts ,not opinions or cultural guesswork ,but with Cobains own words. and those of his legitimate family and friends. His "flaws" made me like the guy; although he seemed pretty crazed and dangeroous in parts and i cannot figure what drove him to such extremity. I dont know that i agree with Cross that his suicide was totally inevitable. The sleaziness of the people surrounding Cobain greatly disturbed me. And this is one factor in my questioning his suicide as a 'fait accompli'. The sleazy manager who disdained him , while making millions off him. Who referred to him as "The Junkie". While not giving Kurt his simple request of "Kraft" brand macoroni and cheese at a concert date. I cannot imagine someone not giving Eminem ,or even his DJ, his "Kraft "macaroni and cheese, if thats what he wants. I think it was partly a product of the era. This evolution from street punk rock wich didnt sell much to multiplatinum success seemed to have the people around Cobain used to the small time for years, behaving like idiots and sleazebags and making sure, no matter what; that Love was there to take the blame like a punching bag. The "Kraft" story was only one of many that made me angry and sad for him, I've read about this story in other venues but never in such detail. but here was a guy with what sounds like the worst stomach in history not getting "comfort food" wich costs around a buck , so the manager could eat his fancy pasta, while his employer went to hospital after hospital in search of an antidote to his stomach pains . i was very confused growing up and reading about Cobains stomach from Mars and wondering if it was all justa fancy excuse to do lots of drugs, until i read this book. The manager and other employees , including his endless cycle of bandmates ( I also had always percieved Nirvana as somewhat of a "band" , until ir ead this i dint realise how much of an act of will it was for this guy to turn his poverty and pain into art and how hard it was for him to get loyal bandmates to do it with him) These people didnt seem to feed him or help him seek medical attention or psychiatric help. The abuse he suffered from EMPLOYEES while making millions of dollars for them made me sick and they; the doctors and management emerge as absoloute villians. although Cross ( like Peter Guaralnick in his Elvis bios "Last Train To Memphis " and"Careless Love"; wich i also love,and also the great Brian Wilson Memoir "Heroes and Villians") allows people to hang themselves. He never really points a finger. He simply states facts and they build up into a horror story that was so full of love and hate and Oedipal rejection and an absouloute lack of ethics on the part of the villians. Cross points out Cobains fascination with Shakespeares "Hamlet" and in some ways this book had a plot structure that reminded me of the play. I cried while reading this. If you are part of the pre Britney generation ( or like me; wish you were) this book will shake you to your core. If you care about Nirvana/Cobain ( and its more than obvious after reading this book; that like "The Smashing Pumpkins" or "Nine Inch Nails", bands from that era who had one person at the helm. but who had "band names"; that Nirvana/Cobain are one and the same) proceed with some emotional caution. the writing style is very dry and sneaks up on you. even though its graphic and i wouldn't recomend this to my younger siblings, "Heavier Than Heaven" is the first legitimate book about Kurt D. Cobain. Intense.
Rating: 
Summary: BS
Review: HTH treads on very thin ice when attempting to correct Azerrad on the "In Utero" songs. Cross alleges that Courtney Love, Cobain's spouse, had a very considerable impact on and input in Cobain's songwriting. The evidence he employs to back up his claim varies from shaky to obviously fallacious. Cross devotes two paragraphs to extolling Love's contribution to "Pennyroyal Tea", claiming that she wrote many of the lyrics and helped with the music. The fact that NIRVANA played the song at the soundcheck of a concert in April 1991 , some seven months before Cobain began dating Love, reveals that Cross is certainly mistaken. This book is full of lies like this. Don't buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Cobain bio yet, but that isn't saying much
Review: First, let me say that I was looking forward to reading this book. Having read all the other account's of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and noticing all of the discrepancies that exist between them, be it a result of poor journalism, compromise, or just the simple fact that Kurt rarely told the truth in interviews, or in real life, it would be very difficult to construct a cohesive narrative of Cobain's life. This effort is by far not the definitive account of Cobain's life. And Cross does a decent job, armed with over 400 interviews and Kurt's own journals Cross gives us the best look into the troubled life of one of the 90's biggest, and most reclusive, celebrities. Where Cross's work is best is in the beginning chapters about Kurt's early life growing up in Montesano/Aberdeen. He has collected some very interesting, entertaining stories that really show Kurt in a light no other work has to this point. Cross paints the most positive portrait of Kurt's father, Don, thus far showing that he was truly a loving father who found it difficult to relate to a son that was so much different than he. Cross also counters a lot of the myths that Kurt tended to propagate about his life and personal history which is in itself a triumph. Throughout the book Cross also points out several patterns or themes in Kurt's life, things that he struggled with as a result of his early life and his chosen path, such as his punk ethos and his pop sensibilities and his desire to be accepted by the hip Calvinists in Olympia and his longing for the lush landscape of Aberdeen that he truly loved and ultimately wanted to live on a farm. These conflicts between Kurt's inner feelings and his outer life would be something he struggled with his entire life. Cross's failure in the book is multi-fold. First, he suggests that Kurt created the character of "Kurdt Kobain" to separate his boring beginnings from his life of being a hip, rock star. It is obvious that Kurt was more excited about being a wealthy musician than he put on but suggesting that he created an alter ego, like Ziggy Stardust or Marilyn Monroe is preposterous. Cross also does a fair amount of bad writing comparing moments in Kurt's life to such pop culture scenes from Swingers and comparisons of Kurt to Jesus Christ. Cross even shoots himself (and his 400 interviews) in the foot when he makes such classic blunders suggesting that Kurt said he dragged the Whishka river for his stepfather's guns, selling them for his first guitar when in actuality he bought an amplifier. This is a well known story and I have never read Kurt quoted saying he bought his "first" guitar (which is readily know was given to him by an uncle) instead of an amplifier. There are other smaller mistakes throughout such as Cross suggesting that the first guitar Kurt smashed was a Fender Mustang at one of their first shows at Evergreen, when it is well known that Kurt was so poor that he played Univox Mosrite Copies (there is also a picture of this guitar in 'Come As You Are'). There is also a mention that early on Kurt crafted replacement necks for his broken guitars. Kurt Cobain a carpenter!! Must be most illusions to Christ. These errors in addition to Courtney Love being the primary interviewee listed for chapters 14-25 (over half of the book) make much of this information, unless attributed to someone else suspect. There is no arguement that Courtney has a problem telling the truth and with no one to keep her in check what is stopping her from making up as much of her time with Kurt (putting herself in a positive light) as much as Kurt lied about his own life. This makes me wonder just how accurate this information is. Kurt and Courtney didn't have the best relationship, this fact is extremely well documented. This makes me question just how much influence Courtney had in this telling of Kurt's life. Unfortunately, it will never truly be known what Kurt thought and felt beyond other's perceptions and some old words scratched in notebooks and that is the perfect equation for eternal celebrity.
Rating: 
Summary: an objective, informative and good read
Review: It appears we finally have the definitive biography of Kurt Cobain. Cross has a clear and fast moving writing style and covers all the bases in an orderly manner. He keeps things moving and never gets too scholarly, though. The facts that matter about Cobains life are handled well, as are the issues surrounding his death. One small complaint : he does not explore the influence of Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow on Cobain - ( there is a song in the novel where teens sing about 'spirit being contagious' and ends with 'nevermind'. KC supposedly read the book many times). That very small issue aside this is the book to replace all others on your shelf when searching for the facts on Cobain's life and art.
Rating:
Summary: happy/sad
Review: Cross' "Heavier than Heaven" is an "objective" biography that equally swims in pools of awe at its subject's talent while also painfully painting Cobain's frequent descents into his depths of darkness without any (hardly all ...) apologies. Aside from Azerrad's "Come as You Are," this book, unlike the vast library of junk literature on Nirvana and Hole, seeks less to cash in on the "Nirvana industry" spawned by Cobain's suicide and the search for new materials (be it music, rumors or conspiracy theories) than to "set the story straight." Though this is an impossible task, owing largely to the fact that Cobain is no longer living--and as Cross points out, Cobain was a frequent embellisher of his own past--Cross pulls off the task as successfully as it can be done. His writing style is lucid, although at times collapses under the weight of his strange use of colloquialisms. The books seems to be marked by two separate sections. From his childhood to 1990--when Cobain was "dumped" by then love-interest Tobi Vail (formerly of Bikini Kill)--and 1990 until his death, which Cross marks as Cobain's introduction to heroin. The young stoner Cobain is illustrated by Cross as equally tormented by his fractured family dynamic as he was enthusiastic about his art and his band Nirvana. After Cobain's introduction to "heroine," things take a different path, coinciding with the worldwide success of "Nevermind." Cross' book should deter any non-users from ever seeking to use the drug. Courtney Love's responsibilities and susceptibilities to Cobain's addiction make her look--contrary to her current public reputation--like a very sympathetic character. Cross' book does not even mention any "Courtney killed Kurt" or "Kurt was murdered" conspiracy theories, because like every worthy Nirvana suspected before his death from his onstage persona and from his ingeniously twisted lyrics, his suicide was inevitable. This book is just as suited for the unacquainted as it is for the most hardcore Nirvana junky who has copies of "Bikini Twilight" by Go Team or an original numbered copy of "Love Buzz."
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