Rating: 
Summary: Good, but obviously supervised by Courtney
Review: I had high hopes for this book. Years of research, access to Kurt's journals, interviews with the people closest to him, it all seemed to foreshadow the ultimate Kurt Cobain book. Well, the book is good, but it could have been much better if the author did not have the ear of one woman--Courtney Love.Now, first of all, the book is about KURT COBAIN. Not Nirvana, not Hole, not the Seattle music scene. Sure, it mentions recording sessions, concerts, albums, but only briefly. The main focus is on Kurt, his life, and his death. So if you are expecting to read why he played the solo the way he did on "Heart Shaped Box", go read another fantastic book about Kurt, and NIRVANA, "Come as you are" by Michael Arezaad. Now, the book is about Kurt, right? Well, of course Kurt died in 1994, so there are no interviews with him, except through his journals, which I think he didn't intend for anyone to see. However the journals show several sides of Kurt, so I understand why they were included. However, it's obvious Courtney Love supervised the writing of this book, or at least had a part in it. I'm surprised she isn't listed as author along with Charles R. Cross. The book paints a magical portrait of Kurt and Courtney's relationship, making it sound like it was a marriage made in heaven. However, many reports have said Courtney was controlling over Kurt and very critical of his work. None of that is shown in the book. Courtney is portrayed as a loving wife who was depressed after Kurt's death. Too bad I've read she took Kurt's credit card and went on a shopping spree in Las Vegas. Another thing that makes the book a little less than perfect....ASSUMING. For instance, when the author describes the "suicide" note, he tells a story of how Kurt wrote it alone, as the sun was coming up, listening to R.E.M. Now, how can anyone know when Kurt wrote the note, or what he was doing when he wrote it? This kind of stuff happens over and over throughout the book. At times it is a work of fiction, which shouldn't happen in a biography. All in all, the book is good, but not great. I was expecting more. And if you think Kurt was murdered, this book will be hard to read. The author portrays Kurt as a depressed, suicidal man that hated music. I still think Kurt was murdered, and this book did not change my mind, which I think the woman responsible for his death--Courtney Love--intended for it to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Suicidal tendencies
Review: We all have expectations, we all know the story, but Cross manages to be extremely thorough yet create lots of explosions in this book. Sometimes it was so intense that I had work my way through it very gingerly. And Cross avoids moralizing.
Rating: 
Summary: Heavier Than Heaven
Review: This is by far the best Kurt Cobain biography that has been released. I am a die hard Nirvana fan and thought i knew everything about Kurt upon reading this book i learned so much more. You would think Charles Cross lived Kurt's life because absolutely nothing is left out. The Ultimate Kurt Cobain Biography.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: The book, being a Kurt Cobain biography, is entirely based on him - and not on Nirvana. The band was, of course, a large and crucial part of the singer's life, but the book's main focus is not on the band. Therefore, many details on Nirvana, including their recording sessions and shows are just mentioned briefly - if discussed at all. Only a handful of shows are mentioned, and recording sessions are only dealt with by a few paragraphs. The recording session for the legendary 'Nevermind' album for example is covered in just a couple of pages, while the very same period takes up more than 50 pages in a different book (entirely about the "Nevermind" album) by the same author. When it comes to the life of Cobain, however, few details are left out. Every aspect of Kurt Cobain is covered, beginning with his birth in February 1967 up until his death in April 1994. With a great and captivating writing style, Cross goes through Kurt's life chronologically throughout the book, describing the most interesting events in his life. The story of Cobain is pieced together with the help of interviews with, it seems, everyone who ever had repeated contact with Kurt - including close family members, band mates, girlfriends, musicians and many many others. As an unprecedented bonus, the book includes many excerpts from Kurt's own personal journals and descriptions of some of his artwork. In general, the book sets itself dramatically apart the others on Nirvana and/or Kurt Cobain in that most of it offers "new" information that has not been published before, including several horrid stories. Even if you consider yourself a Nirvana expert, and have read "Come as you are" a dozen times or whatever, you'll still be able to discover many many new details and facts in this one - and you will probably find answers to many unanswered questions you may have had. In conclusion, the book is an excellent description of Kurt Cobain's life, all of it's major events, and his part of Nirvana. As mentioned, it gives many interesting and fascinating details, stories, descriptions and much information that all Nirvana fans should know. This is not a Nirvana book and is not a book about music, but about the life of one person. Whether this is a bad or good thing depends on how interested you are in Kurt Cobain, I suppose.
Rating: 
Summary: what a disappointment
Review: if you've never known about the existence of kurt cobain, then frankly, reading this book isn't going to bring you any closer. this book is a complete disappointment. you never find out who kurt cobain as a person really was, and most especially you never find out just what it was that made him so special. if i hadn't known about kurt beforehand, i'd wonder just what the big deal was. you want to know who kurt was, this is not the book to turn to.
Rating:
Summary: looks behind the myths
Review: This book gave me an alternate view of Kurt Cobain by the author's willingness to examine the singer's mythology that developed around him (thanks in part to Cobain's purposeful attempts in interviews) and present the real facts. For example, if you take this account as true, Cobain was something of a bully himself in school, he didn't sleep under a bridge,and Courtney Love tried to discourage, rather than facilitate, his drug abuse. The book incorporates interviews from just about everyone you can imagine who knew or knew of Cobain, mostly the former. Although some of the material could have been omitted without decreasing the impact of the book as a whole, it is still a mostly intriguing read.
Rating:
Summary: All the kids will eat it up if it's packaged properly...
Review: Charles Cross, who seems to believe he knows more about Kurt Cobain than his friends and family, writes: "This stuff about Kurt Cobain being an anti-corporate artist is complete and utter pooey...At every single turn of events he went the route to more popularity." Krist Novoselic, one of Kurt's best friends and co-founder of Nirvana has often spoken the exact opposite. "In Utero" as a step to further appeal to the masses? The idea is preposterous. Cross goes out of his way to point out the most trivial and inane inconsistencies for the purpose of defaming Cobain's reliability. "Heavier Than Heaven" is hardly the definitive account of the life of Kurt Cobain. Rather, it is a polished version of Christopher Sandfords biography which has been widely disspelled by people who actually knew and worked with Cobain. Cross's ferociously judgemental and too-often exaggerated book must only be read by Nirvana fans who know better than to believe everything they read. If "Come As You Are" and "Never Fade Away" are to be read with a slight grain of salt, "Heavier Than Heaven" requires several pounds.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing story of the life of a legendary rock star
Review: This is the most amazing biography I have ever read. It's incredible to read what Kurt Cobain went through in his life. This is one of my favorite books ever and i would definitely recommend it to anyone that is just beginning to get into Nirvana all the way to his biggest fans, no matter who they are they will LOVE IT!!!
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ FOR ALL KURT COBAIN WORSHIPERS
Review: Charles R. Cross is a spectacular biographer. Heavier Than Heaven is so well researched and written that it can easily be mistaken as a story of Kurt Cobain, not a biography. Because of its story-like quality, Heavier Than Heaven is able to hold the readers interest just as The Lord of the Rings could. This biography is amazing.
Cross writes of the life of Kurt Cobain like he was. In no way was Kurt deified or criticized. Kurt Cobain's story was just told and the reader was left to decide what he thought. Cross researched Kurt's life extensively. This is evident in the biography where even the emotions and thoughts of Kurt are displayed, something not present in many other biographies. With Cross's diligence, Heavier Than Heaven is a quality story/biography that is emotional as well as factual.
Throughout the biography, I became attatched to Kurt's character. The information, stories, events and things that Kurt did drew me to him by the first few pages. By the end of the biography, where Kurt commits suicide (I haven't given away the ending since everyone knows it), the emotional attatchement is so strong that it is impossible not to cry as Kurt proceeds to end his life. Cross details the end as well as the rest of the biography so well that it is easily to become emotional. I haven't cried in years and Cross was able to make me weep in sadness.
Be sure to know a lot about Nirvana before you read this. Although this biography is very detailed, there are certain things which you won't get unless you are familiar with Nirvana.
A MUST READ FOR ALL FANS. EMOTIONAL, BEAUTIFUL AND WELL WRITTEN!
Rating: 
Summary: Better as a doorstop
Review: Well well, We have now another toadstool of a book on the sad life of Kurt Cobain. Why someone would take this much time (and paper) to dissect a miserable life is beyond me. He does not pull the music genius out of the sad life, just way to many facts and theories. Who cares! This is the 5th book I've read on cobain, the mystery of how can such a small man create such amazing music is an intersting topic. Only Christopher Sandfords book comes close, most others either pull out a pedestal or throw him in the ditch, no one but Sandford attempts to connect the music to the life. do yourself a favor and read that one. Cobain then shines a light on all of us.
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