Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana

Rating:
Summary: Good read; but mostly fictional tale of Kurt Cobain
Review: This book is a nice read if you don't mind the inaccurate stories of Kurt Cobain and the musical group Nirvana. It seems Kurt told the author - Michael Azerrad - lots of bogus stories (which Kurt was known to do with the press) and Mr. Azerrad swallowed the tales hook, line, and sinker.

I blame the writer since many of the inaccuracies could have easily been determined to be truth or a lie by simply going to the court house and looking up past records involving Kurt Cobain, or checking with a few 'witnesses', but it seems Mr. Azerrad just wrote whatever Kurt told him and so it's hard to really enjoy this book since it is chock full of lies and fables.

If you wish to read a more accurate portrayal of Kurt Cobain, I would suggest Heavier Than Heaven. It too contains some inaccuracies (the author writes that Dave Grohl was shirtless during his performance of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on Saturday Night Live, which if the author actually took the time to view the performance could easily see this wasn't true). Of course these types of inaccuracies are cosmetic; whereas, Come As You Are is just a fictional tale with hints of truth sporadically thrown in.

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Summary: One of my favorite books of all times
Review: When I red this book I was blown away, it has to be one of the best books written on Nirvana Ever. Usually when you hear people talking about Nirvana or you read somthing about them, Its all this negative junk like "Kurt Cobain, His death and drug use" but when I finished this book I saw him as a different person. Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana is one of my most favorite books in the world, it leaves out nothing! ITS AWSOME SO READ IT!

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Summary: Required reading for all Gen Xers.
Review: This book is required reading for all Generation Xers. Nirvana was the band that, to use a cliche, changed the world. And not only the music world, but the world in general. All the music that exists up to the present day is classified as pre-Nirvana or post-Nirvana. And there is one inescapable fact: Nirvana either made or broke all the bands of their time.

As far as Nirvana changing the world, they gave voice to Generation X. They forced the world to see, through Cobain's anguished wails, that Gen Xers weren't the reviled group the baby boomers and older generations had made them out to be. Gen Xers were, and still are, vicitms of circumstance. They were born in the wrong time and entered adulthood and the workplace just in time to watch the recession, AIDS, and a host of other wrongs sweep away from them the lives and the careers for which they had so ardently prepared themselves.

This book is keen and unapologetic; even the final chapter, added after Cobain's death, is not an exercise in sympathy. It merely caps the life of a world-changing musical group and its unforgettable leader. We can all learn something from Kurt Cobain: he was a man of integrity who created what he thought good music should sound like, caring little for the notions of conventional wisdom. He remained true to himself, and because of that the world will remember him forever.

Readers will delight in the variety of pictures and graphics scattered throughout the book and at the clever chapter titles. This is a book about the band and the person who gave voice to Gen X.

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Summary: The first and most entertaining biography of Nirvana
Review: Here's what I would do if I was a new Nirvana fan wanting to know more about the band. First, pick up all the essential albums. Second, buy the "Live, Tonight! Sold Out!" video on Nirvana. And finally, the third thing, buy this awesome book on Nirvana!

Unlike most of the books or reviews on Nirvana, this one doesn't have the foreboding sense of Kurt's death hanging it's weight all over the pages. That's because it was written before his death, with the exception of the final chapter. Inside are interviews with all the bandmembers, including Kurt himself.

The number one thing I like about this book, is that it starts off from when Kurt was just a young boy. It shows how he was influenced and pushed into the lifestyle responsible for him becoming a reluctant rock star. You see how Kurt struggled with school, with work, with family life. And you see how Krist eventually became friends with Kurt, and interestingly how they didn't start a band right away.

With Nirvana's early incarnations you see how Kurt struggled with incompetent drummers, and the difficulty of becoming an original band in podunk town. Through this book you see how Nirvana was born, rather crudely, but excitingly. I still remember Nirvana's first show on Halloween where they played a small house party. The whole band was in the kitchen with the party-goers in the living room cowering from their crazy antics.

As the book progresses it maintains the pace at which Nirvana blew up in our faces. Bleach became a cult hit and then with Nevermind, the band was launched a little to fast for their liking. All the stories in the book are vivid, full of character, and life. For the duration of the book you feel close to Kurt and the band, unfortunately at the end you know that you really didn't know them at all, especially Kurt. As he one way or another, he found a shotgun blast to the roof of his mouth at the height of his popularity. Where did Kurt go wrong? Is it in this book? Maybe... you just can't be too sure, as Kurt is a master of contradictions.

Rating:
Summary: one of the only books on nirvana
Review: a great read for fans, yes, but you do come across Azzerad's small errors here and there. there are only about ten books exclusively on nirvana or kurt cobain, so being the best book out of nine or so other second-rate ones isn't a crowning achievement. it WAS extremely interesting though.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best books on nirvana
Review: I read this book for school. I found this ...old highlighted version of the book so I started to read it, and I was immediately hooked on it. I couldn't put the book down. I later received this book for my birthday. However, the book is more of Kurt's life, but gave excellent facts of the whole band and how it originated. It told of how Kurt battled drug addiction, and how the press hounded Courtney and the unwanted fame Nirvana had. The book is very well detailed, and the book seems like Kurt was actually telling you his life story. Several people that hardly knew who Nirvana was demanded to read the book as soon as I was finished with it. So of course I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: If you are a Nirvana fan, or a Kurt fan, or a Foo Fighter fan, or an Eyes Adrift fan, Hole, whatever, it doesn't matter. You GOTTA buy this book! It is excellent. Before this book, I've never really read a book for just my own pleasure. Always for school. But, being a diehard Nirvana fan, I bought this book, and read it everyday, and it hooked me.

This is the best Nirvana book around. If you have this book, you don't need any other Nirvana books. Truly, truly a great read about a great band. Keep Nirvana around, they're better than most the ... corporate rock out right now. =)

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Summary: The Nirvana Bible
Review: This is book all tru nirvana fans must read, if you want to know all there is to know about nirvana and Kurt Donald Cobain then you have to read this book " come as you are "
Keep it real...
Anders Madsen (Denmark)

Rating:
Summary: completely engrossing
Review: you will wanna cancel all your plans and just read this, whether you love celebrity books or not, whether you like books- this will change your mind about them-, whether you like Nirvana music or not, check this book out. its known as the nirvana bible, even though its only about 95% accurate. learn something, and everything about a trully great band. and speaking as a nirvana fan, it really is great. and a tip: read while listening to them. one of the greatest books i've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: The most complete Nirvana/Cobain book out there....
Review: Nirvana was a great band. This book is almost as good as the band itself. It is literally perfect when it comes to Nirvana.

Now, recently, another Kurt Cobain biography was released, "Heavier Than Heaven", by Charles R. Cross. While the book is good, it was written after Kurt's death, and most of the people paint a negative portrait of him, which is unfair, since Kurt cannot speak for himself. Also, most of that book seems to be the "Courtney Love is a wonderful person" story, as the author time and time again paints a wonderful picture of her. Is it any coincidence that Courtney was one of the main people interviewed for the book? Hmmmm......

With that aside, here is why, if you seek information on Kurt and Nirvana, that you should read this book and not "Heavier Than Heaven." It's real simple. It was written with Kurt. Whereas HTH was written with people who knew Kurt (who could make him any type of person they wanted to) CAYA is written with interviews with the man himself. That alone makes this the Ultimate Nirvana/Cobain book.

Aside from that, the book is very thorough and leaves few details out. It's probably the best bio on a musical group I've ever read. Intimate, up front, and candid. You can't ask for much more than that.

So, to sum it all up, if you're looking for a biography on Kurt Cobain, this is the book. If you're looking for information on Nirvana, this is the book. If you're simply looking for a good book to read, THIS IS THE BOOK!

I don't think I can recommend it any more than I have already.