Rating: 
Summary: Good - but I've got mixed feelings...
Review: I fall into the "fanatical" camp when it comes to Bill Hicks. He's still the greatest comedian I've ever heard and his material has made a lasting impact on me ever since I first heard his albums when I was 18. Considering how Bill was so enthralled with the legacy left behind by Hendrix, The Stones etc I think it quite ironic that Bill, to me, is probably MORE 'rock and roll' than any one of them...But anyway, the fact remains that fans have pretty much been starved of ANY new Bill material for years, and despite his growing cult status there are still just the same albums and videos around on the market. So for other Hicks fans like myself, whether this biography is good or bad is largely irrelevant - we'll buy it regardless. But for those who haven't yet invested in a copy I would make the following comments... Overall this book is a detailed and interesting account of Bill's life but it won't blow you away. It maps Bills life in quite good detail from an early age - some periods more interesting than others, and it certainly begins to pick up steam by the time it reaches 1990 (or, roughly, around the time Bill records "Dangerous") a period I think that should have taken up a greater chunk of the book. Unfortunately I found True's style of writing to be quite matter-of-fact, and the lack of emotional involvement does make the book rather dry and often unengaging. I don't question True's credentials, but the feeling that were someone else given the same information who was perhaps as passionate about Bill as Bill was about, well....everything, then a better more vivid book would have been written. Ultimately, it's a worthy addition to a far too small canon. ...and I really miss the guy.
Rating: 
Summary: He has spoken to me
Review: I feel as though I know Bill personally, that he recurringly lives and speaks with me. Either serious insanity has reigned my mind or Cynthia True has written a damn good recount on who Bill was. It doesn't disapoint my fierce spirited fantasy of Bill, only ignites. I can't put the damn book down!
Rating:
Summary: The Tragedy of Bill Hicks
Review: I have been a Bill Hicks fan ever since my best friend turned me onto a few pieces of his routine. Since then, I've purchased every released CD and collected as much material as possible. I have to admit that I was a bit wary of my purchase of this book once I actually started looking at the reviews. I'm not sure what was wrong with some of the other reviewers... I found this book absolutely stunning. It is well written and very informative. There is but one point where I disagree with the author. She claims that identifying the life of Bill Hicks as a tragedy is missing the point. I started out thinking his life was a tragedy, read her book, and now I see it as an even bigger tragedy. Nevertheless, she's written a very good book, and I can't help but recommend it to anyone with respect for the man.
Rating:
Summary: A sad ending for a comic genius
Review: I never knew about Bill Hicks during his lifetime, and when I did finally stumble upon one of his albums a few years ago, it floored me that this genius had died of pancreatic cancer in 1994, and wouldn't produce any more material, while hack comics would put out barely-40 minute sets of their reworked material for years to come on Leno and HBO. So I've spent the last few years trying to dig up every shard I could on Hicks, and I was glad when True's book came out. As far as a third-person biography, this isn't bad. Cynthia True did manage to do some research with friends and family, and put together a decent timeline of Bill's life. The detail on his childhood were especially interesting to someone who had only listed to the Hicks discography: stories of him doing standup at 14, hanging out with his friend Dwight and alternating between meditation workshops, planning their escape to LA, trying to get gigs as amateur comedians at talent shows in Houston, and putting together an infamous high-school band called Stress, which had a lot of mythology, but no real gigs. The book does a good job of covering the rise of Hicks' comedy career, from the rough times in LA to the national circuit as comedy clubs took off in the 80s, to Bill's alcoholism and almost self-destruction on the road. It's strange to read about all of the ties he had to now-household names, from Seinfeld to Leno to Denis Leary (who ripped off a bunch of Hicks' jokes in his own act). It's a page-turning read to find out more about the rise of this workaholic, who was trying to get TV shows written and books outlined pretty much to the end. After his rise from the dysfunctional nuclear family to the point where everyone recognized that he wasn't a hack comedian as much as social commentator that could simultaneously make an audience love, hate, fear, and worship him, he starts getting a lot of breaks, including cult audiences in the UK, and the ever-infamous time Letterman edited him out of a Late Night appearance, adding even more fuel to the fire This book is well-written, even though any third-person biography suffers from a certain "information wall". But I think this will be a very valuable addition to my Hicks collection.
Rating:
Summary: A good biography
Review: I read this book in about a day and half, it keep me turning the pages and thats what its about. It has some very interesting stories behind Bill's comedy and for his fans they are invaluable. Check it out. A good companion to his work, helps you place events in his life around certain gigs that the fans have seen via bootlegs. One little side note, the English/Australian version of this book has a cover photo of Bill lighting a cigar on the American flag, the back has excerpts of his comedy, and the forward is by an English comedian rather than Janeane Garofalo, so try and pick up the English version which is by all accounts better and doesnt have a condescending intro.
Rating:
Summary: Denis Leary gets his career shoved back in his face
Review: I was waiting for a book about Bill Hicks, any book, but dreaded that the author would leave Denis Leary out of the book for fear of legal reprisal. Leary is almost as important a part of this story as Hicks himself. It's the story of a true innovator who dies in obscurity and his hack rival who jumps into the public consciousness. A great book and a very fast read.
Rating: 
Summary: Note the censorship on the cover itself!
Review: I will venture to guess that Bill Hicks would have blown a gasket had he seen this cover, with its symbolism of a Great and Powerful American flag dwarfing the obviously failed and dejected Hicks. It's exactly what he railed against, in his diatribes against the TV show "COPS", "tainting our collective unconscious" with images of state power triumphing over the individual, to "keep us docile". I am lucky enough to own the international edition of this book, ISBN 028306353X. The cover of that edition features a grainy, black-and-white close-up of Hicks lighting his cigarette with a small, burning American flag. Now THAT is the Bill Hicks we know and love, and the kind of "marketing image" I think he would have been proud of. The book itself is very readable, a good introduction to Hicks but a little too "fan-like" at times, and thick with praise of his awesome genius, etc etc. The guy was amazing and outspoken and groundbreaking and very funny, but not a saviour. I enjoyed the book anyway; it gives some insight into his childhood, the behind-the-scenes business decisions in his career, his love life (such as it was), his friendships, and ultimately some very sad and touching details about his last days.
Rating: 
Summary: Only half the story?
Review: I'm afraid that I must agree with most of the criticisms made with this book.
Although I bought it immediately it was published in the U.K. (because anything on Bill is worth having), I'd have to say that this was a big disappointment.
I suppose most fans of Bill would feel the same. However, if you are new to Bill's comedy or have little or no material you might find the book gives you at least an overview of his talents and life story. It's a bit like the television documentary 'Just A Ride', in as much as the people who are asked about Bill don't really have that much to say. I'd like to have read a few more observations from his family and friends and even from those he upset.
Bill's comedy was challenging and thought provoking, but this is too soft focus.
Nevertheless, it was a book that was sorely needed to 'get the ball rolling'.... Maybe it will inspire someone else out there to take it forward and dig a little deeper into the comedy of one of the greatest performers/satirists/commentators of our time.
Rating:
Summary: We need Bill Hicks today more than ever before
Review: If this isn't the [erfect book about Bill Hicks it's a perfectly respectable introduction to his wit and wisdom which, ten years after his premature death, ring out with undiminished vigor and relevance. What with the sorry state of our nation, and the multi-national corporations for which it acts as shill and alibi, we need Bill Hicks' so-called "comedy" more than ever before.
He saw so clearly how marketing and the transmedia have turned a once-proud country into a pack of Alpha-male dogs with no other idea in our heads but to make as much money as possible while dealing to the rest of the world the maximum amount of death without transfiguration. Cynthia True pursues some of Hicks' ideas, but often she falters before drawing them out to their obvious conclusion, preferring to pepper her prose with name-dropping and a continual barrage of travel and medical ills. In the process, something of Hicks' humanity is lost, but in other areas she is extremely competent and thus, I would recommend this book to anyone in search of a new hero. (Oh, how Hicks would have laughed to hear himself deescribed that way.)
Rating:
Summary: Cynthia True stays true to the spirit of Bill Hicks
Review: If you are a Bill hicks fan or have just hear about him thru the grape vine, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. Its not only humorus, but life affirming. When one has the whole picture one see's the beauty of life. All the connections thru good times and bad you see the perfectly planned life of a great man. I hold Bill, this book and Cynitha True all in the highest regard for having the balls to say what needs to be said. As for the book it has its moments in the sun as well as in the darkness it shine's. It made me laugh out loud and tear up at how focked up this world can be at times. But i would have it no other way and i'm sure bill would say the same. So may you be blessed to have a peak at the greatness that was bill hicks, love and enlightenment.
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