Rating: 
Summary: The author is bitter, and it shows!...
Review: ...BUT with Glenn Gould as the subject, it can't possibly be all *that* bad. I think Ostwald is disgruntled at having been "dumped" by Gould as a friend, and it shows in this rather nasty account of an astonishingly wonderful person. I feel that this book delves into GG's person too far for comfort and reasonability, to the point of offensiveness. I think Ostwald created an unfair, inaccurate account of Gould's character in order to make excuses for why Gould stopped calling him. Otto Friedrich and Tim Page, in their respective Gould biographies, give a far better picture of both GG *and* his music--and that is what we should care about far more than the personal details Ostwald deals with!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and Perhaps Vindictive
Review: As a musician, author and psychobiographer, Dr. Ostwald attempted to describe the genius, phobias and mind of Glenn Gould. Due to the doctor's illness as he was writing this book, he must have succumed to the fatigue and hoplessness of his pending death.He began with his meeting with Glenn Gould in San Francisco, but the last few chapters seemed almost insulting to Glenn; as though the doctor was personally hurt by Mr. Gould and his manner. The remaining chapters are a copy of a previous Gould biography by Otto Friedrich. A possible explaination is that during the last year of Glenn Gould's life he became distant to Dr. Ostwald. It's a shame the book reflects some bitterness toward Glenn on the part of Dr. Ostwald. It is explained by all who knew Glenn Gould that he was a difficult study due to his private and stubborn nature. It would have been productive to have explored Glenn's mother's influence deeper. Alas, they are all dead now and we'll never have the full story of the genius of both Glenn and Dr. Ostwald. In summary, the book held much more promise than it delivered. The Friedrich biography of Glenn Gould is more interesting and valuable.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but should be read with reservations.
Review: Biography on a dead man by a dead man (published after Gould's
death by the estate of Peter Ostwald). The first 100 pages tell
the story. The isolated and mother-dominated childhood explain a
lot of Gould's eccentric behaviour (the emotional shields, group
phobias, extreme monologues). In fact, the opening chapter which
describes and psychoanalyses Mr Gould's and Mr Ostwald's first long
encounter is the most enlightening of the whole book. Subsequent
chapters which follow from birth to initial fame are well-documented
and humane. The book then falls apart due to loose organisation and
waffled writing (is here where the author died editing?). High hopes
disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: High hopes disappointed
Review: Biography on a dead man by a dead man (published after Gould's
death by the estate of Peter Ostwald). The first 100 pages tell
the story. The isolated and mother-dominated childhood explain a
lot of Gould's eccentric behaviour (the emotional shields, group
phobias, extreme monologues). In fact, the opening chapter which
describes and psychoanalyses Mr Gould's and Mr Ostwald's first long
encounter is the most enlightening of the whole book. Subsequent
chapters which follow from birth to initial fame are well-documented
and humane. The book then falls apart due to loose organisation and
waffled writing (is here where the author died editing?). High hopes
disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A novel superior to any other! Bravo Ostawald.
Review: Fascinating novel of a great mysterious genius who's oddities made him a man to remember
Rating: 
Summary: well-written and interesting,
Review: full of detail and personal anecdotes about the world-famous eccentric pianist. To correct a minor point of contention: the author was a psychiatrist, NOT a psychologist. I almost gave this a 3 because I wanted more psychology, even if speculative. More, I wanted something said about the relationship of genius to eccentricity and what is widely seen as madness. Good material has been written about this, but not much; Gould would have made a fine study (I mean "study" in a personal and subjective way, not as an object under laboratory scrutiny by experts). Instead, the book was really a storybook biography with loads of information about composition dates, performances, etc. Still, it flowed well and I found it helpful and, in places, inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: well-written and interesting,
Review: full of detail and personal anecdotes about the world-famous eccentric pianist. To correct a minor point of contention: the author was a psychiatrist, NOT a psychologist. I almost gave this a 3 because I wanted more psychology, even if speculative. More, I wanted something said about the relationship of genius to eccentricity and what is widely seen as madness. Good material has been written about this, but not much; Gould would have made a fine study (I mean "study" in a personal and subjective way, not as an object under laboratory scrutiny by experts). Instead, the book was really a storybook biography with loads of information about composition dates, performances, etc. Still, it flowed well and I found it helpful and, in places, inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but should be read with reservations.
Review: Glenn Gould was, by all accounts, a fascinating and extraordinary man, but difficult to know ; apart from his art, he was renowned for his perceived eccentricity, his reclusiveness, and his wish to keep his private life entirely hidden and separate from his public persona. Various books and endless articles have attempted to present a portrait of Gould, but to my mind, no writer has ever come close to the "essence" of the man; perhaps this is as Gould himself would have wished. His primary mode of communicating with the world was with his music, and music -related writing and broadcasting, and the author of this book makes that very clear. It is mostly concerned with the glorious music, not with Gould's private life, and this is how it should be. But Peter Ostwald, the author, was a doctor and a psychiatrist as well as a gifted musician,(Well, I have read that he was a gifted musician; I've never heard him play!) and does therefore concentrate one one aspect of Gould that he finds interesting and important to understanding the man: his attitude to health, and his emotional state. Gould was, notoriously, considered to be a hypochondriac, although this is not to suggest that his ill-health was imaginary; he did indeed suffer with a number of serious health problems throughout his short life that affected his ability to play the piano. Ostwald considers these, and Goulds mental states, from a medical point of view, although he rather irritatingly does not form any definite conclusions about the roots of Gould's difficulties and does not offer the reader more than a mere suggestion of diagnosis. (there is a brief mention of the possibility that Gould had Asperger's syndrome .... an idea that seems to arouse the wrath of many Gould admirers!) Yet the subject is fascinating, although I feel that some of the personal details given are a little intrusive. But then, Ostwald knew Gould personally.
And therein lies my greatest reservation about this book. Ostwald writes as though he wishes us to believe that he and Gould were very close friends (despite the fact that he is describing a man who, sadly, seems never to have been truly close to anyone outside his family) but this idea is belied by the facts. Ostwald's last meeting with his subject was some years before Gould died: and he mentions that even that meeting took place after a gap of several years. They had some disagreement at this final meeting and it appears that subsequently Gould cut off all communication beteween them. And this , alas, seems to have affected Ostwald's attitude towards his subject; despite the protestations of friendship and admiration, there is an undertone of bitterness and resentment throughout the book that shows in the writing, as of a friend scorned. No; this book certainly does not leave the reader with the impression that the two men were ever truly close. Despite this, though, it is an informative book, and will interest many, especially - but not only! -those who find Gould's music incomparable . But perhaps it is best not to trust all the conclusions that the author draws; when it comes to Glenn Gould, we will probably never know the man's heart.
Rating:
Summary: Largely disappointing.
Review: I enjoyed Ostwald's book on Schumann so much that I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, it is something of a disappointment. There is little ecstasy or tragedy in his treatment of Gould. About the only new angle he applied was getting in touch with every doctor that ever treated Gould (and there were a lot of them) to give a more detailed account of his medical and psychiatric history than was available before. Otherwise, he largely rehashes previous ideas and writings about Gould (especially the Otto Friedrich biography). A pity that it did not live up to the standard set by his Schumann biography.
Rating:
Summary: a very beautiful introduction to an astounding man.
Review: I found this book to be a helpful insight to someone whom I now class as my most favourite pianist. However biased some may view the book, I found it very informative and increased my understanding and love for this remarkable genius.
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