Melissa Etheridge

Rating:
Summary: Not thorough, and inaccurate
Review: Chris Nickson seems to supplement his income as a music critic in Seattle by researching and writing unauthorized biographies about stars such as Melissa Etheridge, Mariah Carey, and Soundgarden. The problem is, none of the research is original at all....his entire book is swiped, without attribution, from already published interviews. There is not a single thing in this book that fans don't already know, and Joyce Luck's Melissa biography (which was also unauthorized, though I hear Melissa and her management liked the book) at least had some new, previously unpublished info and photos in it. Plus Nickson's book is just riddled with errors (for example, it says John Shanks was with the band during the Never Enough tour, which is totally false). One good thing about Nickson is that he at least doesn't have a problem with Melissa's lesbianism. Other than that I'd say his book's a total flop.

Rating:
Summary: No new information here for Etheridge fans
Review: If you are already an Etheridge fan, this book holds no new information. Everything seems to have come from previously published articles, and some of that information is incorrect. (i.e., Arduous Moon and Theresa's Tattoo are not the same movie under different titles). The narrative style is irritatingly omniscient, assuming the emotions of the principles.It is shallow reading, always feeling as if the author had a minimum number of pages to hit. The respect and care with which Nickson treats Melissa's gay lifestyle deserves comment, and his approach is sympathetic and supportive, but aside from one really beautiful photo of Julie Cypher, there was no reason to purchase this book if you are a fan and have read the interviews Melissa has given to the press. For a biography which includes never released information and photos and interviews with intimates of the subject, you might want to read Joyce Luck's "Our Little Secret", just released also. Search above with Melissa Etheridge as Subject and Joyce Luck as Author for info on this book...