Pretty good! One of the better Prince books I've read, in terms of combining the author's personal/emotional/historical narrative with interesting/new information. I have to say, it feels like the publishing of this was a little rushed. There are parts that were obviously crafted years ago which hold up really well, and then parts that seemed to be tacked on in order to flesh out the book for quick publication post-death. I'm always looking for works on Prince that could hold up next to Hilton Als' "I Am Your Conscious, I Am Love"...and this isn't quite there. Really like that he actually takes on the task of seriously engaging with stuff like Prince's gender, race, sexuality, name-change, views towards creative women, etc. but I feel like he only scratched the surface on each, before abruptly moving on. Oh well, guess I still need to finish writing my Prince essay then. ( )

This was an okay read. Recommended for super fans and anyone with a passion for music. For the casual Prince fan who is interested in learning more about his life and career, I would suggest going with a traditional biography. ( )

I received a free advanced reading copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program (although I ended up listening to an audiobook from the library)

Greenman's book is the story of Prince's career largely told through Prince's music with a focus on his role as a cultural icon and sometimes generous/sometimes rocky relationships with other musicians. Prince's biography is in there too, but it's more of the details fall into place around the examination of his music. Greenman is a devoted fan of Prince so his own experience as a Prince fan emerges several times in the book, but unlike Rob Sheffield who makes the fan's experience a window into a greater understanding of an artists, Greenman's personal reflections seem more an intrusion. Nevertheless, it's overall a great attempt at understanding the life work of someone as mercurial and hard to define as Prince. ( )

I was disappointed in this book which reads more like a fanzine than a serious career study (obviously the author was not trying to write a biography which is fine with me). I felt Ben Greenman put himself into the story far too often and being the super-fan he is he's not impartial, admiring nearly all of Prince's work as well as seemingly condoning some of his less pleasant personality quirks like his excessively controlling attitude to some of his other super fans who have used created tribute sites and the like on the net. Prince's contemporaries like Michael Jackson are somewhat written off as lesser talents but Greenman doesn't acknowledge Jackson was able to stay a front-row pop star longer than Prince despite being considerably less prolific (nor does Greeman much dwell on the fact that somewhere in the late 90's Prince moved from being a widely popular mainstream star to more of a cult favorite.) I eagerly await a book on Prince that fully acknowledges his flaws as well as his genius, his lows as well as his highs. I suspect the real man is far more interesting than this disciple like spin. ( )

This is an odd book for me - I don't normally read biographies, nor follow musician lives.... but its PRINCE, and PRINCE is amazing. Yes, every time I write PRINCE, its going to be in all caps.

This a great biography - instead of the more normal chronological order, this book uses Prince's own music styles as background to his life. Its not exactly in chronological order, the chapters are set to themes, for example Religion, or his name - but it is written more deeply than that, with references going back and forth, expanding on an idea or theme.

I am not the biggest PRINCE fan. I know his hits, but the b-sides and lesser known music, I am completely clueless on. The combining of PRINCE's music with his biography, while amazing, at the same time left me a bit clueless, especially when a song I didn't know was discussed. But that's okay - Ben Greenman wrote an amazing biography of PRINCE that actually captures PRINCE's genius and eccentricity. The book is also quite balanced, not skimping on PRINCE's faults, but rather explaining why they were there. Also, this is great tribute - the Author is a huge fan, and manages to get in a few bits about just how important PRINCE is to him. These moments add immensely to the book, turning it from a well written biography to something more poignant. ( )