David Bowie: A Life

In this comprehensive oral history, GQ editor Jones delves deeply into the details of rock icon David Bowie’s fame, financial problems, drug use, sexuality, Buddhist practices, and romantic entanglements. But it’s Jones’s focus on Bowie’s friendships that truly shines. He has compiled extensive selections from over 180 articles, books, and original interviews (including several interviews Jones conducted with Bowie before his death in 2016). Jones doesn’t dwell on his personal feelings toward Bowie, except in his introduction, where he writes: “Like everyone who grew up with the man, Bowie would confound, annoy, and occasionally disappoint me, but I never found him less than fascinating.” All these facets of Bowie’s personality and more are on display in anecdotes from music journalists, Bowie’s bandmates and childhood neighbors, and fellow musicians such as John Lennon and Iggy Pop. Jones incorporates honest, even biting, observations (“David grew up petted and privileged,” biographer Wendy Leigh notes. “He wasn’t a working-class hero by any stretch”)—and such inclusions contribute to the well-roundedness of this remarkable volume. (Oct.)