George Michael: A Life

Reviews

1. 

   Dena Woron – August 9, 2024

   Full of things we didn’t know about George Michael’s
   I love this book. I found it very enlightening about George Michael’s.

2. 

   Ms. Dolores E. Aversa – August 9, 2024

   Some New Insights into George’s Very Complicated Life!
   This author clearly spoke to many people while researching this book about George Michael. Most books I’ve read recently about George have been cut and paste rehashes of material already in print. And while this book does paraphrase some books about George already, it also leaves the reader saying many times after reading a passage, “I never heard that before!”This book has a lot of heavy material that stuck with me. I felt so sad about the tortured life George led. While he had so much success and wealth, he never seemed truely happy with himself, or at ease with his place in the world. Being given negative messages as a kid from his father about his talent, homosexuality, and everything in between seems to have done irreparable damage. That coupled with loosing the true love of his life, and then his exceptional mom seemed to have created the perfect storm of angst from which he could never quite recover.Through it all he churned out beautiful music showing that his amazing talent could rise to the surface and come through for him time after time.But at a certain point the drug and alcohol abuse took their toll and his mind and body could no longer cope. It’s a cautionary tale in so many ways, yet it makes one grateful to have lived during the years when George’s mega hits were the soundtrack to one’s life.I didn’t have high hopes for this book, but was pleasantly surprised as the author wove together stories from many of the people who knew George personally and professionally but had never been interviewed before.I am very glad I made this purchase. I thought there was nothing new to learn about George, but I feel as if I now know more about a man whose talent I’ve enjoyed and admire.

3. 

   J. Daniel Parra – August 9, 2024

   Riveting and Comprehensive, Bound to Be the Definitive Biography
   I approached James Gavin’s “George Michael: A Life” with skepticism, wondering if Gavin could accomplish the daunting task of writing not only about the familiar, sensational aspects of Michael’s life (the fame, the drugs, the closet) but also about Michael the artist (inspiration and background of his classic songs, albums and videos). I’m happy to report that he does, filling out not only the warts-and-all details of Michael’s anguished life, but also providing a look at the musical era Michael inhabited. Gavin neither sets Michael on a pedestal nor does he work overtime to skewer him.The recording industry is brutal, building up pop stars only to toss them out when the hits stop coming (and the hits always stop coming). Michael relentlessly set out to be the best and the biggest and, at the age of twenty-five, he had accomplished his goal, winning acclaim and selling millions of records. Alas, Michael couldn’t reconcile his deep self-loathing, hiding in the closet until he was forced out, playing a dangerous game with the press, courting them as much as avoiding them. Gavin nails one key to understanding Michael, which is the inherent contradiction of his career: “Michael wanted it all: privacy and fame; the power to drop titillating hints about his personal life and still be left alone.”Another of Gavin’s useful insights is into Michael’s controlling nature, one apparently inherited from his homophobic father, Jack. Time and again, whether it’s in the studio, or in rehearsals, or in the editing room, Michael never learns how to collaborate. After Michael re-edits a World AIDS Day BBC special because he thinks his bum looks too big, the industry mantra becomes, “Never work with children, or animals, or George Michael.”This inability to allow others’ input is also key to understanding Michael’s eventual career suicide and demise. As David Geffen observes, “Everybody disappointed him…He did not take any responsibility. He was attached to being a victim. He couldn’t be told what to do. He didn’t listen.”Michael didn’t listen when his friends and other celebs urged him to clean up his drug use, or when they urged him to get a chauffeur (so many car accidents!), or to stop dating opportunists. The final chapters are particularly sad to read as his money dwindles and his health problems increase. (The fates of fellow “video legends” Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and particularly Prince, whose work was highly influential, also weigh heavily on Michael as his downward spiral continues.)I appreciate Gavin’s emphasis on Michael’s charity work, Michael’s absolute professionalism, and, most touchingly, his devotion to his mother, Lesley, who died of cancer.Finally, I also appreciate the way Gavin charts the pop landscape from being driven by music videos and record sales to one dominated by social media morsels and streaming. (Gavin writes: “Michael had made a case for pop music as an art form worth celebrating…”) Unfortunately, the music industry Michael mastered on his rise to the top was long gone by the time he passed away. None of his efforts to recapture his earlier glory ever took him back to that pinnacle. As one video director observes, “Whatever you do when you are winding down, nobody gives a s—. No one pays attention to a dying star.”

4. 

   roselyne – August 9, 2024

   Superbe livre arrivé rapidement, emballé avec soin.Merci

5. 

   T.g. – August 9, 2024

   Merci, mais je ne l’ai pas encore lu, je ne connais pas l’anglais, je l’apprends mais je suis contente d’avoir le livre. mes meilleurs voeux ♥

6. 

   Anastasia G. – August 9, 2024

   This book was a Birthday gift for my friend because she wanted it very much. I have no idea if it’s good or not but I made her very happy.

7. 

   Amazon Customer – August 9, 2024

   As big fan of George Michael my husband loved this book