Tom Petty: A Rock And Roll Life

I purchased this book for my mom who is a HUGE Tom Petty fan and she absolutely loves it! She has so many other Tom biographies and magazines, I was worried this would be similar but she says there are so many stories that she had never read before. She says this is must read for any Tom Petty fan!

I admit that I bought this book with very low expectations after first reading "Conversations with Tom Petty" and "Petty: The Biography". After all, the other two titles were written in direct collaboration with Tom. How could this book, written after Tom's death by someone not directly involved with Tom, possibly measure up?? To his credit, Nick Thomas worked hard to add new material not found in the other bios. In addition, I found his tone to be positive, yet even-handed at the same time. When appropriate, he documents the not-so-perfect parts without being salacious. A level of classiness that befits Tom's life well. Definitely worth a read!!

This book is an updated and revised edition of Nick Thomas' earlier biography of Tom Petty. It's about 15 to 20 percent longer than the first book and is filled with lots of new information. This is the only Tom Petty biography that details his tragic and unexpected death in 2017. I enjoyed this updated book very much.

This is the first book I've read about Tom Petty and it's a very detailed and comprehensive account of his life and music. I did not realise the huge scope of his work before I read this book. It's interesting to read about his work with other great musicians as well as his own band. As a UK reader I found the way the references are set out (ie by using the first part of the quote rather than a reference number) a bit strange but that may be the American style. It's a bit of a cut and paste job - the interviews are taken from a wide variety of sources and I couldn't spot any interviews that the author himself had with Tom, but it's very well researched. The only real disappointment, which takes it from 5 to 4 star for me, is the complete absence of any pictures other than the cover picture.

Easy to read.