David Bowie Is: Inside the Visionary World of David Bowie (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago: Exhibition Catalogues)

David Bowie once complained that the Bowie biography books were "a bloody cottage industry". Recently, there have been several major fantastic books of photography devoted to him from Sukita, Mick Rock and a compilation "Moonage Daydream". If you are a fan, you will want to have this one. Currently, at the Victoria and Albert Museum is an exhibition which is the basis for this book. I have not seen the exhibition, and I will probably not, so ordering this in advance was the way to go. It is spectacular. Much of the beautiful photography is a chronology of the 50 years of Bowie's stage clothes dressed on various headless mannequins. Interspersed with this are various sections devoted to the album covers, original penned lyrics, proof sheets of different photo sessions and a long running commentary, with quotes from Bowie. Filler pages of one white lyric on a black background, or one phrase in black type on a white background occur, but we must leave the book designer with some discretion. I have not read the whole thing, and may not. Having been a die hard fan since I first passed a record store in Upper Darby, London in August, 1972 and was dazzled by about 50 copies of Ziggy Stardust hanging by threads in the window, I have kept pretty close to everything Bowie for 41 years now. So most of what other people have to say about Bowie, I most probably already know. And sometimes, the history is not always accurate. As for the various interpretations in this book, the more words are written about someone, the more fascinating they may become. But, if you weren't there watching Bowie for the last 41 years, you missed something tremendous. Ultimately, however, this book is really a fashion book. The photos allow you to accurately measure how many pleats were in the 1978 Sailor costume, or how zigzag stitching with white thread on black vinyl created the lines in the famous Aladdin Sane opening costume. This book will supplement any good collection of Bowie photo books, especially the recent "Bowie Style" which is superb. If you love Bowie, you'll get it.

I was really amazed by the quality of the book. It’s a beautiful book.

Just fantastic. How did I not know about this coming to the States??? Bring it back!!! I thought no this is a must have for Bowie collectors. Who gets their own traveling art exhibit? It's often overlooked that Bowie had a huge influence on fashion. Fashion, styling was just as much a part of his art as his music/lyrics, writing, performances, staging, painting, life! I recently read an article from the Spiders Era where someone is interviewing Bowie apparently before he goes on television for yet a different interview. He describes Bowie entering in some green quilted suit with yellow trousers and boots. After a bit, they break, so Bowie can go get dressed for the television interview and it hits the writer of this article that what Bowie entered wearing, that caused the various stage hands and cameramen to stop and gawk, was indeed just his "street clothes." Let's fact it, the man could make jeans and a t-shirt rawk! This book is a visual of the touring art exhibit that documents his influence on fashion through the years. Gorgeous. Worth the buy in my opinion.

This book is NOT primarily a picture book, but that's to be expected from a museum imprint. I got it before going to see the "David Bowie Is..." exhibition in Barcelona, and it's a fine companion to the show. It's thorough in making its case for "David Bowie as auteur", but is not overly academic, "curatorial", and unreadable the way some exhibition catalogs can be. It has a lot of images of his work, his clothes and his influence on popular culture. So if you want to see good photos as well as scratch your brain a bit on the deeper aspects of Bowie's oeuvre, certainly pick this up.

This indeed is large format book with great artwork and interesting commentary and behind the scenes information. It groups various incarnations fo Bowie throughout the years and it is fun to read his handwritten lyrics to many of the songs. Great coffee table book.

I bought this as a gift for my significant other for Christmas. After he opened the gift, he removed the protective plastic covering and we went through it page by page. It’s beautiful. It’s full of Fantastic history, facts and trivia - and the photos are fabulous quality. Definitely a must have for any Bowie lover.

I wish I could see the tbaveling exhibition and maybe I will someday but until that time this is a good substitute. Interesting stories and information about the pop icon along with lots of pictures, including some of his stage costumes and several manuscripts of his song lyrics and drawings. He is and will always be something of a mystery but this is a good step towards understanding him and his work. It's a gorgeous big thick coffee table book too.

I have been a big Bowie fan for 40 years and seen 13 concerts, this book is fascinating. I have read many books on Bowie and this one has a whole new take. It is about the Victoria and Albert Museum Archival Exhibit in London England. While there are many of the usual photos one sees, there is a lot of new material and the stories behind them. The book has original artwork, handwritten lyrics and most fascinating Bowie costumes from his career. The latter are displayed with the story of their designers and tours explained. This is a great book not just for Bowie fans but a look at a piece of important music history. bowie

David Bowie is 大回顧展 記憶反芻用に購入しました。 展示と全く同じではないのですが 内容の濃さは天下一品！ 見応え充分 何度も繰り返しページをめくりたくなる ファンには堪らない一冊です。 価格は復刻版より かなりリーズナブル 観賞用 保存用に 二冊は欲しくなります。

Bela obra. Livro completo, bonito, rico em figuras e memorabilia. Altamente recomendável para apreciadores da música e obra de David Bowie.

Premetto di aver acquistato la versione inglese per poter fruire dell'opera così come è stata concepita, non avendo il sottoscritto problemi alcuni con la lingua inglese. E' un libro fotografico ma ci sono delle lunghe ed interessanti digressioni sulle fasi principali della carriera e della vita dell'artista. Il focus è ovviamente la mostra itinerante "David Bowie is..." , che da oramai quasi 5 anni gira il globo esportando i costumi, le ambientazioni e la musica del grande artista inglese. Mi sento di consigliarlo a tutti i fan dell'artista ma più in generale agli amanti del rock/pop/glam. 5 stelle ***** perché il libro è di ottima fattura anche tattile, oltre a presentare contenuti interessanti, e figura benissimo nella libreria di qualsiasi appassionato di musica

Difficile de "résumer" l'immense David BOWIE avec toute sa personnalité et son talent immense ! Pour qui veut découvrir l'homme aux multiples facettes, ce magnifique album est indispensable. Très belle réalisation, superbes illustrations avec des photos bien choisies. Et en outre, pour ceux qui ont eu la chance de voir en 2014 ou 2015 l'exposition qui lui a été consacrée (Londres, Paris, etc...) quel bonheur de revivre ces émotions en images !

I am a big Bowie fan and have a ton of books about him. Created as a companion to the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, this is one of the best. Several reasons: 1. The exhibition was given full access to the official David Bowie Archive which means there is plenty of material you have not seen before, such as handwritten lyrics with corrections (that line in "Heroes", "and we kissed as though nothing could fall", was drafted as "and we kissed and you felt called"), minor details maybe but it is fascinating to get a glimpse at how these songs evolved. There is also a big focus on costumes, photographed in superb quality, many of which are stunning, as well as photographs, posters, artwork done for album covers complete with some early mock-ups and that I have not seen before, and other memorabilia. One costume example is Natasha Korniloff's "cobweb bodysuit" designed for the 1980 Floor Show, which has a pair of hands clutching Bowie's chest stitched into it. First we see Mick Rock's photo of Bowie wearing this on stage, then pictures of the costume itself. Fantastic. 2. This is not just a picture book. There is a lot of text, and it's good stuff. The authors are various, but the editors are Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh from the V&A, who take a scholarly approach though they still convey enthusiasm for their subject (and overall this is a book for fans, there is not much here that is negative). There is a lot of factual information though, both biographical and cultural. The cultural bit is important. As you would expect from people working for a museum, the editors are interested in how Bowie was influenced by the culture of his times, and in turn how he influenced it. The book is organized into nine main chapters. These are as follows: - Astronauts of Inner Spaces: by Geoffrey Marsh, mainly covers early career in London - Theatre of Gender: by Camille Paglia, covers Bowie and sexual revolution - Oh you pretty things: by Jon Savage, about Bowie and youth culture - Putting out fire with Gasoline: by Victoria Broackes, covers bowie and design, costumes, album covers and more - Bowie Music: by Howard Goodall, about the music, pictures of lyrics and sheet music - For 'We are the Goon Squad': by Christopher Breward, about the album covers - Changes: by Oriole Cullen, an essay on Bowie and fashion - David Bowie then ... David Bowie now: a roundtable discussion with Christopher Frayling, Philip Hoare and Mark Kermode. Wide-ranging, enjoyable. - David Bowie is Photographic: by Nicholas Coleridge, short piece on 16 favourite photographs, reproduced in small size on a single page. Most if not all of these pictures are properly reproduced elsewhere, but there are no page references which is a shame. 3. The production is superb. Stitched binding, fabric-covered spine, interesting textured feel to the cover, and excellent reproduction of the pictures. Some of the early pictures are not so good, but this is because of the quality of the originals (or the best copy that was available to the publishers). Having said all that, some Bowie fans may find the text over-scholarly; I can imagine some finding it pretentious though personally I would disagree. Not a problem though, ignore the text if you don't like it and just enjoy the images. Anything to criticise? Well, bear in mind that the book was done along with the exhibition, and reflects the content that is there. It is not in any sense a comprehensive Bowie book. The text does tend to focus on the early years which is fair enough since this is when Bowie was culturally most influential, but you could say that it is unbalanced. As you will note from the above guide to the chapters, the book is not chronological but rather, loosely thematic. A bit confusing, and it means that if you want, for example, all the material relating to the Thin White Duke era, you have to look here there and everywhere. None of this troubles me in the least. The book exceeded my expectations and is essential for fans (and easier to get than a ticket for the exhibition). Sometimes these exhibition-related books do not stay in print for all that long, so I recommend grabbing it quick.