Lowside of the Road (Hardcover) ~ Barney Hoskyns (Author) Cover Art

Lowside of the Road (Hardcover)

By: Barney Hoskyns (Author)


List Price: $29.95
Tower Price: $23.71
You Save: $6.24 (21%)
Add to BagAdd to Bag Click to go directly to the checkout.
This item qualifies for FREE Shop N' Save Shipping for orders over $25. Check individual shipping price. *Some Restrictions Apply.
Availability: In Stock
Share This:
Add To KaboodleAdd To Kaboodle  Submit To Digg!Submit To Digg!  Share On FacebookShare On Facebook  Add to FavoritesAdd to Favorites  TwitterTwitter 

Product Description



Run a Quick Search on "Lowside of the Road" by Barney Hoskyns to Browse Related Products:

Browse more products related to "Lowside of the Road"

Browse more products related to "Barney Hoskyns"


Review

"After consuming Barney Hoskyns' comprehensive, engaging biography, the reader may ask: Who is Tom Waits? The question in no way indicts the book for not answering it, because Hoskyns delivers as vivid a picture as is probably possible for a person who did not have the cooperation of his highly private subject."

"Mr. Hoskyns's guile, dogged work and Nick Hornbyesque likability place him a notch above the average rock biographer. His book lights up and whirls like one of the greasy carnival rides in Mr. Waits's own sprawling oeuvre."

"[This] meditation on Waits's work...provides a genuine insight into a great songwriter and unique performer who has nevertheless done his best to remain enigmatic."

Publisher's note

A superb rock journalist and biographer delves into the life of one of the most revered and critically acclaimed singer-songwriters alive today, making sense of the life and career of the beloved icon, from the beginning of his career on the margins of the 1970s Los Angeles rock scene to his place among such greats as Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

With his trademark growl, carnival madman persona, haunting music, and unforgettable lyrics, Tom Waits is one of the most revered and critically acclaimed singer-songwriters alive today. After beginning his career on the margins of the 1970s Los Angeles rock scene, Waits has spent the last thirty years carving out a place for himself among such greats as Bob Dylan and Neil Young. But although his songs can seem deeply personal and somewhat autobiographical, fans still know very little about the man himself. Notoriously private, Waits has consistently and deliberately blurred the line between fact and fiction, public and private personas, until it has become impossible to delineate between truth and self-fabricated legend.
"Lowside of the Road" is the first serious biography to cut through the persona and make sense of the life and career of this beloved icon. Barney Hoskyns has gained unprecedented access to Waits's inner circle and also draws on interviews he has done with Waits over the years. He has written a rock biography--much like the subject himself--unlike any other.

Annotation

It's a bit of an uphill battle to write a biography about a performer with an almost cartoonish persona who will take extreme measures to protect his privacy and maintain the illusions he's crafted of himself. But Barney Hoskyns (HOTEL CALIFORNIA) takes the plunge in LOWSIDE OF THE ROAD. Where some biographers turn to gossipy associates to flesh out the psychology of their subjects, Hoskyns turns to speculation (since Tom Waits has managed to prevent nearly everyone who he knows from ever talking about him). But this is hardly an inappropriate approach to take in regards to a songwriter known for fictionalizing his own origin story and for creating eccentric, down-and-out yet wise characters in his songs. And scarcity of details about the life of a singer known for his gravelly-beyond-his-years voice allows Hoskyns to focus on the artist's career and on his unmistakably Waits-ian music.



Customer Reviews for "Lowside of the Road (Hardcover)" by Barney Hoskyns (Author)

There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!

Submit your Review




Explore More Great Tower Sales & Specials



Tower.com BOOK Sales, Promotions & Special Features

Tower.com Popular Book Wiki Articles

  • The Paperback
    Learn more information on the paperback format before choosing which type of book to purchase.
  • The E-Book
    What exactly is an "electronic book?" Learn before you buy with Tower Wiki!
  • The Audio Book
    Do you prefer to read or be read to? Learn more about this increasingly popular book format.

Interact with Tower.com