David Bowie Is (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago: Exhibition Catalogues) Hardcover – Special Edition, April 16, 2013

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.

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.

Beautiful book that i have been wanting to add to my Bowie collection for a while. The hard cover special was actually less than the paperback. Gorgeous coffee table size book.

David released a lot of personal memorabilia from his own personal things and from the David Bowie archives. It was on display in the Midwest for a very short time and this book showed all the items displayed. Since I have a very good friend who did artwork with David when he was at RCA, and her piece was in this book, I purchased it. I am so glad I did. It is the ultimate Bowie fan must have. It is hard cover, coffee table size and the pictures and the writing is wonderful. As a side-note, I paid alot more for it from museum collection, so I would definitely buy this from Amazon. I will miss David and his ingenius works of art thru music and film.

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.

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 fascinatingBowie 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

I had the pleasure of going to the David Bowie Is exhibit in Chicago. I love this book because it is a catalogue of what was exhibited. I did not fully appreciate all the talents David Bowie possessed until I saw everything at the exhibit. Mad respect for the man who truly reinvented himself over and over and remained relevant throughout his long career. So sad that we lost such a light in the entertainment world too soon. And for all the descending opinions, remember, there are always two sides to a story.

I love it