This book is a bit of a mixture, it has very deep analysis of Marc's poetry & (to an extent) song writing, as well as relating pertinent parts of his life & career.
There is a very interesting transcript of an interview with Riggs O'Hara, the actor who was such an influence on Marc in his early years & the author has obviously researched the subjects Marc refered to in his writing, in great detail & with obvious application.
However, whether everyone would agree with the assertions which are made in relation to the interpretations of Marc's writing, is debatable.
I am a huge fan of Marc Bolan & appreciate all aspects of the work he produced, throughout all stages of his career.
However, I am not convinced that the case the author presents in respect of Marc's understanding of, & the infered "deeper meanings" attached to, what he was writing, always hold water - the analysis, for example, of "Metal Guru", does not mirror Marc's own explanation of the lyrics (particularly the "All alone without a telephone" line), which he gives on the "Where's The Champagne ?" interview disc.
I do agree that Marc's writing is under rated & even under estimated by many, in terms of its sophistication but I feel the case for Marc being aware of some of the literary & historical references that the author alludes to & infers Marc was au fait with,is not wholly convincing.
I enjoyed this book,despite it being more of an "academic" kind of read than Carl Ewens (very good)comparable recent effort, to analyse Marc's songwriting & the author is obviously a man with deep seated affection for Marc who has been admirably meticulous in the research for this book -it's just that I'm not sure,when you listen to, or read interviews with people like Tony Visconti & June Child,talking about Marc's song writing, his influences & his interest in literature (or lack thereof, other than a bit of Blake or Tolkien), whether some of this is overplaying what Marc was doing - a good read but at times, for me, the analysis is a bit too deep.
That said, many Bolan fans might well read this book & think - "spot on Tony !" - certainly could be fuel for a good debate.Read it & see what you think !