- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; First edition edition (7 April 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0224075896
- ISBN-13: 978-0224075893
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 373,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
With Billie
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More About the Author
Product Description
Mike Figgis
At last, a portrait of of the artist and person called Billie Holiday. This extraordinary book completes her story
Toni Morrison
This addition to the tide of Billie Holiday books is extremely welcome
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book simply consists of interviews with a lot of people who were close to Billie Holiday. The interviews are edited with sympathy and enough to make them coherent, which is all that is needed. The author adds little or no comment, and none is needed, draw your own conclusions. But as well as giving a vivid picture of a great singer it also gives a picture of the world she lived in, and interesting vignettes of other characters like Lester Young, Ben Webster and many others.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I rejected this book after the first chapter. It starts with the author(and naked prostitutes)at a party - when she was 13. I didn't believe it and thought the rest of the book would also be lies and sensational. Then I read "The three of us" which is about Julie Blackburn's family. This is a seriously messed up family!!! and a good read.
When I picked up "With Billie" again I trusted and believed the author because I understood her background. In "With Billie" the characters speak for themselves. Everything is referenced and the author only indicates where there are inconsistencies in the stories but she doesn't tell you what to believe.
There is a transcript from a court appearance in which you are able to "hear" Billie Holiday speak her own words. It's brilliant and I cant recommend it more highly.
When I picked up "With Billie" again I trusted and believed the author because I understood her background. In "With Billie" the characters speak for themselves. Everything is referenced and the author only indicates where there are inconsistencies in the stories but she doesn't tell you what to believe.
There is a transcript from a court appearance in which you are able to "hear" Billie Holiday speak her own words. It's brilliant and I cant recommend it more highly.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
14 reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Read This One
28 July 2005
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been a Billie Holiday fan since I was in my teens, but I'd never read a biography of her. I avoided the "Lady Sings the Blues" autobiography, after hearing how much of it was just plain wrong or made up. And I was never able to decide which of the existing bios to read, until I saw this one in my Amazon recommendations. After reading the description, and realizing that it was taken from interviews of people who actually lived and worked with Billie -- and loved her -- I knew this would be the one I read.
This book isn't so much about Billie as it is haunted by her. The interviews construct a rough timeline of her life, but still drift in and out of various periods. You get a sense of Billie. You catch a glimpse of her here and there. Once in awhile her voice breaks through, so you hear it clearly. The overall effect is somewhat ghostly. And at the end, when the picture of her last days begins to come into sharp focuse, she fades away again.
This is a book written by a Billie Holiday fan, for Billie Holiday fans, that presents her both through the eyes of those who knew the flesh and blood woman, and through the eyes of someone captivated by the legend. There are fascinating details throughout, and author manages to fill in the holes just enough to hold the story together. Even the footnotes are worth reading.
Some have complained about there not being enough pictures of Billie in the book. The truth is that this book should really be a companion to the recently released "Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection" box set, because most of Linda Khuel's pictures (Khuel did the original interviews before her suicide) ended up on the DVD portion of that package. (Another must for a Holiday fan.)
As one reviewer said, it's an addictive read. I found it impossible to put down, and like someone in the audience at one of Billie's concerts, in the end I was left wanting more.
This book isn't so much about Billie as it is haunted by her. The interviews construct a rough timeline of her life, but still drift in and out of various periods. You get a sense of Billie. You catch a glimpse of her here and there. Once in awhile her voice breaks through, so you hear it clearly. The overall effect is somewhat ghostly. And at the end, when the picture of her last days begins to come into sharp focuse, she fades away again.
This is a book written by a Billie Holiday fan, for Billie Holiday fans, that presents her both through the eyes of those who knew the flesh and blood woman, and through the eyes of someone captivated by the legend. There are fascinating details throughout, and author manages to fill in the holes just enough to hold the story together. Even the footnotes are worth reading.
Some have complained about there not being enough pictures of Billie in the book. The truth is that this book should really be a companion to the recently released "Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection" box set, because most of Linda Khuel's pictures (Khuel did the original interviews before her suicide) ended up on the DVD portion of that package. (Another must for a Holiday fan.)
As one reviewer said, it's an addictive read. I found it impossible to put down, and like someone in the audience at one of Billie's concerts, in the end I was left wanting more.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
AN ADDICTIVE READ
23 May 2005
Format:Hardcover
Julia Blackburn's biographical WITH BILLIE is a fascinating slant on the legendary singer. The author did a brilliant job editing the original interviews conducted by Linda Kuehl, leaving this work vibrant with the voices of Lady Day's contemporaries. It is more oral history than biography, and the author never imposes her own voice unnecessarily.
I was literally sad when I completed reading the book,the ultimate litmus test of a work's enjoyability. Blackburn shows Holiday vividly, her genius, her deep flaws, her humanity.
This book is a must-read for fans of Lady Day, jazz, or female singers everywhere.
I was literally sad when I completed reading the book,the ultimate litmus test of a work's enjoyability. Blackburn shows Holiday vividly, her genius, her deep flaws, her humanity.
This book is a must-read for fans of Lady Day, jazz, or female singers everywhere.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Insightful look...
14 May 2005
Format:Hardcover
This book offers a new and insightful look into the tangled, intriguing life of Lady Day. However, it only has ONE photo of the legend in the entire book. I would like to have seen more photos, copies of documents mentioned, and other visual aids included. That's about the only negative thing about this book. A must have for the Billie collector.
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