The Rise of Prince: 1958-1988

This a a fantastic book! Top notch writing about a man that was an enigma to friends and fans. It will appeal to hardcore Prince fans, as well as the more casual reader. The Prologue addresses the final months of Prince's life directly and respectfully. From the beginning of the book, it is clear that the authors are both true fans of the artist, but also talented writers wanting to provide readers with objective insight into the person behind the persona.This book calls to mind stories told by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, "Outliers." Prince, like The Beatles and the original giants of the Silicon Valley, had an enormous gift of inherent talent. However, talent alone was not all that made Prince or these other greats what they were. The rare confluence of talent, extreme dedication to one's craft and the luck of being surrounded by the right people in the right place at the right time was the essential key. The book is at its best when analyzing the factors that influenced the rise of Prince, in spite of the odds.As a transplant to the Twin Cities four years ago, I had a hard time reconciling the Prince I had watched growing up with the pristine city he called home his whole life. The authors do an excellent job of giving the reader historical background on Minnesota, the Great Migration and American music roots to help explain how such a funky and controversial individual could come out of a land that is so bland (at least on the surface). I felt that this book gave me a better understanding and appreciation of my new hometown.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. It's very well written, and contains great information of Prince's first 30 years as well as the last year of his life.We all know Prince had peaks and valleys as far as commercial success, people relationships, business relationships, etc. The book certainly addresses all those, but does so in a manner that is factual and informative, but not salacious or disparaging. It doesn't hide anything, but presents his life within the context of an artist that was one of the most gifted humans ever, but also human like everyone else.I would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about Prince and his life during this era.

First of all, this book was really hard to put down -- I read it almost constantly until I finished, so that's the first positive endorsement. The authors did a great job presenting in detail what I now know to be huge contradictions in Prince: sorely in need of love, yet essentially abandoned by his parents and then later treating those closest to him coldly, and to his love interests, worse. And yet, they set up his childhood so well, I still always felt empathy for him, even when I didn't like his later actions. The narrative regarding how truly hard he worked, and how brilliant he was I always knew at some level, but Laura and Alex found and told such great stories so you end up truly appreciating that part of Prince's "brand." The opioid use gets a glance, probably a good thing because that's just the sad, same story you always hear. Although, the authors' description of his frantic last months and weeks traveling and performing show someone that was clearly still committed to his fans, and to growing as a performer. This again left me feeling more empathy for Prince. This was a great read!

This is an excellent book and I truly recommend it for any Prince casual or serious fan. I have already read several books on Prince, which is now my favorite past time. I did not read books on Prince when he was alive but since his passing, I want to read everything I can. Just his music was enough and still is for me but also knowing about the man himself, both the positive and negatives, helps me understand him more as a person. Even after reading several books on Prince, I found this one to have background and stories I have not heard before. I am going to purchase one for my niece since I do not want to part with mine. She is often asking me about Prince so now she can learn more about him as I have. This book is now at the top of my list of favorite Prince books.