Buried Alive - by Myra Friedman (Paperback)

About the Book

The bestselling book that set the record straight about the most famous woman singer in rock history is back. This updated edition puts Joplin's life and music into perspective for a new generation of fans. "One of the best books about a rock figure. . . ".--Rolling Stone. 16-page photo insert.

Book Synopsis

Electrifying, highly acclaimed, and intensely personal, this new and updated version of Myra Friedman's classic biography of Janis Joplin teems with dramatic insights into Joplin's genius and into the chaotic times that catapulted her to fame as the legendary queen of rock. It is a stunning panorama of the turbulent decade when Joplin's was the rallying voice of a generation that lost itself in her music and found itself in her words.

From her small hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, from the intimate coffeehouses to the supercharged concert halls, from the glitter of worldwide fame to her tragic end in a Hollywood hotel, here is all the fire and anguish of an immortal, immensely talented, and troubled performer who devoured everything the rock scene had to offer in a fatal attempt to make peace with herself and her era. Yet, in an eloquent introduction recently written by the author, Joplin emerges from her "ugly duckling" childhood as a woman truly ahead of her time, an outrageous rebel, a defiant outcast and artist of incomparable authenticity who, almost in spite of herself, became to so many a symbol of triumph over adversity.

This edition also contains an afterword detailing the whereabouts of a large and colorful cast of characters who were part of Joplin's life, as well as "We Remember Janis," a new chapter of poignant and affectionate anecdotes told by friends.

Review Quotes

"One of the best books about a rock figure thus far...Buried Alive is unquestionably an accomplishment and it may well be the best portrait we'll have of Janis -- and past even that, it seems a study of the motivations of stardom as true as one is likely to achieve....I'd take Buried Alive over Norman Mailer's metaphysical Marilyn any day!" -- Rolling Stone

"Brilliant, marvelous, emotionally devastating...I don't think there's anything about Janis the book leaves untouched....I can almost hear her speak and, more relevantly, hear her laugh." -- New York Daily News

"Written with a sympathetic intelligence, at times fiercely lyrical, Buried Alive is an honest book about Joplin the idol....This is the best book yet about rock...."

About the Author

Myra Friedman has written on music and the arts and on contemporary cultural and social movements. Once a musician herself, she worked in the record industry and, in the late sixties, was Janis Joplin's publicist until the star's death in October 1970. Her biography of Janis Joplin is considered one of the most moving and significant books about a rock figure ever written. A landmark work when first published in 1973, it won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award and received a National Book Award nomination.