I would recommend this book to any fan of Kurt Cobain. Such an emotional book. I have never read any biography that I have enjoyed as much as this one.

This is a very good book, in my opinion. There are two aspects of this book that I think are important to comment on. First the writing style: Charles Cross is very factual in his presentation of the events that he reported on in this biography. As such, it is very easy to read. Very much like a journal - a reporting of the events and people, etc. In this part, I thought that Cross wrote about what he thought were Cobain's issues, for example - abandonment, much like these were also facts, instead of merely his speculation. However, I think that Cross was probably quite right in much of what he thought and wrote. This leads me to the second aspect of this book - the very heartbreaking story of Kurt Cobain and how all of the tragedy came to be. I found reading this story to be difficult. I love biographies, but there is so much frustration and anger that I experienced reading the book, because of the audacity of how Cobain appears to have been let down, by all the people that were supposed to take care of him. From his early years - his cheerful smiling boyishness, all the way to the days when he was a big rock star. No one seemed to step up for Kurt, at any time in his life, to take care of him. So reading the story of Kurt, and about all the people in his life who did not accept him for himself, and others who wanted to exploit him and ignore important signals that his life was going very wrong, was difficult. I really loved this book, but it was a book that I was happy to finish, because it takes its toll emotionally on the reader. I find myself thinking about this man now that I finished the book, and that to me, is a sign that this was a really great book. Good job!

I was absolutely engrossed in this book! It deserves its status as the definitive biography of Kurt´s life. I went in with a working knowledge of Nirvana´s influence & controversy, aswell as personal affection for the music. This book illuminated the tortured life behind these things in vivid and frightening detail. As a biography, it´s rock solid; the prose is tight and mounted on a stockpile of research. Charles Cross is careful to be the dispassionate author as he recounts some pretty unusual events, but he makes some affection (and a morsel of judgement) for his subject obvious all the while, (a good mix). The descriptions of Kurt´s inconsistencies and character flaws (for want of a better term) made me feel like I was reading something authentic. I was glad the journal entires were used judiciously. (I imagine few biographers have this luxry and the temptation to cram in mountains of their content was wisely resisted) . I found this book maintained my interest because it made me reflective about the nature of celebrity aswell as because it took me unapologetically to the depth of drug addiction. I found myself closing the book every so often to look into the eyes of the image on the cover while pondering these two things. I did enjoy that Cross revealed the stories behind many of the images and lyrics that I remember from my youth, but I was glad he did this sparingly, so that getting to know Kurt was kept the focus. The anticipation of the suicide (we all know how the story ends, right?), is skilfully managed by the structure Cross adopts in revealing the information. Cross abandons the biographer´s regard for chronology by firstly following those searching for Kurt, then recounts an overlapping time-period from a priviliged (and principally imagined) vantage point at Kurt´s side in his last moments. The latter seems based enough on forensic evidence and interviews to maintain credibility. I thought this was a unique and effective ending for a biography. I also found it very eerie having recently made a small pilgrimage myself to the Lakeside house where the gruesome events transpired.

I have quite a few Kurt Cobain/Nirvana books and while "Come As You Are" still holds up I have to say that if it is the "bible of alternative rock" then it would be the "old testement". The "new testement" being "Heavier Then Heaven". Now dont get me wrong you need to read both, with "Come As You Are" first and you need to combine information from both to get the most complete story that it is possible to get. So I recommend that you read "Come As You Are" and then "Heavier Then Heaven" and you will know all that could ever want to know.

This is a very good tail of the legend himeself. Written out like a story you feel as though you can see the events like a movie. Although this is a very good book, it has been speculated about the stories in this book. Paricularily the end of his life. As Cross mentions many times how Kurt was a story teller, the same can be said for Courtney Love, one of Cross's main sources. A compelling story but do not believe everthing you read. It may or may not be entirely true.

This is a very good tail of the legend himeself. Written out like a story you feel as though you can see the events like a movie. Although this is a very good book, it has been speculated about the stories in this book. Paricularily the end of his life. As Cross mentions many times how Kurt was a story teller, the same can be said for Courtney Love, one of Cross's main sources. A compelling story but do not believe everthing you read. It may or may not be entirely true.

This is a very good tail of the legend himeself. Written out like a story you feel as though you can see the events like a movie. Although this is a very good book, it has been speculated about the stories in this book. Paricularily the end of his life. As Cross mentions many times how Kurt was a story teller, the same can be said for Courtney Love, one of Cross's main sources. A compelling story but do not believe everthing you read. It may or may not be entirely true.

I just finished reading this book and it left me completely awe struck. Charles Cross did such a wonderful job in writing this book that you felt you were there in the shadows watching Kurt develop and grow into the man we came to adore and worship. I was completely moved by the words and experiences and was brought to tears during the last chapter. I strongley recomend this book whether you are a Kurt Cobain fan or not. Not only does it give you a glimpse into the life of Cobain, but it gives you an insight to topics such as divorce, depression, addiction and suicide. It is a must read!

This book is a draining experience. You'll be hooked on it, and unable to put it down until its tragic end. I'm not one to get caught up in the pop culture hype that surrounds Kurt Cobain's suicide, but this book made me cry. If you doubt Cobain's genius, the snippets of him in conversation will confirm it. Even when not writing songs, the clever wordplay and the speed of his mind is fully shown here through the memories of his friends, which Charles Cross has faithfully represented. The book reads like a Shakespearean tragedy (which Kurt seems to have anticipated, as he spoke about being like Hamlet toward the end of his life.) A poet and composer of monumental genius, the most luminous musician of his era, ( who "doth bestride the narrow world like a colossus") slowly succumbs to a heroin addiction and kills himself. All the fame and glory he craved wasn't enough. You'll have to put the book down, and cry, and listen to the Nirvana MTV Unplugged album over and over. (To respond to a previous review: Charles Cross includes an extensive list of sources that includes his over four hundred hours of interviews with all those close to Kurt Cobain. While it would be a little less heartbreaking if Kurt hadn't destroyed himself, if he had in fact been murdered, the conspiracy theory doesn't hold water.)

I fully enjoyed reading this biography of Kurt Cobain "Heavier Than Heaven" by Charles Cross. I am a very big Nirvana fan, and I found Kurt Cobain to be a very interesting person. This book explored the depths of a rockstar's life, but not just any rockstar. Kurt Cobain - the godfather of grunge music and the voice of a generation. This book almost allowed you to get into Kurt's mind and soul. I really loved the way this book was written, and I learned so much about Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, as did many others I'm sure. It was a very emotional book at times, but also very inspiring. I recommend it to all Nirvana/Kurt Cobain fans out there, and even those who are not fans. It's just an all-together amazing book.