Miles: The Autobiography [L0122]

2011 PB in nice clean condition. "Universally acclaimed as a musical genius, Miles is one of the most important and influential musicians in the world. The subject of several biographies, now Miles speaks out himself about his extraordinary life. Miles: The Autobiography, like Miles himself, holds nothing back. For the first time Miles talks about his five-year silence. He speaks frankly and openly about his drug problem and how he overcame it. He condemns the racism he has encountered in the music business and in American society generally. And he discusses the women in his life. But above all, Miles talks about music and musicians, including the legends he has played with over the years: Bird, Dizzy, Monk, Trane, Mingus, and many others."

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I picked up this book feeling curious, and put it down nearly obsessed with the man. It is worth reading because he was one of the major musical forces of the last century, and also because it is simply a great autobiography by any standard. Miles was a complex, and contradictory person, and the book seems to capture his every vice and virtue."; "Miles makes it clear that as a group jazz musicians were economically exploited by club owners and record companies, and hounded by the law. Prison terms were not uncommon. Little wonder these brilliant artists took refuge in booze and drugs. Miles poses some pretty hefty questions about American society that still have not been addressed. This book is so rich, lively, and high spirited it should be rated as a true American classic. Yes, there is also plenty about the music."; "Miles Davis' autobiography takes no pains whatsoever to varnish the author's reputation. The word that appears more often than any other is that 12-letter, four-syllable all-purpose standby for a person who engages in sexual relations with his own mother. This book is raw and revelatory, a miracle of publicist defiance, a gift from a complex mess of a master who committed to telling it like he saw it and felt it, and to hell with you whether you like it-and him-or not."