Jagger Unauthorized by Andersen, Christopher (1993) Hardcover

by Christopher Andersen

First Edition

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christopher Peter Andersen is an American journalist and the author of 32 books, including many bestsellers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. From 1974 to 1986 Andersen was senior editor of Time Incorporated's People Magazine. He has also written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.

While his early nonfiction books veered from psychology (The Name Game) to true crime (The Serpent's Tooth) to art collecting ('The Best of Everything', with former Sotheby's chairman John Marion), he is best known for his controversial biographies. Between 1991 and 2011, he published 14 New York Times bestselling biographies. Andersen wrote Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones in July 2012. The book quickly became Andersen's 15th New York Times bestseller.

Reviews

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never liked the Rolling Stones or their music and I didn't like this book.

It was written when Mick Jagger turned fifty.It is a trashy book and digs up the dirt,on both Jagger and his band.

There is a lot of scandal,womanizing,allegations of bisexuality,drugs and rock'n'roll excess here.

The opening chapter is interesting as it describes the chaos of the 1969 Altamont free concert given by the Rolling Stones.A fan was killed by Hell's Angels who were the security guards on that occasion.

The book is not a flattering portrait of Jagger,parts of it are well and truly disgusting and cringeworthy.But it is debatable how accurate the book actually is.

[Spencer Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most unauthorized biographies, it's more lurid than informative, but it's relatively entertaining and I did learn some things I didn't know. But as far as following the Stones into the studio for Satanic Majesty's? No dice.

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a guilty pleasure I could not resist. I sometimes read books in this genre but most of them are written by the band or performer themselves. This was not.

So the book attempts to tell Jagger's story. It is Unauthorized and man I can see why! The focus seems to be on his relationships and each one is looked at closely. I must admit to enjoy thins book in a "guilty" pleasure" type way. Enjoyed the photos too. But I sure can see why Jagger wouldn't want this published.

There's nothing wrong with the book itself. It is packed full of gossip about Jagger's girlfriends, lovers, wives, etc etc, you get the picture. It isn't my favorite music bio book..far from it..but it was fun reading.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the author has made the deduction that unauthorized = revealing and tries very hard to shock the reader with upsetting "facts". Starting out, this is done in connection with describing the subject (Jagger) as a bad and extremely egoistic person, this is dropped (more or less) after the first third of the book (strangely enough).

The "unauthorized" part is also uncomfortably obvious in the sense that the stories told are either well known from a myriad of other sources or not very interesting (or even likely in some cases). The insistence of that information is from "lots of sources, close to MJ" etc. is not enough.

Either way, the book is not a very good read, so I would skip this one. (Not in favour of "Stone Alone", though, that one is just boring).

[Barbara Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is VERY well written, and also very fair. Mick Jagger is obviously not only an amazing entertainer, but like most entertainers, a chameleon. So many sides to this man, and Christopher Andersen covers them all so well. There's plenty of "dirt" in here, but it's presented in a no nonsense and dare I say classy manner.

[Bob Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, the book's content. This book was written in 1993 and covers Jagger's life until he turned fifty in 1992. Now its 2022 and the Stones are in the middle of their latest US tour. Who could have ever thought Mick and Keith Richards would have survived until 2022, let alone the band. Charlie Watts had just died (a few weeks ago), but face it, Mick is the band. The Stones will continue until he calls a halt. The book begins with Mick's underclass beginnings in Dartford and tracks him through the band's induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. What a journey it was. The pursuit of fame, the business dealings, the changes to the band, the drugs, and the women. Andersen has documentation for it all in the back of the book. Several dozen books, several hundred articles and many interviews with people who've know Mick though the years. Its really quite an effort.

Second, the book. Why is this "unauthorized"? It contains a lot of items rather left unsaid. Mick's continued drug use during his adult life, his countless (literally) affairs with women and men and his business dealings are all exposed and most of this is not pretty. The author has nothing good to say about Mick or the band, except for three instances where the Stones performed benefit concerts for earthquake and flood victims that raised several million dollars. In fairness, it would be impossible to tell the story in a sanitized version, too much would have to be omitted for it to make any sense to the reader.
I started this interested about history of pop music and the culture of the 70's and 80's. As I got into the book, I recognized what degenerates these boys were and were amazed at the people they attracted. Princess Margaret? Margaret Trudeau? Leonard Bernstein? I can't conceive of a parallel today of such a clash of culture. I ended with a sense of admiration for Jagger. What a performance for over 50 years, what perseverance and dedication to his work. I think he is the premier performer in the history of rock music

[Markku · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are interested in filth, here is a lot of it. Otherwise this is an average biography with too many errors - guitarist Bill Wyman etc. It is impossible to say what parts are true and what not, but Andersen has interviewed a lot of people. But he is clearly more interested to sell books than solve the enigma of Jagger.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atrocious editing errors for one, the first 200 pages drag by and you haven't even hit 1970. Then suddenly the next 20 years just fly by with some things receiving only a sentence or two. There was some interesting gossip, but overall not good.

[Lord Bathcanoe of Snark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't know how much of this account is true, probably not a lot. But at least it's entertaining, unlike Keith Richards 'Life', which is mainly about his supernatural ability to abuse illegal substances, guitar tuning, and how dangerous he is.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good ends when Mick turns 50

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mick Jagger is a very talented man and musician and a fascinating personality I have seen in concert maybe 6 times. This book has revealed a deeper, less-superficial person than I had imagined he would be. It was a gift and I doubt if I would have spent the required money to own it but I am so very happy to own it and have read it twice now just because it is interesting.

[Thierry Sagnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge Stones fan. I even like their really bad stuff, like Satanic Majesty. And I'm generally really wary of 'unauthorized' biographies like this one. But Andersen's book is great. If you like the Stones, you'll like this...

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just call him Tyrannosaurus Sex.

[Sarah Vai · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the very best biographies on an entertainer! I love this book.

[Althea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very gossipy account of Mick Jagger and his escapades from the sixties to the nineties.