Lou Reed

Anthony DeCurtisis a contributing editor forRolling Stone,where his work has appeared for more than thirty-five years, and a distinguished lecturer in the creative writing program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author ofIn Other WordsandRocking My Life Awayand the cowriter of Clive Davis's autobiography,The Soundtrack of My Life,aNew York Timesbestseller.DeCurtis is a Grammy Award winner and has served as a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee for twenty-five years. He holds a PhD in American literature and lives in New York City.

"If the goal of a biography is to bring its subject backto life,Lou Reed, DeCurtis's sympathetic but never fawning book,succeeds...Carefully researched and thoughtfully written,Lou Reedis the bestReed biography to date."—New York Times Book Review
"DeCurtis has given us a thorough and vivid portrait of anartist who, he shows us, was even darker than we knew."—TheNew York Review of Books
"AnthonyDeCurtis was one of the few music critics Lou Reed read and whose company heenjoyed. After reading this sublime and subtle book, the mystery of Lou'srespect for Anthony is revealed.Anthony is a great story teller, a writer'swriter, turning pain into beauty the way Lou did in his songs."—Bono
"I am personallyfamiliar with the depth, seriousness and sensitivity of Anthony DeCurtis'swriting, and, of course, knew Lou Reed and felt the impact of his coruscatingwork.A brilliant artist has found a biographer with the insight to, as Lousaid, "pass through fire" and be a definitive interpreter of both his music andhis life."—Sting
"Lou Reedis Lou Reed!"—Iggy Pop
"An eloquent accountof a harrowing life transformed by love in the end.Anthony DeCurtis does abrilliant job of synthesizing the disparate parts of Lou Reed's life into aninsightful, moving narrative. I highly recommend it."—Suzanne Vega
"Whenmost people think of Lou Reed, they picture the black, rotting heart of rockand roll, full of dissonance, decadence and decay. Butas Anthony DeCurtismakes clear in his new book, behind the image and the rumors, Lou was onething: a writer, a man who spent his life telling the absolute, painful truthin his songs -the truth about himself, the scenes he observed, and the worldat large. His words were so powerful thatthe Velvet Underground had to invent a new musical language to match them. I'mnot the first musician to pledge allegiance to Lou and the Velvets, and I won'tbe the last.Read this book, and explore the f*cking genius that was Lou Reed."—Peter Buck, co-founder and lead guitarist of R.E.M.
"AnthonyDeCurtis captures the soul and the essence of Lou Reed in his terrific newbiographyof the brilliant, culture-shaping musician. DeCurtis' greatgift of storytelling gives fascinating insight and perspective to Reed'scomplex personality and cutting-edge musical talent. This is a must read."—Clive Davis
"The Reed of DeCurtis' exhaustively reported book is abrilliant artist who helped define hipness and the outer limits of rock forgenerations."—Rolling Stone
"Howdid a middle-class suburban boy grow up to be king of Manhattan's wild side?Thanks to thisgroundbreaking biography, now we know. Anthony DeCurtis handlesReed's often-misunderstood bisexuality and curiosity about transsexualism withparticular sensitivity, candor, and sophistication.A must-read for fans ofrock and roll, New York City, or sex."—Ada Calhoun, author ofSt. Marks Is Dead
"DeCurtis' biography makes a case for Reed's influencethat's as durable as black leather."—San Francisco Chronicle
"Lou Reed was one of music's mostbrilliant and complicated figures-an explorer, a provocateur, and always a trueartist.With grace and grit, Anthony DeCurtis has delivered a revelatory andinsightful chronicle of this most challenging rock & roll icon, and LouReed gets the biographer he deserves."—Alan Light, author ofThe Holy or the Broken
"Afascinating portrait. The unsurpassed voice of New York has found a worthybiographer."—Philip Norman,New York TimesBestselling author ofPaul McCartneyandJohn Lennon
"Focusing on the music as much as the singer's oftendissolute lifestyle and controversial opinions, the author makes a good casefor Reed's lasting significance. ... A well-written,valuable document of a major figure in the American rock scene, putting a humanface on a man who often seemed impossibly remote.Essential reading for Reedfans and strongly recommended for anyone interested in rock as art."—Kirkus(Starred Review)
"Eventhough he counted Reed among his friends in the music business, DeCurtis pullsno punches; for example, he talks about Reed's early sexual promiscuity inhighly critical terms and is equally frank in discussing Reed's drug andalcohol abuse. This isa rough-edged,straight-talking biography of a man who became a legend as much for his offstagelife as for his musical skills."—Booklist
"Amongthe first ambitious posthumous biographies of the sexually fluid queer icon,who died in 2013 at the age of 71. DeCurtis strives to take Reed's deepflaws into account along with his transgressive genius."—WMagazine
"Anabsorbing read, full of new insights delivered masterfully by DeCurtis."—Pitchfork
"A Lifeis comprehensive and sympathetic... For Mr. DeCurtis, Reed'sbiographical Rosebud was homosexual shame deriving from his upbringing. In theend, he didn't want to be the first gay rock star."—Wall Street Journal