On the road with Janis Joplin

by John Byrne Cooke    (Get the Book)
Singer Janis Joplin (1943-70) may have only lived to the age of 27, but she packed an awful lot of living into that short span. In the last five years of her life, she played in three different bands, recorded nearly 200 songs, and performed all over the world, most famously at Woodstock. At her side was Cooke (The Snowblind Moon), her road manager through most of that period. Cooke provides an intimate, affectionate look back at his time with Janis in his newest book. Joplin is a legend and it is all too easy to forget that legends are also people of their times and environments. Cooke's book is a valuable insight into the performer as a living, breathing person, with her own all-too-human strengths and vulnerabilities. The author may be one of the few people left in the world with that kind of perspective on her, so it's a good thing that he is a gifted writer, letting Joplin's vivaciousness and intensity shine throughout the work. VERDICT Rock music fans will love reading this up-close view of Joplin. The end of the book feels like losing her all over again. --Janis Joplin