This book delves into the life of Nina Simone, although not as in depth as expected. This book is a great primer. As someone who wasn't familiar with Miss Simone's work it gave me a great picture of her life and what she's known for the most. We get a good impression of the struggles Miss Simone faced and her behavior at the time. While all-inclusive, it doesn't really answer the question at hand of what happened. There are a lot of assumptions thrown around and not a lot of solid answers. The author has composed the story of an amazing woman. By using song lyrics, journals, letters, and interviews (with Simone and with family and friends), Mr. Light has restored a full account of Simone's rise to stardom and her complex life. She could perform any kind of music, and the accounts tell of her mastery in musical genres as varied as classical piano, jazz, blues, gospel, show tunes, and protest music. The movement behind the scenes is nearly as hypnotic as her music. Readers learn of her stormy relationship with her second husband, Andrew Stroud (whom she married even after he had beaten her severely), along with her later interactions with political leaders in other countries.
At times booklovers can only shake their heads in astonishment at all her accomplishments, while at others they may cry at her self-destructive actions Whether you are a fan of Simone's from her start back in the 1950s, learned about her from protest music in the '60s, or perhaps found her through the presence of her songs in advertisements or flicks such as the 1992 "Point of No Return," you will come away from this book with an outstanding image of the woman behind the music.
