(Jawbone Press) www.jawbonepress.com

Despite this book’s title (as well as its subtitle, “A New Career In A New Town”), author Seabrook happily broadens his scope beyond the years during which David Bowie recorded the albums Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger. In order to put the story in its proper context, Seabrook carefully details events on either side of the Berlin period, noting exactly why Bowie chose to decamp to the city, and how his experiences there affected the rest of his career.

But the Berlin years comprise the heart of the book, with Seabrook not only offering track-by-track commentary on Low and “Heroes”, but also the two Iggy Pop albums Bowie was intimately involved with, The Idiot and Lust For Life (leaving out Lodger, presumably due to its status as, in Seabrook’s words, the Return Of The Jedi of the trio). He further rounds out the story by discussing tours, TV appearances, and Bowie’s film work of the time (his astonishing debut in The Man Who Fell To Earth, and the less regarded, and less seen, Just A Gigolo).

Seabrook liberally peppers his account with anecdotes, drawn from dozens of sources, enlivening the story substantially. Who remembers that Bowie appeared on Dinah Shore’s talk show Dinah!, alongside an improbable lineup of Nancy Walker, Harry Winkler, and Natalie Cole? And Pop’s memory of how he and Bowie would spend a week is delightful (two days to binge, two to recover, three for “any other activity”). Only a minority of the interviews are Seabrook’s, but he chooses his other quotes so judiciously, he proves beyond a doubt that an author doesn’t need his own first-hand accounts to tell a good story.

And that’s ultimately the book’s greatest strength. While Bowie fans will most obviously want to snap it up, Seabrook’s writing is so engaging, anyone with an interest in ‘70s-era rock should find this a worthwhile read. GILLIAN G. GAAR