Wonderful - this is the first serious and thorough Bukowski biography. An excellent book about a remarkable man.
* Time Out *
With no shortage of anecdotes, pictures or big names, this biography is so thorough and sharp that it may well be the last.
* Arena *
This biography is an affectionate and thorough introduction that will not be rivaled for some time. Its effect is to revitalize rather than reduce Bukowski's work.
* Independent *
A solid, informative and fascinating account - an excellent biography.
* Uncut *
The dirty story of a dirty man, Howard Sounes's biography of Charles Bukowski confronts an ugly life with an unflinching stare . . . this according to some of Sounes's meticulously compiled sources, was the kind of man who would drive a friend to drink himself to death then try to have sex with his grieving widow.
- Victoria Segal, * Guardian *
This is an appropriately gutsy biography of Charles Bukowski, the American poet and novelist who almost singlehandedly inspired a generation of would-be writers to believe that you could spend your entire life getting drunk and still achieve a reputation as a cult author.
- Robert Collins, * Observer *
'With no shortage of anecdotes, pictures or big names, this biography is so thorough and sharp that it may well
be the last.' Arena
Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life is the classic biography of Charles Bukowski, the hard-drinking barfly whose
semi-autobiographical books about low-life America made him a cult figure across the globe. Extensive original research and unique contributions from friends, family and associates - including Mickey Rourke, Robert Crumb, Sean Penn, Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg - as well as personal photographs and drawings by Buk himself make this a must for Bukowski devotees and new readers alike.
'Will not be rivalled. Its effect is to revitalise rather than reduce Bukowski's work.' Independent
'The most definitive to date.' Guardian
'Judicious quotation from unpublished works, including drawings by Charles Bukowski, is one of the pleasures
of Howard Sounes's excellent biography which, like its hero's ideal blonde, is short, shapely and full.' Daily Telegraph