1st let me say I have no idea how complicated it is to try and write a book on Prince and his dealings. So I say to both authors congrats. However being that both of these authors are fans i find it they have a number of flaws. I realize that "gossip" sells.Therefore there are a number of folks who are quite taken with the "who did prince date"....and his quirky behavior.

After reading both books recently I noticed some things that both authors being fans should've been more intelligent enough to discuss.

For instance: not matter how many times Z,Fink, W&L and Pepe are interviewed their story won't change. I'm sure Atltanta Bliss, Miko, childhood band rivals etc. have a stories and experiences to tell.

2) Prince since Controversy has been a platinum + artist. PR was a moment in time when after 5 albums.....middle america caught on. i can clearly remember kids at my mixed middle school 1 semester rocking' "duran duran" bottons then next semester rocking "Prince" and "Purple Rain" buttons. I'm mean MTV played "the videos "corvette and 1999". BET on the other hand played "dirty mind,uptown,controversy,sexuality,1999,corvette,automatic" in addition to vids byt the Time and Vantiy.They even later played vids from his 93-01 period when MTV didn't wanna touch him. To this day I have never seen "the walk " or "drive me wild" on MTV. After PR Prince still put up the numbers he had before PR. It's just that middle america got caught up in the Reign. I remember kids in my mixed school thinking 1999 was his 1st album. A few yrs ago a co-worker of mine saw Prince cd on my desk and replied "man this guy hasn't put out an album since Purple Rain!!!"- he was dead serious.

Both authors make reference that P had fallen off and what not. Yet they didn't elude to the fact that as he got older so did his fan base. Who were the persons that knoocked him off and how did they do it? where are they now? Hip hop has risen and has fallen to new depths. Yet those rappers that at one time threaten P(so they said) couldn't pack a skating rink these days.

Every great artist of band has their moment. Stevie Wonder,Paul McCartney, Marvin Gaye, Stones, etc. Sting was big at that time. I remember his 1st two solo releases getting some burn but after that I believe his sales went down. Plus I'm sure Alex Hahn feels like a gump after witnessing the 2004 Prince had...I appreciated their objective views on P and the exposure of his behind the scenes behavior. But the truth is he was a young man that had the responsiblity of feeding and leading a number of folks at an early age. He hurt some folks- yes. Some folks hurt him-yes. But who at the age range of 23-29 makes the most sound decisions? I'm sure he regrets some things as well as his former associates.

i just want to say the your words were a good read and informitive. also good insight. its hard for writers period, to keep opinions totally out of the picture.

Like I CONTINUE to say.....PRINCE SHOULD WRITE his OWN BOOK..... Also VANITY REALLY SHOULD put her's OUT ALREADY..... Both would b INTERESTING READS.

Vanity's would be limited to a couple of chapters on Prince. I think Jam,Lewis,Jellybean,browmark,Cymone may have better reads. Simply because they grew up w/P except for Mark. They may be able to provide interesting stories from back in the high school band days on up to 1999.

Yeah, but I don't Think Jam and Lewis gonna Write a Book. Vanity has ALOT to Say AFTER PRINCE about HOLLYWOOD,DRUG USE, PLAYBOY and her FILMS. SHE SHOULD PUT it OUT ALREADY....

JQuad said:

I'm sure they do - and, as is clearly stated at the beginning of Alex Hahn's work, Allanta Bliss was interviewed by Per Nilsen, and the material was also used by Alex Hahn whereas Miko Weaver was approached but did not respond or decided not to participate.

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[Edited 12/27/05 23:49pm]