Hey, has any1 read 'Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince' by Alex Hahn? I'm halfway through. If so, what are your views and how accurate are the stories? Thanks.

Good luck with this thread.

I've read it, but that's all I'm gonna say

read it..it definately shows a much darker side 2him..

I have it, read it, and done with it that is all I gotta say.

maybe you should of done a search on the book here on the site (since its been done quite a few times).
Here is a few to get you started:
http://prince.org/msg/7/263768?&pg=7
http://prince.org/msg/7/172106
[Edited 7/28/08 12:50pm]

read it. i learnt a lot of things i didnt know b4. kind of sad in a way.

I read and liked it!!! I think all geniuses have a dark/mad side...nothing really surprised me...

And, really, who knows if all is totally true....

I say stick SOTT on the DVD player or give Emancipation another chance and see what we really like about Prince

It's utter garbage, obviously with an axe to grind, Poplife and DMSR are far superior. I've said before, even the teen paperbooks I read when I was a kid were better at giving an accurate view of the man. Bear in mind the guy had legal problems with Prince.

I wouldn't read it unless Prince gave me a copy and told me too.

It's okay. No better or worst than the rest of them.

mozfonky said:

I don't know how you can say that when he has a ton of direct quotes from people close to the situation like Alan Leeds, Krattinger, Susan Rogers, Dr. Fink, Bobby Z., Tommy Barbarella, Marilyn Badeaux, etc. The quotes about Prince from those people alone tell a helluva lot. His "legal problems with Prince" are that he is an attorney and he represented a fansite Prince had shut down. As a longtime, obsessed fan I can tell you that he got things very right about the early years (78-88).

LinnLM1 said:

He got a lot of things wrong too, look it up on here and read about the mistakes he made in this book, he couldn't even fix his typos that's all I need to see to realize this book was not undertaken very professionally. He also mixed up names and had other mistakes. If people took the ten worst things most people did and put them in a book we'd all come off looking like jackasses, I know I would. Anyway, I'm a long time Prince follower too, I know he's not perfect, I know he's a control freak, I know he manipulates people, nothing new in this book.

mozfonky said:

He was the lawyer for Uptown (as in Uptown, part of whom is Per Nilsen who wrote DMSR).

It's been said a million times before, but Hahn had access to Uptowns research for their own books, and even Alan Leeds has stated the book is pretty accurate.

NouveauDance said:

Leeds has shifted his tone slightly since the publication of this book, though. As for Hahn he can't write for toffee and the whole thing reads like a hatchet job from a disgruntled fan, which is what he is

I started a thread on this a while back...you might find it interesting!

http://prince.org/msg/7/263768?&pg=1

toots said:

Oh sorry toots, just realised you've already posted it!

Jeffiner said:

its okay there are several threads like it

toots said:

I'll be very honest here toots, but I've never been able to work
the "Search" in this place.....so what did you "plug in" to find
these threads, or did you just happen to know they already existed
and had them saved?

prb said:

I know what you're saying...it may be true, or it may not.
That's for the reader to decide.

obsessed said:

I didnt have to plug in into anything I remember the topic from awhile back and I responded to it plus other orgers over time have made similar threads.All I typed in was "Possesed by Alax Hahn" in the search bar located above and it brings up what it finds. Took me awhile to get the hang of it too

Handel said:

There are quite a few glaring errors, yeah.

I wonder if he made any money off it. He posted here a few times too.

NouveauDance said:

What are the glaring errors?

^^
yes please tell me what errors.

I've actually read this one and found it informative.but what do i know

havent read POPLIFE or DMSR because I never knew how to get my hands on them
but i would be interested in knowing what the differences in them were


and i do agree this book seems to focus on more negatives than positives.
i mean its split into a RISE/FALL so it naturally ends in "the fall"
but aside from that the "rise" portion is short lived in comparison

Well I can't remember off the top of my head!

IIRC, there's a few date errors and such, details us fans would probably pick up, but a casual reader wouldn't notice.

wmendoza36 said:

I strongly recommend you do do your best to acquire "Pop Life" by Dave Hill and "DMSR" by Per Nilsen. They are both essential reads that will complement your knowledge and will not insult your intelligence.

As for "Possessed", I'm afraid its author allowed spite and a marked bias to get the better of him, squandering all the valuable research afforded to him on a silver platter. The book's rightful place is the bargain bin.
[Edited 7/30/08 8:53am]

giotto said:

But if you read DMRS by Per Nilsen even that book ends with quotes from people saying Prince hasn't written a great song in years and talking about how he has apparently lost it. It deals with 78-88 so they didn't have to elaborate on each album in the 90s that paled in comparison to his 80s material.

And imo Alex Hahn gives Prince full credit for his PRINCE-SIGN O THE TIMES era. Calls him a genius etc. And he also says that there are classic cuts on GRAFFITTI BRIDGE and EMANCIPATION which is something that DMSR implies that it wouldn't agree with.

LinnLM1 said:

People here are too sensitive. This is the best book about Prince that has been written. It is as respectful as it is critical.