Taylor Swift: The Life, Loves and Music of a Global Sensation

With his third book detailing the lives of pop stars, Michael Francis Taylor has hit this one out of the park. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but not from the perspective of a Taylor Swift fan; from the perspective of a musician who never spent five minutes listening to her. I was Carly Simon’s guitarist for twenty-one years, and Michael Taylor did such a fine job on his book, The Music of Carly Simon, I took the leap of faith and bought his Taylor Swift book. If I could go from indifferent and disinterested about Ms. Swift to a full-blown Swiftie upon reading just the first few chapters, then you know Mr. Taylor has done his job.This book is so comprehensive about her life, her hits, her heartbreaks, her triumphs and her absurd popularity, you can’t walk away unimpressed after reading it. The intense detail the author goes into about the little things that moved and mattered to her, not to mention every single press review and highest chart position on every single record - well, let’s just say the research alone should get him a five-star review, but there’s so much more to it than that. I fell in love with Taylor Swift while reading this book, and I am not in my teens or twenties. I’m in my seventies!Michael Taylor includes all the facts - the liable aimed at her, the deceit, the dissing, the gossip, the trials and court wins, but beyond that, he describes Taylor Swift’s astonishing ability to “shake it off” and move on to what are the two most important things in her life - making great music and making her fans happy. She is obsessed and devoted. When she’s not making music, she floods charities with money. She shares her astonishing wealth in so many ways, you leave this book feeling this woman has an absolute heart of gold. She deserves every single award she has ever won, non-the-least for her mind-blowing productivity, but for her world-class empathy for human suffering and putting her checkbook way ahead of her critics and detractors, supporting so many needy causes.Taylor Swift: The Brightest Star is a tell-all of the best possible kind. The author tells all that is available to tell, and the all, in this case, includes the kind of happy ending we so need in these troubled times. He makes it clear that in her case, hard work, massive heart, and the energy of ten nuclear power plants all in one human being have driven this beautiful star to the highest levels of musical fame. And he makes it clear that no one deserves it more. When the Kanye’s and Kims taunted and harassed her, they only made her seem more sympathetic and them, their own worst enemies and petty detractors. Yes, when her record company sold her music out from under her, she was as sad and bitter as a dumped lover. But did she give up in a tearful surrender to her unfortunate fate? Not even close. She rose above it and just began re-recording her first six albums, the first of which debuted at #1, literally eclipsing the previous versions of her work. She now owned the re-recordings and no one could take them away from her. The greedy buyers of her previous recordings now owned a body of work, rapidly becoming worthless, that her fans wouldn’t touch with Kanye West’s gloves. The author makes it clear that Taylor Swift is not just a brilliant composer/lyricist/singer - she is also a savvy businesswoman with an iron fist hidden inside a lace glove. It’s all in this well-researched and well-written book.Here’s my recommendation. If you are not a Taylor Swift fan, take the leap of faith that I did in the following way: As you read the book, have YouTube open, and as the songs and their history come up, play the video of the song. The book will come to life in a way that cannot help but steal your heart. My vote? Five stars for Michael Francis Taylor and his wonderful musical biography, Taylor Swift The Brightest Star: The Life, Loves and Music of a Global Sensation.

What a great book this is. I never realised the incredible journey Taylor Swift had to make from being just a schoolgirl with a dream to becoming a music phenomenon in such a short space of time. The author has done his research meticulously and provides the reader with a comprehensive and up-to-date record of her incredible career. The author not only outlines the story behind each and every song she has recorded, but also gives a detailed account of how Taylor managed to overcome with composure and dignity the pressures on both her personal and professional life. Five stars indeed!

Great book for teens and older who are Taylor fans!

Great Product, would definitely buy again

Like most unauthorized books, this is a chronological collection of quotes and information given in interviews. A few inaccuracies (Joe Jonas and Camilla Belle were never married) but a largely enjoyable, easy read for old and new Swifties alike.