Prince: Chaos, Disorder, and Revolution (Backbeat Books), by Jason Draper

Prince was perhaps the most fascinating, confounding figure to emerge from '80s music. As shown in Jason Draper's perceptive critical analysis, Prince cast himself as black and white, spiritual and carnal, rock and R&B; in private he was a sexually profligate recluse. He was compulsively controlling. Capable of being crass as well as exquisite—and of writing, playing and producing everything himself—Prince had the scope to hug the world. Artists always spar with their labels, but Prince's outsized ego compounded his difficulties. When he transformed himself into a glyph, it made him the infamous butt of many jokes even as record sales sank. Draper reports that Prince still lives in Minneapolis, up to his neck in lawsuits and liens and floundering to make a presence online. Final word: “Whereas 1999 still sounds like a futuristic masterpiece, 20Ten struggles even to sound relevant within the context of the year of its release. (David Luhrssen)