Julia Blackburn's book gives a far more complete idea of Holiday as an artist than anything else I have read

This is a raw, true book that evokes not just the life of the great singer Billie Holiday but an entire jazz era.... Blackburn's compelling tale is of whores, drug-pushers, bent policemen and crooked lawyers as well as brilliant musicians, and she brings alive everything she touches

This addition to the tide of Billie Holiday books is extremely welcome. Nowhere else is the context of her life and work so vividly captured

Full of vigour and colour...Ms Blackburn's portrait of a unique artist is moving, revealing and quite unforgettable

Julia Blackburn...has contributed much to the legacy of a remarkable human being

With her assured touch, she has transcribed and framed the verbatim accounts into a resonant piece of social history, never losing sight of the woman who enthralled everyone with whom she came into contact

Often books about jazz musicians make the mistake of over-focusing on the music. Blackburn is more interested in Billie as a person

This is a really marvellous book, the most uninhibitedly intimate portrayal ever of the short, hard life and overall musical triumph of Lady Day...With Billie vividly reflects the chaos that Billie Holiday was born into and only rarely escaped from