As is well known, Joel courted and then married Christie Brinkley, then at the height of her career as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.

Joel's manager even helped him to make his peace--and vice versa--with Rolling Stone magazine, who eventually began to give his music solid reviews, and important career consideration in those pre-Internet, pre-Blogosphere days.

By the mid-1990s though, his career had come full circle: the manager who had followed his former wife's role in his career was found "cooking the books". Brinkley divorced him. And Joel has since focused on writing instrumental music, which Bordowitz's quotes others as saying is a massive, extended case of writer's block.

Of course, while new songs aren't currently forthcoming, Joel still enjoys tremendous success touring, frequently with fellow "piano man" Elton John.

New Biography Holds Interest

Bordowitz didn't interview Joel for his book, but he was able to interview several of his current and former friends, associates and band members. At times, Bordowitz's book is quite engaging, but at others, it feels very much like a standard issue rock biography "clip job", taking quotes from the many music magazines which documented Joel's career and frequently interviewed him.

But even to a non-die hard fan like myself, it held my interest from beginning to end, which is more than I can say for many other rock biographies. And if you're a dedicated Joel fan, this is the book you've been waiting for.