Searching For Sugar Man: Sixto Rodriguez' Mythical Climb to Rock N Roll Fame and Fortune

The first book to tell the full story. This is a well written carefully researched book. Don't miss the detroit chapters and the making of cold fact. This book contains a great deal of new information. There is a look at how Detroit influenced the Sugar Man's music. There is a great deal of material on those around Rodriguez, including his wife and children, and a careful analysis of how and why Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey put together the Cold Fact album. The tours prior to fame and fortune from 2008 to 2012 before Searching For Sugar Man won an Oscar for best documentary tells one a great deal about his career prior to fame and fortune. The impact of the key music people, notably Clarence Avant, Harry Balk and Light In The Attic guru Matt Sullivan adds to the story. The appendix is one of the prized parts of the book. The amount of new information is mind boggling. A wonderful read. Don't miss it.

This is the quintessential book on Detroit Rodriguez - the Sugarman himself

Readers should understand that this author has not interviewed Rodriguez and thus has no firsthand knowledge of Sugar Man's thoughts. Instead, this book simply recapitulates information other writers have published from their own interviews with Rodriguez which he combines with interviews the author conducted with those who have had at least some interaction with Rodriguez. Those who are hungry to understand Sugar Man better will not find much of such knowledge in this book. The author does do a good job of providing some historical context to the locations Rodriguez has frequented and made his home. However, the author often states " I wonder" what Rodriguez might have thought as he did XY or Z. The fact is he does not know and therefore fills the pages with assumptions. The book is incredibly repetitious. In fact, points are made so many times that it is maddening. Either the readers are thought to be so dull that they need information repeated 20 times or the author is simply trying to fill the pages. For example, everyone who has any interest in the man and has done any reading at all about him knows that Rodriguez is a private person. This author repeated that fact so many times that it became such an irritant and distraction that I used the Kindle to search for repetitive points and there were many making me wonder if the editor was just "checked out" on this piece. The author asserted (repeatedly) that he is releasing a second book as he believed that he had enough information for two books. If the repetition was removed, there may not have been enough information to fill pages for one book especially if he was not simply summarizing others' work. I anticipate there will be far fewer people interested in purchasing the second book after they recognize the lack of knew information in this volume. Apparently, Rodriguez's daughter is writing a book. "I wonder" if perhaps those who are true fans and who do not want to feel misled or taken should wait for her book as she would certainly have better insight than someone who has never even interviewed Rodriguez. Given how much I would like to know more about Sugar Man, my disappointment with this book is heavy.

I completely agree with Dr. Goodness's review! Full of unfounded speculation and extremely repetitious! Could have been a magazine article, certainly not a book! Very disappointing. Rodriguez deserves better!

After reading a number of books on music masters by Mr. DeWitt, this one hit my heart. He know how to dig and get the story that always makes the subject a more interesting person. Seeing the movie several times and reading this book, I will recommend it to my fellow music lovers. Looking forward to his next accomplishment. Thank you. Robert D. Reed

I must admit I struggled with this book. By his own admission Mr. DeWitt has not met Rodriguez and this account is based on interviews with, and extensive research into, everyone involved with the amazing Rodriguez story. In fact, he tells me family details about these people that I really didn't need to know and had no interest in knowing. I didn't need to know what their childhoods were like. I found the book repetitive and littered throughout with grammatical and punctuation errors ('profit' for 'prophet' is just one example). This spoiled my enjoyment to a large extent. The proof reader - if there was one - should be shot!I learned a few things I didn't already know. Having recently seen Rodriguez perform in London I was shocked at his frailty. I read in Mr. DeWitt's book that he has glaucoma. I didn't know that the singer's mother died when he was three and I was unaware that the maker of the excellent film Searching for Sugarman killed himself. Apart from that, this long book didn't add to my knowledge of the singer in any way. I understand Mr. DeWitt has written many books - I trust they are better edited than this one...

Great read, what a guy this Rodriguez artist is so down-to-earth And what he went through in life big respect to him love the album as well...