"The Last Temptation of Beck" by Josephine Riesman

@beckbook.com

THE UNTOLD STORY OF A POP MESSIAH, FINALLY TOLD BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR @josie.zone SIMON & SCHUSTER OCT. 6, 2026 PREORDER TODAY: http://beckbook.com

Halloween, 1978 Greater Los Angeles A young Beck trick or treats along the sidewalks of his neighborhood while costumed as God -- per his request, with costume constructed by mother Bibbe Hansen (Text/photo below originally published in "Gellow Mold" #4, a Beck zine, in 1995) beckbook.com

Cute Beck story from Blbbe: "When Beck wa.1n 3rd grade I asked blm what he wanted to be for
Halloween. Beck looked at me and said, 'I want to be god' So we got some grey hair and made blm a
long beard and put some on his bead, he wore a white robe and sandals and we got blm a long cane.
Beck was god for Halloween."

[pic of Beck dressed as God at age 8]

I was authorized to send the legally vetted/approved manuscript of @beckbook.com to select VIPs who are creating original work for the tie-in [REDACTED] that will accompany the book Which means I'm getting my first informal reviews Folks, I am UNCLENCHING as I tell you... everyone loves it so far!

If you want to support one of the author's absolute favorite LGBTQ-run indie bookstores, PLEASE consider making your online preorder from @heartleafbooks.bsky.social at the link below!

The Last Temptation of Beck: The Untold Story of a Pop Messiah

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Ringmaster and the Hugo finalist True Believer, a propulsive and stylish account of Beck, who was received as a pop messiah in the 1990s, but whose closest friends and most devoted fans never knew his buried secrets.Once upon a time, there was a man who made himself into a myth. He went by a single name: Beck. He sang songs that didn’t make easy sense in plain English, but which were somehow urgent and undeniable to those who heard them. He mined a dizzying array of musical styles from the past to construct albums that were eminently of the zeitgeist. Before and after the smash success of his 1993 single “Loser,” he was the hardest-working slacker in America. He went platinum multiple times over. And for a time, he was regarded by journalists and devoted fans alike as the “pop messiah”—a title that referred not just to the new energy he brought to the radio and MTV, but to the devotion he inspired. But something happened to Beck Hansen, right at the turn of the millennium. His music, once defiant and bombastic, turned morose and inward-facing. It was more than just a musical shift. Beck destroyed the online forum where his devoted fans had gathered. He cut ties with the small collective of LA-based bohemians he’d come up alongside, surrounding himself instead with sycophants and celebrities. Beck had been born and raised in the Church of Scientology; many in his orbit feared he’d been pulled back to the faith. In the years since, Beck’s music has continued to win accolades, including multiple Grammys. But the true story of Beck in the nineties and beyond has never been told. With sensitivity and an arrestingly original style, New York Times bestselling author Josephine Riesman offers a vivid and multifaceted look at a singular artist and the Generation Xers for whom he became a reluctant spokesman. Drawing from interviews with those who’ve been closest to Beck, as well as troves of never-before-published documents, Riesman offers a story about authenticity and irony, paranoia and belief. Situated at the last gasp of the millennium, it’s more than a simple biography—it’s a riveting drama about the blurry lines between fandom and worship; between myth and lies; and between the old world that is dying and the new one that still struggles to be born.

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