Having grown up in the SF Bay Area in the 1960s, there was no way to escape the dynamo that was Janis Joplin. At the time, I didn't really appreciate the rawness of her recorded music, but her live performances were spell-binding. Drug use was rampant at the time, but it was such a shock when she died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. Along with her music was her sense of style and individualism, and that had a strong impact on this teenage girl at the time. The book is definitely an overview intended to be read in about an hour, so it can't go into a lot of detail. Still, the overview is enough to entice readers to dig deeper and to listen to her music or see her concert videos. It's a great place to start!