The Uncool

A Memoir

De: Cameron Crowe

Narrado por: Cameron Crowe

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Cameron has written a book that feels like music, an intimate souvenir, like a song you can’t stop listening to.” —Stevie Nicks • “A delicious tale of a devotee who worships at the altar of rock and roll….It’s a love letter to fandom, sealed with Cameron’s trademark sincerity and heart.” —Maggie Rogers • “Such a joy and so well written…My favorite book in a long, long time.” —Anderson Cooper

The long-awaited memoir by Cameron Crowe—one of America’s most iconic journalists and filmmakers—The Uncool is a joyful dispatch from a lost world, a chronicle of the real-life events that became Almost Famous, and a coming-of-age journey filled with music legends as you’ve never seen them before.

Cameron Crowe was an unlikely rock and roll insider. Born in 1957 to parents who strictly banned the genre from their house, he dove headfirst into the world of music. By the time he graduated high school at fifteen, Crowe was contributing to Rolling Stone. His parents became believers, uneasily allowing him to interview and tour with legends like Led Zeppelin; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Bob Dylan; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Fleetwood Mac.

The Uncool offers a front-row ticket to the 1970s, a golden era for music and art when rock was young. There’s no such thing as a media junket—just the rare chance a young writer might be invited along for an adventure. Crowe spends his teens politely turning down the drugs and turning on his tape recorder. He talks his journalism teacher into giving him class credit for his road trip covering Led Zeppelin’s 1975 tour, which lands him—and the band—on the cover of Rolling Stone. He embeds with David Bowie as the sequestered genius transforms himself into a new persona: the Thin White Duke. Why did Bowie give Crowe such unprecedented access? “Because you’re young enough to be honest,” Bowie tells him.

Youth and humility are Crowe’s ticket into the Eagles’ dressing room in 1972, where Glenn Frey vows to keep the band together forever; to his first major interview with Kris Kristofferson; to earning the trust of icons like Gregg Allman and Joni Mitchell, who had sworn to never again speak to Rolling Stone. It’s a magical odyssey, the journey of a teenage writer waved through the door to find his fellow dreamers, music geeks, and lifelong community. It’s a path that leads him to writing and directing some of the most beloved films of the past forty years, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Say Anything... to Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous. His movies often resonate with the music of the artists he first met as a journalist, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Who, and Pearl Jam.

The Uncool is also a surprisingly intimate family drama. If you’ve seen Almost Famous, you may think you know this story—but you don’t. For the first time, Crowe opens up about his formative years in Palm Springs and pays tribute to his father, a decorated Army officer who taught him the irreplaceable value of the human voice. Crowe also offers a full portrait of his mother, whose singular spirit helped shape him into an unconventional visionary.

With its vivid snapshots of a bygone era and a celebration of creativity and connection, this memoir is an essential read for music lovers or anyone chasing their wildest dreams. At the end of that roller-coaster journey, you might just find what you were looking for: your place in the world.

Great book!

Extremely well written. Hard to stop listening! I didn’t want the book to end. Best book I’ve listened to in a long time.

I'm gonna start from the beginning and listen all over again!!

Cameron has such an engaging enthusiasm and raw emotion throughout his narration. I really enjoyed when he dialed in on the cadence of some of the notables in the stories. Wow! Just wow!
I'm spreading the word far and wide for my friends to listen to this. Igniting the happy memory chemicals is real good (important) medicine!!!

Reliving my soundtrack through someone who holds it a very sacred regard continues to have me so grateful for the musical times I grew up in.
It doesn't get any better than that !🤩

I'm gonna give it another listen because these are stories worth listening to again, and maybe again! ✨💖✨
Well done Cameron Crowe....all of it!

This Book is Everything You Want It to Be

This is a book about family. Family at home, family on the road and family cradle to grave. Cameron Crowe tells his own story in his compelling way as his Rolling Stone features and of course his movies. I have lost track of the number of times I’ve watched Almost Famous and still, I find my attention split between the story - the story everyone of a certain age wishes were their own - and the amazing acting onscreen. Hearing Cameron tell his story himself cuts right to the heart. This book is a gift. A gift I truly appreciate.

Great stories

I loved this biography sad for the ending ! Such incredible writing and story telling 👍. The author wrote the book with such great depth of detail and insight

Reliving my youth

For anyone who was born in that era and had any exposure to music, this book will resonate with you on so many levels.

WOW what a life

from a fan of the movies this is a book of the ages must read (Liston )

Well done and informative

A very well written, and narrated. A lot of interesting things about the life in the home and his professional career. The “Almost Famous” author had a hard earned and well deserved career with many great behind the scenes stories. The narration moved the book from a 5 star rating to 5+! I learned so much more about his mother, family, and the musicians that he interviewed and befriended then I expected, and it was a treasure. I highly recommend it to anyone who has seen, and enjoyed “Almost Famous,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” or read his articles.

Beautiful stories

This is the best kind of rock and roll memoir with many stories about the music and musicians. It brought me to tears and laughter many times. Wonderfully told and genuine.

Witten and delivered to perfection

Outstanding performance. Fantastic yarn.
Cameron crow tells his story like no one else could, and leaves you feeling like you could have been there. Unbelievable in its content, and at the same time entirely relatable from the human perspective. Highly recommend.

Sooo worth the wait!

Cameron Crowe wrote my two favorite movies, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Almost Famous, which he of course also directed. I was so excited about this book. My only question when I heard it was coming out was why hadn't he done this sooner, but I guess he kind of had with Almost Famous. Sweet Mother of Sweetness is Cameron Crowe a good writer. So empathic, so vivid, so totally putting you in the room without ever trying to be anything but a decent and curious human hoping to do his best work without tipping over into gushing fandom. And never ever flashy. I was definitely going to love this book, but it so totally exceeded expectations. The Uncool is so good and so worth reading, particularly this audio version, which he narrates perfectly. Thank you, 2025, for so many awesome things, especially (book-wise) Mike Campbell's Heartbreaker and now Cameron Crowe's The Uncool. And thank you, Cameron Crowe for finally writing one of my favorite books of all time.