I'm a musicians' biography nut, so I had to buy this, despite hardly knowing any of Ray's material beforehand.It was written by a fan who hounded Ray Charles for months for the permission to write his biography. Once Ray said yes, the author got to hang out with his idol for months of nightly interviews before writing the book, and they eventually became friends. It's written in a colloquial, personal style that's supposed to reflect the way Ray talks, so the book is kind of like a one-on-one with Ray himself - like you're having a beer with the guy. It gets pretty raunchy - the syndrome of Too Much Information. I didn't mind it, tho' it was a tad jarring to hear about his masturbation contests, and the language does get earthy, but I suppose it all helps to size up the subject matter into a real enough image, which is what reading the book is for in the first place.Overall a good read.