Kurt Cobain filled dozens of notebooks with lyrics, drawings, and writings about his plans for Nirvana and his thoughts about fame, the state of music, and the people who bought and sold him and his music. Over twenty of these notebooks survived his many moves and travels and have been locked in a safe since his death. His journals reveal an artist who loved records, who knew the history of rock, and who was determined to define his place in that history.

These journal entries by Nirvana front man Cobain record his thoughts from the late 1980s until his suicide in 1994. There are no real answers to his death to be found in this collection of scrawled notes, first drafts of letters, shopping lists, and ballpoint pen drawings, although the nature of Cobain's fame will make it hard for readers not to look for them. At best, a series of intimate portraits emerge: a kid from high school; a cousin and neighbor; a bright, sensitive, fun-loving and morbid punk rocker who became spokesman for a generation he largely detested.

Although the tragic circumstances of Kurt Cobains suicide are well known, the facts of his lifeand the influence of his artistryremain largely unexamined. Now veteran music journalist Charles R. Cross fuses his intimate knowledge of the Seattle music scene with his deep compassion for his subject in this extraordinary story of artistic brilliance and the pain that extinguished it. Based on more than 400 interviews; four years of research; exclusive access to Cobains unpublished diaries; and a wealth of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven traces Cobains life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, success, and the adulation of a generation. Cross reveals the familial turmoil that fueled Cobains creativity, the generational history that forged his character, and the unusual love story that shaped his relationship with wife Courtney Love. Drawing from medical and police reports, and Cobains own private writings, Cross also reveals the truth about Cobains health struggles and his tragic final days. More than the history of a rock and roll star, Heavier Than Heaven is a portrait of creative genius and the will to turn pain into art.

柯特·科本，一个来自穷街陋巷的邋遢大王，自小便蒙受敌意的眼光；一个精神上的朋克小子，从来只汲取叛逆的乳汁。他贯彻着加缪大叔的主张：人的根本面目之一，便是反抗。
柯特·科本从不自封英雄。他向来在内心的无助和道德的虚妄之间抑郁，他反感的并不是自孩提时代便只身承受的痛苦，他畏惧的是此一痛苦的毫无意义甚至毫无出路，一直到他找到吉他、找到音乐、找到摇滚。他从此跻身在命运与恶行、病痛与名利的夹缝之间，寻找那可以寻找的、挽救那可以挽救的、期盼那可以期盼的。
柯特·科本是另类英雄。在已经骄横凯旋的物质主义和消费文化面前，他举起了朋克摇滚的螳臂。他是溯流的漏船，他是带伤的逆子。他装着不知道，这已是一个用现金换算一切的世界，人们已经习惯乃至已无法想象还会有另一种生活和思想方式的存在。至少，我们的面目都已以谋生的媚笑出现，即使是曾经最为不羁的艺术家，也不再敢把挑战的手套扔到生计的严峻面孔面前。
在满目的唯唯诺诺之中，终于有像柯特·科本这样一种非主流和反主流的孤独的反抗之声响起，它映现出的是一个最痛苦之人的影像。他也背负内疚的隐疾，可他毕竟重现了从现代主义到朋克摇滚的颠覆性微笑和救赎性灵光。
世纪末音乐的黄昏，他依然在孤寂中伫立，头在散乱的金发中低垂。他拒绝了一本正经的命运的怜悯，拒绝了他第一个也是最后一个情人——朋克摇滚的垂青。他举目凝望，依然有海湾的斜阳晚照；他低头顾盼，竟然有幻梦般奇妙的快乐升腾。他紧握枪，如同紧握温暖而美丽的情人，他要游完他的溯流航程。枪口抬起了，枪机在静默中滑动，从最响亮的轰鸣中，飞出了那颗子弹；只有它自己知道，它是颗多么悲哀的子弹，因为它击毁的，是20世纪最后一场英雄梦。