Popular music's rich history is littered with lurid tales of sex, thugs and substance abuse.

Indeed, from the Rolling Stones to Britney Spears, bad behaviour not only makes for good reading, but it often has the side-effect of solidifying a musician's place in the cultural pantheon.

Likewise, the art form's best corresponding literature often documents the depths of depravity to which some musicians, flush with money and a coterie of sycophants, are allowed to sink.

In short, acting like a jerk is interesting, whereas being nice onstage and steering clear of temptation is, well, bland.

So it was with some trepidation that we cracked the pages of "Justin Bieber: The Fever," a new, 197-page biography of the Ontario-born teen pop phenom.

In only a few months, Bieber has amassed hundreds of millions of YouTube hits, scaled the Billboard charts and etched his way into the consciousness of teens and tweens around the globe.

Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Bieber has done it all without messing up his expertly coiffed haircut.

But are there any guts behind all the glory?

Indeed, Bieber's biggest public controversy thus far has been an online feud in which the youngster angrily Tweeted a fan's phone number to his millions of followers.

The result: the fan was swamped with thousands of texts and calls, rendering his iPhone useless.

Wow.

Compared to Keith Richard's drug addiction, Brian Wilson's mental illness and Gene Simmons' sexual promiscuity, Twitter feuds don't exactly make for riveting reading.

Still, it's pretty obvious that the book's writer, Marc Shapiro, wasn't aiming for the classic rock or intellectual crowd when he decided to pen this hastily-assembled soft cover bio.

Nonetheless, by relying on previously published media interviews and a healthy dose of conjecture, Shapiro has managed to sketch out a passable rags-to-riches tale.

In terms of conjecture, lines like "Pattie (Justin's mother) prided herself on having a sixth sense about sincerity" seem to be tailored for teenage readers, who are less likely to dismiss such whimsical sentences.

However, Bieber fanatics will glean few new details from the book, as Shapiro navigates Justin's early days as a busker to his first YouTube videos, which eventually landed him a management deal with Atlanta-based music manager Scooter Braun.

With that in mind, some sections of the book do a decent job documenting the inner workings of the modern music industry.

For example, a chapter about an early bidding war between Usher and Justin Timberlake about who would act as Bieber's mentor will be intriguing to both fans and industry-minded folks alike.

Beyond such sections, however, there is little here to merit much discussion. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the glossy photo section of our young hero, printed in full colour for maximum teen heartthrob effect.

In fact, fans (and their parents) would be wise to skip Shapiro's book altogether and wait for the upcoming -- and "100 per cent official" -- release of "Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story," which arrives in bookstores in October.

Not only will that book feature Bieber in his own words, but it promises to divulge spicy dating details. (We can already hear the shrieking!)

Meanwhile, for others who haven't caught the fever, waiting a few decades before dipping into a Bieber bio might be a better bet.

Heaven forbid that Bieber walk down that well-trodden road of drug addiction and megalomania, but at least it will make for an interesting tale. Just ask Elvis.