5 comments about Scar Tissue.

1. i don't really write reviews about books but Scar Tissue deserves one. i've only read 1/5 of the book (100 pages or so) but this is one of the most intriguing life stories i have ever come across. i'm having a hard time putting this book down because every page is filled with off the wall experiences and cleverly written life stories. tony has been places and seen things that i'm not extremely famaliar with but he doesn't sugar coat anything. he tells you who he is and why he is that way... one of the most honest and interesting books i've gotten my hands on in a while!



2. I don't know why this book has gotten such a bad wrap.
   Every chapter is pretty entertaining and I now feel like
   I have a better understanding of where a lot of their songs
   came from.
   Anthony Kiedis is an extraordinary human being with some serious flaws.
   All heart.
   
   This book is a must read for any RHCP fan.



3. Anthony Kiedis. Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was interesting to read Anthony's autobiography and understand the meaning beyond some of the lyrics he has written so far. I do need to separate book from "facts" however.
   
   The book: 465 pages in tiny print describing a life of excesses in every sense became at times a tedious read, mainly because Anthony's life is self-described and delivered by what I define a rather flat narrative. A repetition of events -and most often, a vicious circle, literally- that failed to engage me in full in a few parts. That does not mean that I did not "appreciate" the content. If anything, his is an often brutal testimony of what a serious drug addiction can do to a human being (I felt that this book was more about his drug addiction than about his life or the RHCP).
   
   The "facts": oh, I would have a thing or two to say about his upbringing, I am itching to do it. But. Anthony comes out to be so non-judgemental, so not-critical, so loving towards his family, which he clearly loves to bits to this day, that I am discouraged to say anything more about it. And I respect him for not pointing any accusing finger, about back then or later on. He is not blaming anyone, or at least, that's the way I have perceived the core of this book. In his words, it was mostly all about "the shortcut", which brought him to jump fences instead of walking on a proper path, figuratively and literally. The drugs, his love stories, his songs, the band, the friends he has lost to drugs, the rehabs, and drugs again... An indefinable sense of hopelessness, sometimes peppered with sober, more productive moments, where the love towards life shines in full. I think that it is at this point that he chose to write the book, after a few years of sobriety. And I hope the process of retracing his past has added to the self-healing and helped to stay clean and sober, appreciating life to the full.
   
   Would Anthony have become what he is without experiencing what he went through? I do not know. We are what we do, or so they say. But as much as this book conveys the dispiritedness, desolation and utter despair connected to drug addiction, it is uplifting to see that it is POSSIBLE to get out of it. Tough, difficult, hard, but possible. An inspiration for those ones who are still struggling.
   
   I read somewhere that Anthony recently had a baby (last year). Not an epilogue to his story, but another, wonderful, beginning.



4. Scar Tissue is an excellent tale. More than anything the story is about a man who has done some hard yards and is witnessing without shame or pride his life story. The book is humbling in many ways. Scar Tissue is as fun to read as it tragic. His account of his day to day dealings as a rockstar leave you feeling like Anothony Kedis could very well be just one of your friends. He is down to earth. He is real, and he is very articulate. There is quite a bit of esoteric language, but you can handle it. Read it. 5 Stars



5. After listening to Stadium Arcadium and being blown away by the lyrics (e.g. Wet Sand) and stunning music (again, Wet Sand), I was very drawn to reading Scar Tissue. While not a die hard RHCP fan before the book (or before Stadium Arcadium), I am now. I dug up the old stuff and gave it a re-listen. It's amazing to listen to the songs after having read about them; the process AK describes on writing lyrics and the contributions and musical influence from the rest of the band past and present.
   
   A main theme and thread throughout the book is AK describing his serious struggle with substance abuse. He writes in a very clear and vivid voice, it is moving and revealing. I have profound respect for his recovery and the process he went through. To me, the book itself is written with a sense of service and purpose beyond mere autobiography. A great read.

5 comments about Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road.

1. Thought provoking and insightful, this truly comes from the heart. It is difficult to imagine someone having to go through the tragedies suffered by Mr. Peart but he is able to put together a riveting account of the turmoil he suffers while grieving over the loss of loved ones. If this book does not cause you to shed a tear, you aren't paying close enough attention.



2. 
   I had high hopes of this book when I first heard about. I thought we would get deep insight into the mind of the Ghost Rider and how he would deal with the tragic loss of his family. Perhaps in a certain way, we did, he road his bike thousands of miles, which is fine, but there is so much missing from it. The author is a very private man who chooses only to give us an edited version of his pain, misery and redemption. The book is simply a traveling manuscript that lists places where the Ghost Rider cruised to and where he stayed and dined. It deviates at times to more intimate settings such as with his wife's family and friends but they are so few and are never given ample room.
   There is also a bizarre array of letters to the Ghost Rider's friend Brutus that is filled with inside jokes and highlights that the reader never connects with and is left out of. The editing of the book was also poor - examples include the letters (perhaps they should have been deleted altogether) and the conclusion was done too loosely. There were too many events that were hurried over.
   I do not see how others could rate the book so high - perhaps they are fans or they enjoyed it as a travel book. I did leave with a deeper appreciation of traveling after reading it and noting the sound wisdom of "keep moving," in order to stay focused at the task at hand, which was to...finish the ride?



3. Fred and Chris' review is shockingly disturbing. I read this book 3 times and wept uncontrollably at Neil's losses. I cannot believe that you would complain that he is shallow, and complained about the number of pages it took to tell of the events. How much more does he need to tell? Selena lost control of her vehicle, flipped it, and it killed her. It was a terrible accident without cause. Jackie fell into the worst depths of a depressive state and it killed her along with the terminal cancer. A disease I battled personally for 2 years but actually ended up in remission.
   
   To complain that this book reads like a Mapsco means neither one of you understand or care about how most readers like myself want to know everything, every description, every detail of what he is seeing and feeling. Neil writes so that you feel you are right there with him and that is what I love about his writing style.
   To say that he cares more about his friend who is in jail for marijuana possession, (not HARD DRUGS) instead of Selena and Jackie is very callous. If he cared about his friend over his family, he never would have been in seclusion for so long and would have probably returned to drumming a lot sooner. HE LOVED HIS LITTLE GIRL MORE THAN ANYTHING!!! Look at the way he talks about her in all of his books. He was a very doting father and very involved in her life.
   The fact that he did not just take a bottle of pills and end it all after those tragic events shows how much courage and strong character he really has. And just because he can handle his liquor does not mean he is teetering on the brink of alcoholism. Sounds like something a member of the infamous AA would say.
   Saying that he has a diminishing respect for humans individually and as a whole just means that you don't like the way he looks at some people and situations. After reading all his books I realize that I think and feel the exact same way as he does. You just don't like his observations because he tells the truth and tells it like it really is, and no one ever wants to hear the real truth.
   He can't help it if he does not really like being famous, nor can he help it that he is pretty much the best damn lyricist and drummer ever!! Its a little nerve racking to have people running after you all the time.
   
   This book takes you through his private hell and emotional wreckage that feels like he will never come out of, and in a lot of ways he never really will. Yes he has found a new soul mate and has a renewed zest for life, but one never gets over the loss of their baby and you can see it in his eyes in recent pictures, he is not completely the same person he was before and never will be again and to say he is in need of some personal work makes me feel the both of you need personal work a lot more than he ever did!! Let's see how you handle it when you loose your loved ones.
   I have more respect and admiration for Neil Peart than a lot of peope I personally know and I am glad that he was able to find the will to live.



4. This book was inspirational! It provides a good reality check when you feel like life is handling you more than you can deal with.



5. i don't know what more i can say, book more than worth reading, if you love music, RUSH, adventure, bikes, just to name a few and i you can appreciate what it takes for soul to lose everything an want to keep moving forward this is a worth wild read for you.
   
   i personally love it for all that and the way he speaks so painfully honest of eventing, himself included. not to mention his amazing ability to be perfectly descript and yet it inst my method of choice to fall asleep, if you have ever read those kind of books im sure you can relate. and as you go you will see more and more of who Niel Peart is, much of it being hi sense of humor, all be it subtle r dark at times always there. all i can say is buy it and read it, i did it on a whim simply cuz i love Rush and always like to hear what fellow drummers have to say.

5 comments about A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties.

1. This is a really good read--whether for a look back at the early folk scene in Greenwich Village (starring Bob Dylan, of course) or for a casual history of that still important time that spawned the "youth movement" in the U.S.
   The hook to read this book is that it is written by Bob Dylan's girlfriend during his early career. But soon into the book, the reader realizes that it is not going to be a tell-all about the famous singer with anecdote after anecdote exposing Dylan's life at this very crucial stage. So, should the reader continue? I wasn't sure if it would be worth the time investment to hear Suze Rotolo's story. I did continue on and am I glad I did. What we have here is the story of the '60's by a remarkable, sensitive, intelligent,loyal girl who refused to be swallowed up by the cult of celebrity worship so prevalent in our society today. Yes, it was certainly alluring for her to be Dylan's girlfriend--with all of its glamour and power-- but she knew that she would lose her soul and never discover her own self-worth if she were to remain with him, despite being in love with him (and he her).
   Rotolo writes in a breezy style with the vernacular of the early sixties. She captures well what is like to be a teen/young adult during any epoch and adds the specifics of the turbulent sixties. A long list of characters(most from the folk and music scene) make an appearance in this story: Dave Van Ronk, Ian and Sylvia, Joan Baez, Trini Lopez, Phil Ochs, John Hammond, Jerry Rubin, Raul and Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Ramblin Jack Elliott to mention a few.
   My favorite anecdote in the book is a short one that reveals a most endearing quality of Rotolo. Speaking to an audience in Cuba just after the Revolution, she tells them that she is alienated with the constant use of the terms the proletariat, blue-collar workers stating that she was the only one among the American speakers who was actually from a blue-collar background. "My father,who had worked in a factory, never referred to himself as 'a proletariat'."
   Highly recommended for those who were young during this period, or anyone interested in the genesis and milieu of the young Dylan and his art.



2. This book is for the most part, but not entirely, about the time that Rotolo was lovers with Bob Dylan. She's an interesting person so I was also interested in the stories about her time in Italy, her life as an artist, her upbringing as a working class red diaper baby, her experiences in Greenwich Village, the people she knew in the folksinging world there in the Village. Then, of course, there's Dylan. Interesting stuff. However, her writing was often flat and the ending was disappointing. She skips chunks of time. I would have liked to know more about her evolution as an artist and the ways she may have struggled to keep being a creative person.
   
   I do recommend it to those of you who are interested in that period of time and Greenwich Village.



3. A bit repetitive and poorly edited, but still a fun social history reaffirming a great time in American musical development...



4. This was a well written depiction of the 60's. I was a Bob Dylan fan at this time and he was always quite a mystery to me. This could have been one reason, other than his music which I loved, that he infatuated me. Having never been to the village I'd always been curious about the life style there and Suze Rotolo put it together beautifully. I particularly enjoyed how she linked so many of the folk era greats together and their personal dynamics with each other. The book would be worth reading even had she not been the girlfriend of Bob Dylan. Her story was mesmerizing and without a great deal of empty sentiment.



5. I've been a Dylan fan since 1970 and have followed his career through all of its ups and downs, the good albums and the bad (yes, there have been more than a few of the latter), and along the way I've also read many of the books that have been written about the man. Most have been utterly forgettable; some have been insightful; and a rare few have actually been enlightening.
   
   Suze Rotolo's A Freewheelin' Time is, if nothing else, enlightening. More than just the story of a life -- or in this case two lives, Rotolo's and Dylan's -- it is an insider's account of a time and place that now seems strangely distance from our own. For more than being just Bob Dylan's girlfriend, or the girl in the picture on one of the most iconic album covers of the 1960s, Rotlo was also someone who, raised by radical, working-class parents in the 1950s, was steeped in the counterculture ethos that defined the early Civil Rights and Anti-War movements that Dylan ultimately gave voice to. In fact, fascinating though her insights into young Bob Dylan are, some of this book's most interesting passages deal not with Dylan himself, but rather with Rotolo's efforts to find her own true identity as a woman in pre-feminist America, and with her struggle to define herself as a non-conformist in a country that even in the do-your-own-thing '60s valued conformity above all else.
   
   Finally, I don't know what Publishers Weekly was talking about when it took Rotolo to task for her having described Dylan as a genius who at heart isn't very honest--as if it isn't possible for someone to be both brilliant and dishonest at the same time. Give me a break. This isn't the first book to suggest that Dylan has often been less than decent (to say the least) in dealing with others. Stories about Dylan putting people (often old friends) down in public are both ubiquitous and legendary. And you only have to listen to some of the more caustic songs on Blonde and Blonde (and let's not forget Positively 4th Street) to know that the man can wield a song like an ax when he really wants to hurt someone. But that's all part of what makes Dylan -- the man of many masks -- so fascinating. Right? I guess some people (the reviewer from Publishers Weekly no doubt being one of them) prefer having their heroes depicted cookie-cutter neat and without any warts.
   
   Bottom line: This is a fine book that will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about Bob Dylan, about American on the verge of social and political upheval in the early 60's, or who might simply enjoy reading about a young girl who survived a prolonged encounter with greatness and came out all the stronger for having experienced it.

5 comments about Slash.

1. Slash tells his story from his funny and adventurous childhood through his Guns N Roses days to his present work with Velvet Revolver. There have been many unofficial biographies of Slash and other GNR-related books, but finally we have something from the man himself.
   
   
   Besides, Slash is a really smart guy, so this is not just another average rock book. It's a captivating story. His style is honest and easy to read, his comments and conclusions are backed up by nice rare pictures. The guy sure has great sense of humor, too!
   
   It's one of the best books I've read this year. The top-hatted guitar hero has become a legend, played with many other rock legends and experienced the evolution of rock music from the 80s until present day. He's been there, done that and has a lot to tell about life and the music business. Here's our chance to hear it straight from the source.



2. Even if you are not a GnR fan, this book has alot to offer. I highly recommend!



3. Finally got aroudn to ordering and reading this book, and I am certainly glad I did. Being a big GNR fan, I've always wanted to know what the band was really like and why they fell apart so quickly. Until Axl writes his own book, this book will be the best one about Guns N' Roses and their rise & fall. Slash decribes his upbringing, first learning to playing a guitar, and how GNR came to be in fluid detail. The making of AfD also is described with the source of every song.



4. Slash
   Slash is very honest in his book. It was a real page turner. I bought this book for my hubby for christmas. He finished it in 3 days. Then I got it and finished it in a week. Love it!! I hope to read more from this author in the future!!



5. Let me start by saying I am a huge Slash/GnR fan. I loved Slash's stories behind all the GnR songs and his take on Axl being Axl and the last band tours. My beef is with the editing and fact checking. I am shocked by how much of it is wrong! Just small examples like Slash and Renee being married at the Four Seasons in Marina Del Rey (it's a Ritz) and getting Fred Coury's name wrong (it is mentioned at least 1/2 dozen times as Curry). There are several other wrong or inconsistent details, enough for it to distract me and wonder what else was incorrect in this book. Again, that being said, I did enjoy the book would recommend it. I just wish the publishers would take the time to put out a better quality book. Nikki Sixx's book was really so much better quality even though it is a totally different style.

5 comments about Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me.

1. I thought that this book was very interesting. I especially found it interesting that even though she did not stay married to him, she, until the day he died, always loved George Harrison.



2. This book was a lot of name dropping which I found annoying seeing as I didn't know most of the names she mentioned. I loved the history with the Beatles and Eric Clapton the most. Learning that Patti was the muse for some of the greatest love songs of all time like "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton and "Something" written by George Harrison. I almost feel like Patti has repeated all the wrong patterns without learning any lessons life tried to teach her. She always relied on her ex-husbands to support her financially and had no real world experience. I understand being married to a superstar is a whirlwind, however, let's get realistic, which I feel Patti never did. A quick read. I skimmed a lot of parts that babbled about supermodels and photo shoots. She skimmed over drug usage...I felt she could have elaborated more on those moments/feelings, which would have connected her to more of her audience bc most of us share that experience or have had that experience. Writing style was not elegant, sort of choppy.



3. After reading Eric Clapton's autobiography, I was keen on reading Patty Boyd-Harrison-Clapton's own biography/testimony. Now that I have finished her book, my reactions are mixed.
   
   I was pleasantly surprised to learn Ms. Boyd spent her early years as a child in Kenya. Although there are sad memories in Kenya, her discussion about that time is one of the best parts of the book.
   
   Unfortunately, once grown up and beginning her life as a model, her story becomes a horn of plenty for names, food, dinners and parties. This onslaught has lead to the charge that Ms Boyd is a very superficial, name-dropping, social-climbing jet-setter. Oddly, this is precisely the person Ms. Boyd had wanted to prove she was not in writing this book. My inclination is to believe that Ms. Boyd is an intelligent and introspective lady. Such a person pokes up from the text several times. Thus this continuous parade of names and parties--while perhaps accurate as far as it goes--only obscures the real story she wants to tell.
   
   (On the other hand, one can only be amazed that Ms. Boyd remembers so much detail about who she met when and what they ate. I can't necessarily remember who was at the office Christmas party just six months ago much less what I was eating on a particular day forty years ago.)
   
   Buried in Ms Boyd narrative is a tale of a self-doubting and insecure young girl slowly growing into a mature and self-directed woman. This could have been a good story all by itself; but if you weren't looking for it you'd miss it. Instead, we get occasional admissions of confusion and "low self esteem" during the major tumultuous crossroads in her life. These admissions get to be a little annoying after a while. The vocabulary she uses leads the reader to suspect M.S. Boyd has learned just enough psychobabble through therapy to use for explaining many of the poor choices she had made. I do not know if "low self esteem" really does explain much of her actions; but therapeutic terms often can act as detours around serious thinking. Indeed, some serious thinking seems to be lacking in many of Boyd's reflections.
   
   In discussing her courtship and marriage to George Harrison, Ms Boyd is not shy to admit that in spite of everything George was the love of her life. Nevertheless, I found myself wanting more about her life with this quixotic man. For a man who by all accounts was so comfortable with himself, why could he be such an absolute jerk at times? How could one focused on the transcendent turn to be so mean with those who meant the most to him? Perhaps, George was simply a mystery even to those closest to him.
   
   By Boyd's testimony, Harrison was less than candid about their past relationship after their divorce. Harrison claimed that the marriage that was stupid, meant little, and never should have happened anyway. He also maintained that his best song, "Something", was not written about Patty. He also stated several times that losing Patty meant nothing to him. In fact, Boyd is confident that George knew that she was the love of his life as well. Even among his infidelities, he was deeply in love with her and when he lost her it completely tore him up. By her written account, when Boyd returned to their home at Friar Park to gather up her things and move in with Eric Clapton, George was visibly shaken and destroyed. Years later, Boyd relates that they met once again at an airport. George had been remarried to Olivia Trinidad Arias while she herself was solidly attached to Clapton. By her account, in a particular instant during their polite meeting, she saw that George was still deeply in love with her. She, too, realized that she loved Harrison even then. The magic was still there. As Boyd herself matured and learned to stand on her own feet, she felt that she shouldn't have left George. Instead, she should have stood up and fought for their marriage.
   
   So who was telling the truth? Harrison with his professed indifference? Or Boyd's testimony of mutual emotional devastation? I am far more inclined to take Boyd's account than that of Harrison's. There are a few songs Harrison wrote at the time that seemed to betray his true feelings of loss. (Especially his "So Sad (No Love of His Own)" recorded for Alvin Lee's ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM solo album). Is Boyd's perception that both she and Harrison still loved each other when they met at the airport reliable? Again, I think Boyd is fairly trustworthy here.
   
   If Harrison was the fire, Clapton was the fire. As her marriage to Harrison began its downward spiral, Clapton pleaded Boyd to leave George and join him. She resisted but another affair by Harrison pushed her over the edge. She fell in with Clapton and he began a long torment vacillating from passionate love to emotional cruelty. When she was away from him, Clapton was enchanting. When she was safely his, he could be indifferent or abusive. One of the major demons in Clapton's life was alcohol and it drove his life with Boyd suffering his drunken mistreatment. The picture Boyd paints of Clapton is not pretty and is very difficult to square with the hero worship laid at his feet. Finally, after fathering a child with another woman, Ms Boyd made the clean break. The reader, however, is left wondering why she tolerated Clapton's serial infidelities so long--especially given her awareness of what goes on among rock musicians on the road.
   
   One walks away from this book wondering why both George Harrison and Eric Clapton remained good friends after the high drama of Boyd leaving one for the other. It being a "musician thing" as some suggest doesn't cut it. Perhaps because it is more common than we think or she herself has no insight to share on this score, Ms Boyd does not venture explaining the bond between her two husbands.
   
   Neither do we get beyond more than scratching the bare surface the Beatles as a band or as individuals. Given the very long bookshelf of books about the Beatles by those who knew them and (more frequently) those who never met them. I would have liked to have read the perspective of one of the wives who was there from Beatlemania until the breakup. Cynthia Lennon has done so to a degree. Unfortunately, Linda McCartney and Maureen Starkey died from cancer. Yoko Ono is more interested in guarding John Lennon's memory--especially wanting to have the public see their relationship in the best light. (By and large, most of the public still believe Yoko broke up the band. Not a few within the Beatle's circle of friends have suggested there was something pathological about John and Yoko's relationship.) This leaves Ms Boyd. It may be a biographer is required to draw this out of her.
   
   Lastly, Ms Boyd tells us that after all these difficult years she finally found herself and took responsibility for her own life. How did this come about? We get a hint that becoming a professional photographer played a role in this; but we learn next to nothing about Patty the photographer.
   
   So we add Ms Boyd's manuscript to the burgeoning library about the Beatles. Ms Boyd's writing in clear if only workman like. Compared to Eric Clapton's own autobiography, Patty's is less dynamic--and that is saying something. All the names and parties distract from what should have been the focus of the book: Harrison, Clapton and Patty Boyd. If you have read more than a few books about the Beatles, some of the chronology of events seems a bit off. Still, you can't help liking Patty Boyd. She made some bad decisions in her life; but I think it is fair to say that none of the Beatles and their circles escaped making a long series of poor choices in that pressure cooker few will ever experience.



4. I'm a Beatle fan of epic proportions and have been since I was twelve (I'm in my forties now). I was so excited when this came out I couldn't wait to read it. My wife bought it for me for my last birthday and I have to say, this isn't just one of the worst books on the Beatles I've ever read, it may be one of the worst written books I've ever read, period. Everything the other reviews say about timelimes being erratic, well known facts totally being distorted and Pattie sounding like nothing more than a whinning, self-centered, shallow baby are dead-on accurate. I always thought that Pattie was a beautiful and talented woman of the sixties that had captivated and inspired two of the decades greatest icons with her wit, beauty, and charm. After reading this I don't even think she would be capable of holding a coherent conversation. The woman just sounds like an idiot and this is by judging her from her own words. She apparently contributed nothing to the marriages (except for being a drug and drinking buddy), spent tons of money on herself, and is now whinning because the party's over. No wonder Harrison and Clapton dumped her. After reading this I don't think I could stand her for more than fifteen minutes. If you want to know what Pattie Boyd had for lunch at some expensive retreat on a vacation paid for by an estranged husband all the while hearing her complain about how hungover she was at the time, then buy now. Otherwise, don't become her latest money victim like George and Eric were.



5. I am glad I skimmed this book in a bookstore and did not waste my money by purchasing it. Pattie's book includes a lot of information that Beatles fans probably already know. Also, Pattie seems to have felt superior to Cynthia Lennon because Pattie says that, unlike Cynthia, she had a career and attended private schools. So, I would like to know why, in my opinion, Cynthia's memoir, which is entitled John, is vastly superior to Pattie's book. Unlike this book, Cynthia's is very well written and insightful.

5 comments about The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star.

1. Brilliant!Couldn't put it down.It makes you wonder how someone could be so intelligent and so stupid at the same time.My son is an addict and I wanted to get some insight into their brain and how it works so I can try to help him.Nikki Sixx is like a cat he's got 9 lives.I hope he never runs out so he can do more good things with his charities.



2. One of the best books I have ever read! I have never had a drug or alcohol problem, but I have been a Nikki Sixx and Motley Crue fan for 20 years. It really does let you know how people in that situation feel and what they are thinking. Definately a must have for anyone with someone with a drug problem in their family. I couldn't put it down and ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting everything he does is more shocking than the last. ALL HAIL NIKKI SIXX!!!



3. I have been in love with Nikki Sixx since I was a kid. This is a great book. Love how he opened himself up in it and let you see the real Nikki. How he was and how he overcome his addiction.



4. I read this book immediately after reading The Dirt, and it's a good follow-up explaining Nikki's side of the story during a very eventful year in rock stardom, with lots of information that The Dirt had to leave out in order to save space. Mainly, this book describes in detail Nikki's paranoia and loneliness as a drug addict during his off-tour weeks. The things he came up with in his head and took the time to write down in a diary are quite fascinating indeed, and an enjoyable read when you just want to feel like a rock star going through the artistically printed pages.



5. This is a great book about Nikki Sixx's struggle with addiction. The book starts off slow however, once you get into it it's an amazing book. I would highly recommend this book for any Motley Crue fan or any Sixx:AM fan (a band based off the book).

5 comments about The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band.

1. This book is far better executed than anyone could have expected. Every major player in the band is given his space to freely say what he felt about the time he spent in this band. Told in chronological order by those involved this is the summation of a very rowdy group of men coming of age, so to speak, in a decadent generation.
   I was both amazed an delighted with the general candor the band tells it's story in this book. I have read that their have been efforts made to film this and that Nikki is hell bent to keep Hollywood from messing it up. If he can succeed in that as well as he has succeeded in bringing this book to the public he should surely have more to offer his fans than they should expect.
   Film or no film this book is an enjoyable read and is one of the fewer rock'n'roll autobiographies that is a true representation of it's subject.
   I read this book in one sitting when a friend gave me a copy for christmas, and I immediately read it again just as one listens to an album by this band repeatedly when it first comes into your possession.
   I recommend this book to anyone as a good read even if they aren't fans, simply because there is such a great humor to this book you would think that Sam Kinison was hanging around guiding their very pens as they wrote.



2. I am a die hard Motley Crue and Nikki Sixx fan so anything pertaining to either one I'm gonna love.. This book was awesome! I learned so much about the Band and each member that was a part of it including John Carobi who took over vocals when Vince Neil quit/or was fired from the Crue. It's honest & raw and I loved it. You get a taste of where how it all started and came together. They were so young yet so driven to succeed at what they wanted and they did making some of the best music ever. GET THE BOOK!!! You'll love it!!



3. I'm in no way a fan of Motley Crue, since I was born during their time of fame, but this book is still one of the best reads I've ever had. It's filled with crazy off-the-wall adventures and events that us ordinary non-rock stars will probably never come close to experiencing (ie. nailing a punk's ear to a table, killing someone in a drunken car crash, lining up girls on against the wall to have sex with them...), and it's thoroughly enjoyable to read about twenty years after the fact. The fun of this book isn't non-stop, though -- it seems that after about 120 pages into it, the reckless hedonism of the boys turns into a mature feeling guilty about living so recklessly and the whole rest of the book is about them trying to get into a clean and normal life, with two decades of trying to repair the band as well.
   
   You know you want to feel like a rock star for a few hundred pages. Here's your chance.



4. This book is great! I totally love the realistic tales. I love Motley Crue even more now.



5. Don't even waste any more time deciding if you should get this. It is well worth the coin. I didn't think there was much that I did not know about the band since I grew up on these guys. From page one, I was captivated by the story of the rise to fame for Motley Crue. Very personal and funny. Grab it!

5 comments about Clapton: The Autobiography.

1. After reading "Clapton" I understand Eric a little bit better. Granted, I feel that he is not the "watch me bleed" type he tries to reveal parts of himself to the reader. He is brief and provides little explanation for his substance abuse and doesn't reallly elaborate much during the book on key things that people want to know: feelings about his troubled marriage to Patti, how he felt when he lost his friend George, etc. Yeah, he is very lowkey about these episodes in his life but I feel that he has achieve enough distance to talk about his relationship with his mother (very confusing family) and his early substance problems. I truly feel that he has tried to be as honest as he can about his life. But, he is not going to open up his gut and just spew up his inner most feelings for the entire world. In this way I think that he demonstrates very healthy boundaries!! I think the book was good because he wrote himself not so ghost writer!!



2. DO NOT buy this book, but DO READ it. Borrow it from a friend, or from the library. If you need proof that old age does not equal wisdom, this is it. If you need proof that famous musicians should not be entrusted with any oracular powers, this is it. But I suppose many people need that proof, so in that sense it is a good idea to read this book. It will show you the real Clapton, the incompetent writer and all-around boring, self-serving careerist.
   
   After reading this book, I think Clapton would do anything just to further his career, and after getting his way, he'd write another book about it where he'd say he's made a huge mistake, and he'd like everyone to say a prayer for him. Oh, and he's better now, and the last years have been the best of his life. And he's all wise and perfect now. He'd just been thinking that he's perfect in the past, but now he really is. Honest.



3. Yesterday I read Clapton's amazing autobiography in one sitting. Now I must admit, I took my teenage kids to a day-long music festival where the primary genre was "screamo". So while they were taking in the head-banging and mosh-pit action, I listened to Mark Knopfler on my Ipod and read Clapton's amazing confession of a life nearly wasted, except by God's grace. No, I am not 100% sure he has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. But if he was being as honest in the book as I believe, then I wouldn't bet against it.
   
   Here is his confession that I think is so humble and so honest:
   
   "...I was in complete despair," "...In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether ... and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that ... I had found a place to turn to, a place I'd always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do. If you are asking why I do all this, I will tell you ... because it works, as simple as that."
   
   Clapton did not mention in the autobiography his born-again confession of Christ from the Blind Faith days. Some say he recanted it during his years of addiction. And yes, the memoir does demonstrate his unsophisticated theology, his agnosticisms and even his interest in non-Christian religious concepts.
   
   But the bottom line is, the man's confession was humble and heartfelt. He attends church and buries his dead in Christian funerals. He was married in a Christian ceremony. No, that doesn't make him a believer. But his confession is surely a "good confession".
   
   Here is the life of a boy born of an unwed mother, hurt by the shame of his bastard status in his working-class extended family. His pain and shame drove him to the guitar and that outlet lead to one of the greatest musical talents of the 20th (and now the 21st) century. His life personified the nightmare of the cultural disintegration of the 1960s and '70s. He lived it out in the self-centered "I am God" focus; that is the result of rejecting the true God in humility and embracing "me" as the one who I will glorify. Yet all the while, he wanted to do good and not bad. But the bad found him, and he embraced it in a long death-kiss. Still, God was merciful, eventually. God knows and cares for His own.
   
   Clapton did not have to see the graffiti "Clapton is God" scrawled on the subway walls in London. He was already his own God, focused on everything that would make HIM happy, make Him feel better since his family humiliated and rejected him; make HIM get what he wanted. His obsession on the most pure music, the most beautiful women (even a friend's wife while they were still attempting to maintain a marriage), the best people to play with, the finest in "street fashion", was all about his need to have everything his way.
   
   And no, God's not through with him yet. The introspection he presents through the amazing telling of his story is partial at best. But it is sincere. His "surrender" is real and his telling of his progress (after the disaster of addiction) rings true.
   
   EC is a humble man in many ways. He is humble like most humble people; imperfect humility. He is realistic about his shortcomings and his gratitude for the blessings God has given him, including letting him live. He is humble in acknowledging God's purview to take his son, not rebelling against Him in the pain of such a monumental loss. Yet he is still the rich man loving his wealth, but in a humble way. Even so, he does give it away; he's an beautifully generous man. So why resent his upland fowling and his fly fishing? (those happen to be two of my personal peccadilloes, and it's not hard to eat all the trout, pheasant and grouse one can harvest in a season)
   
   He is still Clapton, still the greatest guitarist alive. God took Hendrix and Allman early. He acknowledged their even greater talent, but if they had lived, would they have been as prolific or successful? We'll never know. Well, maybe we will know on that Day, if Jimi and Duane were saved (and maybe they were; only God knows for sure).
   
   Regarding his writing, I think it's absolutely perfect. He's talking to the reader individually. It's almost a conversation, not a monologue. He makes some initial comments and then, as though the reader had made an insightful reply or query, he continues, as though responding in a friendly interview over a nice cup of coffee. The photos in the paperback book were interesting, and I'm glad they were there. There was not a good shot of Patty, although she was certainly in good form in the beach shot. But the photos were not the point; his life story as he told it was captivating.
   
   I couldn't help but wonder how he might have truly changed the world if he had turned from the drugs and sex and simply stuck with the music and used it as a ministry to God. He is now 21 years sober and his music has become the standard upon which much of modern music is founded. His influence cannot be overstated; certainly on par with the Beatles.
   
   What if he had turned to Christ after that Blind Faith concert when the Christian fans prayed with him to accept Jesus? What if he had followed "In the Presence of the Lord" with something more like "Shout to the Lord" instead of "Cocaine" and "Lay Down Sally"? Could he have helped turn us from becoming a society that aborts full term babies on demand? Might he have helped turn the world away from recreationalizing sex? Might he have helped keep marriage sacred and honored instead of trashed?
   
   We'll never know, although it's something he may hear from Christ on that Day. Someone with as much influence as he has had on our world culture could have helped prevent much of the insanity we have bequeathed the current generation. Yesterday I watched as teenagers cavorted proudly with the self-mutilation of full-body tattoos trashing their formerly God-given beauty. Might Clapton the man of God (instead of simply "Clapton the God") influenced society in a way that would have spared so many from so much pain. Yes, he's doing his part for addicts. Praise God. But how many of those addicts were influenced by the life he lived as the addict who could still be the world's greatest guitarist?
   
   One last comment. I saw Clapton play on his tour in Florida in '06. His performance was peerless. I've never seen a guitar man play with such accomplishment, power, passion or genius (and I saw Duane Allman from the 3rd row in a crowd of maybe 300 in 1970). He played the Derek and the Dominoes tunes better than the original, and I thought I was going to have to wait for heaven to hear them that way (and that was on the long chance that he'd actually make it there!) The old man can play (he's 8 years older than me, so that's OLD)! Today I'm buying his Robert Johnson and JJ Cale albums on the strength of the autobiography.
   
   Hendrix, Allman, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin all should have lived. Music would have benefited from them living longer, I believe. But maybe, if they had lived, the world would be even more secularized, evil and degenerate than it is today. The fact is, Clapton was a passive player in the cultural revolution. He was an unlikely culture warrior. His virtuosity, his musical genius was his hallmark; the music made him famous, not his on-stage demeanor. The fact is he was a bit player in the culture wars, even though he was surrounded by the prime suspects. Most of his degeneracy was personal, destroying mostly his loved ones and himself.
   
   But his disastrous life, until he finally kicked heroin, alcohol and whoredoggery, influenced the culture just the same. No, not as much as might have happened if Lennon, Morrison or Joplin had lived an additional 25 years. Certainly Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have done nothing to restore traditional family values in the last quarter century.
   
   But EC has repented. He has turned away from the old life of insanity and turned to a life of God and family. He is a man of prayer. He clearly puts his sobriety as his number one necessity in life, and from my reading he credits his sobriety to God. And then his family is next, because without his sobriety his family would be in grave danger. And he's also seeking to help others by his rehab facility in Antigua. Then it's about his fishing, hunting and nice yacht.
   
   That is the mark of the Christian life. God is number 1, others are number 2 and I'm number 3. That is Clapton's testimony, told in humility and self-effacement.
   
   All in all, that is what salvation is about. Turning from the sin that separates one from God and turning to Him, seeking His face first, relying on His strength alone for life, and then, by His strength, serving others.
   
   Of course, I may have misread the story. Certainly Clapton used a degree of restraint in his testimony. That was smart; coming out too overtly "Jesus Freak" could turn many hard cases away.
   
   This is certainly the most surprisingly inspiring read I've found in many years. Highly recommended!



4. Like many others, I looked forward to reading about the life of a musician whom I had admired for 40 years. Unfortunately Clapton's book is disappointing, not only from a literary standpoint (he needed a ghostwriter or an editor who could stand up to him and make some sorely needed changes), but from a narrative perspective as well. Two-thirds of the book is about a selfish, immature individual who truly didn't deserve the success that came his way. I found much of his childish behavior to be maddening. The last third of the book centering on his redemption from addictions, also helps redeem the story. (I found that I was nearly as disgusted with Clapton by the time I finished as I had been before his second rehab stint.) All in all, I kinda wished I hadn't read the book at all. Some things are better left unknown. Sorry, Eric!



5. The band Cream always kind of intrigued me. They seemed so ragtag, yet really quite good. Then, shortly after I graduated from college, I had a housemate who was an accomplished blues guitarist--in contrast to my cheap attempt, you know, hoping for the fame without putting any energy into it. He informed me that Clapton got all his style from black guitarists. I took his word for it.
   
   Well, Clapton confirmed that. He was just a kid, bought himself a really cheap guitar, and spent hours mimicking styles of Muddy Waters, etc. Then he moved into the Yardbirds, and the rest is history.
   
   Would that it were so smooth.
   
   Actually, I listened to the recorded version as I really don't have the time to read a showbiz autobiography. I find such texts to be so laughably self-indulgent. And I hoped for more from Eric. He is, after all, quite talented, that's obvious. Yet for most of his life, all he did is over-indulge. He got strung out on junk, then used some accupuncture means of overcoming his addiction--I challenge that such a practice would work, but for the time being, I'll take his word for it as well.
   
   Then he switched substances and drunk until he dropped. He attached himself to George Harrison's ex-wife over whom he'd had a fantasy for some time. In the meantime, he spent more time with more women than most of us will be able to fantasize.
   
   To make a long story short, after his son died, he decided to dry up. Then he met a woman half his age and since they've had four kids and he's pleased as punch while still attending his 12 step meetings and, oh, life is so wonderful.
   
   I'm sorry but I get really tired of showbiz autobiographies. Most of us who are music fans I think anticipated that Cream were skilled musicians with great tours. What was important was the talent and music, not their personality clashes and constant indulgence in more drugs than you could find in any city on any day.
   
   Such an autobiography makes its writer look like an ordinary guy. But, no, Eric, you had more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. You bought a new home at the drop of a hat, travelled more in a year than the rest of us will be able to in a lifetime. So, no, you're not just one of the guys.
   
   As I indicate in the title, I think as rock stars are getting riper--Clapton is now 63--the PR stunt, that which gets more of us to buy their albums is to write an autobiography so we don't forget them either. And the "one of the guys" is a shrewd means of getting us to identify with them. But it's not particularly honest, whether the author thinks it is or not.
   
   Anyway, it was written pretty well, I guess, but finishing off with "I'm all recovered now" is just another dimension of the cliche of the showbiz autobiography.
   
   I hoped I'd respect Eric Clapton more when I finished the book. Now I find I'm getting more cynical in general for the celebrity crowd.

5 comments about Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation.

1. I was so looking forward to this book because I am a huge fan of all three women and the author. Unfortunately, much of it is recycled stories that have been in the many other books and articles written about this time period. There is also constant repetition among the chapters. Unlike other reviewers, I admit I was looking for something a little gossipy and light but instead, it appears Weller is trying to create some type of faux-feminist piece by constantly bringing up the plight of women during this unenlightened time period. I wanted to read about the artists, not a piece on the birth of feminism. Carly Simon definitely makes for the most interesting read and in spite of being a Joni Mitchell worshiper, I got really bored reading about her long blonde hair and unique voice and stoic yet goofy ways- over and over and over again. Insight please! I also agree with the comments on the editing- or lack thereof. I devoured the excerpt in Vanity Fair and this is what prompted me to buy the book. However, tack on another 100 pages to that Vanity Fair article and you could have added all the new (as opposed to regurgitated) information and saved a few trees in the process!I think she had a good idea but the execution I found was pretty poor.



2. I must admit, when I started this book I was reading it because I loved the music and I remember many of these songs from my mom singing them, and from listening to them on the oldies and classic rock stations. I also admired the ladies, this is true. But once I got into it, I didn't realize it would be this way, but it was like a documentary on feminism, a most enjoyable one. The way the author linked the little (and big) things that happened in the songwriter's lives with what was happening in the headlines, and behind them, made me see connections I had not seen before. I also felt I got way more into the psychology and the motivations than any rock and roll book or general music book I have ever read. What made me respet this the most was the sources. The author seems to have gone out of her way to find as many people as she could who were in these womens lives, and even though some of them were people I had know about before, such as Graham Nash for Joni, so many more were sideline people, names you just wouldnt have heard of if you followed music, but obviously these were the people who really knew. Many sections were just plain riveting and the system of going from one singer to the next kept me wanting to get ahead of myself but I just said, no, no, wait. There were also parts that were heartbreaking, like when Joni gave up her child. The music is so fresh even today but the times were really long ago, and that's the magic of the book. We have taken things for granted that another generation had to struggle for. Food for thought as well as pleasure. I recommend.



3. I have just given up after slogging through 99 pages. This book is harder to read than a statistics text and a complete waste of time.
   
   First of all, the writing is ponderously pretentious. Secondly, the unending and amateurish use of parentheses makes it impossible to enjoy or even read. You have to see it to believe it. It's hard to find a page that is not covered with them. After a while, the parentheses became nails dragged on a chalkboard. I wanted to throw the book in the garbage.
   
   I believe this was edited by someone who never learned composition or possibly does not speak English. Parentheses are to be used sparingly, not as a substitute for either commas or basic sentence structure. Just look at this sample sentence, nowhere near the worst, and tell me why there are parentheses.
   
   "Rather, he is a (handsome, blond) laparoscopic surgeon and former combat Marine, some years Carly's junior."
   
   I cannot express how hard it is to read this monstrosity, truly one of the most poorly-written books ever printed on any subject. I cannot believe that anyone has actually read all 527 pages of this piece of junk.



4. I absolutely loved this book. We all remember the music, have the dusty old albums, but this gave me a real insight into that time. How they were living their lives, what the songs were really about. Being a James Taylor fan also, it's interesting to see how he was intertwined in all their lives. Three amazing women with three amazing distinct voices and three amazing lives. A fantastic read !!! Really well written without being too 'factual and boring' . Recommended !!!!!



5. No one was more looking forward to reading this book than I was! I adore Joni Mitchell and Carole King, and having grown up in the 70's, I couldn't wait to read a biography that I could relate to. However...this book was unreadable. I felt like I was slogging through the Harvard Law Review. The author, Sheila Weller, gave the impression that she cared more about her writing than her subjects. And her writing leaves a lot to be desired. Just write the damn story!! This is a book that could've written itself. But the author's ego was all over the pages saying, "Look at me! I'm so smart! I know lots of big words!" It's too bad because I still want to find out more about some of my favorite musical artists, but unfortunately I was unable to get past page 173. Sorry, Sheila Weller. I gave it my best shot.

5 comments about Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001).

1. I tend to assume that celebrity bios are ghost-written, and this one at least credits the co-author. Given that, it's a much better read than I expected, well put together and coherent. Don Felder makes a good "unsung hero", and for an unsung hero getting his chance to speak, he does a good job of taking the high road. He makes a noticeable effort to be fair to all the members of the Eagles with whom he played, and as a result he doesn't come off as petty or whining. I have always enjoyed and admired his guitar playing, and now have a sense that he may also be a pretty decent person. Worth reading.



2. Don Felder is very forthcoming about his life, and his place among the Eagles. Burdened by his self doubts and insecurities about his guitar skills, these traits haunt him even today. These inner demons kept him in Gainesville longer than he should have stayed; kept him from ending low paying, deadend jobs in Boston; prevented him from trying to make the scene on the West coast; perpetuated his own disillusionment with the Eagles; and ultimately played a starring role in his unfavorable demise from the group.
   
   He tells the story of a different time in music, and the gifts he was given by knowing so many talented musicians who just loved making music. The guys jammed together, and filled in for each other in a pinch, and even taught one another to play different instruments. I mean, we're talking Chris Hillman, Duane Allman, Herbie Hancock, Elton John, the Beegees, the Blues Brothers, Tom Petty, Gram Parsons, and the list goes on! The book would be a great read just to get a glimpse of a magical era in rock and roll music itself.
   
   Once he joined the Eagles, Don "Fingers" Felder became a work-a-holic on a listing ship which became increasingly difficult to get righted. As he spent his life at the beck and call of the Eagles' success, his wife Susan took complete care of him. She was his emotional rock night or day, raised their four children single-handedly, and stuck by him through drug abuse, infidelity, and years on the road. He is blatantly honest about being non-supportive of Susan when it came her turn to make her mark in the world. Instead of taking care of her, their home, the kids (although the hard part was over), and reciprocating her 30-year commitment to him and his career... he divorced her. And he discusses the woman he shares his life with now, and how she is there for him, because he still can't stand up emotionally for himself.
   
   So Don Henley is anal, and Glen Frey's sense of self-importance is only surpassed by that of the Greek god, Narcissus? Old, old news. But it was interesting to gain a bit of insight into two entities who worked hard to propel the Eagles straight into rock history, only to destroy the Eagles by sacrificing them to feed their own insatiable inner beasts. While Don Felder grew increasingly frustrated with the inner mechanisms of the band, he just didn't have the confidence to stand up for himself. He never seemed to understand why Tim and Joe were caught in the middle. They had much more to lose, in many ways, than Don Felder. As Joe tried to explain... it's hard as hell on the mind, body and soul out there going solo, with the work load, the hours, and the responsibilities. But it is something one must experience to understand. Never having experienced it, he was not able to recognize it and support Susan while she built her company... solo. And he humbly acknowledges this shortcoming in himself.
   
   Despite the soaring highs and sweeping lows in his life, it sounds like Don Felder has found peace. I appreciate that for him in his life.
   
   My strongest regrets about the way things ultimately transpired among the members of the band are sheerly selfish: 1) I will never get to see the Eagles perform with Don Henley, Glen Frye, Don Felder, Timothy Schmit and Joe Walsh. (The hope of seeing them perform, including Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, died decades ago.); and 2) I can play hell getting a guitar or photo signed by all 7 members of the Eagles. Ahhh. Thank God for CDs!



3. Don Felder spends the majority of the first half of the book telling the story of his life as a poor, Gainesville, Florida boy who married young and rode his guitar-playing expertise to the top of the music world.
   
   Felder's friendship with original-Eagle Bernie Leadon and his lean years with fledgling bands make his unlikely membership in the Eagles an enjoyable success story. His energetic, rock-edged guitar playing helped re-invent the Eagles sound, and launched them to greater heights.
   
   While a number of previous reviewers dismiss Felder as being bitter for suing the band to maintain his just and contracted equal share of the Eagles' profits, I think he does a fair job of stating the facts in a non-whiny manner. Message to all: Save all paperwork related to business!
   
   It is evident that manager Irving Azoff's desire to divide and conquer was successful in dividing the Eagles. I had hoped to see Don Felder return someday to the Eagles; it may eventually happen, now that his lawsuit has been settled out of court.



4. We always new that Glen Frey and Don Henley were a couple of insecure jerks didn't we? Well Don Felder confirms it with lots of details in this book. There are a couple of things that I like about this book. First of all, it feels honest. Felder speaks about how he, Joe Walsh, and the other members of the group (with the exception of Bernie Leadon who didn't take any of Frey's crap) more or less cowered before the two people they called "The Gods" in order to preserve the music. I also enjoyed Felder's story of growing up in Gainesville, Florida, and his interaction with his family and other future rock and roll musicians (such as a young Tom Petty). I'm usually disappointed in these type of books (such as the Clapton biography), but this one is worth reading!!!!



5. This book came to my attention just before Memorial Day while I was staying in the Sierras at a lodge close to the Strawberry Festival. Went out for a walk and was stopped by a guy wearing an "Event Staff" outfit and reading this very book with its most unique license plate cove while he was guarding access to the grounds. The Strawberry Festival is an annual music festival held in the Sierras and it spans a wide spectrum - from folk and bluegrass to roots and more. Anyway, I asked about the book and was given a brief summary. When I got home, I bought the book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I have a much better understanding of the history of the Eagles, the music business and music politics. The book can be further enjoyed by watching YouTube videos of the author and the band, the Eagles.