Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
 God writes... November 10, 2007
Dr. George L. Sik (Epsom, Surrey)
33 out of 37 found this review helpful
'Clapton is God' may have read the grafitti, but the tone of Eric Clapton's first autobiography is shy, matter-of-fact, flat. This may disappoint some but to me it made it all the more real...this is, after all, just how we expect Eric to communicate: his music is sublime, but his personality understated, introverted, filled for much of his life with the fear yet the encouragement of rejection that contributed to his alcoholism and heroin addiction.
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br /Nothing is left out. He is unsparing about himself, his honesty, even understated, shining through on every page. His life, after all, has been very full and included plenty of demons. His account of his feelings following the accidental death of his son is almost too painful to read. His passion for helping other addicts, however, is warm and heartfelt.
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br /Also evident is his generosity to other musicians he admires. Comparing him to Hedrix is now a standard pub conversation and he has nothing but praise for him. He compliments musician after musician. For him it really does seem to be 'all about the music'. The other stuff is there too: the affair with George Harrison's wife; the fact that his parents hid his illigitimacy from him; the entertaining anecdotes such as the difficulty of having a slash on the White House lawn. But, despite the fact that he rarely does much more than name song titles and musicians, it is the music that shines through: you want to run to those CDs and listen to them all over again.
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br /Clapton is a remarkable guitarist and this is a remarkable account of a life filled with real sadness and happiness. Thank God there are still a few older people writing autobiographies these days!
A really special book! October 16, 2007
J Milton (whitchurch, shropshire)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
I bought this book on Saturday and finished on Sunday. It is written from the heart and gives a rare insight into the struggles Clapton had with his own demons and the force for good that he became in opening the Crossroads treatment centre. I can't do the book justice, so just go and read it.
This is a book worth reading February 2, 2009
edzshed (UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I would say that the one thing that makes this biography stand out more than any other autobiography I have ever read is that he is so honest, to the point where I was quite shocked, he really doesn't hold anything back. In fact you get the impression that he may have learnt much about who he used to be and how that affected the man he is today in the writing of this.
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br /Not only does Clapton talk frankly about his addictions, but also about the women he has fallen for and the effect he had on their lives be it posetive or as is often the case negative.
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br /Really worth getting a copy, you don't need to be his biggest fan to read this.
Spinal Tap meets reality May 20, 2009
Drifter (UK)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
A very enjoyable read. As I got further into this I took a real dislike to a man I, like many others, have seen as a god since the sixties. The warts and all picture he paints of himself portrays a drunken, alcoholic, drug addicted, misogynistic, egotistical prat you wouldn't want to spend any time with. It is shocking to see how he behaved and for me it was uncomfortable mainly because it reminded me of myself at the same age.
br /So why is it enjoyable? Because of his honesty and because he manages to redeem himself. It's not a perfect book; there is not enough for me about the music process, writing, playing, recording, etc. And a bit too much about shoes, cars and food fights.
br /There are some quite funny moments to do with paying lunatic prices for 'modern art', chronographs, etc. (people obviously saw him coming)And a guitar collection of hundreds. All he needed was an amp that went up to 11. Having said that it is a fascinating insight into a guitar legend.
Great book, absolutely fantastic! October 16, 2007
Claus Danvad Hansen (Viborg, Denmark)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have been a massive fan of Eric Clapton for many years and this book is just fantastic.
br /I received it saturday and was finished reading it saturday evening.
br /It gives an extremely good insight into who Eric Clapton is and is much much better than all the other books about him, I have read.
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br /I have seen, that one here complains that there is too little from the early days, another is complaining that there isn't enough detail and depth about the friendships with Harrison, hendrix etc.
br /I think the early days is very well covered, I would even have enjoyed more on his later days, but it is impossible to satisfy everybody, because then this would be first volume in a series of 12.
br /And I actually like the fact, that he doesn't write too much about the friendships with Harrison Hendrix, because that makes room for learning more about Eric Clapton himself.
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br /When I finished the book I had the feeling, that I had known Eric Clapton as a friend for years, because you really get an insight into this special person and it is very well written and very important, also very honest.
br /I have read a lot of biographies in the years, but this one is definitely one of the very best.
br /I keep taking it out in the evenings to read the chapters again and I think that will continue.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
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