To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Bjorn Turoque (Author), Dan Crane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

How an average musician put aside his "there" guitar and reinvented himself as Björn Türoque, the take-no-prisoners future of air guitar.

The true story of how mildly successful guitarist and New York Times writer Dan Crane relinquished his instrument and became Björn Türoque (pronounced "b-yorn too-RAWK"), the second greatest air guitarist in the nation. This exploration of the international air guitar sub-culture addresses the issue of dedicating oneself to an invisible art in order to achieve the ultimate goal of "airness"-that is, when air guitar transcends the "real" art that it imitates and becomes an art form in and of itself.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Actual musician and New York Times writer Crane created his alter ego, Björn Türoque, as part of a heated but unsuccessful attempt to win the 2003 Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland, a yearly competition—usually attended by thousands of fans—to see who can best mime the movements of guitar solos in songs by actual rock gods such as Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses. With hilarious detail, Türoque/Crane recounts what became a three-year, nearly full-time immersion into the cutthroat, usually drunken, but always serious world of air guitar competitors, who choreograph detailed 60-second routines of air-jumping, air-fretting, air–power-chording and air-soloing in order to be "transposed from insignificance into supernatural supershredding superheroes." Crane often veers into stoned philosophizing—he sees air guitar as "creating a reality in which the audience can place themselves"—but overall he easily and accurately captures the telling elements of what is uniquely a visual event: one participant is described as looking "as if he's repeatedly trying to pull-start a lawnmower with a great deal of frustration," while another—sporting "a Hello Kitty breastplate fastened to his chest with binder clips" has hands that move "like twin Tasmanian devils." (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Dan "Björn Türoque" Crane has been playing competitive air guitar for over two years. He has also written for Slate, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594482101
• ASIN: B000LMPL6A
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,337,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dan Crane writes about music, food, and culture for The New York Times, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times. He also plays in a faux French rock and roll band called Nous Non Plus.

Bj'rn T'roque has participated in numerous air guitar competitions throughout the world. Since joining the circuit, he and his air guitar have appeared on CNN, VH1, Last Call with Carson Daly, Fox & Friends, in a Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure special edition DVD, and in a Japanese girl band's music video. He's lectured on the subject at the Experience Music Project museum in Seattle, and is the founder of Aireoke: when air guitar meets karaoke. His heroes are guitarist Jimmy Page, sculptor Richard Serra, and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Bj'rn retired from official competition in 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars laughed so hard I blew snot out of my nose, August 29, 2006

By 

Gabriella Porter (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist (Paperback)

I really loved this book. I fully expected it to be silly and funny, and it did not disappoint in that regard (I mean, c'mon, AIR GUITAR!!??). However, I didn't expect it to be such a well written, in depth, truly epic journey into the strange world of competitive air guitar; a story that drags the reader along shaking with laughter and olfactory horror (poop in a pizza box, anyone?) into an understanding of and sympathy for the crazed, beer addled, "ersatz" philosopher Bjorn Turoque. Why on earth would anyone give so much for air guitar greatness? Why air guitar? What the...? Mr. Crane answers all these questions with substance and humor, and dare I say humanity. He's a Holden Caulfield (!!) for the jaded, 30-something, unhappy hipsters searching for something more in life...who finds air guitar and a mission! Make air not war. He makes you believe.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literature at Its Finest!, August 7, 2006

By 

Michael Croland - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist (Paperback)

Bjorn Turoque has only won an air guitar competition once (and I was there to witness it), but with To Air Is Human, he proves that he is the #1 ambassador of air, at least in the U.S. Mr. Turoque/Crane/Retard masterfully and humorously takes us into the magical world of competitive air guitar--what it's like to have to explain to your girlfriend why an imaginary instrument must dominate your life, what it's like to compete in 10 competitions and come in second five times, what it's like to live out your rock-star fantasies, and best of all, what it's like to score with an "air groupie."

Turoque explores the "beautiful" dynamic of air guitar in Finland, home to the Air Guitar World Championships, in which he has competed twice. The scenes in Finland focus on the unity of the human spirit--from the inspiring words of two-time former world champ Zac "The Magnet" Monro to the air guitar competitions for the "differently abled." Turoque's quest in life and with this book is to introduce America, which should be the leader of air guitar rock-stardom, to this concept. Turoque, a true Nietzche buff, analyzes air guitar with philosophy, pop-culture references, laugh-out-loud humor, and writing skills that have gotten his works published in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

This book might not inspire you to air guitar competitively, but you will laugh. And you will embrace the rock star that resides within. Two thumbs up--or better yet, double devil-horns way up with a C-Diddy-sized tongue sticking way out.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An improbable but ultimate quite funny book, October 6, 2006

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist (Paperback)

I was in a hurry to pick up some books for a transatlantic flight and I picked this book up, without much expectations. After all, how good could a book be about one man's quest to become the world champion in "air guitar" play? Then I started turning the pages...

In "To Air Is Human: One Man's Quest To Become The World's Greatest Air Guitarist" (304 pages), author Dan Crane brings the improbable tale of how he decided on a whim to enter the 2003 NY regionals and subsequently the world championships, and what happened next. The book is "co-authored" by Crane's alter-ego, the air guitarist Bjorn Turoque (get it?). With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Crane tells of his encounters with (semi)celebraties like Carson Daly and others along his way to try and become the world champ. Most of the tales are quite funny, which is what kept me turning the pages. Some of his observations are so off-kilter (such as "Air guitar, I had learned, is about commitment. It's not unlike love, really") that I just couldn't stop smiling as I was reading. Many of the better moments in the book are about the many side-characters that pop up.

In the end, this book was much better than I expected it. Of course, I had low expectations to begin with. But this book is funny and irreverent from begin to end. If you are in the mood for that, this book is for you.