Customer Reviews

Between Wyomings: My God and an iPod on the Open Road

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I couldn't put this book down, and never wanted it to end. I'm not a Christian, but reading through the events and true tales of this man's life with stories about finding God interspersed throughout made me want to become one! Plus the stories from the old "rock 'n roll" days brought home so many things for me. I loved how he relates all these tales through his travels literally and figuratively in his cross-country road trip down Memory Lane, a trip we all want to take one way or the other.

Many happy memories and lots of confirmations that I did the right thing by turning away. God bless the author and his crew! Can't wait to read the other book he has out, and hope he writes many, many more. What great turns of phrases he uses here.

Between Wyomings: My God and an iPod on the Open Road by Ken Mansfield is an interesting book part biography part spiritual memoir. You ride along with Ken and his wife as they take a road trip cross country. And like all trips you have your highs and your lows, your exciting points and your "Are we there yet?" moments too. You get an inside look into the music industry of the 1960's and 1970's with almost all the big name players at the time. From Ringo jumping from house to house cutting turkey on Thanksgiving day. You also see some sad points too and some very really funny parts too.

As you travel with Ken you see how God has changed him and his outlook on life. Overall, I would say this is a good book especially if you are a fan of music of the 60's throughout the 90's some big names and some not so big. It could have been better I think 10,000 miles was a little too long of a trip. Yet overall it is an interesting journey with a man, his God, and an iPod full of music.

Ken Mansfield lived the "charmed" life as a Music Producer for 30 years or more during the 60,70 and 80's. In this book he and his wife, Connie head out from there home on the Northern California coast for a trip down memory lane. He travels to all his old haunts and recalls those times in his life with such people as The Beatles, Waylan Jennings, DonHo and Dolly Parton just to name a few.

He captures the time with such vividness and you can imagine the images and things that took place. In his business of music he traveled around the country and even England in regards to the Beatles. He was involved in and changed many lives, he also eventually spiraled out of control and hit rock bottom. It is at this time in his life that he meets Connie and begins to climb out of his hole and begins to worship His Saviour, Jesus, instead of all the fame and fortune.

His message is genuine and as a child of the 60's myself, I enjoyed the telling of his story. As a Christian I enjoyed his journey and testimony, he is a beautiful Witness to our Lord.

This is a great true story about a Rock & Roll insider from the classic rock era going on a road trip through memory lane so to speak. There is a religious angle to the story that wasn't particularly compelling to me, but it is probably more compelling to others. I really enjoyed the story, but have to say that it seemed like it took many more pages that it should have to convey the heart of the story. But if you have the patience to get through the book, in the end you will walk away having read a very good story particularly if you are a fan of Rock and Roll.

Ken Mansfield has quite story to tell. As a former Capitol Records executive, manager of The Beatles' Apple label in America and a record producer, most notably producer for Waylon Jennings, he has seen more of America's musical landscape than most. Diagnosed, over a decade ago with a rare, terminal cancer, Mansfield is alive and thriving as a writer who is a devout Evangelical. But, don't let this fool you. In Between Wyomings he takes us on a parallel road trip, as implied by the title; a desire to grow in his faith while he travels American highways to the landmarks of his personal life and career.

In a deeper sense the title states the clear purpose of the book to make sense of the two Wyomings,the wilderness land of heady sex, drugs and rock&roll and the time of struggle in the wilderness of his faith. Does this sound interesting? If you have any doubts, here are some highlights: Jamming with Gene Clark of The Byrds in Northern California, working directly with The Beatles, finding himself at the roots of the Outlaw movement of the 70's most notably with Waylon Jennings...who once kidnapped him to have him to produce a song, the classic "We Had It All", Thanksgiving turkey with Ringo Starr and being a personal witness to the Beatles final live concert on a roof-top in London. But, more significantly, he describes his internal moral and spiritual conflict with clarity and purpose bringing his conclusion home with insight and universality.

Weaved into his story is the tension between his old life and his new. While these are based in his own personal witness and the Christian faith, the lessons he learns along the way are inclusive of those of other faiths and persuasions. The reader may be tempted to pass over the chapters devoted to faith in order to get to the fun stuff about The Beatles and other celebrities, but this eliminates the continuity, scope and dimension intended by the story. Only the closed minded will pass over these chapters leading to Mansfield's ending based on universal spiritual depth which does not attempt to evangelize, but instead, adds to his story in a way which supports its continuity.

With Between Wyomings, Ken Mansfield has successfully managed to write an original, captivating and engaging account of his spiritual journey as he weaves in some of the most important moments in rock, country and gospel history.

Ken Mansfield is in the fascinating position of being a born-again Christian who has concluded that his former show business life -- filled with almost all of the fabled excesses -- was shallow and destructive and not at all preferable to his present "walk."

His very human contradiction is that, while he clearly would never choose go backward into the downward spiral of his past, his past is very interesting since he was a major music executive in the midst of pop culture history and many of its giants. The prose swings back and forth from straightforward reminisces and impassioned testimony about faith and life's meaning (so impassioned in fact, I had to wonder why he wasn't more active in the creative end of music back then, rather than the administrative, but maybe that has changed since then). Perhaps he is in this position because he can offer us cool stories and also share his personal journey.

Mansrield mentions a lot of legendary names in this book, some in passing, some with anecdotes and a special group with lengthy discourse, particularly Waylon Jennings and the "outlaws" of country music, and The Beatles -- which he discusses in other books that I have since purchased.

My favorite story is about Ringo Starr and Thanksgiving Day. I won't give it away, but it a great little story that emphasizes character rather than legend. Who knew he was so good at gracious carving?

Ken has eloquently delivered a truly beautiful reflection on his life. Reading through parts of this really encouraged me to start "recording" my life now and writing down my memories.

This book is a travelogue and selection of memoirs by Ken Mansfield. Mansfield was a music producer in the 1960s and 1970s. In this book, he recounts the story of a recent cross country trip that he took with his wife, revisiting some of the places from their past, including Los Angeles and Nashville. Along the way, the travels and the music the Mansfields brought with them to pass the time bring back memories of people and events, which Ken Mansfield shares with us, along with spiritual meditations. Mansfield's unique mixture of travelogue, memoir, and Christian meditations may not appeal to all readers. Nevertheless, the text has an undeniable rhythm that makes the story flow and makes the book an interesting read.

Some memoirs can be a little too introspective and even shallow for me, but Between Wyomings strikes a wonderful balance between Mansfield's inner workings and the memories that come pouring forth from his years in the music industry. I was wonderfully surprised by how much I enjoyed both aspects of this book.

Mansfield, his wife (Connie) and his car (Moses) set out on the road to reach some resolution with God. Along the way I enjoyed the stories he had to tell about the characters he lived with for so many years. Some of the other reviews are far too jealous or smarmy to be trusted - Mansfield lived a fascinating life and has a lot of fascinating stories to tell.

I was especially moved by his sensitivity to God. He turns out to be a man who has much to be forgiven of, and feels the warmth and depth of the grace of God in his life. Don't pick up this book and be surprised by the role Christ plays in his life.

The book is easy to read, humorous at times, full of great tales, and replete with the goodness and love of Christ. May we all be this ready to hear the voice of God.

Between Wyomings, My God and an iPod on the Open Road, written by Ken Mansfield and published by Thomas Nelson, is a very interesting read - to say the least. Particularly if the reader grew up in the sixties and seventies, or is merely interested in the culture (music in particular) of that time in history. Mansfield was a record producer and record-label executive from the 60's through the 90's. He is also an ordained minister and public speaker.

The book is both a journey Mansfield is taking with his wife - each with their iPods - and a journey backward he is taking in his mind. At least in the trip with his wife, we get travel directions and points of interest. For the journey in his mind (his years in the music industry), the reader has no map or directional compass. Somewhat chronological from his beginning in the music industry, Mansfield is prone to jump to any moment of the entire journey.

Thrown in the mix are "God moments." Theological vignettes, as it were, that seemingly come out of the blue. While I would be the first to agree that God moments tend to come out of nowhere, in the context of a book there needs to be some type of cause and effect. These vignettes appear as if he inserted them during the editing stage - thinking it had been a while since he had added a God moment.

It took me longer to read Between Wyomings than usual when reviewing a book, partly because of the happenings of life with three teenagers, but mostly because the book lacks continuity. A connection from one short chapter to another. It just seems to be a collection of stories and essays. He writes, as he says in the introduction, like a "Christian on acid." But the stories are interesting and fairly readable within themselves.

One thing struck me when reading the book, having lived through a lot of those times myself. Which was that if he as an ordained minister can look back on that kind of life with a certain fondness, I can certainly consider myself forgiven for my sins. He does not dwell on the wild side of the music business, yet also does not act as if it did not happen. Anyone who is interested in the music business and culture in those decades and personal journeys with God should read this book. It just might be a while before they finish it.