Customer Reviews

Bono On Bono - Conversations With Michka Assayas

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A long-time fan of U2's music and impressed by Bono's activisim, I was anxious to read this new book. And I loved it! I couldn't put it down!

Written in a coversational style, I at first thought it may be difficult to follow. Instead, I pleasantly realized that it made me feel as if I was listening to Bono talk to a group of which I was part. Because we are actually reading his words, I think we really get a look into Bono's mind - or even his soul.

Every topic I could want to hear Bono talk about is covered - his music, the band, his family, his belief in God, and his activism. It had it all.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about what makes Bono tick. It confirmed to me that he has a very big heart, a great intellect, and incredible talent.

Enjoy!

Before I read this book I loved U2's music but considered Bono, although very hot, to be yet another uneducated pompous ass celebrity with a god complex. After reading the book I realize I was the judgemental pompous ass. Bono is a man of conviction that gets mistaken as arrogance. He believes in something bigger than himself and stands up for it in spite of pompous ass people like me who doubt his sincerity simply because he's a celebrity. Sorry Bono, keep up the good work.

If you wanted to ask Bono a question, what would it be?

Would it be about the music?

Would it be about his personal life? Perhaps the deaths of his parents?

Would you ask about the formation of the most successful band in history?

Perhaps you'd want to know more about his work in support of AIDS and hunger releif.

All of these questions, and many, many more are asked and answered in this book. In fact, almost the whole book is a series of questions that ramble from subject to subject with no pattern. These questions and answers are like a normal conversation flows between friends.

Because they are friends, a true respect exists between the two men and it comes out in the book. This means that there is great insight shown into how Bono thinks. And it comes out that he thinks very well indeed.

This is a fascinating book, not just because of the fascination with the singer, but because of the insight he brings to us about places like Africa and the Soviet Union.

The man behind the "fly" glasses opens himself up in this candid and interesting interview-style book. Taken from a series of conversations with journalist and friend Michka Assayas, this is a heartfelt look into the life of one of rock music's biggest and outspoken artists. As the front man for the group U2, Bono is often seen as the spokesperson for not only the band istelf, but also for various causes he has undertaken such as debt relief and AIDS awareness. Through these conversations, he reveals how he got involved in these causes and others that are so close to his heart.

After reading this book, I have a lot more respect for Bono than I did. His candidness about the causes he supports and also his strong Christian belief is refreshing in this day and age of self-loathing and hatred of Christianity. Bono never backs down whenever asked about his belief in God and, in turn, practically witnesses to Assayas.

I also enjoyed the moments when Bono talks about his relationship with the rest of the members of U2. It really opens your eyes to what is going on behind the music of these great musicians. The way they relate to each other as family is definitely what has kept this band going for many years.

The only problem I have with this book is Assayas, himself. Some of the questions he asks are rather dumb. Fortunately, Bono is able to turn them around into something worthwhile. Assayas apparently has been a journalist and writer for quite some time, but this book makes it seem like he's a novice.

Since hearing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on a friend's record player in the early 80s, I've been a die-hard U2 fan. Even during their ironic and self-mocking gestures of ZooTV and PopMart, I found reasons to remain loyal. I still maintain that "Please" and "Wake Up, Dead Man" (both on the "Pop" album) are some of the best songs in their impressive catalog.

Although Bono has been thrust into the spotlight for over two decades--often by his own choosing--he remains somewhat elusive. Celebrities and rock stars, for reasons of survival, must maintain a distance of sorts. This I understand. But I've wanted more insight, more understanding of the things that motivate U2, and Bono in particular.

Michka Assayas has an advantage over other would-be chroniclers of Bono's mindset; Assayas has known the band and followed them from early on. For this reason, Bono's dialogue throughout the book seems more open, less guarded. Not only is Bono more candid, but Assayas refuses to be blinded by Bono's star status. He confronts Bono at times, challenging his thought processes. Bono, for the most part, comes clean. Once or twice he holds back. For all his gestures of honesty, he is still supremely aware of the impact of his words.

Despite this, the book is a detailed look into Bono's evolution as a rock star, an activist, and a human being. His thoughts on faith, old age, and other stars were particularly interesting, and his ideas for helping the poor are examples of his faith in action. This book may not go deeply into Bono's personal life, but it does delve with great insight into his political, spiritual, and public perceptions. When it's all said and done, I feel as though I could join him at a local pub and drink pints together while shooting the breeze.

Megalomaniac? Maybe. Self-proclaimed messiah? Not quite. Ambassador of forgiveness and equality? Absolutely.

Wow. In an age of stupid reality shows where greed, self-indulgence, and stupidity seem to be glorified, it is refreshing to have a Bono in our world today. It's as though he offers a different type of role model, a Gandhi of sorts, perhaps a Christ of sorts.

I highly recommend this book if you'd like to get to know Paul David Hewson a little bit better.

Whatever you think of the man, Bono is something else. Here we get some genuine insight into what makes this extraordinary individual tick. The series of dialogues between the Irish singer and old friend French writer Michka Assayas covers just about everything you can think of with intelligence and humour. At one point they discuss that these conversations themselves may be some kind of therapy for Bono since the relatively recent death of his father.

From his troubled adolescence and the death of his mother, to his recent first-hand experiences of international economics and politics, to his relationship with God and Christianity, Bono reveals all. Meetings with the Pope, George W. Bush, President Gorbacev calls round for Sunday lunch, there are some fascinating bits and pieces! Just as he appears on the point of pomposity or pretentiousness, out comes a quote from Monty Python, or a self-deprecating U2 story.

For a millionaire rock star, Bono comes across as remarkably in touch with reality and with his feet firmly on the ground. In fact it is astonishing that he appears to be so in touch with so many different realities, and still have a healthy sense of perspective. One senses a clear-headed ambition to achieve an ongoing balance between idealism and realism.

Having bought the book I simply got comfortable and being a listener not a talker, I sat down to listen, to the words I would read. And what a pleasure this conversation has become. No need to interrupt, just listen and learn.

Appreciated listening to Bonos take on everything from growing up with an absentee Mother and less than encouraging Father. To his take on the world, its leaders and 'me' the average person.

Someone like Bono comes along once in a lifetime and he has a gentle way of making a person be it someone average like myself or someone well known, do better. Be better.

Any admirer of Bono should own this book.

Don't get me wrong, I am a long time (20+ years) fan. I had hoped to learn a bit more about Bono and what really makes him tick. As I described to a friend of mine this morning, I don't know much more about him than I already knew. If you keep up with the articles in the press and on the major fan sites, you already know most of this. There's nothing here that hasn't been said or read before.

I wasn't looking for intimate details, but perhaps more about what it was like growing up (he claims to have no childhood memories) and insight into being in the band (we don't get much here either). Nothing terribly profound on his relationships with the bandmates or his friends and family, again, that we hadn't already read before. All you really get is numerous pages on his thoughts on religion and world affairs with a spattering of namedropping thrown in.

For a book "sanctioned" by Bono, I guess I should have expected no real surprises. The Q&A format is great but tends not to be very focused and it's hard to keep track chronologically of when conversations occurred and what was going on at the time.

By all means, add this to your collection, but temper your expectations!

To anyone who has wondered why Bono is the way he is, this book pretty much answers any questions you may have had. He comes across as a very bright and caring person who has a sarcastic wit about him, but who can change gears and get into some fairly deep topics. You also get to hear why charity is so important to him-the talks on charity were my favorite chapters. All in all recommended for U2 and Bono fans.