I Am Ozzy [Paperback]

Ozzy Osbourne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

Has there ever been a more extraordinary rock-star story than Ozzy Osbourne's? Born into a life so poor that the whole family slept in one room, Ozzy endured a tough upbringing. Music was his salvation and his band Black Sabbath went on to change the music scene forever. But along with the rock and roll came the inevitable sex and drugs and Ozzy fell into a long relationship with addictive substances. The stories of Ozzy's days on the road are legendary - biting the head off a live bat, losing his best friend and writing partner Randy Rhoades in a tragic plane crash - but few know of the real heartbreak he suffered during those days of excess. In the end it was love that saved him: the love of his wife Sharon and kids Kelly, Jack and Aimee. In his highly anticipated autobiography, Ozzy comes clean: in all senses.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Frank Skinner delivers a perfect performance of Osbourne's memoir of his long and colorful career—from his humble beginnings to his days fronting Black Sabbath and rise as a successful solo artist. Skinner captures Osbourne's slurry drawl in an intimate performance that transports the listener to a quiet pub where Ozzy is holding court and swapping stories about family, factory jobs, stints in prison, drugs, sex, alcohol, guns, chickens, more drugs, band breakups. Equally compelling are Skinner's renditions of Osbourne's friends and bandmates—his Geezer Butler is a knockout. A must for fans of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, and the rock 'n' roll memoir; highly memorable and recommended. A Grand Central hardcover. (Jan.)
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.

Review

A page turner ... I Am Ozzy is autobiography at its best. Now Magazine --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere; Export ed edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847443478
• ISBN-13: 978-1847443472
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (232 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,272,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most entertaining book I have EVER read!, January 14, 2010

By 

Sharon "Necroraven" (Outside of Worcester, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am Ozzy (Hardcover)

Seriously - if I could count the number of times I woke up the family laughing out loud in the middle of the night... I TRULY LOVED this book, but then again - I adore Ozzy and it's PURE OZZY at his most bare and truthful (and witty)! What a rare treat inside his sweet and crazy mind! I only wish this book could have gone on forever!

48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ozzy continues to flourish with each new creative partnership, January 23, 2010

By 

William Irwin (Kingston, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Am Ozzy (Hardcover)

How could Ozzy write a book? He's dyslexic and doesn't read. Well, how can he write songs if he's musically illiterate and doesn't play an instrument? The answer in both cases is that he gets help and he succeeds brilliantly. What's most surprising about this book is how much it sounds like Ozzy. I didn't think Ozzy's voice and sense of humor would come through in print, but they definitely do. Clearly, he dictated lots of material into a tape recorder, and his co-author did a great job of preserving and bringing out Ozzy's unique persona.

This book further confirms for me what I've always said: that Ozzy is a songwriting genius. Lots of people assume that he has just sponged off the talents around him from Iommi/Ward to Rhoads/Daisley to Lee to Wylde. But I've always said, look at what all those people have done before/and/or/after their time with Ozzy. Not much worthwhile in all cases. Meanwhile Ozzy continues to flourish with each new creative partnership.

The book is thin in lots of places where you'd like to hear more, and it runs a little long in other places where you've heard the stories before. The Jake E. Lee era is omitted completely. That's a shame. Ozzy should get over that resentment. He's won. Jake has done nothing worth speaking about without Ozzy, and meanwhile Ozzy has continued to receive acclaim for the past twenty plus years since Jake.

Any true Ozzy fan will love this book.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funniest book i've read in ages, December 2, 2009

By 

Mitchell J. Hall (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Am Ozzy (Hardcover)

This book is so funny.
The stories are fantastic. I challenge anyone to read the vicar and the afghan hash cake story and not laugh!!
It's good that Ozzy gets out some of the classic stories in his head. Sure the book mentions drug use and alcohol abuse yet what i like about it is that the book doesn't get bogged down on that issue. Unlike the Eric Clapton book.

The book has great photos. Is well written and is very entertaining. Once you start is very hard to put down.