Customer Reviews

I Am Ozzy

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Everybody knows Ozzy Osbourne in one way or another -- classic satanic rocker, burned-out family man, or whatever.

So he tries to incorporate a little of everything in "I Am Ozzy," a rough'n'tumble autobiography full of all the embarrassing, unflattering, sometimes bizarre details of his life. It takes awhile to get used to his rambling style, but these stories have an unpolished brand of charm... and he's undoubtedly had an interesting life.

John "Ozzy" Osbourne was born into a working-class, impoverished British family, had a miserable stint at school, and seemed destined for "manual labor or manual labor." Instead, he went to prison.

Fortunately for Black Sabbath fans, that isn't where the story ends. After hearing the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac, he became enamored of the rock'n'roll life... albeit a darker, weirder side than the hippie-dippie stuff that was popular at the time. And after a few failed bands, he got into a true, brilliant band that was later named Black Sabbath, hated by critics and much beloved by music fans.

He got married, had sex with groupies (in that order), went on Top of the Pops, encountered satanic freakfans, and produced a slew of albums with Black Sabbath. Lots of booze and drugs. As you'd expect, both he and the band started spiralling out of control. But after quitting it, he got involved with his future second wife Sharon, and launched out on a new life of music, madness, sex, dove-biting, bat-biting and -- most horribly -- reality TV.

Honestly, I didn't much care for "I Am Ozzy" during the first few chapters. The combination of a misspent youth and Osbourne's rambling style gave me a bit of a headache. But after awhile, his life story starts to grow on you -- his stories became funnier and more bizarre (how he almost killed a vicar with a hash cake) and his meandering way of recounting the past begins to flow more easily.

And since this is Ozzy Osbourne, he's got a LOT of freaky stories, so the book feels like sitting down and listening to the old guy natter about the Bad Ol' Days. Some are filthy, some are crazy, and some are just plain hilarious (`There's this incredible new thing. It's American and it's called pizza!"). And he writes in a rough-hewn, unpretentious style that meanders all over the place, but has charm.

Of course, it's got the F-word sprinkled through it hundreds and hundreds of times. What else would you expect?

And to his credit, Osbourne is unafraid to admit to the uglier parts of his life -- he was a burglar, he fired shotguns at small animals, and he cheated on Wife #1, as well as other sundry regrets. He's also pleasantly down-to-earth about his music, even when people didn't like it or didn't get it ("Are you sure they didn't make a mistake, son?" "What d'you mean?" "This cross is upside down").

It took a little while to grow on me, but "I Am Ozzy" ends up being an R-rated funride through the nasty world of rock and drugs -- the good, the bad, and the really gross.

This book was an easy and fun read, but I feel like Ozzy left out a lot of things that his fans would have appreciated. Perhaps that's for another book? The early Black Sabbath part of his life was well detailed and had he kept up that level of detail for the rest of the book then I would have given it 5 stars. He spent all of 2 sentences on Zakk Wylde, who was with him longer than any other guitarist during his solo career. The story of how they came to be is a really good one and I would have loved to hear Ozzy's take on it. There was no mention of Jake E Lee (that I remember), nor Joe Holmes. What about his singing roots? He just mentioned that his dad bought him a PA system and the family liked to get together and do sing-a-longs. It can't be that simple. I think the main problem with the book was that it was very cliche and vague, spending too much time detailing the unsavory and fantastically over the top antics of his life.

I'm actually right in the middle of reading it right now. I was very reluctant to get it, because I own several books on Black Sabbath already, books that are very detailed and very well researched (see recommended below). I was really concerned that this Ozzy book would just repeat the same old stories and be really inaccurate as well due to Ozzy and his memory. I did not want to waste the money. Well, I took the chance, and here's the deal. Many of the stories we've all heard before are repeated, but they have a great deal more detail about them, and come across in a much more personal way with more personal information involved. And it goes in detail into things I have NEVER heard anywhere before. And as far as I can tell, its pretty accurate. There are some things I wonder about, if they have been smoothed out for story telling purposes, but all in all, as far as I can tell based on the other well researched books I've read, this is accurate.

It's also very well written. It has a good flow and a great pacing to it. It's very hard to put down. The book is one of the most fun books I've ever read. It's funny, entertaining, and it's like sitting right down and spending some time listening to Ozzy tell stories (without the verbal pauses, etc). There is some sad stuff in the book as well, some bad stuff, and some definite hard learned lessons, but I never have felt anything preachy about it. All in all, its a must have if you are a fan.

I had a chance to meet Ozzy once, shook his hand for a brief moment at a meet and greet. That was great, but this is far more intimate. Ozzy gives a very warm direct thank you to us fans at the beginning of the book. This is directed right at us. It's very endearing. I've never been a fan of his reality show, don't like Sharon Osbourne (and that's putting it kindly and mildly), and only care about the music Ozzy has made. I have a few criticism about the book with regard to people or things left out, but otherwise, I recommend it. If someone could pull it off, if it was done right with a lot of care, it could make for a great film. The script is practically right here in this book, already written.

Some of the best books ever written on Black Sabbath that I recommend: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - The Battle For Black Sabbath by Garry Sharpe-Young; Black Sabbath - Doom Let Loose by Martin Popoff; How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorized View from the Crew by David Tangye and Graham Wright; Dio - The Light Beyond the Black by Martin Popoff.

Note: I'd also highly recommend the book, Off The Rails: Aboard The Crazy Train In The Blizzard Of Ozz, by Rudy Sarzo (he played bass on the first couple Ozzy solo albums). Sarzo's book is loaded with great information and stories about Ozzy's guitarist Randy Rhoads, his tragic death, and the whole early time period of Ozzy's solo career. It is not as "selective" in its memory as the I AM OZZY book is. It tells it like it was, warts and all. If you really want more of a complete story about Ozzy, I would recommend Sarzo's book in addition to Ozzy's.

Hey, if John Michael Osbourne went looking for a good time in this life he certainly found some of what he was looking for, and this book tells that extraordinary story!

I wasn't a fan until I started watching his reality show and recently became a fan of his daughter on Dancing With The Stars. So I jumped at the chance to read his amazing book. He is definitely one of a kind and there will never be another Ozzy. This book is a testamony to my last statement. It was a great read and I also enjoyed all the photos--which are many!

This book is one of the best i've read in a LONG time. Ozzy has such a great sense of humor. He tells it like it is, and never holds back. The book is very funny, yet touching as well. He covers it all; from his poor upbringing to his illustrious career, and his hard fall from the top. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes ozzy just because he's a character himself, or for his work as a musician. You will be highly surprised by this book. It's not like any autobiography you've read before.

I loved the book. I was sorry when I reached the last page. I didn't want it to be over. I'm pretty picky when it comes to reading autobiographies. I couldn't put it down. Started reading on a Friday and read through to Sunday. Very entertaining. This book makes you want to have Ozzy over for a cuppa (is that how the Brits say it?). Well done!

I am so happy to have read a book about Ozzy that was in his own words! I have been a fan since Diary of a Madman and have read just about everything written about Ozzy. But I always wanted to read Ozzy's take on himself. His own words. This book answered my prayers in full!!!

First off, whether you are a fan and have read books, seen biographies on Ozzy, or heard stories about any of his many tales of hard partying, you will still be entertained by this book. Thanks to Chris Ayres ability to make it seem like Ozzy is sitting beside you sharing his life; you will not be able to put this book down! When I got to the end of a chapter I would think "just one more page, just one more page"

Next, there are so many stories in here that I believe you will read about something you didn't know. I couldn't believe how much info was in this book!
Even though there are many sad things in this book (death of Randy, Jack's comment about missing his dad) I couldn't help but laugh out loud many times! I even marked several pages so I could go back and reread the stories and laugh out loud again!

Though his addictions are sad to me, I feel Ozzy does an awesome job of expressing his feelings about addiction and coping day to day!!!

Finally, I love Ozzy and can't wait when something new comes out by him! I was so excited about this book and now having read it I feel so happy that I had the chance! This is another masterpiece by the Prince of Darkness. Thank you so much Ozzy!!!