I Am What I Am [Hardcover]

John Barrowman (Author), Carole E. Barrowman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2009

Written with John’s trademark style, I Am What I Am is filled with juicy titbits from behind the scenes of Doctor Who and Torchwood, alongside heartwarming family anecdotes and personal revelations, including John’s perspective on fame and how it has affected him. Intimately exploring aspects of John’s current life, this memoir gives fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with exclusive anecdotes from recent and ongoing projects, all told with John’s trademark charm and humor—an unmissable treat for any fan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Frank and unvarnished." —Out

"Gossipy, fun and endlessly entertaining." —Daily Record

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

About the Author

John Barrowman currently stars as Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood and Doctor Who. Carol Barrowman, John’s sister, is a professor of English at Alverno College, Wisconsin, and a journalist. They are the coauthors of Anything Goes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Michael O'Mara (November 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843173794
• ISBN-13: 978-1843173793
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and warm, January 22, 2010

By 

John's Altar (Arizona) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Am What I Am (Hardcover)

This book was wonderful and warm, an invitation from John to come into his home, relax in the living room, and listen to him tell funny and personal stories about himself and his very close knit family. From the way his sister, Carole, wrote it, you can hear John speaking throughout the book.

This book and the first book, Anything Goes, shouldn't be compared. These really are two different stories. Anything Goes is about John's career to date, I Am What I Am is about the person. Get the first if you're interested in a successful career, get the second if you're interested in John the person.

Personally, I wouldn't mind at all having John, Scott and the dogs as my next door neighbors.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Content great, physical book fell apart!, August 7, 2010

By 

Kimberlesk "Kim" (Douglassville, PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Am What I Am (Paperback)

I love John Barrowman -- I poured thru his first book and couldn't wait to read this one!! It did not disappoint!! I love the way he writes like he's talking to you in his living room! He and his family have so much fun together, they remind me of my own relationship with my sister and parents! I was laughing out loud over his pratfalls, and tearing up over his doggie devotion! As a single person with 4-legged "kids" of my own, I can certainly relate!

That being said, I was very disappointed by the physical book. It literally fell apart on me while I was reading it. It's a paperback and right away, the spine and covers came off, then the actual book fell apart, first in chunks and then page by page. I'm bummed, because I had hoped to add this to my library, right next to its predecessor.

So, to amend my rating:
Book content - 5+ stars
Physical book - 0 stars

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revealing, but not as intended, January 26, 2010

By 

E Eakins "Film Fan" - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am What I Am (Hardcover)

Let me say first that I am a fan of John Barrowman. I like his work, have seen him on stage, screen and TV. That having been said, I found this book (and it's predecessor) to be a bit of a cheat. After going to great (sometimes absurd) lengths to create an illusion of intimacy with the reader, he shows us a carefully crafted version of himself that is no more, nor less that what what will bolster his existing public persona. That is not intimacy, that is manipulation. His rather enormous ego can also be distracting (Is he really saying with a straight (pardon the pun)face that Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd were his "co-stars" in De-Lovely? If you blinked, you missed him...) He is a charming and talented man, both he and his readers would have been better served with more frankness and less posturing than is on display here.