Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed [Paperback]

Steve Eng (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1997

The unique charisma of Jimmy Buffett has entranced his millions of fans for nearly three decades. Just what has made this man so beloved and so fanatically revered? In this lively, in-depth portrait of the talented savvy character named Jimmy Buffett, Steve Eng reveals the singer, the writer, the maestro, and the raconteur supreme. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 27 years of recording his own songs, Jimmy Buffet has managed only one top-10 hit: 1977's "Margaritaville." Yet the dreamy Utopian visions projected by the song?a lovable sot's reflection on Key West living?have proved so enduringly appealing that Buffet has, in spite of his marginal chart success, earned both a Grateful Dead-style following ("Parrot Heads") and, based on a Midas merchandising touch with "Margaritaville" gewgaws, a niche among Fortune's highest-paid entertainers of 1995. Backed by assiduous primary and secondary research (though denied an audience with his subject), Nashville-based music scholar Eng (The Satisfied Mind: The Country Music of Porter Wagner) chronicles Buffet's evolution as a musician, entrepreneur and political activist. We hear from long-forgotten bandmates and dive-bar acquaintances, and from Buffet himself through Eng's prodigious unearthing of the musician's interviews with relatively obscure periodicals like Colorado Homes and Lifestyles. Unfortunately, Eng suffocates his narrative with wildly extraneous trivia, unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and unfunny asides. It's the rare fan who will care what the singer's alma mater served at a banquet held 50 years before Buffet's enrollment. The same applies to Eng's unsupported opinions on everything from the nature of creativity ("Art largely comes from the subconscious") to modern political history (the CIA created LSD, etc.). Parrot Heads willing to peck through such material will find a densely detailed, largely sympathetic rendering of their hero, balanced by Eng's atypically harsh conclusion that Buffet's career ultimately "contributed to the tourist homogenization of Key West." Discography; photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Buffett's career spans nearly 30 years, with 32 albums that defy musical categorization and a cultlike following akin to that of the Grateful Dead. This is a long-overdue biography of the singer/songwriter?and unauthorized at that. The preface begins with a letter from Buffett to the author dissuading him from carrying out his project and dismissing him as a "self-promoting hack." Despite Buffett's protestations, Eng (A Satisfied Mind: The Country Music Life of Porter Wagoner, Rutledge Hill, 1992) has done an excellent job. The book is well researched, with excerpts throughout from interviews and radio, newspaper, and magazine articles. The discography is one of the best, with separate sections for singles and albums, containing song listings for each. The only criticism is that the text is somewhat disjointed and difficult to follow in the beginning. A welcome addition to most libraries, not solely for its merits alone but because it is the only biography on Buffett to date.?Regina L. Beach, Mississippi State Univ. Lib, Starkville
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312168756
• ISBN-13: 978-0312168759
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,321,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cheap Imitation, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed (Paperback)

Eng has a lot of facts about the life of Jimmy Buffett but that's about all. Those of us who have been fans of his since the very beginning already knew most of them. Too much rambling speculation about Jimmy's possible ancestors. Eng does not have near the writing talent that Jimmy does so he should not have done this bio. His motivation seems to be celebrity and riches. If you want to read a really good book about the life of Jimmy Buffet up to age 50, "A Pirate Looks at Fifty" is the best book I have read in many years. But what would else would we expect from a master storyteller?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tough Reading, April 20, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimmy Buffett The Man From Margaritaville Revealed (Hardcover)

I found the book very confusing. The author leaps from past pirate adventures to modern day Jimmy Buffett and back. I have had this book for over a year and have not been able to get past page 50. When Jimmy urges Mr. Eng not to continue the book, I think it was more for the reader's sake and not for his own. Fins Up!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Can't Believe I Hate a Buffett Book, September 24, 2001

By 

EDK007 "EDK" (Middleboro, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed (Paperback)

This book is downright awful. Let me warn you - stay away. I agree with the other reviews. There are detailed facts about things totally unrelated to Jimmy Buffett or even the point that the author is trying to make. I guess if you took out all of the irrelevant lines, the book would be only 20 pages of nothing new.
*You have been warned*