Customer Reviews

Lizard King

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What I like so much about this book is that Jerry Hopkins shows determination to present as much truth as possible by considering and reconsidering the facts that he uncovered regarding Jim's life. He does this particularly well by presenting his findings and impressions on Jim's family life, Pamela Courson and the circumstances regarding Jim's mysterious death. Hopkins manages to stay clear from idolizing and inscribing Jim with projected fantasies of who he thought Jim was, and stays close to considering the evidence that he acquired from interviews with Jim and Jim's associates, along with other discovered facts.

My overall impression of this book is that it is definitely well researched. Hopkins truly attempts to give Jim a fair representation. He obviously wants to present the facts, but not in a manner that would disparage Jim in any way. Subsequently, Hopkins manages to stay adroitly clear of purulent interest in Jim's private life while managing to be informative. This is refreshing. Hopkins does not appear to be cashing in on Jim's fame, but seems rather totally committed to presenting a well-researched biography of an extraordinary man.

Jerry Hopkins espouses many new theories about Jim's drinking and his death. What struck me were the facts brought forth in the book about Pamela.

Pam was a heroin addict. Jim despised heroin. Pam has been quoted as saying she was tired of Jim. She drained Jim Morrison's finances with her boutique. She had numerous affairs until heroin became her true love. She died penniless, a prostitute, guilt ridden and selfishly kept quiet over her role in contributing to the death of the man she "loved." She left him to die in that bathtub in France, knowing he was ill, vomiting from the nose. She chose to sleep instead. She chose to bury the man she loved sans headstone, sans ceremony.

Want to read more? Buy the book.

Hopkins gives a great synopsis of the life and time of rock poet Morrison. If you've read "No One Here Gets Out Alive" then you've read this material through and through, but the additional insights and the commentary on the Oliver Stone movie (including Hopkins' reactions to meeting Val Kilmer for the first time) are worth a read. Hopkins' style is fluid and easy to follow.

If you've read Noone Here Gets Out Alive, you don't really need to read this book. It gives some new facts and stories, but not many. It sheds new light on his death which is very interesting, but is it worth buying? It has much better photographs than Alive and the interviews at the end are OK. However, if you've never read Alive, buy this one instead. I would have loved this book had I never read Alive. Just remember, the Doors are known for glamourizing everything they say.

I loved the seven interviews. Especially the interview with Salli Stevenson.

Salli: "What about you, though..."

Jim Morrison: "I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown, which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments."

The Lizard King by Jerry Hopkins is a very interesting book. It is filled with wild stories of being on the road, performing at concerts, and taking part in the Los Angeles party scene. The book is well written, and really held my attention. Any person who enjoys a nostalgic trip through the groovy 60s will enjoy this book. It gives a sense of how society was affected by music and the changing times.
The Lizard King clearly depicts Jim Morrison's entire life; starting with his fairly average childhood in a military family, his wild college years, and the fast paced years with his band, The Doors. All of the events that are chronicled lead up to his untimely demise, which is still somewhat of a mystery and is widely disputed. There are several interviews at the end of the book, collected from various magazines that were popular in the late 60s, which show the intellectual side of Jim Morrison. I highly recommend this book to all fans of The Doors, or anyone that is interested in Jim Morrison- the rock star poet. This page-turner is sure to captivate anyone who reads it.

It tells the best story of his life without all the major hype and b.s. that are includedin a lot of the other publications. If you want good reading and good information read this

This book is not quiet as good as "No One Here Gets Out Alive." But This one shows a later perspective on Jim's life. It's kind of like looking back at the past with rose-colored glasses where everyone sees him for the artist and not just a drunken fool which many people who knew him thought. It is good because Jerry puts Oliver Stones The Doors in perspective and shows that Jim wasn't just this stoned sexual monster. He shows that he had a great sense of humour and wasn't always so angry. Also Hopkins finally presents a logical theory of his death where before he left us in the dark.

The Lizard King was a good sequel to No One Here Gets Out Alive. The interviews at the end were a nice treat as well.

Without Jerry Hopkins writing No One Here Gets Out Alive The Doors might still be languishing in the obscurity they found themselves in, in the 70's. Hopkins researched and wrote No One Here after Jim Morrison's death but was unable to find a publisher for the manuscript so he shelved it. Danny Sugerman came across the manuscript and asked Hopkins if could see if he could find a publisher, Hopkins said "ok," and Sugerman along with Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek either did some `editing' or rewrote portions of the manuscript (depending on whose story you believe.) Sugerman did find a publisher and it spurred The Doors revival.

The Lizard King, The Essential Jim Morrison is a stripped down biography of Morrison's life and career. Hopkins breaks the chapters more or less into archetypal periods of Morrison's life. Most of the stories are familiar to Doors fans and does include a few new ones. In the introduction of the book Hopkins says this book isn't one of his original manuscripts for No One Here (there were two) but that he was taking a "second pass at the legend" and was based on new information and new interviews. Some of the information contradicts that in No One Here and other biographies, whether that's due to correcting of bad information (that now seems to be canon in the Morrison legend) or just bad fact checking.

The subtitle of the book The Essential Jim Morrison is a bit of a misnomer, usually books that are titled `Essential' are compilations of a writers work either his most influential work or his complete works. One of the unique features of The Lizard King are the seven interviews that follow the biography. The interviews are from different journalists and different publications (including Hopkins own interview with Morrison that was in Rolling Stone) from approximately Morrison's mid-career to ones that were shortly before he left for Paris. In the age of CD's and DVD's these interviews seem like bonus features but ones that aren't usually present in Morrison biographies, Jim Morrison in his own words.