Customer Reviews

The Lizard King Was Here: The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a lifelong fan, I was anxiously awaiting the publication of the latest Jim Morrison book, "The Lizard King Was Here." I was more than pleasantly surprised when I read it cover to cover in one sitting and didn't want it to end. The remarkable aspect of Mark Opsasnick's book (his sixth) is in its original and innovative research and writing style; the author not only dug into public records, he interviewed 60 former classmates and friends of the teen-aged Morrison, and even spoke with Jim's younger brother Andy.

Opsasnick provides detailed, fact-checked, never-before-published information and anecdotes, including several surprises, focusing primarily on the 32-month-period when the Morrison family lived in Alexandria, Virginia, where Jim attended George Washington High School.

The complex young man who was to soon become one of the legendary rock icons of all time is presented as highly intelligent, tremendously creative, rebellious, funny, mischievous and shy, with a love of books and poetry guided by an insatiable curiosity. Even more revealing is how much this formative period in Jim's life contributed to his artistic development and future success as a poet, lyricist, singer and experimental filmmaker. Perhaps with the exception of Elvis Presley and James Dean, no other figure in popular culture continues to attract countless fans from all over the world and is as relevant now as he was 40 years ago.

This is a positive departure from the other Morrison books in that the reader won't find psychological babble about Jim's "tortured" youth or attempts to affix a death wish to him or verbatim conversations he had decades ago, just a lot of good hard facts.

I heartily recommend "The Lizard King Was Here" to all Jim Morrison and Doors fans alike. It sticks to the truth, yet still makes for a very interesting and compelling read.

WoW, What a great book.This book is very well researched by a very educated author.He listened to the people who actually knew Jim Morrison but only allowed information on a first hand basis.I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in Jim Morrison, Rock n Roll , or the history of Alexandria,Virginia and surrounding areas.I was very excited when the Lizard King Was Here was released and it still went way over my expectations after all, the years of study and research dedicated to this book just let me understand more of the real person James Douglas Morrison from people who knew and loved him.Jim Morrison was put together from his experiences and this book proves in my eyes that Alexandria,Virginia and surrounding areas played a huge part in molding Jim Morrison into who he became.When I finished reading The Lizard King Was Here it was obvious to me that the rare information in this book is really a must for anyone who is a real Jim Morrison fan. Mark great job this is a definite best seller.

'The Lizard King Was Here'is a thorougly documented account of Jim Morrison's years spent at George Washington High School in Alexandria, VA.

THE AUTHOR: I was amazed how author, Mark Opsasnick, was able to locate those who interacted with Morrison and assemble a never-before-published composite of Morrison's high school years. Opsasnick interviewed sixty (60) people who attended GW High when Morrison did.

THE READ: Even though I never was a Doors music fan, I read 'The Lizard King Was Here' because I knew I'd be getting the most researched and fact-checked account of this glanced-over period of Morrison's life.

The author brings to light what Morrison was like during his formative years and fills the void created by all previous books about Morrison

We now learn how Morrison spent his time, where he visited during his bus trips into Washington DC and how he would surprise his school peers by instantly asserting his personality, thus momentarily breaking from his 'in the background, loner' mold.

Another highlight was learning about the clubs downtown (Wash DC) where Morrison actually read his poetry to a live audience.

The author lists 14 other books written on The Doors/Jim Morrison and corrects some basic information woven throughout many of the books, as these books seem to draw on a handful of original sources with mistakes, unfounded claims and exaggerations.

If you have any interest to learn what made Morrison tick, what influences helped shape his adolescent mind, this book is for you. Mr. Opsasnick seems to have it all covered. Some of the influential factors the author investigates are: childhood friends and acquaintences, literature Morrison read for pleasure, the then media, school curricula, films, art and even Virginia's social and political history.

FAVORITE PHOTO: Photo of 'Ronnie and the Offbeats' at Club Log Cabin, where Jim Morrison allegedly would frequent, sit and write poetry. The picture shows a young Danny Gatton on the band (considered by many to be one of the best guitar players...ever).

FAVORITE CHAPTER: Chapter 14. This chapter details a few nightclubs in Alexandria, VA where Jim Morrison would visit and listen to the local bands. No one knows just how directly Morrison was influenced by the mixture of music he exposed himself to).

Thanks Mr. Opsasnick...very entertaining and informative.

As a hard core Morrison fan from the DC area, I loved the book. The author painstakingly tracked down and interviewed Jim's friends and classmates from Alexandria, VA. This biography covers a time period in young Jim's life that the other biographies skip. Contains many new interesting and amusing anecdotes. Thanks Mr. Opsasnick!

Many of Jim Morrison's influences have been well documented: the French symbolists, James Joyce, the Beat writers, and the 1960s Los Angeles scene. Still, there are gaps in understanding his terrifying genius and talented rage.

Mark Opsasnick highlights the influences of one of the most misunderstood periods in Morrison's brief life, his high school years in the once-sleepy town of Alexandria, Virginia--right outside of Washington, DC. Opsasnick documents these influences with plenty of cultural history and numerous, skillful interviews with people who knew Morrison, or perhaps knew him as well as anyone did.

Unlike some other accounts of the band, the author's scholarship and attention to historical detail are simply exceptional. He is thorough, though never pedantic. Opsasnick, a talented cultural historian, makes these languid years return, alive again in all of their strangling proventialism. Yet he does this without bowing to cheap nostalgia or contemporary cultural haughtiness. He writes like someone who is intensely interested in his topic, the times, and his town. Maybe this is why this book book is so hard to put down.

Opsanick does not try to solve the mystery of who Jim Morrison "really was". (In fact, he lets the reader ponder a delightful new enigma as an epilogue.) Instead, he describes a key developmental period of a petulant introvert, who would later reinvent himself and shock the world. And in doing so, the author wrote an immensely enjoyable book for anyone with even a casual interest in the Doors, the DC area, or the cultural hollowness of the late 1950s.

WOW! Mark Opsasnick's new book "The Lizard King Was Here..." is by far the

most scholarly and erudite book on Jim Morrison yet! So much factual

never before released information on Jim's life and times in Alexandria,

Virginia that it boggles the reader's mind. One on one interviews with

dozens of Jim's former high school classmates and exhaustive research has

opened a whole new wonderful vista on Jim Morrison's life before he turned

his attention to the west and LA and his cofounding The Doors in 1965.

If you are a Doors fan or not this book is required reading! Puts to shame

all the other efforts by dubious authors to get to the psyche of The

REAL Jim Morrison. If you read this book you will come away knowing a lot

more about Jim than you ever thought you would. The book is packed full of

details about Jim and his Alexandria milieu that will keep you turning the

pages for more and more. This is a FUN book! Rare photos too! Add it to

your library today! This IS the real deal!! I'm on my 3rd reading!!

-Richard Castleton,VA.

First, I echo the comments from all the other 5-star reviews; they put it best.

Second, I have lived in Arlington/Alexandria since 1989 (with a short detour in the Army) and I am amazed to find that I have been to some of the same places that Jim inhabited while he was here. I never realized that I used to live just a few blocks from his high school, and used to walk through the same tunnel that was shot in his "PINMAN" movie.

More than just a story about Jim Morrison, the book is a story of DC/Northern Virginia in the 60s, and would give anyone (even a non-Doors fan) an informative cultural history of how our hometown has changed in the last 40 years. How did teens and young adults live before the Metro? What did they do for fun before they had the City Paper and the Internet to tell them what to do?

Some of the places described in the book (Harrigans Restaurant for example) sound like such treasured venues it's a shame that they're gone. I almost wish I never learned they existed, because DC lacks the lustre it once had.

If you are a Doors fan, you should buy this book. If you are a Doors fan from DC, you MUST buy this book.

I've read a number of Doors books and whenever they talk about his school yrs I often wondered if anyone would investigate it. This book covers Jim's High School yrs from 1959 to 61 graduation. Some of these stories make sense to a number of antics Jim has later done as a rock star. I remember reading that Jim would just leave The Doors for days & no one would know where he ventured. Jim as a 17 yr old done this as well. Plus talking to his high school friends about faking his death. No one ever remembers Jim even talking about forming a band or shown any interest in rock music. Besides influences of philosopher Nietzsche, French poet Rimbaud, British Poet/artist William Blake I liked the chapter that talks about Jim's books and favorite authors like Kafka, James Joyce, Camus, and the Beat Generation Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg to name a few. They also list some the of titles w/ a brief discription. Very interesting to see where Jim got his influences.

A very interesting look at the Washington D.C. music scene of the late 1950's early 1960's with memories shared by those that knew a young Jim Morrison.

this is a good book about jim's high school days.opsasnick did a good job
of interviewing jim's classmates and friends from that part of his life.
i give it five stars!!!