The Sword of the Golem [Hardcover] (Hardcover)

~ Abraham Rothberg (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Charter; First Edition edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0091881196
• ISBN-13: 978-0091881191
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,127,178 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Honest and Interesting Autobiographical Look at.., April 2, 2002

By	Michael T. Rognlien (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

.. Robbie Williams.

Ok, I probably review way too many RW items on Amazon, but he is truly a unique talent and someone I wish was more popular in the US. His talent and unique blend of pop/rock & R&B influences and is such a nice break from formatted pre-teen pop.

That said, this book is no less interesting than the music. Robbie is not afraid to let it all show, for good or for bad. He openly admits to having demons that other artists spend a fortune trying to hide from the media behind a wall of publicist double-talk and blatant lies.

There is a movie version of this out in the UK at the moment, and I'm hoping that it will at least make it to Canada on DVD so that those of us fans stateside can purchase a copy. I highly recommend this book if you're a fan and want to get to know more about RW.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not what you think, but enough to stir your curiosity, May 10, 2004

By	sand-da-man (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somebody Someday (Paperback)

Living in the States, I find it next to impossible to get my hands on any legitimate news or information about Robbie Williams. Only recently a fan, I have been fascinated by his on-stage presence and consequently curious to discover what might be at its source. 'Somebody Someday' I don't think was ever intended to be a full-fledged biography. It is instead a running commentary by journalist Mark McCrum who joined Williams on his European 'Sermon On the Mount' tour from late 2000 thru early 2001. Indeed, it is for all practical purposes the literary companion to the video documentary for those same shows, entitled 'Nobody Someday.' Therefore, although it provides occasional vignettes about Robbie's past as well as those of his crew and managers, it is more often a description of the events surrounding the tour.

The book is more reactive than insightful, but that is for the better; there are few if any platitudes and virtually no excuses for what the author witnesses. The narrative also moves quickly and is so true to what occurred that I actually began to feel the rigors of the hectic schedule. To that end, there are vivid portraits of just how unglamorous life 'on the road' can be, despite the girls, the glitz and the excitement (including the life-threatening incident in which Williams is thrown off stage by a crazed German fan). The author occasionally splices in bits from his interviews with Robbie, but this is not a comprehensive life story of the megastar as much as it is about him in the moment. Given that the tour coincided with yet another attempt by Williams to swear off drugs and alcohol, there are no descriptions of debauchery or outlandish public displays that were known to characterize other times in his life. If anything, after the author briefly recounts some regrettable incidents in the past, you hear how Robbie is successfully fighting to stay sober. In fact, that item is part of a larger underlying theme that slowly emerges: it is that Williams is coming of age. Starting out with a show for a German Bank group in London, he is cynical and frustrated, but by tour's end, he has become less troubled, more grateful for his good fortune, and more enthusiastic about being a performer. He can more easily reconcile Rob, the private person, with Robbie, the musical celebrity. However contrived that transformation may have been, McCrum seems to provide his honest impressions, and in the end, this was an interesting read. For a guy like me who knew virtually nothing about Robbie Williams two months ago, it also serves as a practical introduction to the pop phenomenon (before March 2004, I had never heard of him or Take That or Rock DJ -get the picture?). It doesn't answer all the questions, but I recommend it if you want to begin to become familiar with this enigmatic performer from the UK. Having done that, I submit that you'll discover that you still don't know him at all.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely true, December 18, 2001

By	Giannina (Miami,FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This book was the best auto-biography I have ever read, Its a shame Robbie Williams is not popular in the USA, he can come in use to us over here! His way of expressing everything hes gone through is great, shows his ups and downs in his career, family,drugs,alcohol,sex, everything, but shows he has become a better man. this is truly a motivatiing book and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Im sure you wont regret reading it.