Customer Reviews

Steven Tyler: The Biography

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This book is nothing more than a watered down version of "Walk this Way: An Autobiography of Aerosmith". Even though it is supposed to be the biography of its front man, there is as almost as much information about other band members, but essentially it is just a distillation of various press reports and other prior publications. There is absolutely nothing new or interesting about this book. It is boring and at times inaccurate. There are numerous anecdotes about other rock personalities whose careers paralleled Tyler's in some way, but this just seems to be pointless filler. To make matters worse, the author's constant efforts to use "hip" language is just annoying.

While the author is touted as someone who gets "close" to rock personalities, I doubt she has ever met Steven Tyler or even been to an Aerosmith concert. There is not a single insight into his personality that has not been already been offered in other works, and although this book is replete with direct quotes, the source is never given. The author does not cite a single personal interview with a band member, family member, friend, business associate, or even groupie or hanger on!

It is not worth the time it took to read it or the money it took to buy it. Steven Tyler is one of rock's most fasinating men, but you would never know it from this book. I would wait for Tyler's own work on the subject, which he is reportedly at work on. At least it will be something that hasn't been written a thousand times before.

This is the worst rock bio I have ever had the misfortune to read. Like or loathe Steven Tyler and his music, the man is hardly dull. Laura Jackson, in this dreary, hagiographic cut-and paste job (complete with inaccurate plagiarism) has made an utter hash of what should have been a no-brainer. Really, if you buy this - you are very silly. Get it from the library, or do the trashmen's muscles a favour - don't touch it!!

Steven Tyler is a rock `n`roll legend, he had an interesting and colourful career with many ups and many downs. It`s no secret that he did it all and had it had; the girls, the fortune, the fame and the drugs. Tyler is one of the most fascinating frontman of rock, his band Aerosmith sold millions of albums around the world, he has his own flashy look and a great voice. A biography on this man would be worth looking at you might think, however this particular one is not. Where Stephen Davis` "Walk This Way" autobiography of the band offered an excellent inside look at Aerosmith and the band members, "Steven Tyler : The Biography" fails just about everything it attempts to do which I`m still not sure what it was exactly. It`s like reading an empty book, really.

Laura Jackson has probably never even met Steven Tyler to begin with which automatically makes the book less interesting. Still you think that there would be some good content and a deep look at Steven`s life, yet it`s not the case here. The information is almost always taken from "Walk This Way" or is generally known by a big Aerosmith fan, This book was written with little real knowledge of the subject, Steven Tyler. However it does cover Tyler`s career...that`s it really. It goes in a straight line to tell you nothing. There`s no interviews with Tyler or anyone remotely close to the band or Tyler himself, it`s just a bunch of information taken from here and there without any real content. The best part of the book is probably the pictures, they really aren`t that great but that`s the truth.

What can I say about Laura Jackson`s "biography" on Steven Tyler? It`s a pathetic excuse for a bio and anyone should stay away from it. It doesn`t even seem as if the author is a fan of Tyler or Aerosmith or is really interested in it. If you are interested in Aerosmith and Tyler I`d strongly recommend "Walk This Way" or Tyler`s upcoming late 2010 bio "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?" which is sure to be a worthy read, not this garbage. 1 star, a total waste of time and money.

I was considering this book. Then I read the comments. My first clue to not shell out my hard earned cash was the line: "Tyler survived a tough upbringing in the Bronx." Uh, I don't think that is completely correct. But, even so, "Walk The Way" is SO much more accurate and it's a great read that will hold me over until Steven finishes his book. This bio probably is just what the other comments say it is (and like the song Steven sings on "Elmopalooza") - TRASH.

Thank you, Aerosmith fan sufferers of this evidently bad book, for your reviews. This book was just suggested to me, tonight, by Amazon, because I bought "Walk this way", "Hit Hard", and many Aero albums...and without the reviews I might well have bought this book as well.

I'm a huge Aero fan, and particularly a Steven fan, so I will read almost anything about the man. Hey, that's almost lyrics. ST could fix.

I've read Steven's autobiog ("Does the noise in my head") and it was GREAT. He didn't duplicate anything in Walk this way...but added so much more. He's crazy, but in a good way.

Joey's book is also GREAT, by the way, amazingly honest, so helpful to those of us with dysfunctional family issues, substance abuse issues, or (naturally) both. What a journey.

I love all of the Aero guys; waiting for Joe, Brad, and Tom to write their books.

I have never seen the guys perform live - I had tickets for two shows in the 2009 tour but of course Steven fell off the stage and the rest of the tour got cancelled. Seeing them live, somewhere sometime, is now on my bucket list.

Aero fans, buy "Walk This Way", buy ST's book ("Does the noise"), and buy Joey's book ("Hit Hard"), but skip this nonsense.

Steven Tyler has led a fascinating life but you could never tell from this book. Laura Jackson offers no new information or insights. She doesn't even package up the story in a way that is interesting. It's hard to tell but my guess is that she never spoke with Tyler or anyone else directly involved. The book could have been written by anyone that spent a couple days combing the web. It reads like it was written by one of the content farms like Demand Media. Please give back the 3 hours it took me to read this boring book.

This book was awful and used up time and money that I'll never get back. Same old stuff rehashed. Similar to Aerosmith records.

i have been an AEROSMITH FAN since 1974, what a treat to find books written by the band members. now i can not only relive the past, but i can do so first hand, by the people who created the moment ! AWESOME