Total Control : The Michael Nesmith Story [Paperback]

Randi L. Massingill (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0965821838 | ISBN-13: 978-0965821834 | Publication Date: November 1, 1997

Hey! Hey! Its the untold story of The Monkees "Wool-hat" Michael Nesmith with the behind the scenes scoop about touring with Jimi Hendrix, filmmaking with Jack Nicholson and so much more. Also covered is his invention of MTV and his mother Bette who invented Liquid Paper. Approximately 105 photos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A masterful job of weaving together her source material, much of which comes from interviews conducted by various Monkee scholars. -- Television chronicles #12

From the Publisher

The book features 327 pages, over 30 photos, and color cover with bar code for retail.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 327 pages
• Publisher: FLEXquarters (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965821838
• ISBN-13: 978-0965821834
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,399,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lotsa info, but is it balanced?, July 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Total Control : The Michael Nesmith Story (Paperback)

I read the entire book in one day. Its pretty brisk reading; like one of the reviewers said, it reads like an extended encyclopedia article. Plenty of facts but all on the surface; doesn't delve too much into the man himself.

I was also struck by the negative tone of the book. It seemed to present more unsavory quotes and stories about Nez than positive ones. Perhaps this is because of the author's sources; magazines probably consider "dirt" to be good copy. Hey, I've done and said stuff in my worst moments which I now regret; I'm sure we all have. If someone collected all those incidents into one book, along with quotes from people who've had a personality conflict with me, the book would probably make me look like a rotten person. But it would be one-sided and inaccurate. That's the impression I get from this book.

The author also comes to some conclusions about Nez's actions which I think are unwarranted. She obviously doesn't know the man personally; all her sources are second- and third-hand. So her assessment of him seems rather unfair.

Why two stars? Because it does contain info about Nez's early life, and gives a chronological account of his career. That much is informative, as are the Appendices in the back. One Appendix contains and imaginary interview with Nez's old wool hat, which is a real hoot!

So there are a few good things in this book, but if you decide to read it, I recommend you maintain a healthy skepticism about all the negative stuff, and her conclusions.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is AWFUL!, August 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Total Control : The Michael Nesmith Story (Paperback)

Yipes. Nearly all of the information collected in this book is available in the booklets of the CD and VHS box sets.
What bothered me most, however, was the lack of professionalism on the part of the author. A paraphrased passage: "Mike showed up in disguise at a Monkees show in the '80s, but us die-hard fans knew it was him." Additionally, the appendix article written by the author's boyfriend starts off as a discussion of Monkees web resources, but ends by talking about how the web board sparked his relationship with the author.
The additional appendices are total filler: Monkees disc-and-video-graphies (again, multiple Rhino sources have published the same lists), a painful "interview" with Nesmith's hat, and a multiple-page listing of EVERY video/tv show Nesmith produced. There are HUNDREDS. At the very least, some sort of firsthand or primary source would have helped.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for Nez fans, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Total Control : The Michael Nesmith Story (Paperback)

I am not a fan of this book. I am a Nez fan and have been for some time, and I was appalled by the way he was presented in this book. Granted, he is not perfect, none of us are, but a person who claims to be his fan writes a book like this about him?? I wouldn't write a book like this about my worst enemy. It had a few clever anecdotes, some interesting information, etc. but I do not feel it gave an accurate portrayal of Mike/Nez. I wouldn't reccomend reading it if you're a fan.