Waging Heavy Peace [Hardcover]

Neil Young (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 25, 2012

A New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today bestseller.

For the first time, legendary singer, songwriter, and guitarist Neil Young offers a kaleidoscopic view of his personal life and musical creativity. He tells of his childhood in Ontario, where his father instilled in him a love for the written word; his first brush with mortality when he contracted polio at the age of five; struggling to pay rent during his early days with the Squires; traveling the Canadian prairies in Mort, his 1948 Buick hearse; performing in a remote town as a polar bear prowled beneath the floorboards; leaving Canada on a whim in 1966 to pursue his musical dreams in the pot-filled boulevards and communal canyons of Los Angeles; the brief but influential life of Buffalo Springfield, which formed almost immediately after his arrival in California. He recounts their rapid rise to fame and ultimate break-up; going solo and overcoming his fear of singing alone; forming Crazy Horse and writing “Cinnamon Girl,” “Cowgirl in the Sand,” and “Down by the River” in one day while sick with the flu; joining Crosby, Stills & Nash, recording the landmark CSNY album, Déjà vu, and writing the song, “Ohio;” life at his secluded ranch in the redwoods of Northern California and the pot-filled jam sessions there; falling in love with his wife, Pegi, and the birth of his three children; and finally, finding the contemplative paradise of Hawaii. Astoundingly candid, witty, and as uncompromising and true as his music, Waging Heavy Peace is Neil Young’s journey as only he can tell it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Elliptical and personal…Waging Heavy Peace eschews chronology and skips the score-settling and titillation of other rocker biographies. Still, Young shows a little leg and has some laughs…. As the book progresses, the operatics of the rock life give way to signal family events, deconstructions of his musical partnerships and musings on the natural world. It is less a chronicle than a journal of self-appraisal.” –David Carr, The New York Times

“Waging Heavy Peace finally is Neil Young on Neil Young. Inasmuch as this memoir compares to anything, it's Dylan on Dylan in Chronicles Volume 1, and at the risk of offending, one must read it as perhaps one might the Bible: Young's reality is plastic, his prose prophetic; and myth, metaphor and madness meander through his musings….It is a beautiful book, and the sturdy stock gives it a substantial heft. The prose is conversational, peppered with sentence fragments, more stream-of-consciousness than narrative. This in itself is lovely, as reading this book likely is a close as most of us will get to riding with Young in his bus, shooting the breeze, reminiscing.” –Ted St. Godard, Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)

“Terrific: modest, honest, funny and frequently moving…Waging Heavy Peace takes the form of a diary, a life-in-the-day structure that gives Mr. Young room to maneuver, as he takes us on a wander round his memory palace… In many ways, the closest antecedent to Waging Heavy Peace may be Laurence Sterne's 1760 masterpiece, Tristram Shandy…Elegance itself.” –Wesley Stace, Wall Street Journal

“An inspirational account of tragedy, triumph, and toy trains…If you love Neil Young you will love his autobiography….There is humor in his approach, and a preoccupation with the feeling of things; of sound, and with the world of soul and spirit…. [Young’s] is a hero’s story; a man put through trial after trial who is still fighting at the end with humor, courage, and rage to be the most powerful and genuine artist he can possibly be.” –Suzanne Vega, The Times (London)

“Remarkable…Young has neither burned out nor faded away.” –Bruce Ward, The Ottawa Citizen

“Revealing, even (at times) oddly beautiful, a stream-of-consciousness-meditation on where Young has been, where he thinks he's going and, perhaps most revealing, where he is right now…. It is compelling to see a figure as prominent as Young — arguably one of the five or 10 most influential figures in the history of rock 'n' roll — express himself in such an unfiltered way.” –David Ulin, The Los Angeles Times

“Full of casual asides, unpredictable tangents and open-ended questions as he looks back on his life at age 66....Young appears to be setting down his memories in real time as they occur to him...Dryly hilarious...poignant....Waging Heavy Peace shows that Young is still in full possession of that stubborn, brilliant, one-of-a-kind instrument. He doesn't always go exactly where you want him to, or stay long enough once he gets there, but did anyone really expect anything else?" –Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone (four stars)

“Like an epic jam with Crazy Horse, it's loose and baggy and always in the moment… The strength of Waging Heavy Peace lies in its openness and honesty. When you put Young's book down, you feel you know him.” –Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

“An honest, insightful, engaging and, dare we say, fun literary rambling. It’s a yarn told by a good buddy in a dark bar over beers and tequilas with great music on the jukebox in the background.” –Bob Ruggiero, The Houston Chronicle

“Surreal….Fittingly, Peace unfolds like a blustery Crazy Horse jam…occasionally hitting on an enrapturing revelation …a contradictory tale…refreshing.” –Entertainment Weekly

"Young has consistently demonstrated the unbridled passion of an artist who understands that self-renewal is the only way to avoid burning out. For this reason, he has remained one of the most significant artists of the rock and roll era." —Eddie Vedder

“Young writes with dry eloquence in a voice that is clearly his own…His narrative voice is like his music—direct, emotional, hopeful, sometimes funny, willfully naïve, and often, quite beautiful… At its core, Waging Heavy Peace is a story about love of the enduring variety.” –Jeff Miers, Buffalo News

“Lively, rollicking, high-spirited, and reflective… Like one of his long, inventive jams, Young weaves crystalline lyrics and notes about friends… with reflections on the enduring beauty of nature, and the lasting power and influence of music.” — Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Straight from the wandering mind and pure heart of Neil Young… Fascinating.” – Portland Oregonian

“A thick, digressive epic…Waging Heavy Peace is like his career in microcosm. Nearly 500 elliptical pages long, the book is beautiful, psychedelic, rootsy, ragged, terse, boring, riveting, sad, funny, nostalgic and forward-looking…. A must-read for Neil fans.” – David Marchese, SPIN

“Outspoken, wildly discursive, and thoroughly mesmerizing.” –Megan O’Grady, Vogue.com

“[Young] makes some of his finest music in this lyrical memoir, massaging our souls by hitting just the right chords with his words.” —BookPage

“Fascinating.” –Evan Schlansky, American Songwriter

About the Author

Neil Young’s music and songwriting—which span forty years and thirty-four studio albums of rock and roll, folk, and country, with shadings of blues, techno, and other styles—are among the most enduring and popular in modern times. From his early days with Buffalo Springfield through his solo career and collaborations with Crosby, Stills & Nash, Crazy Horse, and dozens of other notable musicians and groups, Young is acclaimed for both his musical talents and his artistic integrity. With a major hit in every decade since the sixties, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (as a solo artist in 1995 and as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997). A well-known political activist, environmentalist, and philanthropist, Young has been involved in several causes, notably cofounding Farm Aid and The Bridge School, which assists children with physical impairments and communication needs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Blue Rider Press; 1 edition (September 25, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780399159466
• ISBN-13: 978-0399159466
• ASIN: 0399159460
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (439 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( Y ) > Young, Neil
  • #14 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Rock
  • #34 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 154 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars NEIL YOUNG BEING NEIL YOUNG-GOING ANYWHERE HE WANTS TO GO September 25, 2012

By Stuart Jefferson TOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Writing this book, there seems to be no end to the information flowing through me."
"The past is such a big place." Neil Young.

Here it is in a nutshell. If you're a Neil Young fan, and want to read a book written in a conversational style, and want to know more about Young-straight from the well-buy this book. It's 497 pages of Young talking about just about everything he sees fit to talk about.

There's no Contents page, no Introduction, the Preface is two sentences in length, there's a Dedication Page (to his son Ben, "my warrior", and Young's family), and there's no Index. There's a black and white photo at the head of most chapters and a few others here and there (including a spaghetti recipe belonging to Young's father), but no separate section of photos. There's 68 chapters, most of them a few pages in length. The end papers have a photograph of a guitar that's been graphically altered four different ways. All in all, this is a simply produced looking book that fits Young the man/musician, and his writing style. His story is laid out simply, almost in a matter of fact style-like you hoped it would be written. Along the way there are many side roads that add depth and interest to Young's story.

Beginning at his ranch in 2011, with Young talking about his model train collection, and sharing it with his quadriplegic son, Ben, the story shifts to David Crosby and Graham Nash coming over to make some music shortly after Crosby got straight-"...still prone to taking naps between takes." Then it shifts to Young's love of old cars and anything dealing with transportation. His cars sit in a garage, where Young sits and thinks about his record company, and how he wants to improve the sound we hear on recordings.... And that's just the first few pages.

From that point Young writes about a collection of Crazy Horse recordings that he's been working on ("The Early Daze"), that will tell the band's story. He also relates that he has recently quit drinking and smoking weed for his health. It's interesting to read that Young liked writing this book because it kept him (gladly) off the performing stage-he says he needs to "replenish". This isn't Young's life laid out chronologically-he goes back and forth depending on what's on his mind as he writes.

The entire book is like that. It flows along from one era, one set of circumstances, the people he comes into contact with along the way, what happened and what he thinks of it all. In some ways this is similar to Dylan's "Chronicles"-yet obviously different in many ways. It's a book you'd expect from Neil Young. For an inside look at the various stages of Young's life and career (growing up in Ontario, The Squires, The Mynah Birds, Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, Crazy Horse), the people (his father, his wives/children, Danny Whitten, Elliott Roberts for example), the music ("Thinking is the worst thing for writing a song."), his medical challenges ("They make me who I am. I am thankful for them. They scare me."), including walking ("Maybe I should call this book 'The Shoe Chronicles'."), and a lot of other major and minor happenings along the way, sometimes bordering on minutiae, the book is always interesting.

And in the end, after reading this book-it really is the story of Neil Young. This is Neil Young being Neil Young.

With all the books of late (Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Pete Townshend, et al), by living legends, you might also want to check out "The John Lennon Letters", edited by the well known Hunter Davies (whose writing on The Beatles was largely disowned by the band). It's 386 pages of Lennon's writings from throughout his life and career,divided into 23 parts, "Part one-Early Years, 1951-58", "Part three-Beatlemania Begins, 1963", "Part five-family and Friends, 1965-66", "Part twenty-Letters to Derek Taylor, 1973-78", and so on. The book is stuffed with good reproductions of hand/type-written notes/letters/postcards/telegrams/etc.-with the oftentimes hard to read pieces printed in full next to each for legibility- along with many drawings by Lennon, and a number of photographs throughout. Also included is a very brief biography (11 pages) on Lennon's life. Davies occasionally adds short texts to help put things in correct context. One minor drawback (if you like keeping your books nice looking), is the stark white cover, printed on a fairly rough paper stock that attracts dirt and smudges like a magnet. But combined with the minimal graphics-it is cool looking. I immediately covered my copy in a clear plastic bookcover. Hardcore fans of Lennon (especially) will no doubt find some interesting pieces in this nicely presented book. Others will see this as another attempt to drain more $ from the Lennon name. To each his own. Read more ›

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Hippie Dreamer September 26, 2012

By Philip S. Wolf

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Neil Young will always create his art a bit different from everyone else and the 68 short chapters of thoughts and memories that comprise this thick book (497 pages of Neil) represent some of what he has lived in the last 66 years from Ontario to Manitoba to many restless years calling the road his home to a migration to Los Angeles, California then to (at last!) find his home in the rolling hills of a place called the Broken Arrow Ranch in La Honda in Northern California.

From The Squires to the Mynah Birds to the Buffalo Springfield to Crazy Horse to playing solo and beyond. The music of Neil Young is touched upon where he wants to shed light. Not everything here is presented in the fashion that a normal rock biography would lay it all down. Neil, is telling stories and he tends to jump around from thought to different event. The music and the people he made it with are big part of this road he travels but his kids and his cars and his ladies and more cars and some toy trains are covered in these pages like the author is having lots of rambling conversations with you in front of a fire with the dogs at your feet. Neil, tells his story about Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson singing on his great record "Comes a Time" from March 1977 in chapter 57. In the very next chapter you are startled when the floor starts moving in a hotel in Churchill in the northern part of Manitoba. Now you taken back in time to August of 1965 when Neil and the other Squires discovered a polar bear living under their room.

This is an easy read due to the fact that Neil lays down the tale and quickly moves on to something else.... This book will be attacked as this isn't orthodox by any means and not presented in the normal manner and that makes perfect sense to the way Neil has lived his life and made his music as it always seems to have come from left-field anyway. I enjoyed this book and fans of Neil should enjoy this as well. Smallish black and white photos appear infront of over forty of the chapters found here and a list of shows from 1963 and notes and cues for the "Rust Never Sleeps" movie can be found here as well.

If you are going to see Neil & Crazy Horse play this fall and expect the loner to play "Heart Of Gold" I say you shouldn't buy this book because he ain't gonna play it and you are not gonna be happy with a the sonic feedback of a 24 minute version of the still unreleased "Walk Like a Giant" inserted in it's place that made some old boys boo him at the concert I attended in August. Neil, has written this book just like he presents his music as to make himself a happy guy and he wants you to enjoy the show as well. This book he was written is about as different as they way he presents his music as there is the way everybody else does it and then there is the way Neil Young does it.
I enjoyed this book a bunch.
Four & 1/2 Stars! Read more ›

59 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Long May He Run September 27, 2012

By wendavey

Format:Hardcover

When an artist as venerable and important as Neil Young decides to sit and write an autobiography you hope for something special. An immensely prolific musician, Young has something of a reputation for being gnarly, cantankerous and difficult - after all this is a man who was once sued by his own record company for making music "that was uncharacteristic of Neil Young". As it turns out, despite it's jumbled narrative and occasional cul de sacs, the easy conversational style that Young employs in "Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream" makes the book both immensely readable and enjoyable. It's like listening to a grandparent reminiscing - the stories don't come in any particular order, occasionally they take strange tangents and they vary from the fascinating to the mundane.

The book finds Young in a drug and alcohol free state and the straightest he's been since he was eighteen. Recovering from a broken toe and needing to rest a while, he decides to both write his autobiography and start planning to record again with Crazy Horse (a band he refers to throughout in the third person, as a mystic entity) worrying a little if the muse has departed and whether he'll still be able to write songs in his new found sobriety. Despite having not written a new song for more than half a year, Young knows that patience is the key, "Songs are like rabbits and they like to come out of their holes when you're not looking, so if you stand there waiting they will just burrow down and come out somewhere far away, a new place where you can't see them. So I feel like I am standing over a song hole. That will never result in success. The more we talk about this, the worse it will get. So that is why we are changing the subject...."

With a new album, "Psychedelic Pill", recorded with Crazy Horse due in October, Young's patience has clearly paid off, yet he remains a deeply contradictory person. A man with such reserves of patience he spends decades compiling his legendary archive releases or working on a definitive version of his thirty year old movie "Human Highway" yet someone who knows that first or second takes with Crazy Horse are usually the best and is not averse to "spontaneous change" waking up and halting a recording or changing musicians. As he puts it "Honesty is the only thing that works. It hurts to be honest, but the muse has no conscience. If you do it for the music, you do it for the music, and everything else is secondary. Although that has been hard for me to learn, it is the best and really the only way to live through a life dedicated to the muse. The muse says, 'If it isn't totally great, then don't do it. Change.'"

If patience is one of Young's core drivers, then his obsessive side clearly is too. A keen collector of cars (many of the stories involve one of his many classic cars, or start in Feelgoods, his garage) as well as model trains, manuscripts, photographs, records, clothes, and recordings. This obsessive ness sees Young immersed in several long term projects, including his work with Lionel, the model train company where he's searching for a method of accurately linking the sound and smoke effects of the models to the effort involved in pulling their loads; to Lincvolt, a four year project to power a huge Lincoln Continental by energy efficient means; and PureTone (currently renamed Pono) a sound system designed to "rescue my art form, music, from the degradation in quality that I think is at the heart of the decline of music sales".

Spanning his life from childhood in Omemee, Ontario up to 2011, Waging Heavy Peace takes a meandering journey, and if Young's reminisces of contracting polio aged five, of his old paper round route, or of mall shopping in Hawaii fail to grip you don't worry, shortly there'll be a chapter describing how he's illegally entering the States without a work visa heading for the golden promise of California looking for Stephen Stills and readying to form Buffalo Springfield. Or describing how Time magazine's famous photo of the Kent State shooting inspired him to write "Ohio" and record it the next day. Or, how holed up in his Topanga house semi-delirious with a fever he managed to write "Cinnamon Girl", "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl In The Sand" in one afternoon. Or, yes, how David Geffen sued him for making music "that was uncharacteristic of Neil Young" after Young delivered "Island In The Sun", "Trans", and "Everybody's Rockin' (the latter delivered in the guise of an old fashioned rocker after being told to go and make a rock and roll record).

Young goes to places he doesn't need to with a disarming honesty - be it failed relationships, his son's quadriplegia, his enduring love for wife Pegi, a brush with Charles Manson, or even to accidentally poisoning the attendees at his annual birthday party with poison oak. As you might expect in any memoir from a sixty five year old, the roll call of ghosts within the book is long. Crazy Horse Guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry (both lost to heroin within a few months of each other), Ben Keith the pedal steel player, arranger and producer Jack Nitzsche, producer David Briggs and filmmaking collaborator Larry Johnson all brighten the pages when Young talks about them with love. The spectre of his own mortality also dances in the background - his near death recovering from surgery for a brain aneurysm and the worry of a potential descent into the dementia that claimed his father loom large. The book's final paragraph, which sees Young taking a nap near a creek, then in his dreamlike state enter a cafe where his departed friends Larry Johnson and David Briggs are both having a late breakfast and seemingly waiting for him simultaneously bring both a smile to your face and a lump to your throat.

Young says, "Writing this book, there seems to be no end to the information flowing through me" and this theme and enthusiasm seems to still apply to all aspects of his life, be it his music, his family, or his various projects. Happily, Neil Young has neither burned out nor faded away, and long may he continue to run. Read more ›