Customer Reviews

Who Are You: The Life Of Pete Townshend

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In my Amazon.com review of Mark Wilkerson's last version of this book ("Amazing Journey: The Life Of Pete Townshend"), I remarked that it could be improved with new interviews with Pete's family, co-workers and Pete himself. That's exactly what Mark has been able to do to update this new edition.

The book has been organized a bit better, chapters are organized by years, and the new interviews have been woven into the biography. For me, there's still not enough new material from Pete. But new quotes from his brother Simon and his brother-in-law Jon Astley do add insight into Pete's personality.

This is still very much a "just the facts" type of book, and that's ok with me. A lot of hardcore fans may not find much new here, but I consider myself a fan and I learned a lot. Mr. Wilkerson's book is an excellent, clearly written reference, that also holds your attention. It would make an excellent gift for any Townshend/Who fan.

The book is a joy to read. The updated version of the story of Pete Townshend's life is fantastic. The writing is superb. Crisp, tight, and done the way a biography SHOULD be done: just give us the facts (and the interesting ones at that).

It is well-worth buying this newer version, especially for the new interview with Pete himself that has been integrated into the story. Lots of behind-the-scenes information, such as input from Pete's brothers on their life growing up with their older brother as one of the biggest rock stars in the world. Fascinating stuff!

Even long-time Who/Pete fans will learn things about THE MAN that they'll appreciate.

Densely packed with detail on Townshend's life, most Who/Townshend fans will want to snap this up. Who fans should bear in mind though that this is not a history of the band, and has obviously has a focus on Pete alone. The picture quality is not great, and I would have appreciated more detail on how Townshend actually crafts his songs and any guitar related info, but thats my bias! Its a hefty read, but well worth the effort.

Very well written book by someone who is obviously a great Who fan. In difference from most other tomes on The Who it does contain a lot of new information on the group and Townshend in later years and is in that aspect really up-to-date. Indeed, it does in that sense not frustratingly focus on the years surrounding Tommy. In that sense it complements really well the other available books such as the one by Dave Marsh. It also does focus somewhat more on the solo work that Townshend has produced which is really nice. Of course again it suffers from being written by a fan who does not allways have enough perspective. It does however contain data from new interviews conducted by the author. This also gives the book a fresh approach missing from most similar books.
Of course it is not written by a master as Dave Marsh and it does come over slightly amateurisch at times but it is refreshing. However for a subject as complex as Pete Townshend, and this is a book about him, there is very little on his life, especially very little is revealed about his wife and divorce and the only quotations come from other already known sources so in that sense it is frustrating because by being too much of a fan book it treats its subject with too much respect again. here again a new book written by a more biting British rock journalist would be wellcome. I suppose however they would not be interested and have, unfortunately, written Townshend off. this is unfortunate because the man has on and off been able to demonstrate that the can still produce some great music and the recent return to form of the live Who is proof that there is still life in the beast. Also the bok, if it is about a musically important subject as PT should at least try to go into detail about some of the stuff that would interest the nerdier contingent of his fan base such as his gear and songwriting. It is well to describe some stuff how it was conceived but it does fail to go into the more daily routine of the songwriting process.

Who Are You The Life Of Pete Townshend is well written and organizes the vast amount of information in a logical and easy to read way. Nice pictures too (although black & white). I recommend it for any Who fan.

[DW]

An excellent, thorough and thoroughly satisfying read. The balanced, detailed treatment of his many personal and professional challenges brought Pete from "in the ether" down to earth. The story is mostly comprised of an accounting of Pete's creative spectrum and the media used to convey his ideas. More personal life information and synthesis of the material would have made this book a perfect 10.

This new edition of the classic biography of Who rocker Pete Townshend has been expanded to include a new interview with Townshend plus contributions from family and friends. Over six hundred pages detail his life and times, bringing alive the era which saw the rise of The Who as an influential figure in musical popular culture.

Let me first say that this is exhaustively researched. Wilkerson has seemingly found every word that Townshend's ever uttered, as well as everything that's ever been written or said about him. But that's basically where the value ends. There's precious little new insight here; the book functions as a 500-page clip job of existing material. Townshend is admittedly a famously contradictory character, and a tough nut to crack, so I wish Wilkerson was able to get some more new insights from Pete himself. As it stands, I think you get a better picture from Townshend (at least through the mid-80s) from Dave Marsh's definitive Who biography, "Before I Get Old."

IF YOU ARE A FAN OF PETE TOWNSHEND AS I AM...THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.ALTHOUGH IT IS A VERY LENGTHY READ AT OVER 535 PAGES THE JOURNEY IS WELL WORTH IT.EVERYTHING IN TOWNSHENDS LIFE IS DISCUSSED HERE.FROM HIS BEGINNINGS WITH THE WHO IN 1962 RIGHT THRU TO ALL THE WHO ALBUMS AS WELL AS HIS TERRIFIC RANGE OF SOLO MATERIAL.ALSO DISCUSSED IS THE WHO IN CONCERT PERFORMANCES AND THE DEATHS OF BOTH JOHN ENTWHISTLE AND KEITH MOON AND THE EFFECT THAT THEIR DEATHS HAD ON TOWNSHEND.THE BOOK ENDS AT 2007 WHEN THE WHO HAD RELEASED THEIR "ENDLESS WIRE" CD AND WHAT LEAD TO THAT ALBUM BEING PUT TOGETHER AFTER THE DEATH OF ENTWHISTLE.IT IS ALSO MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK HOW TOWNSHEND HAS BEEN BUSY WRITING HIS OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY WHICH THEY EXPECT TO BE PUBLISHED AROUND 2010.UNTIL THAT ONE COMES ALONG...THIS IS THE ONE TO READ.A TRULY FASCINATING AND ENTERTAINING BOOK FROM START TO FINISH ON A TRUE MUSIC GENIUS.HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!!!!!

I am a 30+ year fan of Pete Townshend's, but after reading this book, and Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend by Geoffrey Giuliano, I have removed all his music from my iPod.

Whether the information in these books is accurate or not, Pete appears to be nothing I had previously thought him to be. Through these writings he appears to be an ego maniac, with heavy gluttonous tendencies. This goes from his sexual ambiguous exploits, to drugs, alcohol etc. And through it all, his poor wife and daughters were un-ware to a full degree regarding what he was up to. So sad, and what a waste of a life.

Now when I listen to his lyrics, it is evident they are juvenile in their tone. His music is good, but the ego behind his lyrics is a now an apparent joke to me.

In short, after reading these books, it is apparent that Mr. Townshend's life is a big Disappointment.