Who I Am: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Pete Townshend (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 8, 2012

From the voice of a generation: The most highly anticipated autobiography of the year, and the story of a man who... is a Londoner and a Mod.... wanted The Who to be called The Hair.... loved The Everly Brothers, but not that "drawling dope" Elvis.... wanted to be a sculptor, a journalist, a dancer and a graphic designer.... became a musician, composer, librettist, fiction writer, literary editor, sailor.... smashed his first guitar onstage, in 1964, by accident.... heard the voice of God on a vibrating bed in rural Illinois.... invented the Marshall stack, feedback and the concept album.... once speared Abbie Hoffman in the neck with the head of his guitar.... inspired Jimi Hendrix's pyrotechnical stagecraft.... is partially deaf in his left ear.... stole his windmill guitar playing from Keith Richards.... followed Keith Moon off a hotel balcony into a pool and nearly died.... did too much cocaine and nearly died.... drank too much and nearly died.... detached from his body in an airplane, on LSD, and nearly died.... helped rescue Eric Clapton from heroin.... is banned for life from Holiday Inns.... was embroiled in a tabloid scandal that has dogged him ever since.... has some explaining to do.... is the most literary and literate musician of the last 50 years.... planned to write his memoir when he was 21.... published this book at 67.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Intensely intimate…candid to the point of self-laceration…[Townshend’s] tone is less lofty than anyone would have expected, just as this book is more honest than any fan would have hoped.” (Rolling Stone (Four 1/2 Stars!) )

“Mr. Townshend’s self-portrait is raw and unsparing...as intimate and as painful as a therapy session, while chronicling the history of the band as it took shape in the Mod scene in 1960s London and became the very embodiment of adolescent rebellion and loud, anarchic rock ‘n’ roll.” (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times )

“Unusually frank and moving…[Who I Am] isn’t one of those rock memoirs that puts the what before the why. His past is a puzzle Mr. Townshend is sweating to decipher.” (The Guardian (UK) )

About the Author

Pete Townshend is the legendary lead guitarist and principal songwriter for The Who, one of the most influential rock-and-roll bands of all time. Townshend is responsible for having written over 100 songs and rock operas in the band's important catalogue. He is one of Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. He resides in West London, where he was raised.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (October 8, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062127242
• ISBN-13: 978-0062127242
• ASIN: 0062127241
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (333 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 120 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars TOWNSHEND STANDING IN THE BRIGHT LIGHT October 8, 2012

By Stuart Jefferson TOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

If you read this memoir for all the events in Pete Townshend's life, you're missing the main thrust, the larger picture, of this book. This is not about all the many (albeit interesting and fascinating) stories Townshend lays out, but more about how these events affected him. Townshend has opened up his life-both personally and professionally-in able to (hopefully) tell us and himself just who he is. "...I both want this book to entertain, but also to convince". Pete Townshend.

This clearly written, straightforward book (separated into three "Acts") lays out, in a matter of fact style, everything that has made (and is still making) Townshend who he is. He is at times brutally honest in his writing. At other times he seems to be more removed from the events he talks about. You may at times agree or disagree with what he writes. But taken together, this is one of the most honest attempts to paint a picture of one's self and the things that he's experienced, that any artist has written. The book is always fascinating, and sometimes riveting to read, but it's not openly self-analytical. From his beginnings through his life in music-everything is laid out as Townshend remembers it. Of course The Who and that part of his life are interesting and informative, and are naturally a large part of the book, and go some way in helping to explain who Townshend is. But all aspects of his life he writes about help fill in the gaps for a better picture of Townshend.

"This is as much a note to myself as one to you. It's all the same thing. If in doubt, just play". Pete Townshend.

The sixteen pages of photographs (in two sections) is helpful and adds depth and some interest to the story. No picking out highlights (or low lights), no overview of the many things Townshend writes about is needed-some will be familiar to you-others not. But taken together, this is a real attempt by Townshend to look beneath the surface, to put into some kind of perspective, all the events (both important and seemingly unimportant) that have shaped and molded him into the person he is today. "Away from therapy I still used the technique I'd learned, writing more diary entries than usual, as well as bitterly honest letters I never sent". "...this time I thought seriously about writing my autobiography". Pete Towhshend.

To sum up-this book is the only way we're going to know this much about Pete Townshend. Any closer and we'd be him.

"Enjoy life. And be careful what you pray for-remember, you will get it all". From a letter Townshend wrote many years ago to his "eight-year-old self", the "kid brother inside me", saying, "The letter I wrote to my eight-year-old self is still one of the most important affirmations in my life".

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mod MacBeth in Three Acts October 10, 2012

By Philip S. Wolf

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The story of Pete Townshend and his band The Who have been documented in dozens of books already and when news began to circulate early in 2012 that Pete was (at last) preparing this book for publication there was a mixed reaction that ranged from: "Well at last he's gonna tell his side of the story" to: "Oh, no! How is he gonna put his foot in his mouth this time?" and there is good reason for that later response as Pete has a habit of saying such ridiculous things to the media in the past it has made many a bad situation much worse after his comments were printed.

Well, after finishing this more than 500 page document of Pete's life it reads as an amazing journey of total entertainment and the touchy subjects (the deaths of Keith Moon and John Entwistle, Cincinnati) were handled with care and style and as Pete is still trying to tell all he is now looking back and in reflection telling his story with plenty of heart. I Thank his editors for doing their job as word warriors in keeping Pete somewhat under control here. We are not reading a 2000 page drama of Pete rambles that he just may have turned in before this was trimmed and presented in the more streamlined fashion that can be found here. This is overall insight of Pete's life with 200 pages of story told AFTER the death of Keith Moon in 1978.

All the normal stuff already featured in all the other books already published (from Geoffrey Giuliano's horrible: "Behind Blue Eyes" published from 1996 to a very good 600 pager: "The Life Of Pete Townshend" from Mark Wilkerson in 2008.) But, the difference found in: "Who I Am" is that so many of the stories Pete reveals here are personal memories that he didn't blab to the press in past rants and we really do (at last) get behind those blue eyes at last to gain new insight into Pete's life and the story of The Who.

There are two 8 page photo inserts included and most of them come from Pete's personal files and have not been published before. The photograph of Pete and Roger at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics on 12 August 2012 proves this account of Who tales was still being worked on and pieced together at the 11th hour and we are not left hanging on as if Pete stopped documenting his story two or three years ago like plenty of other books have.

A major reason that The Who became so popular (besides the amazing music and stage show) has been the ongoing honesty of Pete Townshend and here he goes again. If you enjoy rock music and the music of The Who and Pete Townshend "Who I Am" is a perfect early Christmas gift to enjoy.
Five Stars!!!

51 of 60 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars won't get fooled again... October 29, 2012

By super 35

Format:Hardcover

Is it possible that one of the most influential musicians of the last 50 years can take us on a 500 page journey and reveal so little of himself? Factually, this is a great resource for any Who fan and will serve as a Who timeline as to who did what with who and when.
Perhaps it is not possible for the fan as reader to be moved by a chronology on paper the way its author was able to move millions with his songwriting, voice and guitar...but it is the purpose of a memoir. Regardless, we owe Pete more than he owes us, even if this is a crummy read. I feel like I just spent the last 2 days reading a wire transfer between Pete and his accountant, Pete and his real estate agent, Pete and his yacht broker... Learned a lot, felt very little. Well, a little sad at times for poor Pete...glad he's alive to tell the tale...
If nothing else, the monotonous tone of Who I am sets the stage for how hard Pete Townsend worked. Love the music. Respect the work ethic. Pity the man.