Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Puts things in perspective, December 27, 2000
I read this book about once a year to remind myself of how much I want to live. For anyone caught up in the illusion of the glory of life in the fast lane, the second half of this book, dealing with Belushi's last great binge in minute-by-minute detail, should be a real eye-opener. Woodward paints a balanced portrait of a much-loved, charasmatic individual trapped by his own demons. Alternately fascinating and horrifying, this is perhaps the best celebrity biography I have read. I sincerely hope it comes back into print - if not, I suggest you try to hunt a copy down; it is worth your time.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent chronology of Johns life; focus on his dark last days, September 22, 1999
By A Customer
Woodward's book is, of course, flawed like Judy Belushi's "Samurai Widow"; but other than these two books there is nothing more of Belushi to refer back to, in the written form. There will always be the SNL videos, the Blues Brothers CDs, or the handful of movies John did, but where does one interested enough start from when they want to make some chronological order of Belushi's life; to learn more about his exhuberent ascent, his tumultuous descent and his final dark months, weeks and days? Bob Woodward gives the reader a dry and thorough, if not somewhat-slanted, take on John Belushi's 33 years on planet Earth. The reader simply cannot help but get the feeling that the author is emphasizing the downward spiral and the end of a manically funny man, which is why this book wasn't received very well when it was first released, back in 1984.. Still, from JB's days in Wheaton, Illinois, Second City Chicago and National Lampoon, to Saturday Night Live, Hollywood and the Chateau Maramont Bungalow #3, Woodward's book is worth 3 1/2 starts and, at the very least, one good read-through.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting and sad book, but not very well written., May 16, 2005
The story of John Belushi's life was a rollercoaster ride of very low times of self destruction, separated by short rises of happiness and accomplishment. John seemed to be someone that just could not be happy in his own skin, he did not see himself as a worthy human being who deserved to be happy, but instead someone who did not deserve his fame, or did not feel he was respected in the ways he thought he should be, he was constantly trying to prove himself. John was selfish, yes, he would binge for weeks on drugs, parties, and the fast life looking to fill that void regardless of who it hurt. He destroyed friendships as fast as he made them, but was always the one quick to apologize and try to mend the bridge he had just burned. I feel sorry for John and wish that he would of been given the help he was crying out to receive. Like so many before and after him his problems were ignored in hopes that he would somehow see the light and snap out of it on his own. John is to blame for his own death, and partial blame goes to his friends, but a huge part of the blame rests on Hollywood's shoulders. A town that rewards it successful entertainers with money and fame, and then quickly shuns them the minute that entertainers value has been sucked dry. Hollywood glorifies a lifestyle, in it's movies, that in reality is an impossible one to maintain. The book is very poorly written in my opinion, and Woodward easily confuses the reader by jumping from quote to quote. The readers many times is left unsure of who the quote is being taken from or who exactly the quote is about. There are a lot of scattered bits of information in the book as well and also many typos. For example in one section John's heart is described as being 222 lbs after his death. The book was interesting but so scattered I found my self struggling to stay focused and had to re-read many paragraphs to fully understand what exactly Woodward was trying to say.
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