Tommyland (Hardcover)

by Tommy Lee (Author), Anthony Bozza (Author) "Hi there, my name is Tommy Lee, and there's a couple of things you should know about me right away: I don't like to do..." (more)
Key Phrases: porno shoot, Motley Crue, Methods of Mayhem, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The pages vibrate with Lee's crazy energy."

-- Entertainment Weekly

"As good as the gold in Goldschlager."

-- Time

"A compelling yet obscene personal treatise, on fame and the insanity of out celebrity-crazed culture."

-- The Washington Post

"Deliciously dirty."

-- Glamour --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
I am Tommy Lee, born Thomas Lee Bass in Athens, Greece, on October 3, 1962, and raised in a suburb of California by an American father and a Greek mother. At seventeen, I joined Mötley Crüe and we became one of the baddest-ass rock bands in history. We sold over 40 million albums, we wreaked havoc, we scared parents, and we titillated too many fathers' daughters. I've been married three times: once for just a few days to a Penthouse Pet, for seven years to Heather Locklear, and then for five years to Pamela Anderson, with whom I have two beautiful sons. I've gotten into a lot of fights and I've been to jail a few times.

But this book isn't your typical journey in a straight line from day one to day now. I'm more interested in revealing what's most important about my life, like how I cook my steaks; what I think of the tabloids, the truth, my ex-wives, my ex-band, my music; and what an innocent observer might find hanging around my house any given Sunday. You'll get plenty of facts and I'll tell you a story, but my real mission here is to paint you a picture of my life. I want to show you how my memories smell.

I'd like to get into it now, so please take your seats. I advise you to keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. If you have a pacemaker, a heart condition, or if you are pregnant or too damn short to reach the safety bar, I ask that you turn back immediately. Those with weak stomachs, strict morals, or chronic indigestion should put the book down now. For the rest of you, there's one truth that's real across the board: What you send out is what you get back. Send out the good, people, and it will come back to you. There's another thing I've learned over the years, in court, in fights, and in arguments with people I love: There isn't one truth, there are many. This book is my truth.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atria; 1st Atria Books Hardcover Ed edition (October 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074348343X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743483438
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,999 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, there is a deep side to rock n' roll's ultimate bad boy!, January 18, 2006

By	Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tommyland (Paperback)

Tommy Lee is an icon as a rock n' roll bad boy and playboy who has married some of the most beautiful and high-profile women in the world. His memoir, brilliantly co-authored with Anthony Bozza, is neither a reckless tale of debauchery nor an attempt to make Tommy out to be sophisticated and wise. Tommyland is heartbreakingly honest and very self-exploratory for its main subject. I found it incredibly revealing. Tommy left no subject untouched, and I read this with profound respect.

If there is one word to describe Tommy, it is "intense." His intensity about music, about drugs, about love, about life, about anything he pursues leads, to his volatility. He lives hard, loves hard, and falls hard.

The book does not tell Tommy's life from birth to the present in a linear fashion. Instead, he addresses the various phases of his life in discrete chapters on various subjects such as his marriage to Heather Locklear, life in Motley Crue, life and love and hard times with Pamela Anderson, life in jail, and so on. This story-telling style allowed him to really expound upon each subject in great detail. His days in jail were heartbreaking, intensely revealing, and are a great read for anyone who has gone through hard times. When talking about life with Pamela, he allows her to contribute a chapter with her version of the events, which puts a lot of things in perspective.

The backstory behind Motley Crue is terrific. The band invented glam rock fashion and styles. Tommy also invented all his own insane drum kits, and had to search for engineers and technicians willing to put together his revolving kit, his flying kit, his disappearing kit, and the never-realized roller-coaster drum kit.

Don't miss out on this great memoir about life in the fastlane. Enjoy the rock n' roll lifestyle from your armchair!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome - and not would you expected, October 21, 2004

By	Jm Littman (London , UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tommy Lee - wild man of rock - wild man in real life !
You going to expect that the book is going to follow the line of sex drugs and rock n roll - well it does but in totally laugh out loud way.

Not only does it discuss his Motley Crue past - which a large percentage of time was taken up with various non too healthy pursuits, but he talks about his general life - which is no less interesting. This guy has a great aspect on life (these days) - and we all could take a leaf out of his book.

And don't expect a traditional structure to the book - it certainly doesn't read I was born on .... and this happened, then this etc - It jumps around from point to point - from car sex to his music teacher in high school.

Buy the book if yr a Crue fan - buy the book if you vaguely interested in the guy - it's the best read I've had in a long time

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars MAYHEM - CHAOS - IMMATURE, October 29, 2004

By	Kathryn Lynch (Woodbridge, VA USA) - See all my reviews

I ran out to purchase Tommyland because I was intrigued by the idea that Tommy was going to tell "his truth" regarding his life. But what comes through on the pages of this book are his [carnal] thoughts, which in some cases are more interesting than his own thoughts, advise, or reflections.

The biggest disappointment was his lack of fond memories of his seven-year marriage to Heather Locklear. While Tommy and Heather have been divorced for more than 10 years, surely there must have been something more substantive that he remembered about their years together besides the fact that she wasn't ready to have kids with him.

There is no mention of Bobbie Brown of "Cherry Pie" fame in the book and I know that he had a tattoo with her name on him at one time. I would call this book "selective truth." Tommy, his ghost writer, and his [carnal] skip from topic-to-topic, at times incoherently. Mayhem, chaos, and immaturity rule the pages of this book.

Of course we all know that Tommy will never, never, never get over the end of his marriage to Pamela Anderson. Mayta Garcia never had a chance to become Tommy's girl for life. What don't we already know about the Tommy and Pamela years? Neither one has the good sense to keep their mouths shut about things that the public doesn't need to know.

I guess Tommy's [mind] is right, he is the "real" star of Tommy's life. Tommyland fails to deliver either the substance or the insight into his life that I had hoped for.