For the first time ever, Bono-the biggest rock star in the world-tells his life story.
Bono's career is unlike any other in rock history. As the lead singer of U2, Bono has sold 130 million albums, won fourteen Grammys, and played numerous sold-out world tours, but he has also lobbied and worked with world leaders from Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to Nelson Mandela on debt relief, AIDS, and other critical global issues. He has collaborated with the same musicians for nearly three deca... (show more)
For the first time ever, Bono-the biggest rock star in the world-tells his life story.
Bono's career is unlike any other in rock history. As the lead singer of U2, Bono has sold 130 million albums, won fourteen Grammys, and played numerous sold-out world tours, but he has also lobbied and worked with world leaders from Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to Nelson Mandela on debt relief, AIDS, and other critical global issues. He has collaborated with the same musicians for nearly three decades and has been married to his childhood sweetheart since 1982. His life, at all turns, resists the rock star clichés.
In a series of intimate conversations with his friend Michka Assayas, a music journalist who has been with the band since the very beginning, Bono reflects on his transformation from the extrovert singer of a small Irish post-punk band into one of the most famous individuals in the world; and from an international celebrity to an influential spokesperson for the Third World. He speaks candidly about his faith, family, commitment, influences, service, and passion. Bono: A Self-Portrait in Conversation is the closest we will come, for now, to a memoir from the iconic frontman of U2. (show less)
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This was an enjoyable and enlightening read. It is fascinating to see someone of his celebrity in the world offer such candid and reflective conver... (show more)
This was an enjoyable and enlightening read. It is fascinating to see someone of his celebrity in the world offer such candid and reflective conversation on topics like his commitment to Jesus Christ and his passion for working on the terrible circumstances in Africa. His ability to offer interesting and at times in-depth analysis on these and other matters heightens my respect for the guy. Bono also offered some heartfelt reflection on his father, a man who seems to have been a hard man, but a man who his son still loved and engaged with even at the end of his life.
In my opinion, the best statement in the book comes about 2/3 of the way through, where Bono contrasts Karma (you get what you deserve, what goes around comes around) with Grace (we often get far beyond what we deserve). This is a powerful metaphor, I think, for his work in Africa and his approach to other human beings in general, as expressed in this book. What an excellent approach to living as a human being on this planet. (show less)
This is a decent read, an intimate portrait of one artist. Bono can be a frustrating person to interview, simply because he cloaks so much of what ... (show more)
This is a decent read, an intimate portrait of one artist. Bono can be a frustrating person to interview, simply because he cloaks so much of what he says in bohemian poetry-spouting comments. Ask the man if he likes cereal, and he's likely to quote something about angels in his cornflakes and the spoon was like a metal ship of his soul or something! For that reason, like many other U2 or related books, it's difficult to get past the surface with these iconic types. It also really reads like a manifesto, since the majority of it is just Bono regurgitating facts and figures about the hungry people in Africa. That's great, man. Can you get down off the stump for fucking five minutes and answer a question about something, I don't know, less depressing? 75% of this is just Bono giving a State Of The World Address, the other 25% is a very moving and poignant conversation about how he felt about the loss of his father. So it's worth it for that. I guess. (show less)
No se porque me tomo tanto tiempo leer este libro, lo lleve con migo dentro de mi bolsa al rededor de cuatro meses todos los dias.Quiza por que lei y relei cada frase escrita, queria conocer a la persona que se esconde detraz de esos lentes oscuros, y enterder a ese hombre que ha escrito hermosos mensajes dentro de sus canciones.
Mi libro termino todo cubierto con tinta purpura, pues he resaltado muchas frases que me parecieron muy interesantes.
Mis favoritas son: "I've learnt that I ... (show more)
No se porque me tomo tanto tiempo leer este libro, lo lleve con migo dentro de mi bolsa al rededor de cuatro meses todos los dias.Quiza por que lei y relei cada frase escrita, queria conocer a la persona que se esconde detraz de esos lentes oscuros, y enterder a ese hombre que ha escrito hermosos mensajes dentro de sus canciones.
Mi libro termino todo cubierto con tinta purpura, pues he resaltado muchas frases que me parecieron muy interesantes.
Mis favoritas son: "I've learnt that I don't have to live up to people's expectataions of who they think I should be" (Page 148) and "If the job of art is to chase ugliness away, let's start with the roads and the automobiles" (Page 298)
La fotografias que contiene aunque son pocas son muy especiales tambien.
No hay dudad de que dentro de un tiempo volvere a leer el libro con mucho gusto. (show less)
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I truly enjoyed this book and it gave me a much clearer understanding of where Bono is coming from as a person. He doesn't really dish any "dirt" and is more open than you might expect in many ways. I recommend this book to anyone who likes U2
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