I was going through boxes the other day and I came across this book, the same copy I bought with the $5 my grandmother gave me for my fifteenth birthday about a million years ago. It was a hugely influential book on my life way back in the day and it was kind of funny reading it from an adult's perspective. Some of the antics Morrison got up to that seemed to cool when I was kid seemed purely asinine now, but for the most part Jim holds up as a cool guy, interesting lyricist, and a wonderfu... (show more)

I was going through boxes the other day and I came across this book, the same copy I bought with the $5 my grandmother gave me for my fifteenth birthday about a million years ago. It was a hugely influential book on my life way back in the day and it was kind of funny reading it from an adult's perspective. Some of the antics Morrison got up to that seemed to cool when I was kid seemed purely asinine now, but for the most part Jim holds up as a cool guy, interesting lyricist, and a wonderful entertainer who (when sober) plotted his every move with Machiavellian preciseness. He wanted the world and he wanted it now (then), and he got it. Even better, the world got him. Great read, and a very good introduction to the body and work of the Doors. Read Densmore's Riders on the Storm for a different perspective, and then watch Oliver Stone's beautiful (and inaccurate) film, and enjoy them all because they're all great and together provide a 360 degree perspective of a brilliant band's too short recording career. Enjoy. (show less)