Rating: 
Summary: Admiration for John Denver and His Music
Review: After attending a live concert and sitting close to the stage, I was impressed by the true *musicianship* of John Denver. This was important to me since my career is in music. I thought the book was interesting, the story of a man whose life was tragically cut much too short. We will miss his songs and their message.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent autobiography
Review: After being a John Denver fan for almost four years, I have been to his live concert at Wolf Trap and have been on a store rage for all of his CD's. His autobiography has a great struc- ture, telling it like it is, not trying to make it sound like him being the best. Reading his autobiography now is sad, though, because he died on October 13th, 1997. Still, I hope John Denver knows that people are still out there, caring for the enviroment and still listening to his songs.
Rating: 
Summary: Great personal insight into the man and the music
Review: Anytime an individual takes the risk of putting so much of his personal life on paper for all to read, he is to be commended. Although I first came to admire John Denver in the early 70s for his music, it was his work later as a naturalist, environmentalist and advocate for children that will remain with me as well. After reading his book, I had a better understanding of the events in his life that may have lead him in this direction. A look at his video self-portrait will also help fans learn more about him and the thoughts behind some of his most popular hits.
Rating:
Summary: John Denver: Take Me Home
Review: As a big fan of John Denver, I find it hard to fault a book about his life, his career, and his growth as a human being. I found John to be a good story-teller and many of the stories did not show him in his best light. I think this book is honest and straight-forward; John doesn't try to sugar-coat any of his actions. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys John Denver's music - there is a wealth of insight into his motivatin for writing many of his popular hits and lesser known works, also
Rating:
Summary: Not just one Man's Life
Review: As a child of the 70's I waswith him from the start and Ican't believe people think hewas a GOD . I loved him as mychildren do now. He was a well known person who had a special gift of music and compassion for all. But he was human and his life ws not always his to do with as he wanted, he belonged to the world, and the world made a lot of demands of him. He gave all and we always wanted more. I cherish him and his music, I listen to it frequently I never tire of the upbeat and even the sad songs.He represents to me a little of us all not just one man.s life, I too have made mistakesin judgements and I always refer to the Phrase "Judge notlest ye be judged". In my book on the last page I entered "John Denver flew home at 5:PM on Oct.12,1997 We willmiss him but his spirit is forever flying in the blue skies and our hearts.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a story about John Denver, a story about America.
Review: As an avid John Denver fan because of his music and message, I felt obligated to read his autobiography. Although it's a darn shame this book isn't in print anymore, it lives on in libraries and survives via used book sellers here on amazon. It was well worth the wait to find a copy.
John kicks it off telling a little about his parents, how they met, what they did for a living, and where they came from, which explains a lot about the way John looked at life, but I'll let him explain that in the book.
John even tells the reader about the "gamble" he took when he dropped out of college to pursue a folk music lifestyle in California, which he really captures well through his unique writing. He writes about his early and lifelong mentors and about his own personal backlash against the music industry which was caused by a lack of trust in some of those guiding him. He does however, give immense praise to Milt Okun and Hal Thau, which is good to read.
The reader will even learn about the simple approach John almost always took to his songwriting, and how he views some of his songs today. You get a nice view of the social unrest in the country at the time as he makes reference and talks about how the war in Vietnam, EST, and Macrobiotics made their way into his life. Later on, John talks about the Reagan years, changes in the music industry, and changes in his family.
In all honesty, this is one of the most genuine and honest autobiographies I have ever read. He openly admits his flaws revolving around his family life but it's also very cool to see how optimistic he was towards the end of his life. The book itself is very solid, has some rare and touching pictures of John with others, and includes a Discography at the end of the book. I don't just reccomend this to John Denver fans, I recommend this book to anyone, even my age group (I'm in college), who wants to learn about the unique journey of this country through music, pop culture, family, and overall optimism.
Maybe its just coincidence, but the final words of the final chapter in his book say a lot about how prophetic John Denver was in everything he did... he starts off with lyrics to a song he wrote....
"And I lay in my bed and wonder,
After all has been said and is done for,
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone."
The final words then read,
"I'm not home yet, but I'm getting there."
Well said John, and thanks for your great vision and outlook on life.
Rating:
Summary: Reality is more interesting than fiction...
Review: From 1978 on I was a fan of John Denver, not because he was hip, not because he was dazzling, but because he was genuine, honest, and straight-forward. What I loved about his music and what I loved about his live performances is it was not a show. It came from the heart. This autobiography is just like his performances, it hides nothing. It is difficult to name autobiographies that paint an ugly picture of their author. I think people misunderstand how this book was written as much for John as it was for us. There is a lesson to be learned here about what works and doesn't work in living life. I am thankful to John for sharing with me what doesn't work. I learned from reading this book. I played his songs when I came to chapters that the songs coincided with. For such beauty to be created in the midst of a normal, flawed, human life, "it amazes me!"Think about your life story, all the stuff you did you are proud of, and all the stuff you did you are ashamed of. If you could imagine allowing everyone in to read about it all, then maybe you can begin to appreciate what it took to write this book. Remember he published this before his death. If you loved the man, you should read this book to know the false front he put on, and the dark face he now reveals. God bless you, John.
Rating:
Summary: Reality is more interesting than fiction...
Review: From 1978 on I was a fan of John Denver, not because he was hip, not because he was dazzling, but because he was genuine, honest, and straight-forward. What I loved about his music and what I loved about his live performances is it was not a show. It came from the heart. This autobiography is just like his performances, it hides nothing. It is difficult to name autobiographies that paint an ugly picture of their author. I think people misunderstand how this book was written as much for John as it was for us. There is a lesson to be learned here about what works and doesn't work in living life. I am thankful to John for sharing with me what doesn't work. I learned from reading this book. I played his songs when I came to chapters that the songs coincided with. For such beauty to be created in the midst of a normal, flawed, human life, "it amazes me!" Think about your life story, all the stuff you did you are proud of, and all the stuff you did you are ashamed of. If you could imagine allowing everyone in to read about it all, then maybe you can begin to appreciate what it took to write this book. Remember he published this before his death. If you loved the man, you should read this book to know the false front he put on, and the dark face he now reveals. God bless you, John.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough of what we want to know
Review: Having been a fan of John's music for over 20 years, I expected more from his autobiography, then what I got.
It was interesting reading, and his honesty was refreshing; however, I was looking for more in depth writing on the various songs he had written.
Few of them were written about it any detail.
His second marriage to Cassandra Delaney was glossed over, in my opinion, as was his relationship with his children.
I suppose it is hard to cram one's life into a 200 page book, but then again a marriage and children would seem to be more important than EST training.
Still, overall, a decent read.
I remain a fan of the man and his music. May he rest in peace.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Denver
Review: I confess! I never read the book! BUT on cable I just saw the autobiographical movie called Back Home Again starring Chad Lowe as John. From the reviews I read, this movie was just the filmed version of the book. To see John as screwd up as the rest of us was delicious to behold because I always wondered what he was really like. As a result, I respect and honor the man more because behind the musician was a human being. John Denver was, is, and always will be, my hero.
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