Rating: 
Summary: Too much pain.
Review: First let me say that Jerry Stahl is a good writer. This book does not disappoint because Stahl can't get his point across clearly or in an entertaining way. It's just that he covers the same ground again and again and again. He tries for self-depracating humor which works early on, but by the half-way point the reader knows what's coming next. More self-loathing, more flashbacks to a cruddy childhood and more platitudes about loving his child while simultaneously shooting up. Apparently, Stahl finally kicked his addictions, but he doesn't ever really explain his enlightenment. I give Stahl an A for realism and showing that the life of an addict sucks, but I give him a C for redundancy and a C on his self-analysis.
Rating: 
Summary: Smack in the City of Angels
Review: How many books about junkiehood are there out there? Let us count... Many, many, many, and I've read a majority of them. However this one was different, as it seemed to speak directly to me. That may sound slightly self-centered, but as someone who has been a heroin addict in LA, I can tell you, this book is right on the money. The glitzy, seemingly mindless Hollywood types, the dope-slinging zombies down at Sixth and Alvarado, all of it- it's all here. When I feel the need to remind myself that someone out there truly understands me, I read this book. And I most definitely reccomend it to anyone, past or present junkie or not. Those who have lived through similar experiences will nod and smile in recognition, those who haven't will hopefully be enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: The best memoir I have ever read!
Review: I read this book over four years ago, and still think about it often. I love to read well-written memoirs, and this is the best-written one I have ever read. Stahl is incredibly funny, and articulate, yet the description of his devastating life with drugs is nothing short of amazing. If you know little about drug addiction, this book will educate you like no book can. This blows the stereotype on junkies - here is a White, professional , well-educated (Columbia Univ. grad), whose world explodes over and over again due to his heroin and cocaine use. There were times reading this book where I nodded my head and said "he can't possibly survive this addiction, it's so deep-seated; it's his whole life". Yet he manages to. I only wish he would write a sequel. I have not had a drug problem myself, yet I work with people who are addicts, and this book educated me better than anything else has about their behavior, and their world. Stahl has done what no one else has - He has shown us the life he has lead, and he leaves no stone unturned, even if it reveals some horrifying things about him (like taking his infant daughter along literally to a den of hell in order to buy drugs). Don't pass this book up.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Start, Medium Middle, Slow Finish
Review: Like many drug memoirs, Permanent Midnight starts off with a great premise: man is young, man is poor, man meets drugs, man falls in love with drugs, man gets sudden rush of money, man takes too much drugs, man learns to take too much drugs and still make money, man gets tired of taking too much drugs and making too much money, man moves to Arizona.
And like many drug memoirs the end is grueling and slow. Near the end of the book it seems the writer is thinking more about his paycheck than his work. But I would definetly buy this book just for the first 80%.
Rating:
Summary: Good Start, Medium Middle, Slow Finish
Review: Like many drug memoirs, Permanent Midnight starts off with a great premise: man is young, man is poor, man meets drugs, man falls in love with drugs, man gets sudden rush of money, man takes too much drugs, man learns to take too much drugs and still make money, man gets tired of taking too much drugs and making too much money, man moves to Arizona.
And like many drug memoirs the end is grueling and slow. Near the end of the book it seems the writer is thinking more about his paycheck than his work. But I would definetly buy this book just for the first 80%.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting to say the least......
Review: Not to sound too cliche but I literally was unable to put this book down. An amazing tale of drug addiction at it's worst - if there's a best it's only in the way Jerry Stahl bares his soul. I have the utmost respect for his talent in presenting the truth, no matter how painful, and obviously it was a nightmare journey. It's a story that offers hope in the midst of the worst possible scenario. I had to put the book down several times - especially when he describes his relationship with his little daughter. I was literally sobbing, feeling the pain of his childhood & his fear that his child would suffer because she was a part of him. A fantastic writer - I hope he stays away from TV writing & continues to write all of his life stories. He's wonderfully honest and extremely witty in presenting such a gut wrenching tale. I wish him all the best in the future.
Rating:
Summary: The Seductiveness of Wit in Brilliant Memoir
Review: Permanent Midnight is a deservedly praised masterpiece of a memoir, the chronicle of a man with enormous imagination and writing talent who is hell-bent on overcoming his sense of inadequacy with "success" and in the process engages in a Faustian Bargain, writing "Alph" and other inane television comedies, resulting in his guilt, his defensive, sarcastic armor, his self-loathing, and his need to medicate that self-disgust with drugs. One of the memoir's major themes is the seductiveness of wit and its accompaniment, brilliant language, a double-edged sword that razzle-dazzles us but is also an instrument of cynicism and self-flagellation, which screams for self-medication. We sympathize with brilliant wits like Jerry Stahl who tend to have addictive personalities because they are constantly seeking some kind of medication to soothe the soul's inevitable ache, the result of their razor-edged wit turning most harshly against themselves.
Rating:
Summary: A detailed account of an individual addict.
Review: Permanent Midnight is a journey of horrific proportions into the underbelly of addiction. Stahl's account of his experiences are vivid and a sometimes terrifying firsthand account of the depths an addict can sink. This book is comparable to other accounts such as Burroughs or any biography about Kieth Richards. The sheer sensational quality of this book is enough to make for evocative reading, yet Stahl seems to fall victim to a great deal of name dropping which adds too much punch to an already "punch drunk" experience. Stahl's writing style is scattered and wordy in spots, which is either a result of his substance problem or due to years writing for television. Where Stahl shines is his ability to describe the subject ,in all its scarry details, from his first "taste" to his eventual plunge into full blown junkie status. The episodes read as a strung out confessional of how twisted and tattered a human can become before truly breaking. This book should be read by any aspiring drug addict for its shock value alone. Stahl proves with his account it is possible to sink to the lowest levels of existence and survive to tell the story to others. Where this book will be a success is in steering others away from his mistakes in his use of heroin and various other substances, which are many and their quanity astounding. A good read for those unaccustomed to the despicable elements of the drug culture and how taxing the life of a junkie can actually be. Stahl gives an all too close insider's view of a world few will ever know nor survive to tell about.
Rating:
Summary: As the Junkie Turns...
Review: Some of us stop off at McDonald's for an egg mcmuffin and coffee on the way to work. Not Jerry, his is an assortment of chemicals that make a big mac look healthy. I can't write an e-mail if I haven't had enough sleep and somehow this guy was able to write tv shows nodding off on heroin. His honesty will pull you in. If you want to know the truth about what it's really like to make it in Hollywood, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A look into the dark underbelly of drug addiction.
Review: The author Jerry Stahl opens his life and soul for all who care to read this book to see. He is the most courageous and honest of any of the ex-drug addicts who have penned their memiors. Permanant Midnight will appeal to those who would like to glmpse a world they will never see, and to those who can relate to similar experiences. The latter will find many of the tales of the addict life attractive and repulsive at the same time. Such is the duality of drugs. I hope that there is a volume 2, so that we may see the benefit of a life after herion addiction
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