Rating: 
Summary: Surprised by the quality of the writing.
Review: "Broken Music" is an amazing memoir by a talented and intelligent musician. I was very surprised by Sting's ability to write. Sting's story is written in a style which is honest, raw and extremely emotional. I laughed and cried. I felt that I had gained insight after I read this book. I was very impressed by Sting's ability to convey complex emotions and feelings in a touching and deep manner. He could be a writer, aside from being the musical genius he already is. I hope he writes more books in the future. I think he has much to say and he has a true talent for writing. I have loved his songs and music and I loved this book. I highly recommend this book. It deals with issues that are all too familiar to most of us- family, love, disappointments, challenges, coming of age. This book would be a great gift for a parent or a child. All in all, one of the best autobiographies I have read. It is touching, inspiring and enlightening. What more could you ask for from a book?
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: Very disappointed in Sting's recent CD, "Sacred Love," I expected this book to be more of the same- shallow, self-promoting and full of glittering generalities. For some reason, I purchased it anyway. To my pleasant surprise, Gordon Sumner has produced an interesting and sincere memoir, fairly well-written and revealing throughout. As opposed to projecting a slick image of a self-satisfied superstar, Sting humbly lays himself bare, emphasizing the period prior to his becoming successful with the Police. Perhaps the most intriguing portions are those concerning his childhood in which he provides intimate glimpses of his home life, including a tender portrayl of his mother and father's doomed marriage. He describes how, within this context, he nonetheless becomes growingly aware of one thing in particular: he wants to play music. After some false career starts and gigs with several local jazz rock bands around Newcastle, he ultimately heads for London where, with only his hopes and an encouraging wife, he works to make it big. Colorful tales enrich the story while he also acknowledges several helpful comrades along the way. It is a pity that Sting forgot to incorporate the same original spirit in his most recent musical compositions, but that is another discussion. For the moment, this is a good read. The doubters should know that this guy can indeed write prose (as well as those lyrics for tunes), and I would recommend the book both to fans and non-fans alike.
Rating:
Summary: Broken Memory?
Review: I love the music of Sting and was looking forward to hearing about the man who created it and how the music was created. Unfortunately, the readers get some interesting information, but they do not get the whole story. The book begins with Sting and his wife, Trudie, in Brazil taking part of a religious ceremony where some kind of psychedelic plant has been taken. In taking this plant, Sting is taking back into his memories, which leads the reader into Sting's past. As a literary tool, this is interesting. We learn about Sting's troubled childhood as well as his journeyman years as a musician. This was very enlightening and really gave me an idea of who the musician is. However, as a fan since the 80s, I would like to have read more about his time with The Police. This part doesn't come until the last pages of the book and is not particularly enlightening. This part reads as the climax of his career, although I know his career doesn't end there. Although the book talks of Sting's first marriage and the first meeting with Trudie, the book does not go into the end of the first or the beginning of the second. As this fits with the time of The Police, maybe we will get this in another book down the line. Still, I would recommend this book for people who want to understand the man behind the musician and the musician behind the man.
Rating: 
Summary: A great musician who needs an editor
Review: I was a rabid Police fan starting back in 1980 and have admired Sting ever since. I knew when I bought this book that it would discuss his life before the Police, and that was fine. I was interested to learn more about Last Exit and Frances and his childhood, so I have no complaints with the content. But his writing style stands in the way of the story. It is pompous and egotistical with pretentious metaphors and a really annoying habit of switching between past and present tense. I could just picture him sitting there with a thesaurus trying to find the most intellectual-sounding way to say each thing he wanted to say. The foreshadowing "teasers" started getting to me, too: "Little did I know then that this person [or moment or event] would change my life forever." Over and over and over. Ugh. He really needed somebody to reign him in on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Very articulate writing, Mr. Sumner!
Review: I was very impressed with Sting's writing ability and this captivating book. At times, I could not put this book down and was very tired the next morning at work! This book is a MUST for any Sting fan and also for those who grew up in Wallsend and Newcastle. My mother was born and raised not too far from where Sting grew up and she wants the book when I'm done. The only reason why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the first 15 pages. I was getting turned off in the beginning because it didn't seem like it started where it should, which was on page 16. As I read further, it was starting to make a little more sense why he wrote the beginning the way he did, but it may turn off some readers at first. I urge people to read further if they start feeling the way I did in the beginning...it is well worth it!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, dry read....
Review: I have to admit it-I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy reading a memoir by an international music idol, and I certainly wasn't expecting much out of Sting in creating this work. His diction is very particular and precise. I used this book as my before bedtime wind-down, but found myself struggling to keep into it, as the language and general approach was extremely dry. I could only read a few sections of each chapter/unit and then had to put it down. Not terribly exciting, but it held my interest because I'm such a fan of Sting's music.
Rating:
Summary: a memoir, not an autobiography
Review: I do realize that this book is a memoir, and not a blow-by-blow autobiography, but still, it was a disappointment that he focused so little on his time with Stewart and Andy and none at all on the break-up of the band and his solo career. He completely glosses over that with an "I knew all along that I had bigger fish to fry" attitude, which isn't quite what most fans are looking for. Also, after his appearance on Oprah with Trudie, I had the impression that he was going to tell more about the onset of that relationship, but that didn't happen either--basically you're left with the impression that he dumped Frances somewhere along the way (why?) and ended up with Trudie. No doubt he left out the details of that out of respect for his former wife, but the fact that he leaves the woman who was with him when they were practically starving, supporting his career and encouraging his dreams, doesn't leave a person with the most favorable opinion of him as a man. And I was less than impressed with the opening chapter, in which a hallucinogenic drug helped him to flash back to his childhood. A needless contrivance, in my opinion.
All in all, though, the writing was very good, which was a pleasant surprise. I found particularly poignant his insight into his parents' relationship, which was gained from wisdom that came through his own adult experiences and relationships.
Rating: 
Summary: Eggregiously Superficial - Light & Nearly Meaningless
Review: After being a lifelong Sting & Police fan I decided, with reservation, to plunk down the bucks & entertain this effort.... it was the least I could do...after all, i've been jumping for years now to all those great tunes this song-writing genius has lent his most adoring fans (like me). However, after reading the 1st paragraph i wanted to croak. the language was bogus, so fruity, well the impluse to abort this nonsense grew into an indomitable force... but your loyal reviewer trudged on... Here's the central problem, the book is filled with EGO, STING's EGO, and in such he avoids true emotion, giving us massive SKIPs both in time and reality. The fact is, nothing REAL gets told about his interaction with his former Bandmates, nor do we get anywhere remotely near when or if Sting, And, and Stewart will ever play together again. By the end of the book you realize what a mad ego the man they call Mr. Sting has got. No doubt if I were a musician, I'd probably defer working with someone so simultaneously fragile & emotionally needy. It's as if the big stage isn't big enough.... What Sting learns here is the natural laws that prove you can't write a good a song or a good book on your very 1st effort. try again mister Sting.
Rating: 
Summary: Exceptional bio
Review: This is an exceptional bio.Beautifully written and you realize that he would have been a success in life even if he had never become a famous musician. He has poetry in his soul and a compass that guides him in the right direction, whether it be for love or career. His story really proves that you have to follow your dreams regardless of your upbringing, what others think of you, and be ready to change the plan if things aren't working out. It takes courage to do these things and if you look closely, most successful people follow that plan and don't look back. As a mother to two boys, I found the mother/son story moving and heartbreaking. Who cares about the stories behind the "Police"! This book is written about the very real aspects of his life that everyone deals with and can identify with. I applaud his choice to write about human ideals and foibles. Once again, he makes the courageous choice to come out from behind his celebrity to show us he is just a man with a story,the career he chose and a life he leads with all of his heart. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Personal revelations from Sting
Review: As a long time fan of The Police and Sting's solo music, I was intrigued to see this memoir in the bookstores. I have to admit that it was not until I saw him on Oprah that I actually went out and got the book. The reason was seeing him interviewed by himself, then with his wife, Trudie Styler. He showed different sides in the interview, and that's what comes through in his memoir, "Broken Music."
Much of Sting's life story has been available for years in various interviews and articles about his career, but what we get here is the personal viewpoint and emotion of a man driven to succeed at his craft. Also, we get deep inside his head with his relationship with his parents. As one reads what he went through with his family, it becomes apparent where he got a lot of the inspiration for his songs.
It's also interesting to see how his early music career as a jazz musician shaped the evolution of the music by The Police and his later solo career, when he recruited top young American jazz musicians to form another top group.
Back to the book. Stings describes his childhood in Wallsend near the Scottish border, and growing up as "the milkman's son." He shares a number of amusing anecdotes, and demonstrates a flair for literate prose and self-deprecating sense of humor. This is a man who rose above his upbringing, but is not afraid to tell a bawdy joke or two. One of my favorite stories was about him trying to impress a girlfriend, getting his car stuck, and having to call his dad to bail him out.
Sting covers his childhood, grammar school and college years, a series of dead end jobs, and fledgling music career in detail. He identifies a number of influences, mentors and friends who helped him move forward to achieve his dream of becoming a successful musician. He also describes various romances that were important in his life, and how his early family life influenced the success or demise of these romances.
Sting gives credit where credit is due, but also provides honest portrayals of his associates. While Sting has a strong sense of atmosphere and narrative, I did find the frequent shifts of tense sometimes jarring. Parts of the story are also non-linear, but the future projections are often helpful in explaining how a particular person would be important later on in his life. Various folks and critics have called him arrogant and pretentious over the years, and while Mr. Sumner is extremely self-aware, what comes across more is an individual determined to succeed. The Police were a great success, but if there was animosity amongst his peers related to song-writing, it's because Sting was the better songwriter. He is also one who has tried to contribute himself to causes other than himself, and I can see where this can bring about a backlash. This is a fascinating tale and a worthy read. Then, get out the disks and enjoy his music with a new perspective.
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