Rating: 
Summary: So good you'll want to read it really slowly
Review: I was so touched by the honesty of this book. It is rare.
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Summary: An Unconventional Star
Review: I do not follow Sting's career as a fan although I think he is a fascinating person. His ideas on love and romance are admirable. I read this book purely out of curiosity. I saw it mentioned on a television show. Let me start by saying that Sting can actually write. This is not a mindless book of senseless drivel. This is not a typical autobiography. Sting has quite a memory. I can barely remember what happened yesterday. He incorporates in great detail the many specific good and bad adventures of his childhood and young adulthood, the numerous people, relationships and emotions that formed his outlook on life and the musical influences that make him what you hear today. "Broken Music" comes from a term used by his grandmother to describe the horrific sounds he made on her piano. Do not look to read about all of Sting's known successes. He focuses on the days before stardom hit. Sting is an intelligent soulful man regardless of fame. If you are one of his many fans, I would highly recommend "Broken Music".
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Summary: What a Cacophony!
Review: I have been a fan of Sting since the Police, and am an even bigger fan of his solo work and humanitarian efforts (along with his wife Trudie). This book is not your "typical" memoir of rock star craziness. Rather, it's about how he became the person that he is today. He explores topics that we all have had to deal with in our lives, particularly the ultimate pursuit of happiness and not comprimising yourself in the process. He describes his poor childhood and how the experiences of those years led him to learn from others mistakes as well as his own in order to achieve his dreams. His heartbreaking relationships with his mother and father are sure to make you reflect upon your own. He also thanks those who struggled along with him: his family, his wife and children, his exwife and his exband mates from Last Exit and the Police. He isn't too proud to admit his own faults concerning many of those relationships as well, contradicting as well as solidifying rumors that the press had reported along the way. Ultimately, I believe that this memoir is about being true to yourself, and admitting that while you are not perfect, doing your best is enough. He has spoken to me not just through his lyrics and music, but through his words on paper as well.
Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL JOURNEY
Review: If you enjoy the lyrics in Sting's music, you will definitely enjoy the same writing style of this book. Not your average biography by any means and a definite breath of fresh air. It was very fasinating to find out how this man and his music developed (being a long time fan).I hope this will not be the last book from Sting.
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Summary: How Can Sting Do This?
Review: Sting's music, for my taste, has become rather formulated and predictable, albeit very good. I like to call him the Neil Diamond of today's generation. So how in the world did he write this amazing book? Technically, it's a steady read that keeps you engaged from page one to the last word. The stories cohere and build an intimate profile of one of the world's foremost performers. It's the ultimate backstage access. To his credit, Sting speaks with equal honesty about his triumphs and falls, which cover a wide scope of emotional territory. He is proud of his education and artistry but just as open about his professional failures. His failures as a son are balanced with his ongoing internal search for truth and breakthrough. He reveals himself as a typical father who examines his wants against limitations. Most of all, Sting is exceedingly kind to all his musical mates, performers and management. If you're looking for a punative kiss and tell about the breakdown of The Police, you won't find it here. He openly credits the momumental contributions of Steward Copeland and Andy Summers, in addition to those who assisted his earliest attempts to become a professional musician. I only have two drawbacks. 1. The books opens in Brazil during a religious experimentation with drugs. I could never tell if the entire book is endorsing drugs for "medicinal" purposes. 2. The last Sting concert I attended was superb. But he quit playing 14 minutes before the amphitheater's curfew, leaving a sold-out audience wondering why he didn't use that time to give us a few more favorite songs. Same here. Sting comes up before the finish line, leaving us wondering what he could have offered with a touch more effort and a better contract with his loyal fans. Read the book!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, prolific writing
Review: Absolutely one of the best memoirs i have read in a long time! Sting starts off with his childhood, his familial relations, his broken relations with early girlfriends and a first wife. He takes behind the scenes on how The Police came to be. The only disappointing part is that he leaves off right after the Police breaks up. The writing is superb, so outstanding its hard to put down!
p.s great gift for anyone who likes Sting, the Police, memoirs and especially anyone who prefers to read stories intelligently and elegantly told
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Summary: This Singer Can WRITE....
Review: Having never been much of a fan of Sting's various bands(except for a few tunes from "Police"), I wasn't quite sure why I picked up this book to read, except that I had read a few reviews which made it clear it was NOT about his superstar exploits, which hold no interest for me. But if you want to learn about Sting, the boy, the man, the singer, AND the writer...it is an absolutely incredible piece of work. He takes you so intimately into his life growing up in a small town in Northern England and gives you an incredible portrait of someone who clearly remembers where he came from, and how that affected who he became...AWESOME reading! I'm going out today to buy one of his CD's too!
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Summary: Insight into the man and artist...
Review: It seems to be human nature to bring down those we perceive as successful people. In Australia we have a term for this habit - The Tall Poppy Syndrome. If the plant is seen to be towering over the rest of the crop, our first inclination is to cut its head off, bringing it down to an acceptable level along with the rest of us. The subject and author of this excellent biography is one of the most successful artists in the last twenty years. And its no surprise that the man has experienced some heavy criticism over this time, and the fiercest attempted decapitations have come from Sting's home ground, the British tabloids. Sting is an accomplished and award winning musician, lyricist, songwriter, poet, actor and a sincere environmental activist. He has more money than he knows what to do with, (somewhere in the vicinity of $ 200 million) and now at the crest of a new album, (Sacred Love) he publishes an autobiography, a memoir, about his childhood and musical journey to international stardom. Considering this man's incredible success, I went into the reading with a hint of trepidation, my tall poppy scythe firm in hand - would this memoir be a gloating exercise, another 'success story' with the usual tired anecdotes and prosaic self-deprecating questions - "Why me? I'm just a regular guy like the rest of you." Let me just say that this biography was an enormous surprise and one exceptional read. The narrative begins with Sting's controversial experience in South America, where he ingested an ancient medicine, used predominately by a Christian syncretic group, known as Ayahuasca. He describes this experience in atmospheric detail and the various visions he witnessed during the religious ceremony. Sting's prose is quite accomplished throughout the book. For example, the actual scene from his religious experience: "The entire room seems to be gripped in this visceral struggle. Some writhe in their seats, others have clearly capitulated, open-mouthed and corpselike, while others seem calm and transfixed as if by beatific visions. Then, as a bizarre counterpoint to the call of the thunder, the retching begins." (P.9) This incredible experience irrevocably changed the man, and by his own account, he really hasn't viewed the world in the same way since. From this religious experience in the jungles of Brazil, he invites us to take part in a reflective journey about his childhood and his discovery of music. There is an irrefutable honesty in this book. His feelings about his friends, colleagues, lovers, parents and his response to the various deaths of loved ones, was at once moving and acutely sensitive without a hint of sentimentality. This is a book that all Sting and Police fans should read, as it reveals insights into the man and the artist in an honest, elegant and entertaining manner. A first-rate memoir.
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Summary: A Sting Fan's Long-Awaited Treasure
Review: Being a book addict, I have waited for this book since I first came under the spell of Sting in 1983, and it is a testament to why I have adored this man since I was 16. Sting is a gift to our planet, and his memoir is a gift to my soul. I feel now that I know him better than I did before, but that it is a more tender, richer knowing. In other words, there were no shocks or real surprises, only confirmations that Sting is exactly who I already thought he was--a sensitive, driven, creative human who found his way on this Earth. To the curious casual fan, Sting is inspirational and entertaining as an autobiographer. But to someone like me, who has treasured his every word in each song lyric, print interview or television show I've ever seen, as well as the two times I was graced with conversation with him, it is no less than the most treasured book in my vast collection. Sting begins with an account of his and his wife's first ritual drink of ayahuasca in 1987 in Brazil. The soul adventure the drink ignites was the catalyst for much of Sting's maturation during this period. From this tale he returns to the beginning, to his ancestors and his childhood. The story is inspirational to anyone from a working-class background who dreams of escaping their hometown and making their dreams come true. Sting paints memorable portraits of key figures in his early years, including a patient math teacher and an early musical mentor. The story stops around the time of the Police's first American tour. For those of us who know "the rest of the story"--meteoric success, marital upheaval, ego crest and stablization, rainforest rescuer, yogi, Commander of the British Empire--we can savor this first book and eagerly await his second memoir, which he will hopefully gift to us in the future.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL BOOK
Review: Incredible as it seems, maybe this could be a first in rock: A memoir that is closer to Paul Auster or Roddy Doyle than to a book about a celebrity.
The prose is exquisite (some may say that too high brow), like the lirics of his songs; the emotion genuine and touching; the cadence, well, it reads like a family saga; respectful to all the persons involved, seldom seen in the pop world, showing integrity above all, not cheap gossip or yellow pages here. Fascinating. FELICIDADES STING, TUS PRIMERAS ACTUACIONES FUERON EN ESPAÑA! UN HONOR.
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