Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and Stimulating
Review: This book is a pretty raw look into Neil Peart's two years of tragedy and recovery. It's one part travel log and two parts memoir. I found the travel log part to be well written and inspiring. I was reading the book during the winter and it was sheer torture not being able to ride. I'm already saving for a cross country trip this summer. Neil is a hardcore motorcyclist. I admire his ability to jump on a bike in August and head for Alaska and the Northwest when at that time of year it could well snow at any time. Neil is obviously a well read individual and points out interesting facts and scenery. He's observant and knowledgable on a wide range of subjects and interests. Something I liked about the book was an exposure to the writers and places he mentions. I found myself writing down many of the books and authors he writes about. I like several of the authors Neil mentions which makes me suspect I'll like some of the ones I'm unfamiliar with. His descriptions of scenery and wild life are adequte but not particularly spectacular. Writing great lyrics for a song don't necessarily make writing a great book a sure thing. Not that the narrative is bad but more uneven. The memior is as interesting as the travel portion. Most of the time Neil is brutally honest even when he comes across looking less than perfect. I'm not someone who needs the deep dark details of a celebritie's life but there is just enough of that here for my tastes. I have been a fan of Rush since I was a teen and it's good to get a small glimpse into a band that tends to keep a low profile. Neil comes across as someone relatively unaware of his stature as one of the all time greatest drummers in rock. He strikes me as someone very grounded, humble and normal. At the same time he also has the jerk side to his personality but that just makes him seem all that much more normal. Although he does tend to look down his nose at the common tourist type, showing some disdain for people who drive to the peak of a mountain rather than hike the seven miles. Not everyone likes to hike Neil. I found the book ended way too abruptly and the last one quarter kind of had a choppy flow to it. That's a shame because it made the book feel unfinished. I think the editor could have really cut some of the execess out also. I'm not normally as moved by a book as I found myself moved by this one. Neil's describtion of the pain he went through one his daughter's birthday almost had me crying. I can really identify with the catharsis Neil finds from the act of riding a motorcycle. Maybe this is why I really liked the book. The book wasn't perfect by any means but it taught me a few things, made me laugh a couple of times, made me think and most of all made me long for the road. Not bad accomplishments for a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Spirited Display of Courage
Review: My impression of this book was one that encompassed an autobiography of sorts, blended with a subliminal healing quality about it. To me, Neil intends to do several things by writing this book. One, to seal up times from the past (if there is such a thing) a "letting go" if you will. Two, to give those particuarly interested in this subject, i.e. having similar loss, or to try to understand this subject having never gone through with it, an indepth journalistic step by step healing process in which may help others cope with similar tragedy. Three, a view through a small window of himself. And last but not least, motivation for those who think they have nothing left, to move forward in thier lives!!! For those who believe that Neil may have it easy because he is a "Rock Star", lets keep one thing in mind that may bring about a new perspective. Being in the band Rush has always been about working "harder for less" than others in the field they chose to be involved in. They have never had it easy, and have shown that they will push thier very limits of endurance on everything they do, even having a family life suffer as a result. Maybe then one can come to grips what it must be like making that sacrifice, then in one year's time, losing the two most important people in your life. If one feels that having money or fame makes that loss easier, I feel they are naive and selfish, in that they must put importance on other things not as important as family. I agree with Neil when he states that although he may have money, resources and time to deal with such a tragedy, that it doesn't feel any better than one without such things. This makes sense to me and was one of the most important points that I took from this read. I would like to add that if one keeps in mind that Neil wrote this book (in my opinion) for the reasons of the afformentioned, it turns out to be very well written, and informative even for whom are not fans of his artistry. For those who are fans, it gives a greatly anticipated look into Neil as a person, and as an inspiration. Although I was deeply saddened ( I cried in the first 10 pages or so of reading this) I was equally anxious to read anything that Neil would put down on paper. To me he is one of the best role models one could have in the current "limelight" and im sure I will one day pick this book up again, and read it with the same excitement I had the first time. I want to add here that although I was excited to read this book, that the seriousness of the subject and the tragedy that Neil incurred is first and foremost the most important issue here. I found this book to be a roller coaster of sorts of emotion, of all emotion, he is charming and intelligent, not to mention downright funny!!! I can certainly relate to his humor and morals and find that most people will be charmed by such. I believe that the topic of death or loss is a very sensitive one, and that Neil has attempted (and succeeded) in bringing to words the very real impact that it has on ones life, and has done it better than any other author I have read on this subject to date.
For those looking for insight into the band Rush, you shouldn't view this as an opportunity as such, although there are several references to the band and his lyrics, they are there to serve the books theme, and tie in well with it.
I am also impressed that this is Neils second book to date, and for being such a "rookie", I am highly impressed at his skill. And last but not least I want to remind a reader that although I seem elated to have purchased and read this book, that it remains a very saddening subject not akin to most people, but one that everyone should do thier best to understand, thank you Neil for your courage and hardwork, and least of all your inspiration.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing
Review: This is a story about a musician who lost his daughter in an auto accident and later his common law wife leaves him. So he rides his motorcycle reminiscing how miserable this Canadian's life has become. This is not about motorcycles but a book of how not to live your life. ...
Rating:
Summary: Everybody's looking for something...
Review: It is apparent from reading the various reviews that most everyone was looking for something in this book... some found it, some didn't. What I don't get is the people that have negative comments, stating that he's a snob because he could afford to take the time to heal himself. A snob? I read the book cover to cover and I never once got the impression that he was a snob. For christ's sake, at various times he was sleeping on the road, or in at motel six's next to truck stops. Sure, he can afford to take his time, but he is also constantly reminding the reader (and himself) that he can't continue it forever. And I also don't get those that say he didn't go into his feelings deep enough. Huh? this is 460 pages of an open, oozing, wound. And for anyone who has followed Rush at all knows how hard it's been to even get him to emote in the slightest. I can't tell you how insightful this book was. He talks about his obsession with drums... where his inspiration for writing comes from, how he approaches creativity, how he feels about Rush, Geddy, Alex, and others, and what kind of music his likes and dislikes. My God! What more could you want. Anyway, this is a timeless story of falling down and getting back up. I actually got more bored with the travelogue than I did with the rest (unlike most of the reviewers). And as for his disdain for Americans... have you ever seen some the tubbo's that frequent Reno, Vegas, and some of the other places in the West. Let's be honest, we could all use to lose a few pounds and read a little more from the literary section and not from the Grisham/Clancy/King section. And if I was in his state of mind, I might be prone to lash out occasionally. Not everything is rational when dealing with grief. 'nuff said
Rating:
Summary: Despair to Elation...via BMW
Review: Regardless of whether you love or despise Peart's lyrical work for Rush through the ages, "Ghost Rider" is a must read. This one will make you think. Peart's account is far more than a personal tale of mourning and rediscovery; it is a roadmap of the winding and hilly highways between Despair and Elation. Perhaps we should all learn to find our way as he did, and stop to enjoy the scenery along the way. In Peart's own words: "All of us do time in the gutter...dreamers turn to look at the cars." Thanks, Neil. Perfect 5.
Rating: 
Summary: "The Masked Rider" Was Much Better
Review: I KNOW Neil Peart can write, and write well. Not only are his lyrics for Rush some of the most poignant and thought-provoking in rock and roll today (or ever, really), but his other travelogue, "The Masked Rider", was interesting and evocative. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and not just because Neil Peart wrote it. (Really). And I picked this book up (albeit for a friend) at a Rush concert, the highlight of which for me was when they played "By-Tor and the Snow Dog". So I'm a really, really big fan. That said, I must say I was somewhat disappointed with "Ghost Rider". In a nutshell, this book follows Mr. Peart's motorcycle trek throughout North America following the heart-rending deaths of his daughter and wife within a year of each other. Parts of this book were enlightening and heartbreaking. The grief Mr. Peart and his wife shared, how they dealt with the loss of their daughter...when he returned home from his journey to the house the three of them had shared and had to deal with all of his memories...when he fell in love again...I really felt as if Mr. Peart was sharing parts of himself with the reader, which I think is what most people reading this book were hoping for. I also liked that the chapters started with appropriate Rush lyrics. However, I would have been much happier with the book if there had been more in-depth exploration of Mr. Peart's feelings, good and bad, perhaps more interaction with locals, and a little less of "I had a nice cognac with dinner". But then, (I desperately thought to myself as I struggled with parts of the book,) this is Neil Peart we're dealing with. He's not exactly an open kind of guy. But still! At least with "The Masked Rider" there were other people he had to interact with on a regular basis, and he could write of conflicts, opinions, discussions. This was really just HIM for 458 pages. Or, to be more precise, what HAPPENED to him for 458 pages. (Wake up, go on the road, have problems with the bike, find a motel, have a good dinner, try not to be recognized.) When the monotonous narrative turned into an epistolary monologue that did nothing but rehash what I'd already read, I admit I (quickly) skimmed through that entire section. Truth be told, I blame Mr. Peart's editor. His writing style was flawless as usual, perfectly clear and concise. But this book probably could have been a good 200 pages shorter and a lot snappier. Okay, 150 pages shorter--I'd trade an additional 50 pages if it meant a less abridged ending. (More about Carrie, PLEASE!!!!) If you want to read it (if for no other reason than you're a big Rush fan) borrow "Ghost Rider" from a friend who already owns it. Then, if you're able to finish the book, buy it and put it on your shelf, secure in the knowledge that you are a proper Rush fan. :)
Rating:
Summary: "I have no heart to lie..."
Review: I do give the other reviewers here the credit that some features of Neil Peart's book are jarring: his seemingly snob attitude, his abrupt ending, and some personal correspondence that could be dismissed as peripheral. But, if you are a Rush fan, you're perfectly aware that Peart is a distinctive individual and hey, it's his dang book.
This book is all about how Neil survived the loss of his only child and wife within a year of eachother. I doubt anyone could go through that and not be bitter and [stressed] up. The book also doubles as a motorcycle travelogue of North America, Mexico and Belize.
I've always liked his attitude towards women and his high-handed treatment of everyday matters- both of those factor into why the book ends with his meeting a signfigant other (discretion), why he was meticulous in terms of editing and continuity, and his view on Americans (he's Canadian, upper-class and an artiste- not likely to get how tacky Americans can be).
Look, I am biased- I am a Rush fan. But like millions of other fans, I was grateful to get "my" band back. This book is a helpful guide to understanding the band's work from now on- hopefully there will be lots more work, but one of the bandmembers said this February that they might disband in year, if the Muse is not striking them around that time. Say it ain't so, guys!
Rating:
Summary: Surviving life, on a motorcycle
Review: Life can be cruel. In less than a year Neil Peart lost the two most important people in his life. He copes with that loss with a time tested male response, he runs away. In the past, men went to sea after a great loss, Neil hops onto a motorcycle and sets out with no clear destination.
It's a truism that when you are on a bike you are alone with yourself. There is no place to hide and no one to distract you. It's just you, the wind, the road, and the occasional bug.
The healing road that he traveled is one that all of us will be on sooner or later.
If you love motorcycles and stories of long rides, you'll really enjoy this book. It's about the best motorcycle story since "On Any Sunday". If you need a book about dealing with grief and healing, this will help you too.
Rating:
Summary: Full circle
Review: First of all, let me say that I haven't read this book yet, so you may find my rating uninformed. However, I am well aware of the circumstances that drove Peart to the journey described in the book--losing your daughter and your wife less than a year apart to tragic and untimely events would have shattered lesser souls, and certainly has--and all due credit should be given to N.P. for daring to deal with his pain and to let the fans in on what he was feeling. Not every celebrity would make such an effort, some would be entirely too open while others would give away nothing, preferring the hermit approach.
That said, I must say that, while his contempt for Americans may sting, I can understand where that would come from, having had a chance in recent months to live as an outsider in a foreign country (England) and try to understand what it is about my country and its people that would rate such contempt. I find myself sympathising--we have, after all, managed to export the more egregious parts of our culture abroad, thus creating resentment and contempt among the people of the many other nations of this world--and thus less judgmental of Peart for his feelings.
Whatever the case, he made a full recovery from personal tragedy to write one of the best albums of Rush's career, and to put on some of the most memorable shows the band has yet managed. (I saw them in NYC back in October--it was well worth the money spent and the trouble undertaken to get to Madison Square Garden.) Kudos to Peart for being who he is, unapologetically.
Rating: 
Summary: Live for yourself...
Review: Neil Peart suffered two devastating tragedies within the space of twelve months, and quickly found himself on a physical and emotional journey into the unknown. Out of the personal journal entries and letters to family and friends that documented his travels comes Ghost Rider - a long, uneven, and ultimately self-indulgent account of his search for "The Healing Road". Whilst the author is, of course, fully entitled to his grief, and his methods of coping with his pain and how he moves forward, much of the story told in Ghost Rider reads as a spirited jaunt across parts of Canada, the US, Mexico, and Belize by a man with enough time and resources to rediscover life on his own terms, but who faces few, if any, of the day-to-day responsibilities demanded of most people. He is understandably stricken with bouts of severe grief and uncertainty during the months covered by his travels, but his firm assertion towards the end of the book that "this ain't no 'joyous journey', but a desperate, restless exile", is hardly reinforced by many of his actual experiences. Out on the road he alternates stays at local motels with luxury hotels, hangs out with family and old friends, frequently telephones said family/friends along with sundry lawyers and other business contacts, and takes a break from "The Healing Road" and pops home to Quebec for a few months in both winter and summer (where he receives a constant stream of visitors). No doubt he's hurting inside, but outwardly his support network is significant and omnipresent. When his journey finally ends, it's with a jarring abruptness. Within the last few pages of the book his life very quickly goes from being one of despair to nothing short of idyllic. One may be happy for him, and love may indeed conquer all, but this sudden end to his story seems incongruous next to the intensity and general gloominess of the preceding 450+ pages. Unfortunately the author chooses not to elaborate on the specifics of his dramatic turnaround, and the Ghost Rider is dispatched into the sunset. When writing about his physical environment on the road, much of the author's prose is engaging. His keen interest in nature, and in the history of the places his visits, is evident and well communicated. However his letters, in particular to his best friend Brutus, are well and truly hampered by self-indulgence, both in terms of the superfluous level of detail about aspects of his travels (what he ordered for dinner, naming every book he read en route, and so on) and, perhaps more disconcertingly, by the obsessive need he has to tell all of his co-correspondents - mostly people touched at least in part by the same tragedies - almost everything about his own healing process. One wonders whether he received half as many communications from them, and if they shared their own thoughts and grief with a similar level of intensity. Many passages of the book are repetitive, as he stays on subject but moves from letter to letter, one friend or family member to another. Couple this with the myriad letters written to Brutus, strewn with in-jokes and interminable reminiscences of their past biking tours, and Ghost Rider unfortunately stands as a somewhat self-serving book, raising unwelcome questions about the author's motives for writing it. Therapeutic and/or fun it may have been, but one has to wonder if the overt self-indulgence displayed within its pages betrays a simple and constant need in the author for an audience - rock music, or otherwise.
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