Here is Jim Morrison in all his complexity-singer, philosopher, poet, delinquent-the brilliant, charismatic, and obsessed seeker who rejected authority in any form, the explorer who probed "the bounds of reality to see what would happen..." Seven years in the writing, this definitive biography is the work of two men whose empathy and experience with Jim Morrison uniquely prepared them to recount this modern tragedy: Jerry Hopkins, whose famous Presley biography, Elvis, was inspired by Morrison's suggestion, and Danny Sugerman, confidant of and aide to the Doors. With an afterword by Michael McClure.
A great look into the life of a very complicated man. Not written in a way that's criticizing or even analytical: just appealing narration of facts & perspectives about Jim by those who knew him. If The Doors 1991 film is your most common reference for who this man really was, I recommend flipping through this book to get a better idea of Jim's depth & character. This book proves Jim was underrated as a poet & overrated as an icon, even though he tended to embrace this very fact. Funny, enlightening, sad, serendipitous, and groovy: AWESOME book.
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Posted Tue Feb 26 00:00:00 EST 2008
This book was so interesting because, it was about someone who really helped change the world of rock and roll. I think that Jim Morrison really led a great live. The fans loved him and his music was great. I think that he was part of a select view of musicians, from that time that still hear their music being played today. Most musicians from that time wrote 'one-hit- wonders' and were never heard again. I think it's pretty amazing that his music is so popular today, especially because he was around a pretty long time ago.
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Posted Sun Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2007
No One Here Gets out Alive is a remarkable novel that follows Jim Morrison through his childhood where he constantly is moving between military bases and then on to his college years at Florida State University, then to UCLA for film school. The majority of the novel is about when he went on to start the band and through all of his drug problems until his mysterious death. It is made evident that some of the psychological problems he had as a child led to drug problems later in his life. We are lead to believe that some of Jim¿s drug problems were started as a way to escape people¿s image of him. Jim truly wanted to be a poet but he was always forced back into that rock star image in people¿s minds. At the end it tells the readers that Jim¿s death is somewhat questionable because there were no witnesses to his death, and gives the readers some scenarios that could have taken place. No One Here Gets out Alive not only lets you into the intimate details of Jim Morrison¿s life but also gives you a better idea of what the 1960¿s culture was like. Over all I would recommend this book because it talks about Jim Morrison¿s interesting life in great detail and shows how he rebelled against what was considered socially correct. The only thing that I disliked was some parts of the book were biased. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes the time period of the 1960¿s and wants to know more about Jim Morrison¿s life.
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Posted Tue Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2007
Jim Morrison and The very great Doors! So much of their magic is captured by this really enjoyable book. You will never be able to put it down. I have read it MANY times and never get tired of it. You won't either! Read it!!!
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Posted Thu May 24 00:00:00 EDT 2007
I thought this book was outstanding, a real work of art, and passion. I would recommend this book to ANY door's fan, or anybody who likes book's, or not. Im not a reader, or someone who likes to read, but i found this book awesome.
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Posted Fri Mar 09 00:00:00 EST 2007
I read this book back in 1991.I admired Jim morrison's passion and music capabilities. I went to Paris, and saw his grave sight, as many do. It is unfortunate that Morrison was a empty hedonist that created conflict. his life would have been better spent. a good read on rock.
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Posted Mon Oct 09 00:00:00 EDT 2006
No One Here Gets Out Alive is an extremely interesting novel that details the life of singer Jim Morrison of The Doors. It begins with Morrison¿s childhood, and deeply explores the experiences in his life that eventually lead to his chaotic behavior and genius performances. The novel shows how quickly Morrison turned alcoholic and how his binge drinking and weekly acid trips truly defined him. It even portrays him as an eccentric and completely random man of deep sexuality and beautiful poetry. This poetry, which later becomes the lyrics of his songs, is shown throughout the novel in its original form. This is definitely my favorite part of the book, as it allows the reader to attempt to understand what Morrison was actually thinking instead of simply stating what Morrison meant. No real themes appear in this book, and it basically just covers the facts of Morrison¿s life instead of trying to teach the reader anything. It does, however, show how a man and a band with a completely new idea about rock and roll were able to grow together until they eventually headlined with bands they once only dreamed of opening for. This gives some inspiration, but never becomes solid enough to be a major theme. Along with the poetry, I also liked the numerous pictures and the way the author continuously reminds the reader that Morrison was much more than just a hippie without a job. It tells of how smart Morrison was, and even when talking about terrible and pointless things Morrison loved to do, it keeps him in a good light. This good opinion of Morrison is kept throughout the book, for the most part. Morrison is, however, portrayed as somewhat of a mad man. I didn¿t like this a bit because the book sometimes focuses too much on these specific terrible things that Morrison did and not enough on the deep, spiritually transcending things he did. So, all in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning a lot about Morrison¿s life. Be wary, however, and keep an open mind. The author does sometimes portray Morrison in a bad light, or focuses too deeply on the bad side of Morrison. It is a great book, there are just parts that are written poorly.
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Posted Wed Oct 11 00:00:00 EDT 2006
I am obssesed with Jim Morrison and everything about him. This book tells the true story about not only him but the Doors and how they felt about the man. It gives plenty of inside to his entire life with tons of photographs. It provides tons of quotes and events written by people who actually knew him. I recommend this book to people who love Jim Morrison or just learning about the marvelous poet.
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Posted Tue Oct 24 00:00:00 EDT 2006
No One Here Gets Out Alive is one of the greatest novels I have ever read. It shows how one brilliant man, Jim Morrison an extremely brilliant and intelligent man, leads to his ultimate demise. This book captures Morrison from his childhood to his band years and then ultimately to his strange and unanswered death. It shows how, even as a child, Morrison had some strange and erratic behaviors that led to years of drugs, such as acid and pot, and alcohol. It shows how he started out as a young film school student armed with many works of poetry who eventually teamed up with his friends to form one of the most popular bands of the 60¿s and today. This book also talks about how his death was somewhat mysterious due to the fact that no one knows what actually was the cause of his death. Many people of course speculate but no one truly knows. I really enjoyed this book because it gave very accurate information about his life at home and on the road but I did not think it gave a good description of how the band functioned with Morrison. I also think that the book makes Morrison out to be some stupid guy who spent all of his time being drunk, when in reality he read many books and had a great deal of knowledge about life and reality. Overall I would highly recommend this book because the author grabs your attention by telling the most interesting and somewhat bizarre moments Morrison, it shows how one man came about to defy what was considered socially wrong and didn¿t care what people thought.
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Posted Sun Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2006
Let me start off saying that this book is by far my favorite book I've ever read. I thought I knew a lot about Jim, but I know more than I thought I'd ever know after reading this biography. It starts out talking about Jim's childhood. His father, Steve, was in the navy and his mother, Clara, was basically a house mom. Jim had two younger siblings, a sister(Anne, who was three years younger) and a brother(Andy, who was six years younger). Jim went to over nine schools as a child and was always the one that stood out. He loved reading MAD magazines and loved ready about philosophy. He refused to cut his hair and wore shirts weeks at a time. He graduated from George Washington High School but chose not to go to graduation. He didn't tell anyone that he was leaving for college in Florida until the night before. Anyone that knew Jim, thought he was mysterious and that there was just 'something about him'. In this book it proved that he honestly didn't care about what people thought and decided to go to the beat of his own drum. He didn't drink much until his second year of college and started to party with the professors and hi-life of the art crowd. He thought he wanted to be a writer, but before he made that decision he met three guys that would eventually become the members of, The Doors. I really enjoyed this biography. I mainly enjoyed it so much because I adore Jim Morrison. Learning more about the way he acted and how he was makes him more interesting. I honestly didn't find a single thing that I didn't enjoy about this book. The pictures are amazing and how book is put together is spectacular. I would definitely recommend to any Doors' fan. I'm sure anyone who doesn't know the music to well would enjoy the book, but honestly not as much as someone who knows there songs.
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Posted Sun Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2006
The book No One Here Gets Out Alive, by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins, chronicles Jim Morrison's life from early childhood to his death. The major focus being during the time period of his rise to, and life as, a musical icon and poet. The book does a good job of gathering differing opinions on Morrison and events involving the Doors, and illustrates Jim as not only a rock star but also a poet. Both authors had personal interaction with Jim Morrison either doing interviews or just meeting with him, and spent a number of years researching and cross checking most of their information, creating a fairly accurate portrayal of Morrison's life. The only discrepancy I have with the book is the picture used of Jim on the cover, by far the most publicized and over used picture of Morrison. The photo and its mainstream affiliation are even denounced in the book itself, yet it is still used to try and sell books by being put on the cover three times. As far as the actual book goes I found it well thought out and well written, however, the ambiguity of the ending left me unsatisfied with the amount of information given about Morrison's death. The authors took no stand nor provided much information on the actual occurrences surrounding the death, and although most of the facts concerning that night are skeptical, more information could have been given. All together I would give the book a nine out of ten rating, primarily because it's about such an fascinating and amazing man, and would recommend this book for everyone interested in the Doors or Jim Morrison.
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Posted Thu Jan 19 00:00:00 EST 2006
I loved this book alot, The Doors Rock!!! I LOVE YOU RICKY!!! 1/19/06
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Posted Tue Jun 07 00:00:00 EDT 2005
from begining to end you see the truth about all the little strories ytou've ever heard about jim morrison. his weird and excentric attitude toward life makes him a cult figure to this day. one of the bets books i've ever read.
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Posted Fri Jan 07 00:00:00 EST 2005
This book runs you from the start to end of Jim Morisson and the Doors. It is mostly focused on Jim, but it was still a great book on the whole band, and what they went through with him. I've read it twice, and will soon read it again!!
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Posted Fri Sep 24 00:00:00 EDT 2004
This was one of the greatest books i have ever read about Jim Morrison. You get an in depth look about his life and death and everything in between.
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Posted Thu Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2004
I had never heard The Doors when my dad asked me to read it. It was the most compelling book I've read. It is rich in detail and is a window into the mind of one of the most influential voices in music. The descriptions and lyrics flow. You can almost see him on stage. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is easy to follow and a perfect read.
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Posted Sun Feb 29 00:00:00 EST 2004
This is a great book!!! I was compelled within each and every page! Being the doors fan that I am I have also noted a couple of wrong sayings. Jim Morrison was not born in Virginia, he was born in Melbourne Florida in 1943 and died at age 27 which the summary says 28. Although some information in this book is not correct it is still the best biography I have ever read and it is also based on one of the best poets God has ever creared!
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Posted Mon Nov 04 00:00:00 EST 2002
No one here gets out alive was such a great book to read. Not just because i love the doors but because how much effort they put into getting there information. I dont like reading books at all but this was fun to read. It makes me wonder if morrison is still alive. And it had very good pictures of the band. Overall one of the best morrison books I've ever read.
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Posted Mon Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2002
IF you have seen the movie, The Doors, forget all about it and read this book; if you haven't, read this book first then watch the movie just to see how much better the book is than the movie. This book tells you all about why his lyrics are like they are and how he and Ray formed the group. 5 stars.
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Posted Mon Sep 03 00:00:00 EDT 2001
A detailed and discriptive look into the life of famed Door's singer Jim Morrison. A must read for anyone who is wanting to know about his life. As I began listening to Jim's music I had alot of questions about what made him the way he was, his musical style and how he was brought up. I found the answers in the book No One Here Gets Out Alive. A true poetic genius, who's life and legacy will never be forgotten.
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Overview
Here is Jim Morrison in all his complexity-singer, philosopher, poet, delinquent-the brilliant, charismatic, and obsessed seeker who rejected authority in any form, the explorer who probed "the bounds of reality to see what would happen..." Seven years in the writing, this definitive biography is the work of two men whose empathy and experience with Jim Morrison uniquely prepared them to recount this modern tragedy: Jerry Hopkins, whose famous Presley biography, Elvis, was inspired by Morrison's suggestion, and ...