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Clapton: The Autobiography
by Eric Clapton
Tell-all account of the British guitar god's life and career.
After more than 35 years in the public eye as one of the world's preeminent rock guitarists, Eric Clapton has quite a story to tell. He pulls no punches and holds nothing back in this brutally honest account of his life.
From his tumultuous childhood in Ripley, England, where he was raised by his grandparents after being born out of wedlock to a 16-year-old mother, to his early days making music with bands such as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the Yardbirds, as well as star-making stints with bands such as Cream and Derek and the Dominoes, Clapton relives his glory days with clarity.
While the stereotypical stories of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll abound, they are told with such vividness that one cannot help but feel transported right back to London in the 1960s, to live it all again through the author's eyes.
Clapton is an adept storyteller for weaving his reminiscences of decadence and self-abuse in such a way that they manage to avoid becoming too clichéd. At the same time, he causes the reader to root for him to find a sense of salvation, redemption and the elusive sense of inner peace he longed for as a child. When at last we sense that he appears to have achieved this, despite enduring mind-numbing addiction and tragic personal loss, we cannot help but cheer him on.
The story of an English country gentleman at heart who became one of the most enduring talents in rock history, "Clapton: The Autobiography" is a must-read for any fan and a must-read for anyone who enjoys looking into the lives of the rich and famous. What they will find here is a stark self-portrait not of a celebrity, but of a very human being who's not afraid to admit to his own frailties in the hope that it will inspire others. Indeed, it manages to do just that.
Title: Clapton: The Autobiography
Author: Eric Clapton
Publisher: Broadway Press, 2007
Review written by: JC Chute
Reviewer's Rating:9.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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