Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780753513071
ISBN: 0753513072
Label: Virgin Books
Manufacturer: Virgin Books
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: May 01, 2008
Publisher: Virgin Books
Sales Rank: 162754
Studio: Virgin Books

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Rating: - mostly very enjoyable
i enjoyed this book a lot-polished it off in under a week(quick for me!).i had a lot of sympathy for mike's youngest years,very depressing to read in parts there,great fun reading about his mid teen musical exploits and admissions too.a a good chunk of the music bits did relate to tubular bells one but that's no surprise.i was expecting a lot more info on his future recordings and i was looking for more about his feelings in respect of mr branson-it was fairly positive on the whole-maybe that is ... Read More

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Rating: - inside out
I generally read very slowly, more often than not attempting to maintain interest in a book more as a self-imposed discipline rather than as a genuine reading pleasure. But I found THIS book to be un-put-downable and though I didn't have the extended time to read it all in one go, as one other reviewer did, I have read it in spare daytime moments and in the evenings over a week or so. It is a joy to read, being such an honest "inside-out" and from the heart account of the ups and downs of a life ... Read More

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Rating: - He beats lions
This is a very interesting book, without being a very good one. If you like Mike Oldfield's music you'll find a vivid account of his unique take on his own talents. If you are interested in Mike Oldfield's personal demons, of if you have ever suffered any kind of mental health problem, you'll be inspired by Oldfield's honesty and openness. If you like celebrity biographies I think you'll be intrigued by exploring a one that - to me - seems so determinedly unshaped by editors or marketing people.
Read More

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Rating: - Good, but ends in a rush
Although I was aware of Mike Oldfield around the "Moonlight Shadow" era, I really came to his music late, around Tubular Bells II (1990's).

I've since (re)discovered all the earlier works, amongst which Ommadawn and Crisis are my favourites - and fortunately enough the book goes into a fair bit of detail about those albums.

But, the bulk of the book, apart from long wandering passages about Mike's mental health struggles, deals with the conception of the original Tubular Bells ... Read More

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Rating: - Afraid to face the truth?
This book is mis-titled; it should be labelled as the biography of Mike Oldfield's music. It has all the depth and power of a nine-year-old's school essay about "What I Did on my Summer Holidays", and a lot less charm. It is just about as poorly researched (!) and superficial an autobiography as I have ever read.

But.

But I'm a fan of his music, and it's difficult to let it go at that - besides which, it is horribly revealing in a voyeuristic sort of way. For instance, he spends ... Read More

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