Tom petty the biography hardcover

It's just mentioned casually. Then his wife's mental illness and eventual divorce. These are all major life events that seemed to me to just have a passing glance. I wanted to feel empathy, like I was living along with these things, but it was just There are a lot of names mentioned-past and future band members, managers, etc. Again, just passing and occasional deeper mention of the dynamics; what was behind these relationships, what did they really mean to one another?

And all the songs-what were the stories behind them? Not discussed in depth. I also didn't like how the author compared other bands that were out at the same time-Journey, Boston, Kansas-and seemed to imply that they weren't as good because somehow Tom Petty's music was just so meaningful, so superior, a la Bob Dylan Nothing to be revered.

I had to keep forcing myself through it, skimming parts. Just my opinion but there was no soul in this book for me. Couldn't get into it. It reminded me of the U2 The Definitive Bio by John Jobling-another one that I had high expectations for, so many stories that could have been told, but couldn't end up finishing either. As we all know, he eventually found commercial success with The Heartbreakers.

Mary BookHounds. It did take me a bit longer to get through this since there was so much information packed into a very small space. That is one of the thing I loved about it. Every word had a place, no filler, much like Petty's music - where every note counts. I also loved that Zanes tried to be objective about his subject when you can tell he is a fan.

Yes, he recounts the bad times but explains what went wrong within the band. He really dug down and got Petty's side of the story and then got the other band members to give their side. I can't say everything is fair and balanced, but this is pretty close. You can tell exactly who is in Petty's camp. I had always heard rumors about the Heartbreakers, that they were somewhat reclusive and after reading this it is amazing to find out that the guys in the band are just really shy.

That all makes sense when you understand where they came from and the horrible childhood that Petty had. I am amazed that he isn't more damaged. If the writing in the book is a bit familiar to Petty fans, it is because Zanes also did the book that accompanied Runnin Down a Dream. Overall, this is a great recap on Tom Petty and the relationship he has with his bandmates, the Heartbreakers.

It reads like an honest portrayal and the fact that Zanes had access to Petty and the band makes all the difference in how the story comes off. It is a story about overcoming the odds and making in music. A few used CD purchases, and my fandom increased to a modest level. Which is where I was All I know for sure is that, having read this biography, I'm desperate to fill in the many gaps of my Petty music collection, and songs that might never have made their way into my favorites list "Insider," "King's Highway" among many have been in heavy rotation for weeks.

Warren Zanes is granted the privilege and challenge of getting down in the Florida swamp of the lives of Tom Petty and his band, a ragtag bunch that my music aficionado friend claims can, at their best, rock a stage as well or better than any band in rock music history. And he's in his late 50s and has seen all of those greats, live, at their peaks, so it's not a flippant or ignorant compliment.

If you love music - not Petty, necessarily. Just music - give yourself the gift of this journey from Florida to California and into the great wide open, all stuffed in a modestly-sized book of non-fiction. Author 23 books 5, followers. This book is for the Tom Petty superfan, the casual fan, the person who doesn't even know who Tom Petty was.

Because everyone should know more about this fantastic and prolific musician, father, frontman, and, most importantly, human being. That's the special thing about this biography. Zanes took the enigma of Tom Petty and introduced us to the human being, with all his flaws, quirks, joys, and struggles laid out for everyone to see and relate to.

Petty was just a man, but Petty was also a legend. It had to be hard to juggle both. Zanes has done a masterful job of telling this story in a very respectful and real way. The timeline jumps around a bit, but it always does so to make certain messages in each chapter hit that much harder. Another enjoyable aspect of the biography is its laid-back style.

It feels as if you're the one chatting with Petty at times. Then Zanes will bring in a personal story of his own, and you're like, oh yeah. This book was written before Tom Petty's passing, but there is one very poignant passage that really kicked me in the feels and had me tearing up. I was trying to explain Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to my sons.

Imagine, I said, having someone make a record that goes straight into that place where the important records go, and then he keeps making them. Every few years, a new one, following you through your life. This hit me so much harder because my kids really won't have a Tom Petty. He's gone from this world, but I'll make sure to let them borrow mine.

All the joys of listening to a Tom Petty song and just feeling it in your soul; that is something I want to make sure my boys get to experience. So, thank you, Warren Zanes for capturing the essence of Tom Petty in the most realistic way possible. And Tom, thanks for a lifetime of music that sets my soul on fire. Author 1 book 11 followers.

I really like rock biographies, but this one somehow manages to be dull and gloomy not at all what I was looking for after Tom's recent passing. It's more an info dump than it is entertainment, and for all the positivity in Petty's music, this biography is mostly gloom. If you're looking for fun band facts or crazy stories I guess you'll have to tom petty the biography hardcover online, because what you have here is the chronology of everything that went bad after each good thing happened.

What's worse, both Tom and his band members are reticent throughout the book, refusing to talk in depth about much of the band's history or about themselves, so even the discussions of "things gone wrong" tom petty the biography hardcover hollow. I'm not sure if the "vibe" of the book comes from the author, but this one lacks the roller-coaster feel and the revelations that make rock band bios great.

Maybe Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers were just old enough to know better by the time this one was written I've watched a lot of biopics about Tom Petty's life and I've researched where I could so there wasn't a lot of new information in here but it was a solid read nonetheless. The only thing that it's important to note about this book is that the author, Warren Zanes, is a friend of Tom Petty's so it is skewed toward painting everything in a positive light.

Petty made poor decisions in his life, he made mistakes, he is flawed just like the rest of us but at times it felt like Zanes went out of his way to whitewash those mistakes and overemphasize the justification for it. That all being said, the book promises that, "Petty, known for his reclusive style, has shared with Warren Zanes his insights and arguments, his regrets and lasting ambitions, and the details of his life on and off the stage.

Robert Lamb. Lots of personal stories, but missed key details about the Heartbreakers. As an example, the author mentions the Bridge School benefit as when the drummer tuned out and caused him to be fired, but he doesn't mention that the show was basically acoustic and the drummer was highly underused. An important contextual detail. The rest of the narrative is very disconnected, and kept bouncing from when the bass player was alive to after his passing.

Spent way too much time 12 chapters on pre-Heartbreakers era. Was hard too keep reading through that to get to the interesting times. Would have loved more about the times recording the key albums. This book truly does justice to Tom Petty, his music, and his life. Warren Zanes doesn't paint everything with a rosy glow, either. He tells about the bad times as well as the good.

Zanes sums my feelings about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers up when he tells his kids about what it was like to grow up with Petty's music. Gary Anderson. Author 0 books 97 followers. Petty: The Biography is an engaging if not completely satisfying biography of the late Tom Petty. Petty and his bandmates are forthcoming in their interviews, but a lot of hard questions went unasked and therefore unanswered.

The formation of The Traveling Wilburys is covered, but the second Wilburys album is treated in exactly one sentence. My big takeaway from Petty: The Biograpy is what it means to be in a band, lead a band, and keep a band together. Tom Petty accomplished all of that in a way that few others have before or since. Larry Bassett. A lot more familiar with Pete Seeger.

But Tom Petty just died and he was And I wondered about him. Who was he and what does it mean that he was younger than I am when he died. And I had heard of the traveling Wilburys and the illustrious stars who were part of that group but never knew he was One of them. When rock stars die they probably sell a lot of records and if you judge the success of this book by the amount of money I spent buying albums from iTunes, this book was a great success.

I look forward to listening to some Tom Petty in the coming weeks and figuring out if I really like his music! I knew absolutely nothing about Tom Petty. Now I know that he came from your pretty standard dysfunctional family and grew up in Gainesville Florida. He started making music as a teenager and found success pretty young. He continued to make music almost continuously for the rest of his life.

He did a lot of drugs with acid apparently one of his favorites. It would be easy to say that he had a gift. The story about how the band the Heartbreakers stayed together for decades with a few changes in personnel is an interesting story. His position as leader of the band was never exactly called a dictator but how that happened and how that worked in relation to the other members was fascinating.

The author went into this group dynamic enough to make a reasonably understandable story without getting into extreme depth. Although the process of making music is not something that I especially understand or even want to learn about, I found the level of detail that was presented in the book about the advances in technology of recording over the years was both informative but simple enough for me to grasp enough to maintain my interest without overwhelming me with technicality.

Whenever I read about people who have a lot of money I always want to know what they did with their money to make the world a better place. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers appeared at their share of benefit concerts over the years and I guess that should not be down played. But I got the impression that whenever they appeared they were paid enough to cover their expenses so they were possibly never donating their time.

Maybe Tom Petty established some charitable foundation to do good but that was not covered. On the other hand the private jet was covered. I give this book 3 stars. I listen to it in the Audible version. The reader was adequate but not dynamic. I know a lot more about Tom Petty now than I did before. But of course before I knew nothing!

I look forward to listening to the music I have collected in the process of reading this book. In other words, I am tom petty the biography hardcover a casual fan of his hits. So Warren Zanes' biography of Petty was an eye-opener and gave me a lot of insight into what Petty is all about. Warren Zanes is a musician who was in a band called the Del Fuegos.

They opened for Petty on a tour long ago and he maintained contact with people in the band. This makes him very well qualified to write about the musical life, the band life, the world of making records and going on the road. It also gave him access to key people, including Petty himself. Most importantly, without getting too gossipy, it does present all sides of the Tom Petty story.

Musical differences, jealousies, band members coming and going and personal relationships. Not only does Zanes explore the music of Petty, but also the importance of the Heartbreakers. From early days, from the remnants of Petty's former band Mudcrutch, the Heartbreakers are an integral part of this story. A big turning point might have been when management decided that Tom Petty was the star and would be compensated accordingly compared to the rest of the band.

This could have lead to great discord but decades later the band is intact, some members gone but the spirit still there. Petty's work with producers like Dave Stewart, Rick Rubin and Jeff Lynne could and did lead to jealousy, and his solo albums and the Traveling Wilburys showed that Petty was restless to explore new frontiers.

Friendships and musical collaborations with the likes of George Harrison and Bob Dylan show how far he came from humble beginnings. In his personal relationships; his marriages and longstanding friendship with Stevie Nicks are written about here quite extensively. Most of all Zanes gives context to Tom Petty; how he grew up poor and somewhat of a misfit, how he took a chance going to L.

After reading this book one could see that Petty was truly "Runnin' Down a Dream". Well done biography which should please both the hardcore followers and those like me who were more casual fans. Sandy Nawrot. Whether you're a fan of Tom Petty or not, it's almost unavoidable that he has been a part of your life. He was an icon, with the most top 10's in the history of rock, his southern drawl delivering to us the soundtrack of our lives from the late 70's up until his death last year.

But the man was private, tortured from a childhood of abuse and an abusive first marriage, which makes this biography even more enlightening and mind-blowing. And there is no better person to tell his story than Warren Zanes, a man who is both a musician and an author. His friendship with Petty and his knowledge of the music business, combined with a gorgeous but raw prose, made this biography rise way above most.

What is fortuitous is that he tackled this project a few years before Petty's death, so he was able to conduct hundreds of hours worth of interviews with the man himself as well as his friends, family and band members. He chronicles Petty's ugly childhood and his early days in music with earlier bands, the trials and errors and failures and successes, and his skyrocket to fame.

Zanes describes the making of each album, the emotion behind it, the players involved, and how each was received by the public. We learn about his ill-fated first marriage, the miracle of his second, the birth of his children and the the toll his career took on them. While Petty had always partied, his painful divorce drove him to a heroin addiction in the 90's.

I can't emphasize how thorough and authentic all of this information was. What I would have appreciated is an epilogue, added after Petty's death, so that I could understand what happened. I've read all the reports and have tried to get my arms around it, but I would have liked Zanes insight. It was eerie listening to this, knowing what fate had in store for him.

Zanes himself narrates this audio, and through an interview with Zanes at the end, we learn that he just couldn't imagine anyone else delivering this story. Petty's history was personal to him, and he put his heart and soul into the story. He wanted to be the one to deliver it, and deliver he did, spectacularly. Petty has always been in my life, thanks to my older brother's love of rock, so I'm used to having Petty be a part of a larger soundtrack to my life, good or bad, he's there for me still.

Seller Inventory GI4N Condition: Fair. Former library book; Readable copy. Seller Inventory GI5N Spine may show signs of wear. Seller Inventory GI3N No one other than Warren Zanes, rocker and writer and friend, could author a book about Tom Petty that is as honest and evocative of Petty's music and the remarkable rock and roll history he and his band helped to write.

In his last years, Petty, known for his reclusive style, shared with Warren Zanes his insights and arguments, his regrets and lasting ambitions, and the details of his life on and off the stage. Dark and mysterious, Petty managed to come back, again and again, showing us what the music can do and where it can take us. Buy with confidence!

Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 1. Seller Inventory bkxvzzvxgdd. Very Good. Condition: Gut. Condition: Brand New. In Stock. Items related to Petty: The Biography. Petty: The Biography - Hardcover. Zanes, Warren. Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Review "Petty and Zanes have decided to tell the unvarnished truth, and the result is not only the definitive account of Petty's life, but one of the best rock biographies in recent memory.

Publisher Henry Holt and Co. Buy Used Condition: Good Used book that is in clean, average Learn more about this copy. Buy New Learn more about this copy. Other Popular Editions of the Same Title. Petty: The Biography takes a compelling look at how Petty kept his music pure and the motor that drove that quest all while dealing with the egos Report an issue with this product or seller.

Previous slide of product details. Print length. Henry Holt and Co. Publication date. November 10, See all details. Next slide of product details. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Previous set of slides. Conversations with Tom Petty. Paul Zollo. Rolling Stone - SIP. Single Issue Magazine. Stephen Davis.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. Dave Grohl. Warren Zanes. It's a Long Story: My Life. Willie Nelson. Next set of slides. From the Publisher. With the Epics, second from right, circa With Mike Campbell at Mudcrutch Farm, Germany, Review "Petty and Zanes have decided to tell the unvarnished truth, and the result is not only the definitive account of Petty's life, but one of the best rock biographies in recent memory.

Tom petty the biography hardcover

He was a member of the Del Fuegos and continues to record music. His work has appeared in The Oxford American, and he has served as a V. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! About the author Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

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Write a customer review. Customers say. Select to learn more. Images in this review. Reviews with images. See all photos. Previous page. Next page. All photos. Incredible biography about someone who's been on my radio, record collection, playlist, and a part of my life since In my living room, driving down the road, at parties, his music blaring out of my Electra Glide speakers.

I always took Petty for granted. Looking back, now that he's gone, I always just assumed he'd be there making great music. As many of his albums and cd's I've bought and re-bought over the years, incredibly, I've only seen him once. There must have been at least a half dozen other times I could have seen the band live, but didn't for one reason or another.

But I certainly treasure the memory of that one night at Red Rocks. Thanks to Warren Zanes, this has all come full circle for me. Over the last couple days, I purposely bought the book on Kindle, where I have my Galaxy Tab-S sitting right next to my computer to look up and reference songs, equipment, and places such as the house Tom grew up in, Dubs bar, Mudcrutch Farm, etc If you are even slightly a TP fan, buy this book.

More Hide. Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, there was an error. Sorry we couldn't load the review. Top reviews from the United States. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Verified Purchase. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In twenty years as a Petty fan I never got around to reading a biography until now.

Probably because I figured