Clapton: The Autobiography (ISBN 0739334336)

A shallow and self centered autobiography by an alcoholic and drug addict. Don't read it please.:
I was so disappointed with this book that I got it from my sister, a fan, who said she had to stop reading it before she got half way through. I read it and was so disappointed. He is self-centered, doesn't accept responsibility for any of his actions in his life and he has abused women. I am simply not willing to endorse this book to anybody. When I read Patty Boyd's book, she was very respectful of Clapton. He doesn't have the capacity to be the same way, unfortunately. I think now that he is older I would hope he is wiser, but emotionally, he is still stuck in his 20's. Too bad.

Never Too Late...:
Never too late... to heal. Never too late... to have a happy childhood. Music star Eric Clapton has penned a first-class read about healing one's life, setting one's demons to rest, and creating happiness and serenity from harrowing beginnings. Clapton's early life was traumatic: the illegitimate son of a teenage mother, he was raised by his grandparents and told that his grandparents were his mother and father. The only difficulty with the myth was that Clapton's parentage was common knowledge in his small, English village and that Clapton discovered the truth by the age of nine. That his mother continued to repudiate Clapton until he reached adulthood only exacerbated his wounds. Clapton's early and gargantuan success in rock music allowed him to fuel his insecurity with drugs and drink. The first half of his life, by his own account, was a train wreck, characterized by his fathering two children out of wedlock and his disastrous marriage to model Pattie Boyd, the wife of Beatle George Harrison. But Clapton, unlike so many others, finds the fortitude to beat his demons and addictions in his 40s, his desire to do so fueled by the death of his young son, Conor, and his love for creating music. The last 20 years of Clapton's life are times of sobriety and happiness, capped by a late marriage, fatherhood to three small girls, and reconciliation with his eldest daughter. Clapton's autobiography is an unsparing tour de force. Clapton's prose is lean and understated, but he depicts his demons fully and does nothing to excuse or sugarcoat his behavior. His account of surrendering to a higher power and attaining sobriety and more lasting happiness than can be found in a bottle or a powder is moving, as is his account of mastering his emotions and working with others in recovery. Music fans will justly admire Clapton for his dedication to his art, his desire to perfect his musicianship, and his dedication to sharing the purity of the blues greats he admires. In short, Eric Clapton has written an excellent autobiography that can be appreciated not only by fans of his music, but by anyone who admires a hard-won struggle to survive and transcend. Kudos to Eric Clapton for sharing his riveting story. Although I know little about his music, I have become a fan of Clapton, the man.

For Musicians...:
For anyone who has ever lived the life of a musician - this book will speak to your soul. The journey to artistry is a long one & it's always good to hear from those who have made it through alive. Excellent book.

Eric's 'True Confessions':
Many Clapton fans were really disappointed in this book because they (me, included) discovered their hero was not the good guy they assumed he was. It is shocking, indeed, to read page-after-page of Clapton describing his shallowness, selfishness and excesses regarding woman, alcohol and drugs. It's like he has this compulsion to tell us every sin he ever committed, so he can be forgiven. Either that, or he's just totally coming clean. Clapton's accounts of stealing George Harrison's wife; not being there with this son when the little boy had his tragic accident; his many trips going in-and-out of expensive rehabs and making of a mockery of them; tales of being totally stoned at many of his concerts; looking at women solely as sex objects, etc, are all in this book. Frankly, it gets depressing. Yet, the Eric Clapton I've seen since the 1990s on film, on DVD, on TV interviews, etc., has come along way since those hedonistic `60s, `70s and `80s days and who I am to throw stones at his past lifestyle? If he had continued that route, and bragged out it....well, then I'd feel different. However, in recent years Clapton is a good family fan and someone who raises millions of dollars to help others and is respected by his peers: solid people like Vince Gill and B.B. King. In other words, Clapton has matured. Perhaps this book is a good exhibit of why we shouldn't idolize human beings. It only sets us up for disappointment. I'll continue to be a (music) fan of his and just pray that Eric sincerely has "changed his evil ways." Maybe I'm naive, but think he has.

Clapton Must Be The Luckiest Man Alive.:
I play guitar, so I know Clapton's works and guitar playing. Yngwie once said that Clapton has been playing the same blues pentatonic scale for over 40 years. That is true, but there's something special about his guitar playing. Anyway, I couldn't wait for this book and I am utterly disappointed. He is self-indulgent and abusive to women. Although he claims that he and George Harrison were the best friends, he hardly talked about George's death in this book. As others have written, Eric doesn't seem like a person who can be a true friend. Yet, he has somehow drawn a lot of good musicians to support him. He has always had good management. He doesn't have good composition skills. Most of his well-known songs were composed by others. Even the opening riff of Layla was not his composition. His vocals are nothing to write home about. So, how does he have one of the best careers in rock? It's a mystery. He always had some people to help him. Well, I guess it's his talent to have that kind of people around him. Getting back to the book itself, it's shallow and doesn't offer anything new. Basically, the whole book can be summarized as follows: I did tons of drugs, I drank tons of alcohol, and I abused women.