Doors by The Doors, Doors, Henry Rollins, Ben Fong-Torres, Perry Farrell

From the Publisher

An essential companion for fans of the Doors: a comprehensive collection of their lyrics, including live material and the posthumously issued poetry album by Jim Morrison, An American Prayer. The compilation also contains rare photographs, brought together by Danny Sugerman.

Danny Sugerman was the manager of the Doors and author of Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess, and Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses. He was coauthor of No One Here Gets Out Alive. Sugerman began working with the Doors when he was 14 years old, when his first job was answering their fan mail. As stated by John Densmore, the Doors' drummer, "Danny was the #1 Doors fan of the world." He died in 2005.

Publishers Weekly

L.A.'s answer to the British Invasion, the Doors burned brightly, burned out and left behind a clouded legacy. The continued fascination with the band has everything to do with Jim Morrison, of course, the charismatic singer who died young. Talented, inconsistent and a raging alcoholic, Morrison intentionally tried to channel the contradictory energies of the era and became its shaman stud. In this photo-rich volume, longtime music writer and former Rolling Stone editor Fong-Torres has expertly woven together a narrative from interviews with the band members Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore as well as Morrison's family and closest friends. Collaboration created the Doors' sound and songs, and the biographies of each musician bring perspective to the more famous Morrison story. While there are no shocking revelations, it's useful to discover just how talented Morrison's band mates were in an age of three-chord wonders. Now middle-aged, the remaining Doors are clearheaded about their youthful extravagances and don't waste time with character assassination. Drug use is discussed openly, although Morrison's death is left needlessly vague (when a 27-year-old dies with only his junkie girlfriend, it's a good bet that heroin was involved). For the most part, though, this understated work further elucidates this iconic band. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Through reissues, hit movies, and books, the history of the Doors has been revisited time and time again. This history as told by the band members themselves (with a little help from former Rolling Stone senior editor Fong-Torres) is the third such effort: founding member and keyboardist Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore have each previously published books on their experiences with the group. For casual and hard-core fans alike, the present work is an engaging effort, replete with unreleased gems from the band's archives, including photos, interviews, personal memoirs, and anecdotes. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect are thoughts on late frontman Jim Morrison and the band by Morrison's family members and the mother of his longtime girlfriend, Pamela Courson. Complete with gushing forewords by musicians Henry Rollins and Perry Farrell, as well as briefer thoughts on the group from a number of other contemporary artists, this 40th anniversary tribute belongs in larger public libraries and all music libraries. Long live the Lizard King! Dave Valencia, King Cty. Lib. Syst., Seattle Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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