Jim Morrison

Life, Death, Legend

By: Stephen Davis

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

As the lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison's searing poetic vision and voracious appetite for sexual, spiritual, and psychedelic experience inflamed the spirit and psyche of a generation. Since his mysterious death in 1971, millions more fans from a new generation have embraced his legacy, as layers of myth have gathered to enshroud the life, career, and true character of the man who was James Douglas Morrison.

In Jim Morrison, critically acclaimed journalist Stephen Davis, author of Hammer of the Gods, unmasks Morrison's constructed personas of the Lizard King and Mr. Mojo Risin' to reveal a man of fierce intelligence whose own destructive tendencies both fueled his creative ambitions and brought about his downfall. Gathered from dozens of original interviews and investigations of Morrison's personal journals, Davis has assembled a vivid portrait of a misunderstood genius, tracing the arc of Morrison's life from his troubled youth to his international stardom, when his drug and alcohol binges, tumultuous sexual affairs, and fractious personal relationships reached a frenzied peak. For the first time, Davis is able to reconstruct Morrison's last days in Paris to solve one of the greatest mysteries in music history in a shocking final chapter.

Compelling and harrowing, intimate and revelatory, Jim Morrison is the definitive biography of the rock idol in snakeskin and leather who defined the 1960s.

©2004 Stephen Davis (P)2004 Penguin Audio and Books on Tape, Inc.

Exilent Book In Everyway Possible

One one will every truly understand Jim Morrison, but if their's a book that comes close this is definitely it. The author has a beautiful poetic way of describing Jim while also being brutally honest. Starting from his birth to his death, his life is layed out with amazing detail.

Good Grief

I had no idea. Is this stuff made up? I don’t know how the other band members stood it.

An absolute must for Doors fans.

A respectful but objective biography of the Lizard King. Great Narration. Sad but reminded me why I'm a Doors fan.

lousy title; good book

this was a good solid biography of Jim Morrison. I would recommend listening to it

Off the pedestal

If you could sum up Jim Morrison in three words, what would they be?

unhinged, sensitive, high.

What other book might you compare Jim Morrison to and why?

No one here gets out alive.

What about Paul Michael’s performance did you like?

excellent

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The detail of this book over no one here gets out alive was my major take away. The total number of characters also sort of bowled me over. I have a new and revived picture of the band and especially Morrison and Courson.

Long

Interesting but a little slow. I found myself not listening and a challenge to complete.

Fascinating

I’ve always been fascinated with Jim. This book is an incredible look into Jim’s life before, during and after the Doors. I highly recommend.

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER WANTED TO KNOW

...about Jim Morrison’s life is documented right here. Every question I had, even signed and private pieces I own are mentioned in this book. Stephen Davis managed to include the most important parts of The Doors, as well as the most embarrassing questions (some of us have often pondered deep down) regarding Jim Morrison’s sexuality, and what any true fan needed to know regarding where Jim Morrison sat psychologically. It’s all brilliantly discovered in this wonderful book. No stone is left unturned, just as I was incredibly impressed by how much leg work went into this book, so will you. This book gives the reader/listener what we did NOT get from “No one Here Gets Out Alive”. If you’re a serious DOORs fan, and an even bigger Jim Morrison buff, prepare yourself to finally get a long hard look behind the curtain of one of history’s most important musicians/poets.
It’s read aloud by Paul Michael, in a gorgeous voice that never gets on my nerves. He reads each word like he owns them. I feel informed and freshly made aware,just as you will once you complete (the almost) 8 hours of excellent historical facts clearly recited here on Audible.

Great book and great narrator!

Had no idea Jim was such a raging alcoholic, a sad and tragic thing. This book gave me a new appreciation for their music.

An In Depth Examination

Any additional comments?

Very interesting and entertaining. There are a lot of great stories here and if they are all true then Jim Morrison was many things: a well-read, bisexual, racist, troublemaker, alcoholic, sex symbol, screenwriting, poet, rock superstar. It sounds like he may have had multiple personalities, definitely depression at points in his life, and it all seems to have stemmed from an unhappy and possibly abusive childhood.