For the first time ever; Bono--the biggest rock star in the world--tells his life story. In a series of intimate conversations with his friend Michka Assayas; a music journalist who has been with the band since the very beginning; Bono reflects on his transformation from the extrovert singer of a small Irish post-punk band into one of the most famous individuals in the world--and from an international celebrity to an influential activist. He speaks candidly about his faith; family; commitment; influences; service; and passion. Bono is the closest we will come; for now; to a memoir from the iconic frontman of U2.
#265640 in eBooks 2006-04-04 2006-04-04File Name: B000P2A3YQ
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy James Bussey IIGreat!13 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Makes the less scholarly among us feel like a "maroon"By Rachel NewsteadAnimation fans be warned--this is anything but light reading.While I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent person; I must admit I had considerable trouble slogging through the dense; polysyllabic prose. Once I did so; however; I found the book did contain some interesting observations:In one installment; one of the books many co-contributors examines the deconstruction--and reassertion--of gender roles. No news to those of us who are transgendered--the book points out things that many in the TG community find obvious. Namely the main premise; that gender roles are ridiculed (as with Bugs Bunnys crossdressing) in order to reinforce them. Whether the animators themselves had this intention is questionable--they were merely following a formula as old as vaudeville-- but it does make one think. A related essay covers the lampooning of heterosexual behavior in the Pepe Le Pew cartoons. The contributor noticed what I discovered many years ago--that "gay panic" in straight males forces them into the same sort of blissful denial as poor Pepe. They; like Pepe; try to convince the world they are irresistible to women; because that is what defines them as men. Most of all; however; theyre trying to convince themselves.There is also an excellent overview of the portrayal of blacks in Warner Brothers cartoons--it contends; as I have always believed; that the animators themselves were not necessarily racist even if their cartoons sometimes were. The fact that Bob Clampett went so far as to take his animators to a black jazz club in L.A. (as preparation for the brilliant "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs") shows a sincere; if naive; sensitivity on his part. Rather; it was the enforced racial separation of the time--and the resulting ignorance of whites toward black people--that were the real culprits. Those who participated in the making of such cartoons now wish they hadnt--they would hardly have been so contrite if they truly were racist. It is a period they--and we--are now trying too hard to live down.Given the sometimes insightful essays contained in this book; I wanted desperately to give it a higher rating; but it is weighed down too much by wordy "pedagoguese" for me to give it a higher recommendation. The whole in this case is less than the sum of its parts; and no book that requires one to have a dictionary within arms reach is fun reading.16 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Serious; but still funBy A CustomerOver the last few years; academics have discovered the joy of writing about pop culture phenomena. Some (like the contributors to the book Enterprise Zones; a collection of papers on Star Trek) get lost in a fog of postmodernist critical/cultural theory; churning out abstruse and obtuse collections of quotations from French philosophers; ignoring as much as possible the text under study.Thankfully; the contributors to this book dont do that. Theyre writing some serious history and commentary; but the Warner Bros. cartoons remain the focus; not what Jameson said about what Derrida said about what Foucault said. More to the point; even when criticizing elements of the cartoons (as in the paper on representation of black characters); the reader senses that the writers are fans of the Warner Bros. cartoons; flawed though some may be. Theres always the sense that; no matter how serious the discussion; this is ultimately about something fun.Oh; and the editors comments in the introduction; about the recent dumbing down of the classic characters into friendly TV commercial shills and merchandise movers; is right on the money (so to speak).