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Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An amazing read; written by someone who closely knew JoeBy CustomerThis book is a must for anyone whos a fan of Joe Strummer. It details his life; his projects; his personal struggles. It shows him as he truly was; with all the flaws he had. An amazing read; written by someone who closely knew Joe.13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. I prefer Gilberts book but this is goodBy megade01I have just finished reading this book and it took around 4 nights and a weekend. It is around 650 pages; the same length as Jean-Paul Sartres Being and Nothingness but I dont know whether anything can be inferred from that. I cried some tears at the last page; being a huge Strumnmer and Clash fan. It was great that he reconciled with Mick Jones at the end and also with Gaby. Mick joined Joe on stage in November 2002 in a benefit concert for the striking workers of the fire brigade union.The book does a great job in filling us in on Strummers "wilderness years" which lasted from around 1985 to 1998. Also it fills us in on much of his romantic escapdes and his battles with depression. I almost came away wishing that I had not known some of this. If Strummer was still alive; I doubt that the biography would have exposed him so fully. He really has nowhere left to hide after this book. Salewicz clearly is confused when he recounts Joes romantic associations during the Gaby years. He is unsure whether to moralise against Joe or to brush it to one side as just a great mans excesses of love for humanity. Although Salewicz comes off as somewhat confused and a fence-sitter; he does a fair job in tackling some difficult issues connected with his subject.The book presents many examples and stories of Strummers genuine kindness and fraternal ethics. Many of the stories are new. I like the story of Joe buying Simonon an extra pair of sunglasses when both were broke in 1976 and of how he later paid 30;000 pounds to one of Toppers drug dealers to save Toppers legs. Overall; I feel the perspective we gain of Strummer in the book is probably a fair and balanced one although it leaves him hopelessly exposed and more vulnerable in death than he was even in life.The discussions of the boarding school years and Strummers pre-Clash adulthood covers much ground already covered in Pat Gilberts excellent Passion is a Fashion (see my review for that book on this site) and Savages Englands Dreaming. Salewicz adds little here. What is new is some revealing interview responses from two of Joes multi-cultural rock chicks; Jeanette Lee and Paloma. Also new is some insight and information about John Mellor and the Croydon home. Don Letts plays a less significant role in the book than I feel he did in real life. The Sex Pistols too are largely ignored by Salewicz suggesting that he has not placed the Clash within their true historical context. John Lydon shared many views with Strummer and should have featured more prominently in the book. Was he even interviewed?I preferred Gilberts book over this one because the Clash was a cohesive whole and focussing on one member in particular takes away some of this. I feel that we gain a better picture of the unique association between the Clashs members and their favourite Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove haunts from Gilberts book (which oddly is not mentioned at all although Gilberts name appears in the lengthy Acknowledgements at the back of the book). Probably no other band in history except for perhaps the Jamaican reggae artists have been so tied to a time and place as the Clash (although much of their message remains timeless).I feel that this book presents Mick Jones in a somewhat more favourable light than Gilberts book. Somewhat oddly we gain a deeper knowledge of Jones (but not of Simonon; Headon; Chimes or the three Mark II guys)from Salewiczs book than from Gilberts which is supposedly only a Strummer biography. Gilbert does a far better job than Salewicz regarding the Clash Mark II. The Mark II years are not covered well by Salewicz. Possibly he felt he did not need to re-invent the wheel here given Gilberts brilliant look into this era.The book tends to be overly detailed and I dont rate it as a five-star book. Nonetheless; it is very good. Strummer should be remembered as one of the most important social commentators of the twentieth century.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Clash ManBy Frank G. WetterothThis book is really good but only if youre into the Clash. I think if you are not a fan of the band; you probably wont like this biography. Even as a Strummer fan I found some slow and confusing pages; but all in all;this is a good read.