John Perry Barlow (1947–2018)

This was a weird one for me to choose. I have no affinity for hippies. The Dead have no appeal to me. And while I enjoy the West, and was born in Colorado, it does not call to me. So I really can't explain why I picked up this book other then John Perry Barlow appeared to be an interesting enough fellow. An assumption that proved to be an understatement.

The man lived right.Traveling the world with compatriots like Bob Weir, Timothy Leary, Steve Jobs, Darryl Hannah, JFK jr and others. He was a politician, a pioneer,a lyricst, a visionary, a computer nerd,a conservationist, and so much more. Like his life this book is a meandering tale that is seldom boring and filled with humor.

My recommendation? If you like interesting people who tell interesting stories.You'll like this one.… (mere)

Mother American Night is the autobiography of John Perry Barlow, a man who certainly did many things yet was also far more lucky than either talented or skilled.

He presents himself as larger than life and in his own mind he no doubt was just that. In reality, he was someone who, mostly by luck and being at the right places at the right times with no feeling of obligation to anything or anyone, took advantage of the many advantages he was presented. He was talented, not overly so. He was smart, not overly so. He was, however, a master at presenting himself as smarter and more talented than others. The false humility he presents here is both annoying and what makes the book a fun read. And make no mistake, this is a fun read.

I don't want to imply he lied when writing the book. The vast majority of the bare facts (places he was, people he met, etc) are verifiable as true. But in my opinion, and that is all it is is opinion, he stretched his importance and his role in many situations and instances, particularly in the early part of his life. By not having any responsibility and not caring about who is left behind he was able to do whatever he wanted on a whim. It would certainly make everyone's life easier to be able to drop everything every time something interesting and new popped up. But most of us feel an obligation and compassion for those we are already involved with to just up and run every time. Not Barlow, he just took whatever was offered and moved on. I question the extent to which he was as important to everyone he met in his youth, that was all part of building a persona that both enabled future adventures while excusing his flightiness.

It sounds like I didn't enjoy the book and that is not the case. I found it to be a wonderful read, primarily his early years. I just don't accept all of his embellishments as being 100% accurate. In fairness, most autobiographies tend toward such things so it is not unique to this one. That is why autobiographies are fun and somewhat accurate while biographies are often less fun to read but far more accurate. I highly recommend this to people who enjoy and understand autobiography, as well as people who enjoy tall tales spun by a wonderful storyteller, for if there is one true talent that resided in Barlow's person it was as a storyteller.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.… (mere)

The recently deceased author had a really colorful life. He seems to have known everyone and done everything. Born to a cattle ranching family that was powerful in Wyoming politics, he went to school with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, and later went on to write lyrics for the band. He mentored JFK Jr., and was campaign manager for Dick Cheney. Yes, he was an acid loving, alcoholic, Republican. The cognitive dissonance is still rippling in my head. Later he became a computer hacker and cofounded the Electronic Freedom Foundation, well as writing a book that was basically an ad for Steve Jobs and Apple. He hung at Andy Warhol’s Factory and dated the Dalai Llama’s sister. I’d have thought it was all bullshit, but the people involved say his life really was like that.

All was not sweetness and adventure. As I said, he was an alcoholic. He smoked three packs a day, was a coke dealer, cheated on women, and took off with a $5000 advance for a book he never wrote. He did some of the stupidest things with his health and safety; it’s a miracle he lived as long as he did. One thing his life never was, was dull. And he tells his story in short chapters, as if he was telling them over drinks. At least in the first half of the book; somewhere near the end he sort of … slows down. Given that he was in failing health, I suspect that he just ran out of energy for telling. The prose in the latter part of the book even has a different voice to it, as if the first part was Barlow telling it in full, while the co-author had to fill in a lot in the end. A truly amusing book- I figured I wouldn’t be impressed by the man, but I was. Four and a half stars.… (mere)