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 enlarge | Author: Tom Carter
Creator: Merle Haggard
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy Used: $3.59
You Save: $20.41 (85%)
New (3) Used (26) Collectible (1) from $3.59
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 532324
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.4 x 1
ISBN: 0060193085
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.421642092
EAN: 9780060193089
ASIN: 0060193085
Publication Date: October 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wonderful!! October 14, 2000
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a super autobiographical story of the greatest legend in country music. He tells his life story in much the way that he writes songs, relaxed, heart-felt, and very honest. This book is a page-turner and a must have! I only wish I could get it autographed.
 For fans of Merle May 24, 2000
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The second (!) autobiography of country singer/songwriter Merle Haggard. Very interesting for his fans, for others I'd recommend his music instead. His reputation as "the poet of the common man" is not undeserved. The book deals mostly with his misspent youth which wound up with him doing a stretch in San Quentin prison, before he really discovered his talent and got his life together, including 42 #1 hits on the country charts, playing at Carnegie Hall and the White House, etc. This was an abridged audio book, engagingly read by Merle himself.
Very interesting book February 13, 2000
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is an interesting fairly quick read about the life of Merle Haggard. The book contains a lot of insights into his passions and life.
Yet it does leave the reader a bit confused, in part due to the constant chronological mixing. There's a lot of self-reporting of his actions, but Merle leave almost all the analysis of his actions to others. Thus on one page we read how he's always valued "honesty," mixed in with accounts of burglaries and stolen cars. The analysis pretty much boils down to statements of "remorse" and "bad decisions."
From One Bakersfield Boy to Another January 5, 2000
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Merle's genius for lyric and creativity shines through some of the rough and ugly stories that help us understand him. A lot of the language is rough but it is part of the story that better defines the experiences that made Merle who he is. There are many times throughout the book where Merle's descriptions and thoughts ring with poetic flare. I grew up in Bakersfield and often heard stories about the legendary Blackboard, Lucky Spot and Texas Barrell House on Union. I have family that are rumored to have sung with him at times and used to watch Merle play before he was starting out. I could appreciate many of the stories described in the book and have worked the same oilfields and packing sheds he describes. I don't live there anymore but I do go back and visit. Over the course of the book it becomes clear how Merle has been able to completely turn around his life around and gain control of his finances, his family, his career and most importantly his spirituality. I enjoyed the book very much. I grew up listening to Merle Haggard. I wish I could meet him someday, one ol' Bakersfield boy to another and just pick the guitar with him.
 Not Much Happened in the Last 18 Years! December 30, 1999
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I am a very major fan of Merle Haggard, and feel he is one of the best songwriters we have in America. I think this added to my disappointment in this book. I had already read his 1981 biography, SING ME BACK HOME, so was really surprised to start reading this book which is about 4/5 a duplication of that book. Not only is the typeprint in this book LARGE, there is almost no additional information in this book. Merle, with the life you have led, you certainly could have offered different stories than the ones you did 18 years ago.I also learned a lesson about ordering on-line, maybe the good old bookstore would have been a good idea when deciding if I really wanted to spend the $$$ on this rehash!
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