Between Wyomings: My God and an iPod on the Open Road

by Ken Mansfield

Book Overview

A Grammy Award-winning producer recreates his journey through the lush landscapes of success and the deserts that led him home. He calls readers to reflect on the highways of their own lives that press them into the heart of a Creator who has been there all along.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1595551654
• ISBN13: 9781595551658
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
• Length: 301 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Enjoy the road trip

This has been one of my most favorite books to review yet. There are few books that have reached the part of my soul that this book did. Mr. Mansfield captures thoughts that I have had and was unable to come up with the words to describe them. This has been a book that as I read I underlined sentences, sometimes entire paragraphs to re-read again later. His style of writing is almost lyrical, definitely descriptive, and if you allow it, it will change you as his road trip changed him. Between Wyomings - My God and an iPod On the Open Road by Ken Mansfield, is a journey best taken slowly. Allow yourself the time to read this book and learn from his journey. Don't pick it up if you are expecting music industry inside stories. While he does recount stories of his time in the business, it is for the purposes of giving a background and understanding of what shaped him and made him the person he has become. Each segment of the book is broken down by "mile markers". Different eras of his life are highlighted by different areas he visits on this cross country journey. In the beginning he starts with "Between Dawn and Dusk" - "In looking back I have this sense I stumbled through my life with the music of my circumstances blaring so loudly that I missed the meaning of the lyrics." (page 3) When he goes back to visit a home in LA that he once lived in he says "Memories like reverse echoes begin rolling down upon me from the hillside like a "rock" slide as I turn back into the twisted trek that drove me up and down those stairs in the days of my crazed years in the music business." (page 51) He shares the life God has blessed him with and brought him through, how as a child he attended church but had no use for God later when he was out on his own. And how God's grace, mercy, and love are always there for us, as long as we are willing. To share any more would take away from the journey you will experience as you read this book. All I can say is, go get your own copy and be ready to embark on a trip, that if you allow God to use it, will surely show you something about yourself that you may not have ever known.

For a guy I've never heard of...

I had never heard of Ken Mansfield before reading this book, I didn't realize how much he influenced most of the 60's in terms of music. He was there when all the most amazing things in music history were happening...and it all let him down. This book is really a road journal of a man that has experienced super highs and super lows and found Jesus on the way. I find his writing style hypnotic and mesmerizing at the same time. It seems to keep pulling you along until your eyes just can't take it anymore. Even though he has experienced things I can only imagine I felt his life story very relatable and thus I got a lot of it. Like a wise tome waiting there for me to learn from its words etched in stone. If you can't tell already, I really enjoyed this book. At times it could be a bit jumbled...but that is how Ken lived most of his life, so its fitting. If you have any interest in music or the life a music producer, this is a definite read. 5 stars!

The Best of the Three!!!

I've just finished reading "Between Wyomings". I've also read Ken Mansfield's previous two books of the trilogy and I must say that "Wyomings" is the best of the three! When I first bought the book, I honestly thought that it was going to be warmed over leftovers from the previous two books. But, boy! Was I wrong! You get a lot more stories but you also get a lot of insight into Mansfield's spiritual journey and musings. The book is incredibly well written and is hard to put down once you start reading it. If you haven't read the other two books, it might be best to read them first, but you don't have too. Each book stands on it's own just fine. However, if you're only going to read one of the three in the trilogy, then "Between Wyomings" is definitely the one to read. It's a "roof top" experience of the best kind!

Book Review: Between Wyomings

"The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes." -Psalm 19:7-8 Setting the tone for his book "Between Wyomings: My God and an iPod on the Open Road", Ken Mansfield with the above scripture (The Message Bible) at once captures your attention. Recounting his three month tour with his wife in their van (affectionately named Moses), Mansfield recounts, reflects, and relives his years in the music industry. Describing his writing style as a 'christian on acid', his statements are wildly imaginative pegging the mindset of the entertainment industry as we all imagine it to be, somewhat disorganized but wondrously creative at the same time. Mansfield recalls his life and moments with many of the entertainment industries most famous icons, those who have shaped history, such as: Beach Boys, the Beatles, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, Roy Orbison, Andy Williams, Don Ho, and Willie Nelson. Especially interesting to me were his discussion with God as he searched to make sense of his life. This is the essence of his testimony as it is for all of us. Describing God, Mansfield writes: "Oddly enough, I think the big reason I love Him so much is because He doesn't always knock before He enters. He loves to just storm into my deepest parts and start turning over tables, clearing spaces, and setting things free." This is a very interesting and illuminating book, written with great honesty and humor. As you finish this book, you may find yourself grabbing your iPod, loading it up with a history of your life in 'music' and beginning a reflective story of your own. Gina Hendrix Vessel Project Book Reviewer Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger Http://vesselproject.blogspot.com

Thumbs up for Between Wyomings

Between Wyomings: My God and an iPod on the Open Road should be required reading as a cautionary tale for anyone who may be set up on the pedestal of popular success. Through his leadership in the music industry, Mansfield fundamentally shaped, influenced and reflected the world of the Baby Boomers and beyond. Although born again in the 1980's, he doesn't fully recognize or let go of the showbiz world's illusions until he makes the road trip described in Between Wyomings. Every generation of successful artist will be faced with the same choices as Mansfield - even Christian artists. Jesus said in three of the four gospels, "...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." He also said in Luke and Matthew, "You cannot serve God and mammon." Maybe it is a function of my age, but I enjoyed the non-linear progression of the book. The poetry and lyrics were a natural accompaniment to the story. I loved the disorderliness of Mansfield's thoughts and crowding memories being set right by reflection and journey and relationship. This book may not be for everyone, but musicians, actors, filmmakers, writers and artists could all benefit from the insights that Ken Mansfield offers in Between Wyomings.