The Doors

by Ben Fong-Torres, The Doors, Henry Rollins, et al.

Book Overview

Surviving member Ben Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore join forces with the families of Jim Morrison and his late girlfriend Pamela Courson to tell the undiluted story of one of the greatest bands of all time. Ben Fong-Torres, former senior editor and writer at Rolling Stone magazine - and the last journalist to speak to Jim Morrison before his death - ties the story together with an experienced hand. A tour of the band's personal archives,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 140130303X
• ISBN13: 9781401303037
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 4.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 10.9" x 11.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

All FOUR one and one FOUR all....

The Doors by The Doors and Ben Fong-Torres Hyperion Books Forty years ago The Doors broke on through and romanced the public with poetic nightmares combined with a jazz influenced brand of blues driven rock and roll. We all know about Jim Morrison, the bands wildly erratic front man who lived either on the edge of a stage or at the edge of his own mortality. The three remaining Doors members John Densmore, Robby Kreiger and Ray Manzarek give their take on what it was like to ride the ascending success and ultimately the burn out and downfall of comet Morrison. Ben Fong-Torres has the daunting but enviable task of coordinating the vast treasure of photos, interviews and fresh quotes into a time line narrative that takes the readers from the beaches of California to the graveyard in France. What Oliver Stone got wrong in his 1991 movie, "The Doors" Fong-Torres is determined to set straight in this retrospect. Even though it was Jim who gained the most publicity as charismatic singer and lyricist he was the first to correct anyone that would garner him with more than one fourth of the credit for the bands success. The corresponding biographies of each member help to re-tell the now famous stories but also add a more personal insight and explanation of these now legendary tales. It's always been my contention that actually being in such a famous band it is impossible to truly appreciate or understand your own impact. The Beatles never had "The Beatles" to appreciate or enjoy like the public did and the same thing goes with this remarkable group. The Doors were just trying to write some songs and score with the ladies of Venice but after these four individual and creative elements combined a funny thing happened resulting in pure rock and roll legend. It's all here in beautiful detail and imagery, from the band's first rehearsals and the ground breaking shows at the Whiskey, the Ed Sullivan snub, Miami madness to Jim's controversial departure from the United States and ultimately the planet. This is a beautiful coffee table styled book that chronicles all of The Doors phenomenal successes and internal struggles. Just as with The Beatles "Anthology" book the surviving members have assembled to tell their remembrances and share some never before seen photos and antidotes. This leaves Jim's creative and prophetic lyrics along side his infamous quotes behind as both his contribution towards the book and his path to or bread crumb trail back from the other side. Matt Parish

Avid Doors Fan

I have read about every legitimate book on The Doors that is out there, and there are many. This book includes many never before published photos, and interviews including Jim's parents, brother and sister. While this appears to be a very comprehensive, well written and well illustrated book, there are some conflicting stories in here, based on already published information, sometimes by the author's themselves. For example, Ray Manzarek, in his book "Light My Fire", says that Jim wrote the song "Twentieth Century Fox" for his girlfriend Dorothy, this book claims he wrote it for Pamela Courson. However, I do not think there is ever going to be a universal remembrance of exactly how things went, since we are, after all, talking about the 60s! Therefore, I cannot even deduct a star for these conflicting factoids. I love the way this book incorporates quotes by Jim Morrison into the topics, as if he was here today, being interviewed. I know that Ben Fong-Torres did a fantastic job of making it appear as if this was the case. A very well illustrated book for all door fans, with many previously unreleased photos. I simply treasure it! A great coffee table book and conversation starter for old and new Doors fans.

A loyal Doors Fan

Yes, it has appeared time and time again. The Doors company puts out stuff that they claim to have "never been seen" or is "previously unreleased" and a true fans is measly disappointed. However, the claims of this book are true! The photos of the band, especially Morrison, have indeed never been seen before. For the first time The Doors have not disappointed me with a false accusation! I would recommend anyone who appreciates the movement of The Doors to invest in this book. The insights are amazing, and the photos are a great glimpse into the man who started the "rocker" status. BUY THIS BOOK! If this fails to convince you to purchase this book, go to your local book store and take a look for yourself; disappointed you will not be! A Loyal Fan Long live the Lizard King....

worth every penny

Ben Fong-Torres has demonstrated journalistic brilliance in the way this book is organized. Each section is laid out like a conversation; interspersed among comments and reflections by Densmore, Krieger and Manzarek, as well as members of the Morrison and Courson families, is just enough narrative for clarity. Fong-Torres smoothly inserts quotes from interviews with Jim Morrison, and the result is a unified presentation of The Doors as an entity. Inevitably, it is the Morrison persona that dominates, but this book does a credible job of portraying all of the Doors. The descriptions of the studio experience, particularly challenges of the technology of the late 60s, are fascinating. There is a great deal of insight into the creative process of the band. While Morrison's rampant alcohol and drug abuse is not the focus of the book, there is ample evidence of the ripple effect it had on his bandmates. The photos from the band's private collection justify the cost.

An excellent addition to your Doors collection!

This is simply a beautiful book on a timeless band. The Doors by the Doors is a giant coffee table book loaded with great pictures. The ambitious book written with cooperation of the band gives a broad and detailed history of the band from family, friends, and most importantly the artists themselves. As someone who has almost every Doors book available this one is among the best of the bunch. Like others have mentioned the cover is rather cheap and flimsy and some of the information is wrong but those are minor comparred to the overall quality of the book. What makes this book worthy is you get a full band perspective not just one primarily focoused on Jim Morrisson. I also liked finally getting some perspective from Morrison's family on Jim's success as they truly reveal a family who loved him despite being rather clueless on his continued success. I've been a Doors fan for 18 years now and books like this make me fall in love with them all over again. Definately a worthy purchase along with the Perception box set which will be out soon. Hearing the Doors in 5.1 was truly stunning!