Willie Nelson: The Outlaw

by Graeme Thomson

Book Overview

With a face that wouldn't look out of place carved into Mount Rushmore, Willie Nelson has done and seen it all. A dope-smoking, whisky-drinking, latter-day cowboy with Native American blood, four wives, and seven children, Nelson has a?career that spans half a century of American music. In this revealing, intimate, and insightful biography, Graeme Thomson goes beyond the myths, talking with Nelson himself, his band, and those who know him best to...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852273003
• ISBN13: 9781852273002
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.7" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Great story!

The story is excellent. Enjoyable read and great photos. The book binding is of inferior quality. The pages fell out one by one while reading. It makes this product basically a throw away read. For this reason I would not purchase this book or recommend it to others.

Retirement?.."All I do is play golf and play music--which one do you want me to give up?"..Willie

I have been a fan of Willie's ever since he first appeared on the music scene.To attempt to condense Willie's life and music in a book of 280 pages is a task that is ,to say the least,monumental.But that is exactly what Graeme Thomson has tried to do, and he has done an excellent job of it. As much as any longtime fan thinks he knows about Willie;reading this book is going to be an eyeopener and pleasure;but is also going to give one a lot more insight into his life,friends,music,and everything else about him;and shows what makes him the legend that he is.As Willie continues on past his mid-seventies;his fans are continually amazed at his endurance and are treated to more good music and sides of Willie that they have never imagined. While many biographies on performers in the world of music tend to get overloaded with the music itself,dates,music production companies,copyrite problems,disography,the writers,and endless flow of band members,etc.;Thompson is still able to incooperate all that;but still manages to center his book on Willie himself.It is hard to imagine any other book being able to do a better job of showing what Willie is all about ,and more importantly why. There is all too much to comment on this book ;but still I would like to mention a couple of things. The relationships with his wives,children and extended family show what a difficult life of being "on the road" entails.It is so difficult that many are ruined by it,or simply can't take it and quit;but Willie seems to have thrived on it for 50 years,and still continues. Any fan of Willie, knows the difficulties he had with the taxes and the IRS during the 80's,but the details are all in the book and one can see how all this happened and how Willie managed to survive these dark days;and even to quote an old adage "Turned a Lemon into Lemonade." Willie Nelson is without any doubt,one of the great musicians,songwriters,singers ,actors,and all around entertainers of the 20th Century.He has given his all for his huge following of fans,seemed to want little out of life other than to be able to make and play his music for anyone who wanted to listen,play a little golf,enjoy his friends family and fans,and smoke a little pot.Many other entertainers have had their moments of stardom;but few have had the enduring span of so many years...and hopefully,there will be more to come. If you have enjoyed Willie and his music over the years;you owe it to yourself to read this book.You'll enjoy it, and without doubt,learn things about this amazing entertainer that you never knew.How he treated the people around,from his family,friends,others in the music business,people who worked for him,and of course,his fans ;will amaze you. Yes,he made a lot of money along the way;but it wasn't the money that he made, that was important to him ;it was what he could do with it ,particularly for others.His loyalty and generosity and desire to help others was boundless. As the twilight of his career and l

Must read for Willie fans

Great insight to one of America's greatest song writers and musicians. I've followed Willie for over 30 years and I'm not a country music fan. Willie reaches everyone who loves a good song.

At Last: The Real Willie

I had to write this review after reading the previous reviewer's comments, which make little sense. THE OUTLAW is a fantastic read, and, more importantly, the first book that really grapples with the strange, magic reality of Willie Nelson. It is virtually un-put-downable, full of character and verve, honesty and insight. Even as I tore through it I suspected there might be a split between those who read it: for so-called 'loyal' Willie fans who treat him like some kind of God, it may not appeal. Those who are looking for an uncomplicated, unthinking homage to Willie will not find it here - there are plenty of those kinds of books on the shelves, but this is the first Willie book to really grapple with the complexities of the man; it is a warts 'n' all study, although affectionate, knowledgable and fair, and presents him and his amazing world in a thorough and truly new way. It is clearly and cleverly written, with little up-close vignettes of Willie in between each chapter, and with cameos from all the major players in Willie's life. I bet Willie read it with a wry chuckle and thought, 'Yep, they finally got me!' A wonderful book, highly recommended to all Willie fans who don't wear blinkers, and all other music fans.

Spot on

Awesome book! Fills in a whole load of gaps in Will's life that I often wondered about. I've been a fan for 25 years and hoped this kind of 3-D book would come along - it's not only very astute on his life and character but also absolutely BRILLIANT on his music.