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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 787.87166092
EAN num: 9780385518512
ISBN number: 038551851X
Label: Broadway
Manufacturer: Broadway
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: October 09, 2007
Publishing house: Broadway
Release Date: October 09, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 3978
Studio: Broadway
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“I found a pattern in my behavior that had been repeating itself for years, decades even. Bad choices were my specialty, and if something honest and decent came along, I would shun it or run the other way.”
With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well known for his reserve in a profession marked by self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles, for the very first time, his remarkable personal and professional journeys.
Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents, Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine, believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and inspire devoted fans to scrawl “Clapton is God” on the walls of London’s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the world's very first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar, but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history, including the classic “Layla.”
During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while working with the latter that he fell for George’s wife, Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean Boulevard, with its massive hit “I Shot the Sheriff.” He followed that with the platinum album Slowhand, which included “Wonderful Tonight,” the touching love song to Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1979. A short time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the eventual breakup of his marriage.
In the eighties he would battle and begin his recovery from alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident. At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the achingly beautiful “Tears in Heaven.”
Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of sucess despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.
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Rated by buyers 
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After reading some of the negative reviews written on this site, I delved into EC's autobiography with some skepticism. What I found was a most fascinating story covering 40 years of one of the greatest icons in the history of music. Expecting to find an egotistical tale of success(from someone actually dubbed "God"), I instead found Clapton to be an extremely humble, insecure and naive man, despite all his fame and fortune. He candidly tells his most inward thoughts and reveals many mistakes along the way.
The book begins in his early childhood when he learns his parents and brother are really his grandparents and uncle, and that his young mom wants little to do with him. This would leave any child feeling vulnerable and insecure, and Clapton is no exception. He believes this to be the cause of much of his erratic behavior and to his many poor choices of failed relationships throughout his life.
We follow him through swinging London in the '60s as he joins, and leaves, several legendary bands. Clapton explains how Cream was doomed before they even began; how he just wasn't into Blind Faith as much as he should have been; his lack of confidence was what kept him from going solo for so many years.
Clapton is painfully honest about his severe heroin and alcohol addictions, his botched suicide endeavor and his obsession with Pattie Boyd. He describes how awkward it was to be good friends with George Harrison, all the while trying to steal his wife.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the humour as Clapton laughs at himself in retrospect at his naivete regarding his bizarre behavior. He discusses how he frequently brought derelicts home to his estate because he thought they might be more "real" than anyone else, but instead found them to be "barking mad and talking gibberish", with poor Pattie having to cook dinner for them all. There's the hilarious story of his being conned by a crazy woman from New York into performing spells and incantations in an endeavor to win back Pattie's affections.
With this honest autobiography, Clapton has dared to lower himself from the pedestal and join the ranks of the "everyday" man who struggles to get by each day. This may be the best autobiography I have ever read.
Rated by buyers -
This book is so good.....what a page turner...it is full of interesting
insight and lots of industry names etc....Eric Clapton is really open.
Rated by buyers -
This was a good autobiography of Eric Clapton. Easy to read and very insightful.
Rated by buyers 
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As a big fan of Cream and Derek and the Dominoes and a lover of the Bluesbreaker album with Mayall I looked forward to reading Mr. Clapton's autobiography, especially concerning the early years. I found the author to be a very unlikeable, emotionally shallow, self absorbed narrator. He basically describes how he's screwed up everyone's life he has been associated with, including his own, with no apparent guilt or remorse. Sort of just a big whatever but it all ends well because he's happy now. Not an inspiring read at all.
Rated by buyers 
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This book is not very well writen. It drops a lot of names but doesn't have much insight. It really drags at the end. Clapton admits to a lot, but somehow it all rings hollow and I get the impression that he really doesn't understand himself, even though he's lived life into his 60's. I'm huge Clapton fan and I wish that I didn't know what his book had to tell me about the man, both on and in between the lines. Listen to the guy's music. That's the best auto-biography he could present, and it really tells us all we need to know. Something is badly lost when an endeavor is made to reduce the monumental drive, talent and events from which these notes and words flowed into a book writen by a mere man.
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