Reviews of "John Denver: Mother Nature's Son" from Amazon.Com _________________________________________________________________ Customer Reviews 3 out of 5 stars John Denver-Mother Nature's Son Reviewer: Mary K. Ledford from USA February 2, 2000 For the most part, I found the book interesting. I enjoyed the author's entertwining the music of the different decades ... there were some things I didn't know. As for information on the subject of his book, don't expect anything in addition to Mr. Denver's own autobiography ... only a different perspective. However, there is one glaring error the author made with regard to the space flight Mr. Denver was going to participate in with the Soviets. Mr. Denver did NOT OFFER TO PAY the 10 million dollars to participate in this mission ... that was the cost (or fee) for a year's extensive training he would have had to go through in order to go on the mission. That meant actually living in the Soviet Union for one year prior to the mission and going through extensive language training. One of the requirements is that he had to be fluent in Russian. Mr. Denver was unwilling to pay that fee and a waiver of that fee was in the works but he cancelled when it was known his second wife was expecting a baby. I thank the author for referencing my review of the John Denver Tribute concert at the Berchmere Music Hall on January 16, 1998. These tribute concerts have continued every year since Mr. Denver's passing in his home town of Aspen, CO. Note: Mary Ledford is the President of "Rhymes and Reasons" a JD Print Fan Club. * * * * 3 out of 5 stars Thoughtful Treatment of John Denver's Music Reviewer: Patricia 1_stripes from Lancaster, Pennsylvania January 16, 2000 When I first heard of John Collis' "John Denver: Mother Nature's Son," I was tempted to ignore it, but I knew I'd not be able to do that. The dust jacket was very off-putting; what could the pub- lishers have been thinking of to put blatant lies where everyone would see them? Fortunately, the book itself was more accurate. The author went into this project prepared to denigrate John's music. That he found it difficult to do so is clear, testifying to the fact that the music is much better than critics realized. I appreciated Mr. Collis' complimentary remarks about John's voice, which to me has always been the number one factor in his amazing career. The music, too, is given more respect than Collis obviously intended. I'm glad he was finally able to see the light. I did find it a bit irritating that so much space in such a short book was devoted to marginally interesting material, such as Mr. Denver's family history and the musical timeline in which he oper- ated. Such information would have been appropriate in a full-scope book but not in one that covers only 175 pages. It almost gave the impression that the material needed to be padded, never a good idea in any kind of writing. What is there, however, is fairly informative. It should be pointed out that there are several errors: John Denver did NOT offer the Russians any amount of money to take part in their space program; as he pointed out many times, that was the price tag the Russians put on the project and Mr. Denver did not intend to pay that. The information in the first chapter about Mr. Denver's tragic plane crash and the investigation is also misleading, implying Mr. Denver did not perform a pre-flight check, when in fact, the NTSB report indicates clearly that he did. Overall, I found the book mildly interesting. I am always happy to find my assessment of John Denver's voice and music supported. * * * * * * * * 1 out of 5 stars John Denver Mother Nature's Son Reviewer: A reader from Upstate New York January 11, 2000 I was disappointed in this book. The dust cover was misleading and sensationalized minor incidents that really had nothing to do with the story. The author went off on tangents that I had a difficult time putting together with John's life. He might better have titled it Musical Timeline of John Denver. I was looking for information that I may not have garnered from " Take Me Home" and various articles I have read. I did like that the author's research made him rethink his original premise. I did like his memorial section at the last. I would not recommend this book as a straight biography. * * * * 3 out of 5 stars Brought a smile to my face! Reviewer: A reader from Iowa January 2, 2000 I was recommended to bypass this book as it had very little information in it that those of us who have stayed with John all through his career don't already know - and that is true. However, I was curious so I got it anyway. This book was not sentimental - it didn't bring tears to me eyes but once, that being at the end when the author states that John was cremated on Oct. 15th. I cried then for the loss of this amazing man. However, the book amused me as I watched a man who clearly started out not being an admirer of Johns, and who seemed to want to keep it that way, had to struggle in places to try and keep himself from falling over the precipice into the pit of John Denver admiration! I must thank Mr. Collis that at least the compliments that he paid to John, for the most part, did not come across as being given begrudgingly. I would recommend reading this book if you would like to read some background information on John's family and musical comrades that you might not already have known. Some of this background added some depth to an already deep and complex man. * * * * 4 out of 5 stars Great Technical Insight Into The Music Reviewer: A reader from Ontario, Canada December 18, 1999 The dust cover is SO misleading (example: there is no reference to 'wife beating' in the actual book.) I was delighted to read Collis' critique of Denver's music; the author appears impressed with many of John's songs, and the explanations as to why are most interesting. Also, John Collis pays honest tribute to John Denver's generous efforts to improve this planet. This book is considerably less critical than John's autobiography 'Take Me Home'; however, there is little new in the way of biographical information. I recommend this book to readers who are eager to learn more about the musical angle of Denver's career. * * * * 1 out of 5 stars Shame, Shame,Shame Reviewer: A reader from North Carolina,USA December 8, 1999 Pass this one up, folks.In my opinion,this is a very mean spirited piece of work.John Denver was a remarkable talent and a committed humanitarian. he deserves better than this.To leave readers with the impression that he was a wife beating drunk is unforgivable. __________________________ From http://www.Amazon.com Provided by Rocky Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club http://www.sky.net/~emily