=================================================== TAKE ME HOME by John Denver with Arthur Tobier =================================================== Autobiography (1994) 50 black-and-white photographs 6 x 9; 320 pages A Harmony Book 0-517-595370 $20.00 hardcover (Canada $26.95) The Crown Publishing Group 201 East 50th Street New York, New York 10022 (212) 572-2537 Audio Version of "Take Me Home" ================================= John Denver - "TAKE ME HOME" (1994) Autobiography In a career that has spanned twenty-five years, John Denver has earned international acclaim as a singer, songwriter, actor, and environmental activist. Songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High,"and "Annie's Song" have entered the canon of universal anthems, but less than three decades ago, John Denver was a young man with little more than a fine voice, a guitar, and a dream. Growing up in a conservative military family, he was not expected to drop out of college and head to Los Angeles, where the music scene was flourishing. Nor was he expected to succeed. In "Take Me Home", John Denver chronicles the experiences that shaped his life, while unraveling the rich, inner journey of a shy Midwestern boy whose uneasy partnership with fame has been one of the defining forces of his first fifty years. With candor and wit, John writes about his childhood, the experience of hitting L.A. as the Sixties roared into full swing, his first breaks, his years with the Mitchell Trio, his first songwriting success with "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and finally a career that made his a global household name. He also explores his relationships with the women in his life-- particularly his first wife, Annie Martell, and his second wife, Cassandra Delaney-- as well as his parents, his children, his partners throughout his life, and his friends. Honest, insightful and rich in anecdotes that only a natural-born storyteller could tell so well, "Take Me Home" is a highly charged and fascinating book from beginning to end. It's like spending a couple of days with a good friend. You can purchase John's autobiography on audiocasette from Parrot Audio Books for $24.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. California residents should add $1.98 for sales tax (8.25%). If using a credit card, you can call 1-800-577-6665 to order, or send a check or money order to: Parrot Audio Books 46750 Fremont Blvd. #207 Fremont CA 94538 - - - - - - - - - - - - Take Me Home on CD ==================== a 3-cd set of "Take Me Home" by John Denver is available from Lasarlight Digital http://www.deltamusic.com A Short Review of JD's book =========================== October 10, 1994 by Corinne Smith "Hi guys -- As promised, I finished reading TAKE ME HOME over the weekend. I won't spoil anything and reveal details for you. Here's my assessment, nevertheless. I believe John felt a need to get a lot of things off his chest, and that's why he decided to write a book. It was probably very cathartic for him, part of a therapeutic process of assimilating, assessing, and accepting what's happened to him throughout his life. At times it seemed as if the words were coming from a stream of consciousness session with a psychologist who began the hour by saying, "Tell me a little bit about your life." Fans will read this book and will either feel disenchantment or empathy. The big surprise is that John's life has been far from idyllic, far removed from the image his followers have of what his lifestyle must have been like over the past years. He's human; he's faced the same types of problems and challenges that we all have. That concept shouldn't come as a surprise, but to the most devout fans, it'll be a severe jolt back to reality. If you're one of those devotees, and you begin to feel disillusionment as you're commiserating over TAKE ME HOME, read the book from a different angle. Think about what *you* were doing and feeling during the times that John talks about. Think about what his music and performances meant to you back then, while he was simultaneously dealing with other issues that you didn't see. When you approach the work from that point of view, you may come to the realization that it's a miracle his music and his opinions had as much impact on us as they did. And still do. I put the book down with a greater respect for John, and at the same time, a greater compassion for him as a person. The next time I get the chance to shake his hand -- at next year's Windstar conference, I hope -- I know exactly what I will say to him: "I climbed trees as a kid, too." Corinne Smith, obsessive JD fan since 1972 ===================================================================== Rocky Mtn High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club emily@sky.net =====================================================================