To be continued in ten years......

[Gunner]

That is written at the very end of 'Me Alice'. My reaction is; what a shame that wasn't the case, and also, what a shame it hasn't been done every ten years eh?

[Maurice]

That is written at the very end of 'Me Alice'. My reaction is; what a shame that wasn't the case, and also, what a shame it hasn't been done every ten years eh?

Well, I thought of it as rather a glib footnote to the book, heavy with expectancy of Alice going from strength to strength, seemingly in the direction of Hollywood.

The real disappointment that followed here was in the opposite becoming true, and Alice, maybe 'losing direction' somewhat? but yet still managing to maintain some interest of his fans, by recovering his music and his health to some degree.

That we should wait for three decades to pass before 'Golf Monster', I think is no bad thing, as we then witness a complete change, and that his fathers' wishes - expressed in the Introduction or Foreword - are finally fully realised.

Golf Monster is something of a 'sanitised' volume, and certainly no comparison with 'Me, Alice' , and - for me - therein lies the attraction of opposites, which would be hard to beat if the content was dissipated into decades?

[glamprincess]

That is written at the very end of 'Me Alice'. My reaction is; what a shame that wasn't the case, and also, what a shame it hasn't been done every ten years eh?

Well, I thought of it as rather a glib footnote to the book, heavy with expectancy of Alice going from strength to strength, seemingly in the direction of Hollywood.

The real disappointment that followed here was in the opposite becoming true, and Alice, maybe 'losing direction' somewhat? but yet still managing to maintain some interest of his fans, by recovering his music and his health to some degree.

That we should wait for three decades to pass before 'Golf Monster', I think is no bad thing, as we then witness a complete change, and that his fathers' wishes - expressed in the Introduction or Foreword - are finally fully realised.

Golf Monster is something of a 'sanitised' volume, and certainly no comparison with 'Me, Alice' , and - for me - therein lies the attraction of opposites, which would be hard to beat if the content was dissipated into decades?

Very good and thoughtful post, Maurice.
I think the real disappointment is not just the length of time between Me Alice and Golf Monster, but the fact that Golf Monster is a let-down after waiting three decades for another book. I don't think the fans really needed an Alice Cooper book which dealt so heavily with golf. Normally rock star "tell-all" books deal with sex, drugs and rock n' roll just as the entertaining Me Alice book did. But Golf Monster is an overly sanitized book and instead of discussing those universally interesting topics, devoted way too many pages to golf.
The best part of Golf Monster, in my opinion, is when Alice talks about his childhood growing up in Detroit. I thought it was by far the most new and revealing stuff in the book as Alice told us about being the only boy in his family and hanging with his Dad and his cool uncles. I thought that part was the highlight of the book and one of the only times where Alice seemed to provide new insight into his life and character.
Otherwise, much of the book falls into the current spin and the book is very much like Alice's interviews of the past fifteen years. And then there's the golf...... Did fans really wait three decades to get.... golf tips?

[Maurice]

That is written at the very end of 'Me Alice'. My reaction is; what a shame that wasn't the case, and also, what a shame it hasn't been done every ten years eh?

And then there's the golf...... Did fans really wait three decades to get.... golf tips?

Thanks glam. Very kind of you.
No, you are quite right, generally speaking Golf Tips are not what Alice fans are after; but they do provide a vehicle for his humour, and I felt the humour was the strength of that particular book.

In reviewing GM, I remember thinking this was very much like sitting in on an elongated Golf Day after dinner speech - and I have been to a few, as a non-golfer - with any excuse for a joke thrown in, and (for me) on that level it works well, contrasting dramatically with 'Me, Alice'. But in view of his lifestyle choices, I think he had no alternative.

[I agree that the boyhood notes were a reasonably 'safe' and interesting addition.]

That he could promote sufficient interest to sell any - I don't know what sales the book has achieved? - is something of an achievement in itself, that may not have been realised if three books were written at ten year intervals, where there would have been a less dramatic change, and perhaps a closer look at some more serious issues?

I just cannot make up my mind if this really is a disappointment, where the main benefit may have been to have managed a closer scrutiny on Alicee's life, at times when he was 'less visible', although (as we have observed) any book will only allow the reader to see what the writer makes available and is comfortable with.

[Marcelocooper]

Well, may be a little of topic, but my real disappointment with GM was that he talked about his life more like saying what happened, not how it happened. On Me, Alice he tells us how everything happened, what he felt, it was more personal. On Golf monster it seems to be a book written by someone else, 'cause he does not talk how he made that, how he felt about it, stuff like that.

More than the golf tips, which I found really interesting exactly because it was more personal, like you were talking to the man himself, I was disappointed with that.

[cooperrocks]

I have a slightly different take on Alice's Golf Monster biography. I realize many of you don't like golf or at least want there to be a separation between his hobby and his musical career. However, Alice's golf habits are one of the main reasons (in my opinion) Alice is still able to perform today. The Coop nearly killed himself literally with his alcohol abuse. Not only was he near death, but it almost cost him his marriage, etc. When Alice took up the sport of golf and began playing it daily, it replaced his desire for alcohol. Alice has admitted in the past that he has an addictive personality. His addiction moved to something much more healthy.

Now, you may be asking what does that have to do with the book. I think it has A LOT to do with the book. He uses the lessons he has learned on the course to apply to his life. By replacing his drinking addiction with something else, it has enabled him to continue to perform at a high level and is one of the main reasons why he still is a great live act at the age of 60. It is a part of who Alice is and has clearly worked for him.

[glamprincess]

I realize many of you don't like golf or at least want there to be a separation between his hobby and his musical career.

First of all, where did I say that I want there to be a separation between his hobby and his musical career? I never said that and I wish people would stop speculating what other people really mean.

I was expressing my OPINION on the BOOK. I was not giving an opinion on Alice's hobby or on his lifestyle, but an opinion on the book. I noticed that many people on this board were free to express very negative opinions on Alice's latest album because people are entitled to their opinions. I am entitled to my opinion on this book as well.

[WickedYoungMan]

My first main complaint about Golf Monster is the absolutely horrendous cover. The subsequent versions had much better covers.

Inside the book, I guess it's fine to me personally but when Alice talks about golf it's very foreign to me. It had a good mix for golf and Alice fans alike. I learned some cool things in it, but then of course there were some things in there that were a bit iffy factually (Two year long WTMN tour, for one) etc but I guess that's to be expected from Alice!

[daytripper63]

I loved the book Golf Monster. I can use some tips on golf. LOL
I do appreciate the fact that Alice gave up being drunk to be a better Golfer.
I am Oh So Happy...he is still here to sing and play. I think he has just recently decided that his life is set his way now. Golf,Music,Family,Golf.

[Shoesalesman]

He uses the lessons he has learned on the course to apply to his life.

Agreed. A very holistic approach to life Alice has.

[Gunner]

I personally think that 'Golf Monster' is an attempt to provide fans with the conspicuously absent and long overdue auto-biography of this complete iconic rock legend and at the same time disguise it somewhat as a 'golf tips' thingy. In doing this, he can kind of get away with not having to do this 'tell all' book that I believe he is (and has been) putting off for his own reasons.

Let's face it; this is one celebrity that could write an auto biography book that would make most seem quite tame, there must be untold stories to make hair curl, he’s done it all really; burned the candle at both ends and then set fire to the middle! I read once that he said he can’t do ‘that’ book until some people are dead!! Not sure how serious he was with that comment, but he then went on to add; ‘…because they might find me!’

[blackwidow2008]

[quote="Maurice]
any book will only allow the reader to see what the writer makes available and is comfortable with.[/quote]

That is very true. We will never, ever get the entire story. I am reasonably happy with GM but I still have a niggling doubt if the text in Me Alice was genuinely Alice's words. I thought, even back in those days, he didn't swear as much or as strongly as in that text. However, some of you more seasoned fans may disagree with me.

[A_MichaelUK]

>I still have a niggling doubt if the text in Me Alice was genuinely Alice's words.

There's some interesting information at http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/books/b-mealice.php, if you haven't seen it.

[mattcoddington]

try here

[Give the kid a break]

ha!
I love the story of how Alice shot Neal. It simply shows how we all did incredibly stupid things when we were younger that make for very funny stories after we've become "mature" and "responsible".

I'ts amazing that we survived our teenage years.

I enjoyed Golf Monster, although I did breeze by a lot of the golf info, it's just not my game. I've never read "me, Alice", is it a good read even though some of the info is supposed to be incorrect?

[SKULLBOY]

I'd say that less than a third of Golf Monster is actually about golf. Even the Golf chapters aren't completely about golf. I really like Alice's voice is very good in this book, and I feel like we are just sitting around and he's telling me stories. I had the pleasure last year of just BSing with him for a while, and the guy in the book and they guy in person really are one in the same.

[Headbangers Ball]

I agree the ending to 'Me Alice' - to be continued in ten years, is nothing more than a glib footnote as mentioned above. The whole book is almost 'thrown together' and very badly written.

On the other hand, I enjoyed Golf Monster (when I read it some time ago!). It was thoughtfully written and its amazing that Alice has come into contact with so many many different people. And to be fair, I don't think anyone REALLY expected any juicy revelations in that book!!

I dare say he could write an absolute gripping No. 1 bestseller - but probably at the expense of hurting his own family and others. So, its my guess he has chosen to keep his mouth shut forever and take all the secrets to his grave.

Personally, I didn't mind the 'golfy' bits in GM - and on my recommendation, my brother in law bought a copy (yes, he is a golfer!) - and he really enjoyed it!

I asked for (and got) a copy of Slash's book last Christmas that I was really looking forward to reading. I managed half of it, and then it got shelved - I just got bored with it. Something I thought would be impossible for someone of Slash's past lifestyle!

I guess the point I am trying to make is that sometimes too much information isn't always the best answer, or the most entertaining. Keep 'em guessing!

[Gunner]

I dare say he could write an absolute gripping No. 1 bestseller - but probably at the expense of hurting his own family and others. So, its my guess he has chosen to keep his mouth shut forever and take all the secrets to his grave.

Absolutely! No need to add anything to that.

[blackwidow2008]

try here

Thanks for the link - the other one didn't work. Interesting. It bears out my theory that the writer wrote in a style he felt would shock the readers and not that Alice actually spoke like that.

[blackwidow2008]

I guess the point I am trying to make is that sometimes too much information isn't always the best answer, or the most entertaining. Keep 'em guessing!

Yep, I would concur with that myself.