Rating: 
Summary: Sad but Good
Review: A sad but inspirational book. Maybe not for the top of your reading list, but one to consider. If you enjoyed "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", "My Fractured Life", and "Father Joe" then this could be the next on your list.
Rating:
Summary: This was a sad, but good little book.
Review: I first learned of Peter Barton's death in the quarterly alumni news letter that I receive from the Loomis School.I ordered the book when I saw mention of it. I was several years behind Peter, but knew him since it was not a large school.He was an athletic and confident senior, as I remember him, and oddly after all these years I can still recall his face.The book details his life with candor,and I enjoyed reading his story; and I was saddened to learn of his death from a carcinoma.I thought the book was well worth the time. There are a few denigrating reviews in this list at Amazon, but I think they miss the point. He may have been fortunate, or lucky, in many ways, but he appreciated that- many of us do not.I do indeed recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: some things aren't so clear cut
Review: I have to say, I bought this somewhat expecting to be uplifted, and to gain some insight on life, death, dying. I'm not much for self-help type stuff, but the blurbs of a "life well lived" definitely appealed to me. I've always run full-tilt towards......whatever presented itself! Having just lost my dearest friend, and pooch, and being single in my early 30's (in LA, no less), heading home for T-day to take on aging grandparents with fading memory, crazy in-laws, etc.....
strangely enough, this was perfect for the plane ride back to LA. At times, I became a bit annoyed by the bad-boy swagger of Barton, yet I realized three hours into the flight that I had dog-eared more pages for later reference, insight, or raw truthfulness, than I normally do. If you can set aside a difference in lifestyles - because he truly lived a unique life - some of the insights and hindsights are truly raw and real. This is a strange book in that it's a good, easy read, with nuggets of wisdom that are absolutely blatant and brilliant. This seems to be someone who - maybe to some of his peers - didn't appreciate all that he had. Yet, reading this book, he clearly appreciated all the moments - good and bad, for what they were. And this book made me re-affirm my joy of leaving the airport and putting the top down on the car, cracking open a great bottle of wine, appreciating my neighbors: all things I do normally, but things I'll make sure never to take for granted.
Huh, not sure this is a good review, but it's the way the book made me feel. So, there you have it. It's good reading and good advising. Not so neatly wrapped up, but, maybe it's not supposed to be.
Rating:
Summary: One Man's Thoughts on Life and Death
Review: I picked this book after hearing about it on the way to work one morning on Imus. I would say it falls into the same vein of Tuesdays with Morrie and How We Die in that shows the courage of accepting our own eventual demise. I actually have picked this book up and down over the course of the months as it sometimes leaves some deep thinking on the subject. What is very moving is that, as Peter's condition worsens, he is more concerned for how his family feels rather than himself. A good book that shows that life is to be lived for the moment because it is gone before you blink an eye.
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Summary: Why is this book not on the bestsellers?
Review: Laurence Shames and Peter Barton have written one of the best books since Tuesdays with Morrie. I enjoyed every page and found Mr. Barton's life and dying experience to be funny, sad and touching. We are given the opprotunity to see inside of a man who worked hard and had "everything" only to die at a young age. However, he provides the reader with insight as he goes through the dying process. What he learned about his parents, his wife, children, himself and life. What really becomes important when you know your time is limited and how it effects how you send that time.After reading this book my only questions was why has someone not gotten the word out about this touching story? If you like Tuesday with Morrie you will love Not Fade Away..you go way from reading the book with a greater knowledge of what we all will have to face day. Mr. Barton has blessed us with his experience. READ IT-- and spread the word!
Rating: 
Summary: There is more to life than being a yuppie?
Review: Maybe I'm going to be the only one out there who sees this book as one more act of pampering to a guy that was born during a time when you could screw around in Aspen until your 30s and still get a Harvard MBA, ride the great bull market of the 80s and 90s, make a fortune in a ridiculously short amount of time, get the girl of your dreams, and hang out with celebrities and media moguls to boot. And what a luxury to be able to have a writer extoll your virtues for your friends and family before your untimely death; an account relatively unbalanced by reflections of painful learning experiences, regret, humility in the face of enormous fortune, notions of how one made have made life better (or worse) for others outside of one's immediate family, etc. I found this 'life affirming' book quietly disturbing; a high gloss two dimensional portrait of another yuppie, his unknowingly self centered and self congratulatory values (heavily pandered to by the baby boomer writer), extolled for 'living large' rather than living reflectively or compassionately, and still, up to the moment of his death, unchallenged in his obliviousness to the shadow he and his self congratulatory-generation still cast. My laments to the Barton family. Although, after reading this book I am more anxious than ever to see the boomers, and their views on what life is all about, finally fade away.
Rating:
Summary: Peter Barton: A brief but very full life!
Review: Pete and I were classmates at Loomis. The recommendation to read his book came during our recent 35th reunion. I have two observations after reading it: the first, is my regret at not having kept up with Pete. He lived his life fully and always had a lot of fun. He was irreverent, a trait I admire. The second is his admonition to slow down and enjoy the "now" that life offers. It has given me pause as I reflect upon my own life and values. While most in my generation have assumed responsibilities that require more than the narrow focus of living entirely for the moment, Pete's experiences in the last year of his life show that responsibility and enjoying the now can go hand in hand: after all, today may be all you have.
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Summary: Why We Are Living
Review: Peter Barton died of cancer at the age of fifty one. He and Lawrence Shamis have written a short book that describes his life changing battle with cancer and his struggle to accept death.
You come to know Peter and understand how his battle with cancer changed him. Peter is an experimenter, an adventurer, and an optimist. His story is worth reading for those trying to come to grips with why we are living.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in awhile.
Review: Peter Barton may not be your model for a perfect life, he just lived his life to the fullest. Everyone should read this book and realize why they are here and what they should do with the time they have. Read it cover to cover in 4 hours, then did the same thing 2 days later. Couldn't put it down. Thanks Peter Barton and family and Laurence Shames for this story. I owe you one.
Rating:
Summary: A READERS DIGEST TYPE OF LIFE...CONDENSED
Review: This book is about Peter Barton and he has written half of it and the biography part is by Laurence Shames. My personal philosophy is pretty well set in stone, but for a younger person, this book should be a good primer in how to live...well. Mr. Barton tried to do many things and did do them well. His serious occupation did not develop until his early 40's (along with his marriage) and the story of how he arrived there is very interesting. He was responsible for much of what you see on cable television today and his ideas of what to look for in finding a job for yourself is enlightening. His attitude of life is superb and you should get a lot out of reading about his stairway to the stars.
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