Rating: 
Summary: You've lit my Fire, Ray!
Review: Just as Patricia Kennealy's "Strange Days" is overwritten, Manzarek's book is definitely underwritten. But don't get me wrong - this is a great book and Ray does a great job taking us along with him down memory lane. However, Ray could and should have written more, considering he was in the most prominent band of the 1960's. Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek includes the reader on his journey from his roots in Chicago to the end of the Doors as a group in Los Angeles. Moreover, he writes to us, not at us, like some other author(s) who have written about Morrison/The Doors. I was disappointed that Manzarek did not describe to us his first visit to Morrison's grave: what did he feel? what did he think? Surely someone who spent as much time with Jim as Ray could have provided us with such insights. When he recalls the time Morrison walked into the Doors studio with a woman named Sable who had a bruised thigh and told Manzarek that Jim had hit her with a board, Manzarek doesn't even mention it to Morrison - at least he doesn't tell us in his book. Furthermore, Manzarek doesn't even go into the relationship between Morrison and Patricia Kennealy. He simply states, "she fell in love with him. Madly." That's it? How did he know this? Or does mean to imply by his choice of the word "madly" that she took it far too seriously than Morrison did? Hmm . . . I wonder. Anyhow, despite these shortcomings, the rest of his book is superb - written well with a lot of humor, honesty, and love. It is clear that Ray loved being a Door, loved the times (good and bad), and loved Jim Morrison - and he still does to this day. Ray and Jim were/are both intellects and got along very well. I would go so far to say that Ray was the only person who understood Jim, and for this reason, I think he could have written more. In any event, Ray Manzarek is my favorite member of The Doors and always will be. I recommend "Light My Fire" very highly - whether or not you are a Doors fan - it's a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Doors Remain Open
Review: Ray Manzarak was an unabashed hippie even before the word became well-known. He and UCLA Film School friend Jim Morrison grew their hair long and did drugs to enhance their artistry long before it became a national movement. "Psychedelic" was unheard of beyond LA and San Francisco circa 1965. Why, their two supporting bandmates were even encountered by chance while Manzarek attended transcendental meditation workshops. The Doors were truly ahead of their time in the mid-60s. Most radio and record people hated--or rather--didn't GET their music. The one or two people who did were shunned by the corporate sector until after the Doors had made the local LA scene at the Whisky A-Go-Go. Manzarek is truly a rare breed in the annals of rock-and-roll. He used drugs, but not to escape. He used them to enhance his music. Likewise Morrison until the sudden burden of stardom and his own personal demons started to turn Morrison into a different person. Manzarek describes the alter-ego as "Jimbo": a racist, quasi-redneck who tried to bring the band down, and ultimately will bring Jim Morrison to an untimely end in Paris in 1971. Unlike his friend Morrison, Manzarek was not starstruck--he was just having a good time and appreciated the fame and fortune as an accompaniment and appreciation for his artistry. He is therefore not bitter about the industry or the band itself, despite any differences that he may have had with any of the members. Rightfully, he leaves the dirty laundry in the closet where it belongs. Where Manzarek is bitter is in discussion of the filmmaker Oliver Stone, who made "The Doors" movie. Apparently the film took creative spin a little too far for Mr M's liking, and he had a few rants in Stone's direction. He also takes a few self-righteous jabs at the Establishment--Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, et al. Manzarek is not the greatest writer, but he does have excellent recollection for detail. He gets a little bogged down in the rants, and has a love affair with his own intellectual influences, but otherwise I feel it is a very fair representation of the growth of the Doors. It's not a tell-all cutthroat story, but it's not a gloss-over, either. Any true Doors fan will appreciate that.
Rating:
Summary: Suspend your disbeliefs
Review: I enjoyed this book. It was well-written and fun to read, with cool pictures inside. However, after researching the Doors and reading articles about them, I have learned that Ray Manzarek has a reputation for fabricating and glamourizing the truth. If you read this book, try to sort out what you don't believe. Many things in the book did happen, such as the Miami concert. I thought John Densmore's(drummer) book was more believable, realistic and better, but this one is definetly worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Damn Neat Book
Review: Hey Guys, Absolutely fantastic book and I am sure everybody who is a fan of Morrison Bhai will love it! A must read. A fan of Doors and a lover of Rock! Mr. Pain.
Rating:
Summary: Tripping down the 60's with the Doors
Review: A fascinating walk down the drinks, drugs and flower-strewn path of 60's rock n roll. Manzarek has written an autobiography that captures not only the birth of The Doors, but the language, philosophy and anti-Establishment mentality of the times. He spares no one but his wife yet manages to rehabilitate Jim Morrison's bad-boy persona into one of a genius post-beat poet who falls into the dual crevasse's of alcoholism and psychological despair (though that was always evident in Morrison's writings). Particularly moving is his epilogue where he writes about Jim Morrison in such a personal, intimate way, that one gets a visceral feel for the qualities and humanity that have Manzarek still grieving the loss of his friend 30 years later.
Rating:
Summary: Back when music was good
Review: Many interesting new tidbits about the band. Find out about Mr. Manzarek's upbringing in Chicago, his days at UCLA film school, founding The Doors, playing at the London Fog, etc. An overall good book.
Rating:
Summary: a memoir from the 60s
Review: Ray Manzarek writes pretty well and having lived and played with Jim Morrision he gives his view of the times. The book is pretty entertaining and Ray paints a beautiful picture of those times. Some may argue that his views are more marketing than facts. The jury is out in this issue. John Densmore's book of the times came out a few years ago, but John seems bitter about the times. There are many books written on the Doors and a lot of websites will have links and more information. Books I would recommended for reading about the Doors times would be "Break on Through " by James Rioran and Jerry Prochnicky. Ofcourse the book "no One Gets out of alive" is what brought the Doors in recent times into popular culture. While we are on this subject, the movie Doors was good in the sense that it popularised the Doors but Oliver Stone , as usual, distorts history and portrays Jim as a drunk and a wild man. Jim Morrison was different. He was very well read and his peotry certainl 'breaks on through'. One book I would recommend would be 'Wonderland Avenue' by Danny Sugarman.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book reads like a 15 year old's idea of what sounds intellectual and spiritual. If his key-board playing was as awkward as his writing, the Doors never would have made it. There are bits of info of interest to Doors fans. But I got sick of Ray knocking John Densmore. (I personally liked him knocking Oliver Stone. Stone committed serious libel with the movie JFK, and I think in a just world, should be rotting in jail now for it, or have had to have made a big settlement.) I saw Ray last year give an intimate performance at Muldoon's Irish Pub in Newport Beach. He played Doors riffs on the piano. Told stories about Jim and the Doors. And it wasn't much publicized, so he performed to a small crowd. It was a real treat. And he did knock Oliver Stone when he talked. But he praised John Densmore. His book was just out, and I wonder if he'd gotten flack for being mean to Densmore in the book, and was making amends. I was cringing when he mentioned Densmore, because I thought, "Here come the insults." But he was actually nice about Densmore when he spoke. Too bad he wasn't nice about Densmore in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: You've got to be kidding me
Review: This was the worst take on The Doors that I have read...(and I have read well over a dozen books on the band). It is clear that Ray's main interest was to make a buck on the experiences he had in his 30s. His treatment of John Densmore is inexcusable and his mentions of where one can buy certain recordings within the editorial text was highly unprofessional. Real Doors fans will find Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's book "Strange Days" to be a much more telling look into Morrison's life.
Rating:
Summary: Great story - but biased and not well written
Review: When writing a biography, the failure to admit mistakes on your own part is dishonest. It is not the way Ray approached this book and I almost wish I hadn't read it. It's about a subject that has been a big influence on me and I was greatly dissapointed. Ray's a great musician, but not a good writer. If you're a big, big fan of the doors then you'd probably find it worthwhile but not enjoy it outside the inside perspective and stories about Jim. Otherwise, don't bother. Robby doesn't get much ink, other than being a great musician. His dislike for John is quite clear and sad he resorts to this immaturity. I enjoyed John's book more because it seemed more honest. Ray portrays himself as being so hip, without having made any mistakes, Jim's greatest friend, and Dorothy (Ray's wife) was absolutely perfect. He claims Jim fell into the wrong crowd and basically claims that if Jim would've continued to smoke pot with him and not drink with his party buddies then he would've been fine. His inability to look back upon such great creation with constructive criticism is too bad.
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