Not Fade Away

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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: I could not put this book down
Review: I was walking through the book store and stumbled upon Not Fade Away. I am very thankful that Petter Barton was generous enough to write this book. I started the book and didn't move until I stopped the read. The book is most definitely worth reading , no matter your point in life. I think it would be a superb graduation gift to a young person. It disturbs me to read the small group of negative book reviews . How could anyone with a heart not thank Peter Barton and his family for sharing this journey.

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Summary: This book will follow you
Review: It was bound to happen: Now that the Baby Boom generation is ballooning itself toward that good night, there is -- and will continue to be -- a whole new energy in the topic of what it means to die, and what it means to be dying. En masse, we're beginning to lose our loved ones, each other, and ourselves.

It's absolutely consistent with Peter Barton's life that he tells the story of his last project with a certain amount of "yee-ha!" to his spirit and voice. And I think it's wonderfully consistent with the spirit of our generation that there should be a heartbreakingly beautiful book about dying that is more about that absolute over-the-top thrill of living.

I hope it becomes one of The Most Important Books of our times, setting the tone for the way we as a generation choose to experience the next four or more decades.

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Summary: A life-changing book
Review: It's hard to describe the mixture of emotions that accompany reading this masterful book by Laurence Shames and Peter Barton. It was Barton's knowledge of his impending death that was the impetus for the book. Barely fifty, with young children, a happy marriage and tons of money, Barton chose to face his mortality through leaving a memoir. Shames became Barton's collaborator, co-author, interpreter and ultimately friend. There are moments of humor, heartbreaking sadness and revelation. It would be impossible to read this book without evaluating your own feelings toward life and death, family, friends, happiness and setting the right priorities for yourself. It's a brave and beautiful book that shouldn't be missed.

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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!

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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.

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Summary: Interesting, heavy, and well written.
Review: Not Fade Away was given to me by an older friend of mine after we had a conversation about Death and its meaning. He loved it.

I really liked it.

Peter Barton lived a life richer in drama, accomplishment, struggle, and intensity than most everyone. His memoirs that chronicle his journey to death are enlightening, funny at times, and very heavy at others.

I appreciated the reminder this book offers. It helped re-remind me that those things in life we tend to take for granted (our health, our relationships, the beauty around us everyday) are so very valuable.

As a spiritualist, this book will be interesting; you'll see a very objective, very rational corporate raider lean spiritual.

As an atheist/agnostic/rationalist, this book will be interesting; you'll see a very objective, very rational corporate raider lean spiritual.

Like they say, "there are no atheists in foxholes". Not Fade Away reminds us why...

A worthwhile read.

Enjoy...

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Summary: I bow to this story.
Review: One thing that attracted me to this autobiography was, the way that Peter Barton Embraced his life not only when he was healthy, but as well as when he was diagnosed with cancer. The way he describes the terrible side of cancer, and how it can easily put a person into an enormous depression. However, he chose to fight it and face up to it. He admits freely the fact that he was scared at times, but also grateful at others. Finally, his story will make you realise how wonderful life can be, even when the road gets tough. Unfortunately, Peter Barton is no longer among us, but I am sure that his story will show you, just how much he respected and loved every moment of his life. It is an honour for me to recommend this book to anyone who is looking for inspirational writing.

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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.