Stream of Unconsciousness

What made the experience of listening to Waging Heavy Peace the most enjoyable?

That Neil never raised his head from the typewriter the whole time

What other book might you compare Waging Heavy Peace to, and why?

Ulysses by James Joyce as it is the complete opposite

Which scene did you most enjoy?

And now another note from Pure Tone, unashamed product placement

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When he talked about his son and his love for him

Any additional comments?

You will never read another book like this. Like on the road, written on one roll of paper.

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7 people found this helpful

A comic tale, with no head or tail.

First let me tell you that I like Neil Young’s music, I have bought some of his albums, some I like some I do not, but I have followed his music through the years . He has written some influential songs, that are part of my life. So I wanted to know more about the period when he wrote them and the political, historical influences, or personal reasons. A history of the man’s life, but what I got was a sales promotion of a new software to improve sound on downloadable music; the name of the book is based on this product “Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream” refers to his efforts to convince Apple corporation to buy his software and of course the prioritary hardware necessary to play the way excellent solution to the global problem of MP3, at least three chapters were about this with more interspersed deep deep into the book, second topic trains sets especially about the company he owns that makes them, and all the improvements he has made to track controls, and how trains are not what they use to be... third the amazing thirty five vintage classic cars he owns and the new electric engine he is developing and has tested in his ranch, followed by ramblings about girlfriends, good looking hippie girls, wives, good looking hippie girls, wives, and back to girlfriends, with no chronology or attempt to order of any kind. music is mentioned and discussed but very little is of true value because of the lack of focus or editing of any kind, stream of unconsciousness is what we are presented with and moments or commercial breaks on all de products Neil is producing.
First names of people are given as if we all knew who they were, people that overdose are immediately eulogized and canonized, everyone that is mentioned is a great person that are loved and appreciated for ever for having been part of his life, corporations unless owned by Neil are mostly evil.
Of politics I learned that he likes Reagan because no one is totally bad, totally cosmic man, totally cosmic.
Neil's idea of religion is that he will pray with those that pray but he believes in the forest and the moon and so he believes he is a pagan and he does not understand why christians did not like pagans; a while ago a friend gave him a book about the King Arthur but with female characters so he believes she is the pagan god, way too cosmic for me.

You get my drift this is a world where Neil is the center and you are the buyer of what he wants to sell, it is a hobby for him, a thing to do while he adjust to not taking drugs or drinking, if it is less than substandard, well he never did it with malice, it's just one of those thing that the muse demands of great artists, cosmic artists, but If you need proof just read the quote and you will see he never thinks that we will have to read his egotistical regurgitations and pay real money for the privilege of his disregard.

“I do enjoy writing, and I hope someone gets something interesting out of this book. I already have. Now, If I ever have to write a book that is not about me, I may be totally stumped and have writer's block. We will see. Writing is very convenient, has a low expense and is a great way to pass the time. I highly recommend it to any old rocker who is out of cash and doesn't know what to do next. You could hire someone to write it for you if you can't write it yourself. That doesn't seem to matter. Just don't hire some sweaty hack who asks you questions for years and twists them into his own vision of what is right or wrong. Try to avoid doing that.”
― Neil Young, Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream

If you would like to read a biography of a musician of this period that is interesting and well written Society's Child by Janis Ian is the book; a true child of the sixties.

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7 people found this helpful

Disjointed narrative.

Quite a good read. He is a musical genius,he should stick to that. The narrative sometimes sounds like it was written by a 7 year old!

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3 people found this helpful

An interesting ramble

I'm a Neil Young fan, so downloading this was an automatic.



It's not an auto-biography - it's more akin to Bob Dylan's 'Chronicles' - where the author tells stories from the old days and views his opinions.



It's a bit like Neil's albums - he has so many of different types, it's impossible to like them all. Each chapter of this book feels a little like that. He also talks a lot about his Puretone idea.



I enjoyed it - but I was hoping for more biographical stuff.

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6 people found this helpful

Still Young at Heart

Being a huge Neil Young fan I couldn't wait to begin listening to this book that had somehow escaped me until now. I was taken by the accent of the reader as it actually sounded like Neil. On finishing part one I was delighted to hear that it was Keith Carradine, one of my favourite actors, reading the book......it just felt right.

Relaxing back I was transported gently through the life and times of Neil Young, his music, guitars, friends, train sets, family and a host of incredible cars. It is interesting, as he often mentions, that he is stone cold sober throughout the writing of this book and for the first time in many, many years. This is after a warning from his Doctor. Throughout the book it is obvious that Neil is deeply worried about dementia, something that his father suffered from, and this is the number one reason for his sobriety.

Neil is worried and annoyed by the lack of sound quality in modern forms of music which is so easily downloaded. He is working on a format which allows the listener the quality they deserve when downloading and is very passionate about this.

If you are a fan of Neil's music and whether your knowledge of his life runs deep or shallow this book will inform and intrigue you about a wonderfully gifted musician and person. If you are not a fan of Neil Young's music then you might not get it! by Jennifer Faul

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5 people found this helpful

On Shakey Ground

The subtitle "a hippie dream" sums it up really. Neil Young gives up the booze and weed, loses his musical muse and finds himself pondering the meaning of life in sobriety. On the wagon (hey -does that sound like a song title?) he rolls along dispensing product placement for his iTunes competitor, his link volt car, his toy trains and reviews his life, career and run-ins with his friends and co-musicians. As a fan, I came away a little disappointed with his shallowness. But sympathized with a man who exhibits contrition in his writing for waking up from a dream rather late in life. Keith Carradine tries nobly to inject enthusiasm into the reading of some rather dull ramblings. He is obviously a bigger fan than I am. It's shocking to see what The South Californian lifestyle has done to industrious Scots-Canadian Genes. Neil made a lot of money but didn't "quit this crazy scene" as Joni Mitchell once opined. It shows.

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6 people found this helpful

Very Neil

Where does Waging Heavy Peace rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

there was a fair bit of repetition in this book, a lot about audio quality. But I like his approach and he wrote well about his family. I would have liked more about the recording of his albums but he did it his way. Worth a listen.

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3 people found this helpful

A life well traveled

If you could sum up Waging Heavy Peace in three words, what would they be?

Amazing life story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Neil young..... because it's about him

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Not much

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Story of a true legend

Any additional comments?

Well worth the money

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2 people found this helpful

Great story, well read.

Loved the stories, easy to read a bit at a time. Lots of colour in the narrative.

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A conversation with Neil

I’m not so sure this book would be as good if I read it. Neil’s reflections skip around and repeat themselves but as an audiobook it comes off as having several conversations with Neil. Keith Carradine’s reading and voice is perfect for the material.

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