Long Time Gone: The Autobiography of David Crosby

Wow, no reviews at all from 150+ readers...
So here's mine -

The co-writer, Carl Gottlieb, has done a very good job of organising Crosby's recollections, providing factual context and folding in others' comments as distinct and contrasting voices into a coherent, insightful and surprisingly honest narrative (unlike, for example, Grace Slick's autobiography of random and largely thoughtless recollections). This is a readable and intelligent account of Crosby's checkered life to middle age, highlighting his addictions. It's nevertheless not a self-aware account, particularly in terms of Crosby's relationships, which he attributes to people wanting 'to be with him'. Crosby's lifestyle, in fact, seems to have been shaped simplistically by show more identification with central character Jubal in Strangers in Heinlein's A Strange Land, a novel he strongly touted. Between the lines, the manipulative and petty features of personality come out, especially in brief mentions of those who suffered his excesses or didn't pay back his monetary generosity. It's an interesting read, but it drops the volatile figure mid-life, and says far too little about his musical life and professional relationships. I would have preferred much less on Crosby's life-long and repetitive addictions and his self-serving use of hangers-on, and much more on the music he created and on which he collaborated. show less