Book Review: Tommyland by Tommy Lee with Anthony Bozza - Page 2

He certainly doesn't pull any punches in these pages.  He talks about all the above-mentioned parts of his life and more.  You meet some interesting people along the way, friends, associates and wannabes alike, several of whom were part of his process of putting his life down on paper.  For example, after warning us to hold onto our hats as Tommyland starts, he and co-writer Bozza introduce us to the British editor assigned to oversee the book.  His contributions to the writing, or at least his attempts at editing, are sometimes placed on the pages, as if they are sticky-notes.  Poor guy — he really didn't stand a chance at having control over the situation.  But the resulting comments are very amusing.

Mr. Bozza makes his presence known with footnotes scattered throughout the book. While he considers himself a fact-checker in Tommyland, a task he does cheerfully and with accuracy, his previous works show him to be a writer that understands music and musicians with the ability to get to the nut of each subject.  Such is the case in this book as well.  He and Tommy clearly became comrades-in-arms during the five months that it took for them to write the book and it's his freewheeling style that helps make this both informational and entertaining to read.

Now, what kind of autobiography would this be without illustrations in it?  In Tommyland, along the edges of the pages are drawings.  Remember those little flipbooks you would get as a kid?  Thumb through the book, watch the figures and voila! There you have a nifty pictorial.  It's very cool and something to do when you just have a few minutes to spare.

There aren't as many pictures of Tommy in the book as some may wish for.  But the ones that are there are choice and unlike other bios I've read, these aren't the standard publicity pix.  Instead they are the type you would find in a personal photo album, which is a lovely touch. 

By the way, I would like to go on record right now about something.  I have an idea about one of the snapshots and I know that if it were possible to follow through on this, it would be a very effective public service project for the greater good of all womankind.  I think that one specific picture should be blown up to poster size and copies sent out to every OB/GYN clinic in the world, enough so that each examination room could have one to put up on the ceiling over the table with the stirrups.  It would make those yearly pap smears an easier exam for all parties involved and I'll bet my bottom dollar that more women would go for these very necessary visits when they should, instead of putting them off as many of us do.  Just thinking about how many lives this could save is mind-boggling and I hope that the powers-that-be are paying attention. 

Article Author: tink

Formerly a Public Relations/Artist Development maven in the music biz, I
am now a freelance journalist specializing in the entertainment industry.
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