Roger Waters: The Man Behind the Wall

It was just a matter of time someone would cash in on fans like me who have been waiting for a book about the great Roger Waters. And while the book starts off about his solo work and then goes into his family history (but is more about the state of life around his father's and grandfather's times than it is about his own childhood), the bulk of the book is about Pink Floyd and even devotes some chapters solely to Syd Barrett. Everything is stuff we all pretty much knew already. It is just a Pink Floyd fan doing an essay based on their own collection of Pink Floyd books. But to call this a book 'Roger Water' is misleading as is the cover art. There is nothing in here about the recent reviving of The Wall show and nothing about Roger Waters doing so. The book doesn't even seem to be written by a Waters fan but rather a Dave Gilmour sympathizer. I would expect a book with this title to be written by someone who holds Roger Waters in as high a regard as I do. As a huge fan, I am deeply disappointed. I really hope the existence of this book doesn't stop someone else from writing a proper book about the man's life and accomplishments.

Roger Waters is not easy to digest. His love, emotions and creativity echo through these pages as do his fear, anger and frustration. I see him as part of Pink Floyd, an integral part but not the finishing stroke. His life long quest for independence and recognition has lead him to be at odds with other band members, especially David Gilmour. Does one person make a band?The loss of his father in operation Shingles, part of the larger operation Overlord and D-Day has scarred Waters. I relate to that experience as my own father was caught in World War II and deftly defended his mother's house from a German tank. "Daddy's flown across the ocean, leaving just a memory..." The pain of war, loss, seeps through the music, not in the psychedilia albums, but later, and first and foremost in the "Wall. "The protagonist is "Pink." I ask myself " which one's Pink." A succession of people, images. But yes, fundamentally Roger Waters is the man behind the wall, behind the mask. Pink Floyd derive their name form an African American blues band. Interesting story , lots of pain. It's the way life goes, Waters is who he is, an enigmatic figure. Passionate, loving and angry... at one point he is upset at the audience and spits on them. He wrote the lyrics to the Wall; psychoanalysts are using the images from the wall to heal patients and if anything many folks wrote abundant papers on the subject of a mental wall as a psyche that has had it! There's a Pink in all of us : a depersonalized shadow , an angry fascist, an overbearing mother a punitive father and a puppet in the making-- on the road to recovery and personhood. Now he owns mansions and Syd Barret eclipsed who really started the band anyway.....................lol

I have read many books about Pink Floyd, some good, some bad, some indifferent. I think I now know most things written about the band. I have seen them in concert all four members, the trio and Dave's and Roger's solo concerts. I was there the night of the reunion at the 02 on May 12th 2011 when Dave joined Roger for Comfortably Numb and Nick made it a great emotional finale for Outside The Wall. In the book Thompson states "Nick came on and took his place at the vacant drum kit!" Eh no he didn't I was there, Roger introduced him, he walked on, Roger squeezed the life out of him, Nick nodded to Dave then was handed a tambourine to play Outside The Wall. I noticed at least this one glaring mistake in the book (as I was there, but I think everyone who cares about Floyd would have seen it on the internet, very sloppy and lazy me thinks) how many others were there I wonder.I was looking forward to a book on and about Roger Waters one of the most enigmatic men in the history of music. Boy was I conned. Thompson must have seen that there were many books on Pink Floyd out there and he wanted to write one too. However, he must have realised the selling point would be Roger Waters. He may have started out with that idea but what we end up with is another average book about Pink Floyd and the music. I learned nothing new from the book and learned nothing new about Roger Waters. Mr Thompson has been very clever in his decision to title a book about Pink Floyd as a book about Roger Waters. If you haven't read many books about Pink Floyd it's ok but if you expect it to do what it says on the tin, forget it. That said the final chapter (regardless of the glaring mistake) is probably the best bit of the book.

Excellent book enjoyed reading it .

Received book and well packaged. Would buy again, thanks.