THE LIZARD KING: The Essential Jim Morrison

by Jerry Hopkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1992

Highly slanted but involving bio of Jim Morrison. If Morrison were around today, he would probably chuckle at the gargantuan size he's been blown up to. Here, Hopkins (Yoko Ono, 1987, etc.) contributes his own puffery: ""Jim Morrison was a kind of cultural superman, larger than life, moving little girls (and many men) to sexual delight and intellectuals to profundity with equal ease and dispatch."" Hopkins, who coauthored (with Danny Sugerman) a bestseller about the Doors (No One Gets Out Alive, 1980), tells us that his new book contains fresh information, plus ""stuff I've learned since the first book,"" plus a ""select collection...of interviews."" Unfortunately, these were all conducted near the end of Morrison's life, when his alcoholism was full-blown (the Doors had to hire a baby-sitter to take care of him), his music career was on a downward are, and his acting ambitions had been thwarted because he was considered too unreliable. Hopkins gives us the standard Morrison biography: Navy brat; good at English; high I.Q.; early proclivity to show off;, and serendipitous meeting with Ray Manzarek, who suggested they form a band even though Jim had no experience. Full coverage is given to Morrison's death as well. Was it a heart attack? Heroin? Murder? The riddle remains. Meanwhile, Hopkins greases his narrative's forward movement with dollops of seuz: Morrison's penile salute at a Miami concert; the FBI arrest of Morrison as the singer left an airplane on which he had been harassing stewardesses (Hopkins on the subsequent trial: ""on the cockamamie testimony of these two airheads, Jim was convicted....""). For the cover price, you could get a couple CDs of the real thing--but buy the book if you're a true believer.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 225

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1992

Categories: NONFICTION