Light my Fire- My life with The Doors
by- Ray Manzarek
4 out of 5 stars


When discussing the topic of rock star biographies, this book might not come to mind. But, it should. Ray Manzarek is the keyboardist for The Doors, which was a classic rock group from California. They had a few international hits and made a very deep mark on the history of rock. Ray, himself, was from Chicago. He lived the normal life growing up in the 1940's and 50's. Being inspired by the blues and jazz, he wanted to form his own little band, which was a small success for him. But after moving to California, his life was to change forever. Now, before I move on, I should warn that this book is not at all for anyone under 15, due to its use of bad words, and lots of them.

Ray Manzarek moved to California for college, attending UCLA film school from 1962-1965. He was always in some sense bohemian; a deep thinker. He there met Jim Morrison, which his autobiography focusing extensively. Jim Morrison was the singer for the band. A self proclaimed bohemian poet himself, Jim Morrison had written poetry all his life. With the books very descriptive narration, you can get a clear picture of everything that is being said in the book. Especially if you’re a Doors fan yourself, then this book will be one you can’t put down.

As you read this book, it follows Ray's life up to the day he meets Jim, then it follows the band. From the first gig they played to death of Jim, he described how it felt to be a star. But as life goes, everything has a bad side. Jim Morrison died from heart failure, due to his excessive drinking. Jim could drink for hours on end; days on end! And Ray with the rest of band would always have to keep their eye on him. As he tells you these stories, you're drawn in by his detailed accounts of his past and sense of timing with his little jokes he slips in. The time that the band was at their height was the late 1960's. Psychedelic rock and of course, hippies, were also at their height. But, The Doors were not a hippie band. The songs they wrote were dark, edgy and very trippy. And some also were very provocative.




This book is meant for people who know some knowledge of this band, or at least rock. If you know about rock and its history to some degree, then this book would make sense, and be extremely interesting and entertaining to some extent. It described the rock n’ roll life style and all of its dark sides that aren’t mentioned by the media, to the point where he paints a picture of it in your mind. I suggest this book to any classic rock fan because of all the inside information that was never known to people who were fans of The Doors or classic rock fans themselves. It told us all about the experiences of playing in front of 50,000 plus people and the shows that they played were it went horribly wrong due to Jim's intoxication. But I should reiterate, it is not meant for anyone under 15. Ray Manzarek is very descriptive and sometimes graphic, which could be offensive to some readers.



This book, Light My Fire-My life with The Doors, described Ray Manzareks' life with one of the most influential and controversial bands to ever exist in America up to Jim’s eventual suspicious death in Paris and after that as well. With its storytelling and facts never known to the public about all four members of the Doors, I’d highly suggest this to any fan of The Doors and classic rock.