The Long Hard Road Out of Hell - Hardcover

Manson, Marilyn; Strauss, Neil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060392584 ISBN 13: 9780060392581

Publisher: HarperEntertainment, 1998

Synopsis

The best-selling autobiography of America’s most controversial celebrity icon, Marilyn Manson (with a bonus chapter not in the hardcover).

In his twenty-nine years, rock idol Manson has experienced more than most people have (or would want to) in a lifetime. Now, in his shocking and candid memoir, he takes readers from backstage to gaol cells, from recording studios to emergency rooms, from the pit of despair to the top of the charts, and recounts his metamorphosis from a frightened Christian schoolboy into the most feared and revered music superstar in the country. Illustrated with dozens of exclusive photographs and featuring a behind-the-scenes account of his headline-grabbing Dead to the World tour.

About this title

Review:

One doesn't usually think of rock stars as insightful, but, against all odds, glam-trash superstar Marilyn Manson has written a book that is actually an intelligent look at growing up. This autobiographical bildungsroman brings out the creepiest aspects of childhood, conveying the terror and fascination that young Marilyn (then called Brian) felt when looking through his grandfather's pornography, getting his first French kiss, and being taunted by the girls he wanted to "date." Manson has the benefit of having grown up as an outcast and loser and then having become a star without forgetting what he went through. This gives him an incredibly broad perspective, which he brings to bear on his ordinary life in order to convey the more potent and frightening moments that shaped him into the pale-skinned weirdo that the Christian Right loves to hate. Best of all, Manson is shockingly honest, and portrays himself as occasionally stupid, self-centered, over-sensitive, ignoble, and, mostly, highly fallible and human. It's a long way from the auto-hagiographies that other stars have written, and it's easily one of the best reads in celebrity bio. --James DiGiovanna

From the Back Cover:

From the world's most controversial rock star comes his shocking, confessional and revealing life story. In The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Marilyn Manson candidly and vividly recounts his metamorphosis from a frightened Christian schoolboy into the most feared and revered celebrity in America.

A cross-dressing grandfather, a sexually abusive neighbor, a brainwashing faith healer and a schoolteacher searching for satanic messages in rock songs are only a few of the characters who populate his bizarre childhood.

From backstage to jail cells, from recording studios to emergency rooms, from the pit of despair to the top of the charts, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell chronicles Manson's rise to fame at the price of his humanity and his descent through the circles of Dante's Inferno: Lust, Violence and Treachery.

His story is illustrated with dozens of previously unpublished photographs, and it features a behind-the-scenes account of his headline-grabbing Dead to the World Tour -- vilified, banned and protested by politicans, preachers and parents alike.

In his 29 years, Manson has experienced more than most people have -- or would want to -- in a lifetime.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperEntertainment
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0060392584
• ISBN 13: 9780060392581
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288