Rich Weidman

The Beat Generation FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Angelheaded Hipsters by Rich Weidman is a grouping of the Beat history in a FAQ type format. Weidman is a travel writer based in Central Florida. He is the author of The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock (Backbeat Books, 2011). Rich received his B.A. in English from Stetson University and his M.A. in English/Film Studies from the University of Florida.

I am not much of a fan of FAQ style books. I can appreciate the ease of looking up information by subject rather than trying to find it in a timeline. Weidman does make good use of subjects to divide the book into sections. Main players of the movement are covered as well as Beat influences. Historical events and places are covered like the Six Gallery and Ginsberg's first reading of Howl. Kerouac is given a fair share of the book along with Burroughs. I was disappointed by the coverage of women in the book. Lenore Kandel is just given a passing mention.

This is not really a book to be read cover to cover. It is meant as a reference, like a FAQ, to answer questions or interests you might have on the subject. The information is not groundbreaking or new, but it is plentiful. The chapters are broken down to allow easy reference, but as an ebook the search function is a greater help. A good reference and convenient book to have when reading or research the Beat period and its major players.




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Google The Doors and you will find any number of Rock ‘n’ Roll websites with rock fans wanting to know more about The Doors or have their questions about the band or Jim Morrison answered. Everything from what books did Jim Morrison read to what really happened in Miami, or what are The Doors doing today? Rich Weidman’s, “The Doors FAQ”, steps into that niche and answers those questions for the casual rock fan all the way to The Doors aficionado.

As soon as you open “The Doors FAQ” you realize it’s a unique book, the most obvious is that it’s formatted like a FAQ (frequently asked questions) found on most websites in that it doesn’t approach The Doors chronologically but is divided up like a FAQ by subject, with short informative answers. You’ll easily find the answers to who The Doors members were, Jim Morrison’s literary influences, the musical influences of The Doors, how The Doors got their name, Doors singles that reached number 1, Doors songs used in movies, in short, any question a fan could have about The Doors is explored in “The Doors FAQ.”

The formatting of “The Doors FAQ” instantly makes it an easily accessible resource for fans, whether they’re newer fans or older fans, or should I say fans from previous generations. Each chapter starts with a question and goes on to answer it in a concise manner. But don’t let brevity fool you, each chapter and answer is fully informative and even goes deeper than most other books about The Doors, whether they’re biographies, memoirs, or resources on some aspect of Doors history. I’ve been a Doors fan for thirty years and I was surprised at some of the new information I discovered in its pages, such as former members of Rick and the Ravens, Ray Manzarek’s band that eventually morphed into The Doors, or the identity of the “unknown female bass player” that recorded on the nascent Doors World Pacific demos. In the summaries of literary or musical influences or biographies or synopsis’ you won’t find any rote regurgitations from other books. Weidman has done his research and finds facts, quotes and other archival information, availing himself of the most recent and up to date as possible materials available, and his writing doesn’t allow this material to be or seem derivative, all of which combines to make “The Doors FAQ” fresh to all except maybe the most jaded of Doors fans or experts.

Most books on The Doors are overwhelmed by Jim Morrison, not so with “The Doors FAQ”, right from the beginning the bios of all The Doors are of roughly equal length, and the surviving members, post Morrison life, isn’t relegated to the nether regions of a short last chapter or epilogue but are included from the beginning, so if you’re a fan of Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger or John Densmore, you will read about their most recent CD’s and accomplishments.

Doors history some times seems to diverge at the dividing line of the life and death of Jim Morrison, but history doesn’t stop and neither have the surviving members of The Doors, and Weidman tackles this later history more fully than any other book on The Doors to date. Weidman goes through the 2002 “Doors of the 21st Century” and the action and reactions of the surviving members of The Doors which resulted in the lawsuit filed by John Densmore. Wiedman relates it factually and without any of the bias or acrimony that haunted the message boards of the time.

The Doors were first and foremost a literary band, even in their use of musical phrasing, it seems to take on a literary aspect and Weidman doesn’t shy away from The Doors literary roots, each chapter starting with a pithy and apropos quote on the aspect of The Doors being explored in that chapter. Invariably I found the quote provided a bit of literary circularity tracking back upon the subject and providing some illumination on the subject at hand.

“The Doors FAQ” is an easy reference tool for Doors fans to find the answers to their questions quickly, I can see it being used as a guidebook by Doors tourists in Los Angeles, for those hitting bookstores looking for the books on Jim Morrison’s reading list, and those CD shopping for bands and musicians that influenced The Doors. These may be the most utilitarian of uses for “The Doors FAQ” I feel like I’ve left out many more aspects of this book, but on any short list of Doors books to have, “The Doors FAQ” is one to have.

“The Doors FAQ” is available directly available from Backbeat Books, Amazon, for pre-order on Amazon U.K. (will be released December 15). You can follow “The Doors FAQ” on Facebook

“The Doors FAQ” author, Rich Weidman, will be my special guest on the Rant’s, Raves and Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio Show on Tuesday October 18th between 4-7 pm central time, Rich and I will be on at 6:30 pm central time. Hope to hear you there!… (más)