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A review by branch_c
Far and Wide: Bring That Horizon to Me! by Neil Peart
3.0
Neil Peart is a great writer - but for me, he's at his best when he's thinking deep thoughts and distilling them into pithy snippets of philosophy - in other words, writing Rush lyrics. All of his lyrics are worth listening to; some are among the greatest creations in rock music.
His first book, [b:The Masked Rider|175896|The Masked Rider Cycling in West Africa|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390434282l/175896._SX50_.jpg|1279659], was a surprise and a revelation, in the sense that suddenly we Rush fans had more insight into this brilliant (but until then closely guarded) mind beyond what we could get from his lyrics. But it was entirely separate from his musical life - an African travelogue, and a decidedly un-Rushlike creation.
In his next book, [b:Ghost Rider|129356|Ghost Rider Travels on the Healing Road|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389827989l/129356._SX50_.jpg|124581], Peart showed us the authenticity behind the lyrics he'd been producing during all those years with the band. As I wrote on a Rush message board at the time, his use of song lyric quotes (both as chapter openers/closers and in the text) were what really made the book work for me. The important thing was that the lyrics rang true: although mostly written earlier, they applied to the situations he was writing about. And that's what his fans have always done - interpreted his lyrics and applied them to our own situations. I've read occasional comments that you can't tell what a lyricist really believes by reading his lyrics - after all, it's just art, or entertainment; there's poetic license, and all that. But I've always thought, and I think Ghost Rider confirmed this, that Peart's Rush lyrics were what he believed to be truths.
Ghost Rider also introduced us to Peart's motorcycling habit, and while it was fine to get a glimpse of something he obviously enjoyed, to us non-motorcycling enthusiasts, that aspect was less relevant.
Then came [b:Traveling Music|175920|Traveling Music The Soundtrack to My Life and Times|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390434307l/175920._SX50_.jpg|169959], and [b:Roadshow|175929|Roadshow Landscape With Drums|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388268178l/175929._SY75_.jpg|169968], filled with Peart's extended observations not only on driving and riding and music and drumming, but also on life, death, human nature, the environment, friendship, and pretty much anything that came to mind. I enjoyed both of those books as well-written and informative chronicles of his time spent making Rush music, and what it meant to be the person he was. Then he started writing blog posts, and for me, to be honest, he was getting to the point of being overly prolific. His wry observations on human nature began to be just a bit predictable and repetitive. And more motorcycle riding... hmm.
So I didn't read his next two volumes - [b:Far and Away|10349111|Far and Away A Prize Every Time|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389828647l/10349111._SX50_.jpg|15251949], and [b:Far and Near|22300583|Far and Near On Days Like These|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400955573l/22300583._SX50_.jpg|41688778].
For some reason, almost a couple of years after Peart's passing, I decided to pick this one up. I knew it covered the R40 tour, of which I attended the Buffalo show in June of 2015, and I think I realized that it may have collected some of the writing previously published on his website, as had the earlier two that I skipped. But again, I hadn't been keeping up with that, and I wasn't even thinking at the time I bought it that this might be the last example of his writing.
So, how is this book? Unsurprisingly, given all that I've said so far, I enjoyed the philosophizing the most. Where he thinks deeply about the human condition and makes incisive comments on it, the writing is nothing short of fantastic. An extended analysis of some of his own lyrics (Nobody's Hero) is probably the best part of the book for me (p. 246 - 249), along with his description of the final show of the tour, and of Rush's career, in Los Angeles. The interactions with his daughter were a new addition - these episodes are certainly poignant, knowing what we know now, and it's nice that they're documented here.
On the other hand, the obsession with motorcycle travel on the back roads of the country? Eh. It got a bit tedious for me. Commentary on his encounters with average folks in rural America? Mostly clever, but we've seen it before. Snarky and inside-joke-y banter with his riding companion Michael? We've seen that before too, as well as with his previous fellow rider Brutus. Okay, I don't know these guys, but as a reader, the ambiguity of friends versus employees in this context comes across as a bit awkward. But anyway.
In the end, this is an engaging collection of essays that gives us a rough view of that final Rush tour from Peart's perspective. It's not an exhaustive account, and he jumps back in time to comment on previous experiences where relevant; this makes the narrative structure a bit disjointed for me. Some chapters are better than others, but overall I'm glad I read it.
And yes, it really was coincidental that I finished reading this book on the two year anniversary date of Peart's death. Seems unlikely, right? But it's true - if it was planned, it was entirely subconsciously, since I just realized it upon finishing. I'm sorry he's gone, too soon, from the world to which he contributed so much, but I'm glad we have his writing, and more than that, his music, through which the best and brightest of his thoughts live on indefinitely.
His first book, [b:The Masked Rider|175896|The Masked Rider Cycling in West Africa|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390434282l/175896._SX50_.jpg|1279659], was a surprise and a revelation, in the sense that suddenly we Rush fans had more insight into this brilliant (but until then closely guarded) mind beyond what we could get from his lyrics. But it was entirely separate from his musical life - an African travelogue, and a decidedly un-Rushlike creation.
In his next book, [b:Ghost Rider|129356|Ghost Rider Travels on the Healing Road|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389827989l/129356._SX50_.jpg|124581], Peart showed us the authenticity behind the lyrics he'd been producing during all those years with the band. As I wrote on a Rush message board at the time, his use of song lyric quotes (both as chapter openers/closers and in the text) were what really made the book work for me. The important thing was that the lyrics rang true: although mostly written earlier, they applied to the situations he was writing about. And that's what his fans have always done - interpreted his lyrics and applied them to our own situations. I've read occasional comments that you can't tell what a lyricist really believes by reading his lyrics - after all, it's just art, or entertainment; there's poetic license, and all that. But I've always thought, and I think Ghost Rider confirmed this, that Peart's Rush lyrics were what he believed to be truths.
Ghost Rider also introduced us to Peart's motorcycling habit, and while it was fine to get a glimpse of something he obviously enjoyed, to us non-motorcycling enthusiasts, that aspect was less relevant.
Then came [b:Traveling Music|175920|Traveling Music The Soundtrack to My Life and Times|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390434307l/175920._SX50_.jpg|169959], and [b:Roadshow|175929|Roadshow Landscape With Drums|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388268178l/175929._SY75_.jpg|169968], filled with Peart's extended observations not only on driving and riding and music and drumming, but also on life, death, human nature, the environment, friendship, and pretty much anything that came to mind. I enjoyed both of those books as well-written and informative chronicles of his time spent making Rush music, and what it meant to be the person he was. Then he started writing blog posts, and for me, to be honest, he was getting to the point of being overly prolific. His wry observations on human nature began to be just a bit predictable and repetitive. And more motorcycle riding... hmm.
So I didn't read his next two volumes - [b:Far and Away|10349111|Far and Away A Prize Every Time|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389828647l/10349111._SX50_.jpg|15251949], and [b:Far and Near|22300583|Far and Near On Days Like These|Neil Peart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400955573l/22300583._SX50_.jpg|41688778].
For some reason, almost a couple of years after Peart's passing, I decided to pick this one up. I knew it covered the R40 tour, of which I attended the Buffalo show in June of 2015, and I think I realized that it may have collected some of the writing previously published on his website, as had the earlier two that I skipped. But again, I hadn't been keeping up with that, and I wasn't even thinking at the time I bought it that this might be the last example of his writing.
So, how is this book? Unsurprisingly, given all that I've said so far, I enjoyed the philosophizing the most. Where he thinks deeply about the human condition and makes incisive comments on it, the writing is nothing short of fantastic. An extended analysis of some of his own lyrics (Nobody's Hero) is probably the best part of the book for me (p. 246 - 249), along with his description of the final show of the tour, and of Rush's career, in Los Angeles. The interactions with his daughter were a new addition - these episodes are certainly poignant, knowing what we know now, and it's nice that they're documented here.
On the other hand, the obsession with motorcycle travel on the back roads of the country? Eh. It got a bit tedious for me. Commentary on his encounters with average folks in rural America? Mostly clever, but we've seen it before. Snarky and inside-joke-y banter with his riding companion Michael? We've seen that before too, as well as with his previous fellow rider Brutus. Okay, I don't know these guys, but as a reader, the ambiguity of friends versus employees in this context comes across as a bit awkward. But anyway.
In the end, this is an engaging collection of essays that gives us a rough view of that final Rush tour from Peart's perspective. It's not an exhaustive account, and he jumps back in time to comment on previous experiences where relevant; this makes the narrative structure a bit disjointed for me. Some chapters are better than others, but overall I'm glad I read it.
And yes, it really was coincidental that I finished reading this book on the two year anniversary date of Peart's death. Seems unlikely, right? But it's true - if it was planned, it was entirely subconsciously, since I just realized it upon finishing. I'm sorry he's gone, too soon, from the world to which he contributed so much, but I'm glad we have his writing, and more than that, his music, through which the best and brightest of his thoughts live on indefinitely.