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I Am Ozzy
by Ozzy Osbourne
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978-0-446-56989-7
Published January 2010 - Hardcover - 394 pages - $26.99

I love Sharon, and her book, now it's Ozzy's turn.  Ozzy's story starts off with his working class background in Aston, Birmingham, his schooling, his dyslexia and general confusion or ADHA, both of which went undiagnosed in those days.  He talks about his family and his friends and you get the gist of why he turned out like so many others in similar situations.  He describes what life was like being dirt poor, uneducated, badly treated and bullied at school by teachers and pupils, his first jobs from which he was duly fired, his stealing phase, his early start as a smoker, and his first getting high after sniffing the degreasing machine in a car parts factory.  He also talks about his stint in prison, never to be repeated.  Ozzy's getting into a band took a roundabout way and he recalls the rock stars of the day: the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant to name just a few.  The band had a few names before they became Black Sabbath, and Ozzy describes their little band so, "As far as we were concerned, we were just a blues band that had decided to write some scary music."  They didn't set out to be "scary", the media and the public's perception helped them along.  The availability of drugs and groupies would account for much confusion in Ozzy's life, and, for the life of me, I don't know how Ozzy even remembers what the street number was of the house they stayed in in Bel Air back in 1972!  He also talks about his meeting Sharon after he'd left Black Sabbath and was putting together Blizzard of Ozz.  Also about his first wife and two children, the incredible amounts of drugs and alcohol he consumed, his foibles, his insecurities, his rehab treatments, and how he put his life together.  For all of this mania and confusion, Ozzy has a conscience, and he has regrets, and he spells them out in his book.  And he does make apologies.  Even though there are a lot of F-words, Ozzy's autobiography wouldn't be "Ozzy" without them.  His words were poignant, moving, sad, scary, and above all, very, very funny as he has a great sense of humor; British humor at its best — I love it!  There are lots of fabulous family photos, too.  I was moved by how much this man loves his wife.
See my review of Sharon's fantastic book, Extreme.
Conclusion - A huge amount of partying in one man's life.  A lot of abuse and excess.  One incredible story.