Sting and I
Jim Berryman met Sting more than two decades before he was "An Englishman in New York," when he was just Gordon Sumner--fellow reluctant Newcastle schoolboy. Both had a cynical sense of humor and a shared sense of bewilderment at the incomprehensible antics of their Catholic teachers, forming the basis for a friendship that would last even as they left the institution and took radically different paths. As Sting became enormously successful, his friend realized that the blunt, well-grounded fellow slacker he used to know still lurked under the popular public perception of the crusading superstar. Jim reveals for the first time the roots of Sting's incredible climb to international fame and fortune, a story that's intertwined with Jim's own sometimes tough struggle to make his way, related with humor and irreverence. The only person to write about Sting with the perspective of a 40-year friendship, Jim shows a side to Sting that will be a revelation to even his most ardent fans.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1844544931
ISBN13:9781844544936
Release Date:January 2009
Publisher:Blake Publishing
Length:304 Pages
Weight:1.55 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 4.3" x 6.8"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
This is a great, great book!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
I got this, and read it over a couple of days just recently. It is a book written by an old friend of Sting's, with the first half being mostly about their childhood days at a catholic school, and the second half being about their exploits in later years. It is unbelievably funny, and entertaining! You can really tell that they've had fun together and love one another. Lots of good hearted poking fun at Stingo. Jim has a wonderful way of telling a story. Makes you feel like he'd tell the story the same way to a group of friends in the living room or something. The book made me laugh throughout, as well as think about some things in my own life. If you love Sting this will give you even more of a look at him and more appreciation for who he is. I would think, though, that even a person who didn't know about Sting would really have fun reading this book. Good job, Berryman.
A very different kind of biography
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
James Berryman's book is (much) less a biography of Sting than a humorous tale of life in Catholic school in England, where he happened to be friends with the-boy-who-would-be-Sting. This is not a criticism of the volume, though readers looking for deep insight and more detailed information on Sting's early years would do better to read the man's own memoirs, "Broken Music". Berryman's book instead takes an episodic approach to the misadventures of the boys of St. Cuthberts, from the first day of school when he first met on Gordon Sumner to their graduation and beyond. School days take up about three-quarters of the book, the remained covering the years that followed and occasional meetings with Sting as his star began to rise. It's a fun story that does present a decidedly more down-to-earth view of Sting than we've read or seen elsewhere, even if afterwards one does wonder if the whole book hadn't just been a cheap ploy to cash in on Barryman's lifelong friendship with a celebrity. Nevertheless, it is entertaining and probably worth a read by any dedicated Sting fan, as well as those interested in a humorous read about growing up in 1960s Newcastle.
Great for Sting fans, good for others!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
This book is written by one of Sting's personal friends. James Berryman shares his impressions and relationship with Sting from the first day of grammer school through the present. It is a fast read, great for Sting fans but also a good book just for the stories James Berryman tells about his life growing up.
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