Riders on the Storm - My Life with
Jim Morrison and
The Doors
by John Densmore
The first biography of The Doors to be written by a band member. Densmore, The Doors' percussionist, gives a reasonably written, detailed, and insightful personal account of his life with The Doors. I like to call it The Gospel of John.
In addition to The Doors, Densmore gives the reader significant insight into his personal character and its many facets. He gives detailed accounts of the intense fear and loathing that he experienced as a potential draftee, the woeful parallels between his family life and band life, and his love/hate relationship with Jim Morrison and by extension, The Doors.
Densmore also takes a number of opportunities to denounce Ray Manzarek's eternally optimistic perception of their life with The Doors and Morrison. He accuses Ray of distorting Jim's vision with his own and refusing to acknowledge Jim's darkness.
While this account of The Doors is by no means unbiased, it is nevertheless a must-read for any Doors Fan.
Other Recommended Reading:
Light My Fire - The Gospel of Ray
The Doors: The Illustrated History - Possibly the least biased Doors biography