Mr. Townshend's self-portrait is raw and unsparing . . .as intimate and as painful as a therapy session." -MICHIKO KAKUTANI, THE NEW YORK TIMESLong acknowledged as one of rock music's most intelligent and literary performers, Pete Townshend-guitarist, songwriter, singer and founding member of The Who-at last tells his wild story in this candid and immersive autobiography. Raised in West London by an eccentric grandmother while his parents were off living the early post-war, rock 'n' roll lifestyle, Townshend describes a frenetic childhood of displacement and abuse. Then, in high school, everything changed when he met Roger Daltrey and formed a band that would travel the world, earning fame, fortune and critical acclaim. In Who I Am, Townshend takes us from the inner sanctum of Eric Clapton's drug-ridden hotel rooms to the feet of Jimi Hendrix and his electric Kool-Aid guitar; from the first trial performance of Townshend's rock opera, Tommy, in a London bar to his infamous arrest (and acquittal) on child pornography charges. With his trademark eloquence, fierce intelligence and brutal honesty, Townshend has created a work of literature that stands as a primary source for popular music's greatest epoch. Readers will be confronted by a man laying bare who he is, an artist who has asked for nearly sixty years: who are you? | Who I Am by Pete Townshend, Paperback | Indigo Chapters