“Waging Heavy Peace” by Neil Young – A Legend’s Memories

I think I don’t have to tell you about who Neil Young is, but just in case you aren't acquainted with the name, think of him as one of the greatest and most celebrated musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. His legendary guitar-work electrified countless crowds, taking music to boundaries it has never seen before. 

Needless to say, it would be a shame for such a man to go without revealing what kind of life led him to be the man he was. Fortunately, it’s not something that will happen seeing as how Neil Young wrote Waging Heavy Peace, what one could call an autobiography.

What exactly does Young talk about in his book? Well, pretty much everything. He starts with his childhood in Toronto, how he first learned to love written words, his struggle with polio, his difficulty in paying rent during his early days with the Squires, performing in unbelievably remote towns, his spontaneous moving to America, his rise to fame with Buffalo Springfield, and basically every single important moment which marked his life up until the moment he wrote the book. 

All in all, this is about as complete of an autobiography as you could ask out of someone, often even covering more or less embarrassing and deeply personal events many would have opted not to share.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a giant fan of Neil Young, even though I really did enjoy his music in Dead Man (2003), an unorthodox western starring Johnny Depp. However, I breezed through this book with a sense of joy and light-heartedness, and more importantly, honest. I’m sure Young misremembered some of the events in his life, but on the whole it seems he is actually trying to bring the truth to the reader. 

Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young (Book cover)
I enjoyed the tone of it all, as he still manages to maintain a humorous approach to everything, even when recounting the darker times of his life. While I found this book to be the perfect time-waster, I have absolutely no doubt that any fan of Neil Young who wanted to find out more about him will find exactly what they are looking for in this book; a complete and unaltered account of the life of one of history’s greatest musicians.



Neil Young (Author)

Neil Young


Neil Young is, at this point, a legendary Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Though he has written countless songs, it took a while for him to set his sights on using his pen to recount his own life, something that came to fruition in 2012 with his autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace.



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