Many autobiographies tend to be dry and rather boring. Happily, that is not the case with IT’S A LONG STORY. Although the book was written with the help of David Ritz, country music legend Willie Nelson tells his life story his way, with humor and outright honesty. Most of the time, it feels as if he is sitting right across the table talking directly to us, pouring out his heart and soul.

No one could ever accuse Willie Nelson of being boring. He is a gifted musician, singer and songwriter of country, gospel, jazz and blues tunes. As unlikely as it might sound, he holds a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do. He also has been married four times (he and his current wife, Annie D'Angelo, have been together for nearly three decades) and has seven children.

"I learned many interesting facts about the man that I wasn’t aware of previously, and I enjoyed reminiscing about the aspects of his life with which I was already familiar."

Nelson has seen his share of hard times. One home he owned was totally destroyed in a fire; his financial adviser got him into deep legal trouble with the IRS when his taxes weren’t paid; he has been arrested several times for illegal possession of marijuana; and one of his sons died in a terrible accident.

His career has spanned nearly seven decades --- and more than that if you count the years he sang in his home church as a child, before he was paid to perfom. He has written hundreds of songs, sung in a great variety of places around the world, and recorded scores of albums. Despite his age (82 at the time of the book’s hardcover publication), he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down; he just keeps on making music and doing it his way.

I have been a longtime fan of Willie Nelson and his music. While I don’t agree with everything he stands for (for one thing, he is an outspoken user of marijuana and a proponent of legalizing the drug, which he mentions quite often here), I have to admire the strengths of his convictions.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to read IT’S A LONG STORY. I learned many interesting facts about the man that I wasn’t aware of previously, and I enjoyed reminiscing about the aspects of his life with which I was already familiar. Let’s hope he’ll have even more stories to share with us in the near future.