Devils & Blue Dresses

BOOK: Devils & Blue Dresses: My Wild Ride As A Rock And Roll Legend

AUTHOR: Mitch Ryder

GRADE: D

My first impressions upon receiving Mitch Ryder’s memoir were purely ascetic: the book is too large. I have a theory regarding oversized books (with the exception of photography collections, etc): they’re generally gimmicks. The actual story is lacking; thus the author/publisher decides to “special” the book up little with formatting. Devils & Blue Dresses, unfortunately, lends credit to my theory.

My second impression: Mitch Ryder may be the single most offensive human being I’ve ever come across. Seriously. For example: Ryder has a theory that any gender that frequently kills their unborn offspring (aka: abortion) is physically and morally suited for hand to hand front line combat in times of war. As a female, I find this enormously off-putting.

My third impression: Before I reached page 50, I discovered over two dozen typographical errors, grammatical and spelling errors and rampant run-on sentences. This continued throughout the book… to the point where I had trouble finishing it. A thorough look over by an experienced (or even mildly experienced) editor would have been a good idea for Mr. Ryder.

Beyond that, there’s not much else to report. This ranks up there as one of the worst books I’ve ever read. Pick it up if you’re an avid and fanatical Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels fan (I guess) or if you’re a glutton for punishment.

Sorry Mitch.