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Society's Child: My Autobiography e-book (Author's Preferred Edition)

Society's Child: My Autobiography e-book (Author's Preferred Edition)


PLEASE NOTE: This item must be ordered from one of our partner vendors.

For orders outside the United States, the "Author's Preferred Version" of this e-book and print book are finally available in certain areas through your regional Amazon.com site.

The "Author's Preferred Edition" of Janis' autobiography, Society's Child - My Autobiography, is now available in trade paperback and new ebook in all markets outside North America via Amazon and other online retailers. It contains links to music and photos, too! Just go to your local Amazon (UK, Germany, Italy etc) and search under "Janis Ian Society's Child" then look for the "Author's Preferred!"

United Kingdom: Kindle | Paperback
Germany: Kindle | Paperback
France: Kindle | Paperback
Spain: Kindle
Japan: Kindle
Australia: Kindle
India: Kindle

Paperback: This edition of Society's Child is called the "Author's Preferred Edition" because it has minor corrections made by Janis Ian in 2012, prior to publication outside North America.

Kindle: This edition of Society's Child is called the "Author's Preferred Edition" because minor corrections were made by Janis Ian in 2012, just prior to publication outside North America, and because it links to music. Use your e-readers and tablets to link to all the songs mentioned in Society's Child, as well as links to photos and more information to help you navigate! Find it on your regional Amazon and in epub on kobo.com.

Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and author, Janis Ian took the stage at age fifteen with a revolutionary song about interracial relationships, "Society's Child." It was 1966 and the country responded with both hostility and accolades. The song went to #1, and Janis was caught in the maelstrom of a divided country. Terrified by the hatred directed at her, she left the music industry, only to return a few years later with the worldwide hit "At Seventeen." The story never ends—her songs are currently used by artists as diverse as Bette Midler, John Mellencamp, and Celine Dion; she tours the world regularly to sold-out crowds, and she is considered one of the pre-eminent acoustic guitarists of our era by such notables as Chet Atkins.

In Society's Child, you'll journey with Janis as she spends time with luminaries of the century—Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin—singers and songwriters who both influenced and befriended her. Her book takes an unblinking look at the music business, her own remarkable path through it, and what was really happening backstage—with honesty and integrity.

Meet Janis Ian on concert tours, connect with her here on her website, janisian.com, and read this inspiring autobiography of one woman's unbreakable spirit.

"... A fascinating memoir... a relentllessly honest account of the successes and failures - and the hopes and dreams - of an extraordinary life." Amazon editorial review

Buy the CD audiobook from our store.
Buy the signed paperback version from our store.
Order the downloadable audio version from Audible.com, Amazon UK or iTunes.
Also available in print from your local independent bookstore!!!


I was born into the crack that split America.

On one side of the chasm was the America my parents lived in. There, the country was still congratulating itself on winning the war after the War to End All Wars. Men wore suits and ties to work, or laborer’s uniforms. Women wore stiletto heels, and kept themselves pure for marriage. Females did the housework, males did the heavy lifting. Blacks knew their place, whites knew theirs, and there wasn’t much room between.

On the other side of the crack was the America I grew up in, bounded by anarchy and a passion for truth. In that America, all wars were meaningless, born out of governmental greed and disregard. Vietnam was just the latest in a series of events to help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. People on my side of the crack ..... 

Excerpt from "Society's Child - My Autobiography" by Janis Ian - Read More

The story of a lifetime...Janis Ian's long awaited autobiography spans over a half century or music and change. From her earliest shows of protest in the sixties to today, Society's Child tells a tale of love, of loneliness, of music and hope. It's a must read. for any fan, and a really good read for the rest.


PRESS REVIEWS FOR "SOCIETY'S CHILD - MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY"

"At 15 she was already breaking all the rules. In an era-the mid-1960s-when people of her parents' generation didn't speak about "ugly things" like interracial romance, prostitution, and war, Janis Ian was opening her big mouth and getting hounded offstage for singing her taboo-busting lyrics.
Society's Child (Tarcher/Penguin) is the hugely readable autobiography of an artist who has lived through success and crushing hardship but knows that ‘you can't sing and cry at the same time.’ Sing on!" — O Magazine  ™


“Fans will love the book, of course, but many nonfans, too, should find this painfully candid memoir hard to put down.” — Booklist, starred review


"Ian is a natural prose stylist with a real knack for pacing and the telling detail. What might have been a dreary catalog of woe is instead a juicily entertaining look at an unusual life in show business." — Kirkus Reviews  


"Fans will appreciate the candor with which Ian discusses these hardships and her gradual path to happiness…" — Publishers Weekly  


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