~REVIEW of Trace Adkins' A PERSONAL STAND~

Opening line: "It's a damn good thing I wasn't the president after 9/11 because I would have...lets not go there yet."

This is not really an autobiography but as it states on the cover, "a collection of observations and opinions from a freethinking roughneck." That's too bad because the best parts of this book are the stories about his life. Trace doesn't hold back here, insulting just about every nationality except Americans.

This would have been a 5 star read too if Trace could have just stopped going off the rails with redneck 'observations' and concentrated on writing his autobiography a little more. However, he writes like he talks and I did get some laughs in during a couple of his life stories. But mainly I just laughed at his views of the world.

Having been a fan of his music and after seeing him on Celebrity Apprentice Mr. Adkins seemed like an intelligent, interesting and gentle family man. This book has however changed my view of him and I no longer consider myself a fan. I found Trace's 'views' naive. He admittedly has only been out of America once, playing on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf and it is my opinion that he needs to get out from behind the windows of his tour bus and see some of the world. This would possibly open up his 'observations' a bit. However even if you don't agree with him he at least tries to explain why he feels that way.

In between his many rants you do get to learn about Trace's life; growing up in Louisiana (pop 924) he spent time working on the oil rigs and playing in honky-tonk bars before he became a country star. You'll learn of his problems with drugs and alcohol, his many brushes with death and his family. An oddly amusing story is how he got shot by his second wife. He describes the history behind some of his hit songs, what fame is like and how he still likes to get his hands dirty on his farm. There is a lot of time spent on politics and oil as well as his dislike of unions, illegal immigration, the tobacco industry and his love of Wal-Mart and NASCAR.

As a well travelled, informed Canadian, I took particular offence to the following quote.(Regrettably it was written in the last 6 pages of the book or I would have stopped reading sooner)

"Supposedly Canada has the cleanest water and the best beer and a whole lot of oil. They've been sucking on our tit for so long now, and that's another thing I would do if I was President. I would make a call to the Canadians and say "look fellas, the only reason the Russkies didn't come over here in the 1970's and kick your ass is because we're your neighbor!" The time is now to start paying for the protection that we provide you. No more free ride eh."

In summery I suppose this was an eye-opening read, about a country singer from small town USA whose views are completly different than my own. It sure explained a lot about what I see on Fox News anyway.