Peter Buffett is the son of Warren Buffett, which according to Forbes is world’s third richest man. Warren’s incredible success as an investor really needs no further introduction. But one thing is worth mentioning; that he is also famous for not giving away his incredible fortune to his children. He never wanted the “silver spoon in the mouth to become a silver dagger in the back”, according to his own words. Peter and his two siblings needed to create a life of their own, and earn their own money. They could not rely on their father’s billions.

In Life Is What You Make It Peter has a powerful message; that a privileged background is not the sure path to a life of happiness. And not just that, but the statistics show that children of the privileged have their own set of problems that is too easy to overlook. The old saying is of course “No one feels sorry for a girl on a yacht” – but it is really not that simple. To be from an influential and privileged background can in itself be a drawback when trying to create a life of one’s own. And this is a central goal for any human being. Of course there are many benefits for the rich, and Peter never says otherwise. But getting everything for free – money, success and fame – has never been good for anyone. Life Is What You Make It is therefore an excellent read for prosperous parents and their children.

For us who are interested in Peter Buffett as an artist, In Life Is What You Make It has a very interesting (though fairly well known) story to tell. Peter started as an musician making music for commercials and tv in the early 80s (for instance for the newly established MTV). Then he signed a record contract with Narada Productions, on which he released his first album The Waiting (1987). Then he was deeply touched by the sad history of the Indians, which resulted in the albums One by One (1989), Lost Frontier (1991) and Yonnondio (1992). In this was his success of Fire Dance in the movie Dances with Wolves and the music for the 500 Nations TV-series. Note that the book tells nothing about his later career and vocal albums – which is a bit sad.

Peter admits making many mistakes, both in his music career and personal life. The real interesting aspect of In Life Is What You Make It is about how to find one’s own creativity – and use that as a tool to success. And not only success in terms of money, but also artistic expression and the value of work well done. It is all about finding one’s bliss.

New Age Music fans must make sure to check out the audio book version of Life Is What You Make It – which has several nice clips from Peter’s rich discography. Peter is also an excellent audio book narrator, and I would love to hear him read other books as well. The opening song is Missouri Turning from the album Inside Looking Out (2006).

Yes, life is what you make it. What a powerful message to us all.

Sample the audio book here. Also make sure to visit Peter’s homepage.

The international guide to new age music (1998)

The book called The international guide to new age music by Henk N. Werkhoven is the most ambitious work about this genre. The book came out 10 years ago, and no new editions have so far been released. But it is still a nice resource for everyone who is into new age music. It contains a heartfelt foreword by Henk N. Werkhoven, and then a nice introduction to the genre by Steven Halpern. I don’t agree with the selection of artists though. Major artists like Enya, Enigma, Tangerine Dream or Mike Oldfield are not even mentioned here, and they were just as important 10 years ago. It is almost like creating a guide to classical music and not mentioning Mozart or Bach… But I understand Werkhoven’s focus on dedicated new age music artists and labels, as a contrast to major pop artists. And that’s ok. It is still a good guide, because the artists here are indeed some of the finest.

In this book you will find biographies and discographies to artists like William Ackerman and Suzanne Doucet. The parts about record labels and radio programming are also interesting (but a little outdated of course). The included CD, with music by Cusco, Deuter and others, is very good.

Since The international guide to new age music is 10 years old, you can get the book and CD for a few dollars. A good buy indeed. Available through Amazon.

There is also a book released in 1989 called The New Age Music Guide: Profiles and Recordings of 500 Top New Age Musicians by Patti Jean Birosik. On Amazon is a presentation of it (scroll down). I haven’t read that one yet (but I will!) 

Changeling (2007)

Mike Oldfield released his autobiography in 2007 on Virgin Books entitled Changeling. Here Mike tells about his childhood with an alcoholic mother and his social difficulties. But also about how he discovered music and became a guitarist (and bassist) in various bands from a young age. He also played together with his talented siblings, Terry and Sally.

The most interesting part of the book is when Mike writes about the creation of Tubular Bells (no big surprises there). Richard Branson was the only one who believed in this long and unusual album, and he gave Mike studio time. The incredible success of Tubular Bells was the beginning of Virgin Music.

Mike also tells about his psychological problems and the backside of fame and money. The book is not very detailed when it comes to Mike’s creative side, but you get a feeling that this is an artist with a big passion for his work. For Oldfield’s many fans, this book is a great read.

Here is the book on Amazon.

Yanni In Words (2003)

Yanni’s autobiography from 2003 is called Yanni In Words. Here the Greek maestro tells his story, about how he was as a young boy, as a student and later as a musician. Success is never easy, and this was also the case for Yanni. The famous shows at Taj Mahal and Acropolis demanded a lot of work. It is also interesting to read about how he works with music, and it is obvious that he is a hard working musician.

Yanni has never been happy with his New Age Piano Player image, and I agree with him; he is almost like a classical composer. To label his music as New Age stuff is perhaps wrong. But anyway, Yanni In Words is a great read!

That’s it! Do you know about any other books about new age music? Write a comment about it.