A True Renaissance Man

What Does This Button Do: An Autobiography – Bruce Dickinson (Dey Street)

When you run down the list you would be hard pressed not to be impressed shear magnitude of Bruce Dickinson’s accomplishments. Aside from being a long time member of Iron Maiden, easily one of the most popular heavy metal bands in the history of music, with worldwide records sales somewhere north of 100 million copies; Dickinson his laundry list of talents/accomplishments include: singer, poet/lyricist, writer, actor, screenwriter, radio host, television host, documentarian, competitive fencer and pilot with certifications ranging from small craft up to airline jumbo jets.

He is a true renaissance man in every sense of the term. Dickinson runs down his many lives and activities in the brand new autobiography, What Does This Button Do. While I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable and completely entertaining, for some died in the wool Maiden fans looking for chapter and verse about the band from Dickinson’s perspective, you may come away disappointed. While he certainly spends a fair amount of time recounting his time with the band, just like his busy busy life, it is far from the totality of his story.

And to be completely honest with you, I think that is what I found most entertaining about his story. This guy has led a truly fearless life, tackling challenges that get thrown at him with a remarkable level of ease and aplomb. As he describes some of the flights into far flung places and dangerous sounding locales and runways, he does it with a comfort and good humor that most ordinary folks could not muster.

His storytelling style throughout What Does This Button Do is light hearted and downright funny. Here is a guy who had the wherewithal to do anything he every could dream and he chose to pursue his obsession with flying to the highest possible levels of the profession. You’ve got to wonder what ordinary an average Joe might have thought if he’d known that his plane was being piloted by the same crazy rocker who cavorted on stage with Maiden mascot Eddie in front of massive crowds upwards of 300,000 screaming fans strong?

If you are a crazed Maiden fan this may not be your cup of tea, but if you are looking for something out of the ordinary for a rocker bio, then this is just the ticket.