Reading his autobiography, his retreat from pop stardom seems less surprising than the fact he stuck it out for as long as he did ... Yusuf Islam has been on quite a journey, but some things never change.
An appealing account of an unusual childhood ... Yusuf/Cat Stevens hasn’t finished writing new chapters in a life that — even in the wild world of pop — remains utterly distinctive.
The prose here is clear and direct, as if Yusuf the writer believes the frivolity of his pop years deserved the least of his literary attentions ... An extraordinary journey, but it might have been better served by the ministrations of a ghostwriter, or a professional biographer. As it is, and contrary to most rock memoirs, this would have been a better book if it had begun at the end of the subject’s musical career.
