Richard Harris: Raising Hell and Reaching for Heaven

by Joe Jackson

In 1987, when Richard Harris – the legendary star of This Sporting Life, The Field and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – was interviewed for the first time by Joe Jackson, they almost came to blows. Jackson was determined to unearth deeper truths about the actor than he usually disclosed during interviews. Harris had manipulated the media all his life, largely to keep people from getting to really know him. By the time that interview ended, they had become firm friends. It was only then that Jackson told Harris, ‘I want to show the public that there is far more to you than your superficial image as a boozing, brawling womaniser.’ Harris loved this idea and two years later he asked Jackson to write his biography. Richard Raising Hell and Reaching for Heaven is that biography. But it is much more besides.

Based on a searingly honest series of interviews Jackson recorded with Harris between 1987 and 2001, plus the author’s journal entries and extensive notes, this book is also a part-memoir that tells a highly personal and moving back story about why it was inevitable that Jackson and Harris would connect at the deepest possible level. This book will finally prove beyond a doubt that there was far more to Richard Harris, indisputably one of Ireland’s greatest actors as well as a Grammy-award-winning recording artist and published poet, than has previously been revealed.

Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Joe 2^ Jackson: GR Author, Sports, Self Help
Joe 3^ Jackson: GR Author, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality
Joe 4^ Jackson: British musician
Joe 5^ Jackson: GR Author, Fantasy, Horror
Joe 6^ Jackson: History
Joe 7^ Jackson: Irish journalist, author, broadcaster

Reviews

[Peter Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t read books about your heroes- they turn out to be not as great as you thought.

That said, I didn’t find out an awful lot about the man from this book other than I wouldn’t have liked him much

[RWB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was rather disappointed with this biography for three reasons. First, I personally prefer a chronological proceeding in a biography, which this clearly is not. This is much more a stream-of-consciousness narrative that rambles. Don't get me wrong, it has some interesting information but there is no cohesion to the biography. Second, the author Joe Jackson, tends to insert himself into the biography by discussing revelations about himself that he discovered, or was trying to discover, by interviewing and talking to Richard Harris. In all fairness the books is described as, "part-memoir that tells a highly personal and moving back story about why it was inevitable that Jackson and Harris would connect at the deepest possible level." The "part-memoir" is about Jackson. Thus, we get glimpses into the authors own life - which, frankly, I could care less about. For example, Jackson will mention that he was following a line of questioning Harris to better understand his (Jacksons) relationship with his father. Finally, the byline to the book is that, "Based on a searingly honest series of interviews Jackson recorded with Harris between 1987 and 2001...." YET, there are parts which Jackson feels Harris was telling the truth and other parts where he will mention that he was lying in one set of interviews, etc. So you end up getting a sense of not knowing what was honest and what wasn't. Ultimately, I ended up not knowing the "real" Richard Harris than when I started reading the book.

[Bernadine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I admire Richard Harris but this author drove me mad with th his self indulgence

Not a great writer and the saving grace was the quotes from Richard Harris. I’d no interest in the petty stories about the author that he kept referring to throughout the book

[Regina Dooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this biography frustrating as it was mostly an examination of the writer's relationship with Richard Harris.