From Publishers Weekly
"I'm hardly the first person to notice that there is only the present, constantly," writes Barton in this extraordinary memoir. "The present moment is lived, and relieved; written, and rewritten. Every previous version still inhabits it." What gives this insight and the many others that follow uncommon power is the ever present fact that Barton, a pioneering entrepreneur in the cable television industry, was dying of stomach cancer as he wrote them. Alternating chapters with mystery writer Shames (The Naked Detective), Barton, who died in September, 2002, at 51, offers us-and his wife and three children-his final rewrite of a life filled with the optimism and idealism of his generation. Barton tells us how it feels to die while the party is still raging, offering us glimpses of a life that packed in everything from being a professional ski bum to working as an aide to New York State governor Hugh Carey to huge success as a visionary businessman (Barton helped found MTV, among other achievements). Readers will be knocked out by his honesty and his utter lack of self-pity or sentimentality. The "gift" of terminal cancer, according to Barton, is that "it doesn't kill you all at once. It gives you time to set your house in order.... It gives you time to think, to sum things up." Setting his house in order included taking his family for a balloon ride at dawn. Summing up what matters, he reminds us that it is the large and small moments of pleasure and love, those very present moments, that redeem us in the end. This is a very beautiful book about how to live. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
"Peter Barton and Laurence Shames, the graceful writer he persuaded to help him tell this tale, have produced a worthy monument, a book about how to live, and how to die."

--Ken Auletta

"This is a wise, funny, and intensely true book--a generous gift from an amazing guy to those of us who are so busy getting through life that we sometimes forget why we're living. Sooner or later, we'll all make the journey Peter Barton took; now, thanks to him, it doesn't look so scary."
--Dave Barry

"A little masterpiece. . . a book to be read by everyone. . . . [It] may be the most honest book I have ever read. . . . Some of [the] phrases and sentences literally took my breath away. . . . [Not Fade Away] lit up my own mind and spirit--dare I include soul?--to consider my own life and purposes."
--Jim Lehrer

"You couldn't know Peter Barton and not know he would face dying in the most adventurous and original way. . . . This is a book full of insight and comfort, wisdom and hope."
--Barry Diller



Book Description

Some people are born to lead and destined to teach by the example of living life to the fullest, and facing death with uncommon honesty and courage. Peter Barton was that kind of person.

Driven by the ideals that sparked a generation, he became an overachieving Everyman, a risk-taker who showed others what was possible. Then, in the prime of his life — hugely successful, happily married, and the father of three children — Peter faced the greatest of all challenges. Diagnosed with cancer, he began a journey that was not only frightening and appalling but also full of wonder and discovery.

With unflinching candor and even surprising humor, Not Fade Away finds meaning and solace in Peter’s confrontation with mortality. Celebrating life as it dares to stare down death, Peter's story addresses universal hopes and fears, and redefines the quietly heroic tasks of seeking clarity in the midst of pain, of breaking through to personal faith, and of achieving peace after bold and sincere questioning.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Some people are born to lead and destined to teach--not by precept, but by the example of living life to the fullest. Peter Barton was that kind of person.

He protested at Columbia University in the 1960s, played soul music at Harlem's Apollo Theater, spent time as a ski bum and a craps dealer, and eventually emerged from Harvard Business School to become a central figure in the creation of cable television. In the prime of his life, happily married and the father of three young children, Peter came face to face with the biggest challenge in a life filled with risk-taking and direction-changing. Diagnosed with cancer, he began a journey both frightening and appalling, yet also full of wonder and discovery.

Not Fade Away recreates that journey in the intimate and alternating voices of Peter and of Laurence Shames--two men close in age yet who've chosen vastly different lives. Together, in a spirit of deepening friendship, they relive the high points of years that embodied the hopes and strivings of an entire generation. With courage, candor, and even humor, they search for meaning in Peter's unflinching confrontation with mortality.

In life, Peter was an overachieving Everyman, a vibrant spirit who showed his peers just how much is possible. In his dying, similarly, he redefines the quietly heroic tasks of seeking clarity in the midst of pain and loss; of breaking through to a highly personal, secular faith; and of achieving peace at last.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

"I'm hardly the first person to notice that there is only the present, constantly," writes Barton in this extraordinary memoir. "The present moment is lived, and relieved; written, and rewritten. Every previous version still inhabits it." What gives this insight and the many others that follow uncommon power is the ever present fact that Barton, a pioneering entrepreneur in the cable television industry, was dying of stomach cancer as he wrote them. Alternating chapters with mystery writer Shames (The Naked Detective), Barton, who died in September, 2002, at 51, offers us-and his wife and three children-his final rewrite of a life filled with the optimism and idealism of his generation. Barton tells us how it feels to die while the party is still raging, offering us glimpses of a life that packed in everything from being a professional ski bum to working as an aide to New York State governor Hugh Carey to huge success as a visionary businessman (Barton helped found MTV, among other achievements). Readers will be knocked out by his honesty and his utter lack of self-pity or sentimentality. The "gift" of terminal cancer, according to Barton, is that "it doesn't kill you all at once. It gives you time to set your house in order.... It gives you time to think, to sum things up." Setting his house in order included taking his family for a balloon ride at dawn. Summing up what matters, he reminds us that it is the large and small moments of pleasure and love, those very present moments, that redeem us in the end. This is a very beautiful book about how to live. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Readers familiar with Liberty Media (the Discovery Channel, QVC, Encore, etc.) may know Barton as one of its founders and its CEO. Baby boomer Barton (1951-2002) appeared to have it all until he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer at age 51. Here, joined by Shames (formerly an ethics columnist for Esquire and Barton's friend), he discusses his life and his coming to terms with his impending, painful, and inevitable death after having lived as an overachiever in the "arrogance of health." Only an extraordinary human being could have written many of the lines in this book, e.g., "My disease has been good for me....It has made me more accepting, gentler....I'm growing unafraid." The facts of Barton's life-how a talented young man founded a multibillion-dollar media empire and retired early-are certainly interesting, but the book is more an attempt to let Barton's family and friends know what he thought and what he valued. He wanted this book to energize young people to "get excited, get hyper, about their possibilities"-in a word, to give hope. The unusual writing style makes it a pleasure to read, and despite the subject matter, there is no sentimentality here, just lots of insights. Recommended especially for public libraries.-James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Lib., New York Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews