Long acknowledged as one of rock music''s most intelligent and literary performers, Pete Townshend - guitarist, songwriter, singer and founding member of The Who - at last tells his wild story in this candid and immersive autobiography.

Raised in west London by an eccentric grandmother, while his parents were off living the early post-war, rock ''n'' roll lifestyle, Townshend describes a frenetic childhood of displacement and abuse. Then, in high school, everything changed when he met Roger Daltrey and formed a band that would travel the world, earning fame, fortune and critical acclaim. In Who I Am, Townshend brings us from the inner sanctum of Eric Clapton''s drug-ridden hotel rooms to the feet of Jimi Hendrix and his electric kool-aid guitar; from the first trial performance of Townshend''s rock opera, Tommy, in a London bar to his infamous arrest (and acquittal) on child pornography charges.

With his trademark eloquence, fierce intelligence and brutal honesty, Pete Townshend has created a work of literature that stands as a primary source for popular music''s greatest epoch. Readers will be confronted by a man laying bare who he is, an artist who has asked for nearly sixty years: Who are you?