The Tao of Willie

A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart

Born in small-town Texas during the Great Depression, Willie Nelson was raised to believe in helping his neighbors and living without pretense. After many hardscrabble years as a poorly paid songwriter (often watching his work become a gold mine for other performers), Willie finally found his own voice?the gentle but unmistakably honest sound that has made him an American icon. Now the master of harmonization has created a guide to finding harmony in everyday life. Featuring vignettes from each chapter of his seventy-plus years (along with plenty of his favorite jokes), The Tao of Willie captures his views on money, love, war, religion, cowboys, and other essential Willie topics.

Loosely based on the principles of the Chinese philosophy of the Tao Te Cheng, which Willie has admired and followed for much of his adult life, this inspiring and entertaining collection of ?Willie wisdom? takes us from his roadhouse days, when he united redneck rockers with straitlaced country music fans, to the mega-sized benefit concerts and environmentalism that define his boundless heart. In the spirit of his fellow Texan Harvey Penick?s Little Red Book, Willie?s timeless insights sparkle with clarity: It?s like having a one-on-one conversation with the sage himself.

"[T]he book is a wily tour through Nelson's obsessions. . . the amusements keep coming.”—The New York Times Book Review

"Seriously fun guide offers readers the full Nelson. . . . [a] whimsical yet serious guide to happiness. . . . The Willie philosophy is simple, a blending of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' and 'don't sweat the small stuff.'"  —Boston Sunday Herald

"...Nelsonian philosophy on everything from politics to golf." —Time

"Folksy advice, colorful jokes, and anecdotes from the stage."—LIFE magazine

About

Born in small-town Texas during the Great Depression, Willie Nelson was raised to believe in helping his neighbors and living without pretense. After many hardscrabble years as a poorly paid songwriter (often watching his work become a gold mine for other performers), Willie finally found his own voice?the gentle but unmistakably honest sound that has made him an American icon. Now the master of harmonization has created a guide to finding harmony in everyday life. Featuring vignettes from each chapter of his seventy-plus years (along with plenty of his favorite jokes), The Tao of Willie captures his views on money, love, war, religion, cowboys, and other essential Willie topics.

Loosely based on the principles of the Chinese philosophy of the Tao Te Cheng, which Willie has admired and followed for much of his adult life, this inspiring and entertaining collection of ?Willie wisdom? takes us from his roadhouse days, when he united redneck rockers with straitlaced country music fans, to the mega-sized benefit concerts and environmentalism that define his boundless heart. In the spirit of his fellow Texan Harvey Penick?s Little Red Book, Willie?s timeless insights sparkle with clarity: It?s like having a one-on-one conversation with the sage himself.

Praise

"[T]he book is a wily tour through Nelson's obsessions. . . the amusements keep coming.”—The New York Times Book Review

"Seriously fun guide offers readers the full Nelson. . . . [a] whimsical yet serious guide to happiness. . . . The Willie philosophy is simple, a blending of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' and 'don't sweat the small stuff.'"  —Boston Sunday Herald

"...Nelsonian philosophy on everything from politics to golf." —Time

"Folksy advice, colorful jokes, and anecdotes from the stage."—LIFE magazine

Backlist to Promote with Ken Burns’ “Country Music” PBS Documentary

This September, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan tell the story of Country Music in an 8-part PBS series Burns calls “as good if not the best we’ve ever done.” American history as much as the history of a musical genre, the documentary will reinvigorate fans of country music and have them looking for more stories. This backlist collection of top sellers in the genre includes our top-selling biographies and memoirs of the greatest country musicians of all time, from George Jones to Jewel to Willie Nelson and more.

Read more