Review of John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches

There is only one word describes John Curtis Holmes and that word is legend. In this book from first time authors Jennifer Sugar and Jill C. Nelson (that’s right, they are both women) we get to hear first hand from the people that knew the man the best. Some of contributors include such legends as Buck Adams (who unfortunately died in 2008), Dr. Sharon Mitchell, Marilyn Chambers, Mike Horner and Ron Jeremy.

This book is one of the most in depth biographies on John Holmes. It does focus mainly on his career in the adult industry, his trouble with the law and especially his alleged involvement in one of the worst crimes in California history: The Wonderland Murders. More important than anything in the book is that the authors go beyond the stigma that John was just a porn star, arguably the most famous male porn star ever, maybe even the biggest porn star period. They delve into what the man was really like by interviewing friends and colleagues.

Some of the most interesting parts, I found anyway, were the sections about his heavy drug use. How he was still able to perform and how it ultimately caused his demise is quite fascinating. Of course no book about the legend would be complete without talking about his death. I’m sure most of you reading this know already buy John died do to complications from AIDS do mostly to his reckless sex life off camera as well as the practice of not using condoms in movies at that time.

His life was short lived, dying at the age of 44, but it was a life well lived and the fact is he lived his life to the fullest. I obviously recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about the man who played the “Johnny Wadd” or for anyone that is interested in the adult industry. The book, on top of having many excerpts from interviews, also includes many photos from many stages of his life. Some are nudes but I suspect if you are reading a book about John Holmes you are ok with nudity.

I would like to end this review with a quote from John himself. It is really quite deep and it shows you that not only was he physically gifted but he was gifted in thought as well.

“The tree of life represents the roots of man. The branches are the different directions a man can take, live or exist. When you’re dead, those that you leave behind will put you in a part of that tree. It represents what was, what is and what will be. It’s eternal.” – John Holmes

You may be able to find this book at a book store if you want to check it out, but I don know that they have it at Amazon.

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