an exhaustive study in everything pink and useful for the whole range of fans from those just just enjoy the music, to those who are obsessed. you'll learn something new everytime you pick up, and written by some of the most famous pf fans online.

Vernon Fitch has compiled one of the best books regarding Pink Floyd. There is hardly any subject not covered in this book. It is a Pink Floyd, Syd Barret, & Roger Waters fan "must have" book. Mr. Fitch KNOWS his Floyd! There are one or two errors (for example, Roger Waters' birthday is given as 9 Sept. 1943, It really is 6 Sept. "REG" can verify that for you). This book really has it all, and, in light of the recent Roger Waters' tours and the release of "The Wall" DVD/VHS releases and the hopefully soon to be released "Is There Anybody Out There" CD, I would venture to say Mr. Fitch is at work on a supplemental book

In short, pretty much EVERYTHING about Pink Floyd is here, in encyclopedia format (not "in depth", of course, because Mr. Fitch is a very concise writer. I find myself looking up all kinds of things in this book. The appendices are great! Live appearances, what equipment and instruments are used by all the members, alternative Gilmour guitar tunings, and the good old "Publius Enigma" Plenty of hours of great reading!

Thank You

I've learned much about Pink Floyd from many other books about them and a bit from my own research, but Vernon Fitch managed to include heaps of previously unpublished information. His book has an alphabetical section that's easy to use for quick reference and fun to just browse at random. Musicians will drool over the rare info about the equipment and tunings used over the years. Many fans will be surprised to hear of the enigma of The Division Bell, which hasn't been covered by a Pink Floyd book before this. What shall we do to fill the empty spaces in our knowledge of Pink Floyd's music? Get this book!

My daughter (age 3) likes this book so much that I have to read it to her at least twice a day. This has been going on for over a month and luckily, I'm not really tired of it yet!

Rattlebone Rock is so fun to read. Children love the rhythmic text and really get into the book by making the spooky sounds the author writes of. Read it through once to a class of K-3 students. Then read it again and again, and have them chime in during the graveyard ghostly parts! This has been a hit with the k-3 students I have read it to. They will love the text and the great illustrations. A Halloween Book I wouldn't be without!

This book is great for Halloween! Our children really enjoy repeating the rocking, rythmic sounds made in this graveyard!

I thoroughly enjoyed Roadie: A True Story (at least the parts I remember). I have been in the business for over twenty years, and Karl took me back behind the soundboard, on the bus and every where else one must go to keep a band on the road.

The book has lots of laughs, and is a must for fans of the music business, especially roadies-in-waiting. Karl reveals what really goes on behind the smoke and mirrors called show business. And reaffirms the fact that you can't do a show without good roadies!

Great book for everybody!!!
Many things are really fun and all of them is useful in life on the road. My suggestion is just get this book and enjoy it.

This book is great! I have read it cover to cover loads of times. I am hopeing to work in this field in the future and this book gives a true representation of day to day life as a roadie. This is a MUST have book. I promise you will laugh all the way through. there is no decision to be made BUY IT NOW!!!

I'm not into rock music, but the "Alice in Wonderland" comparison from another reviewer peeked my interest. I completely loved this book - I was laughing so hard I cried. Rock N Roll Fantasy made me feel good and it was a nice break from the heavy stuff I usually choose to read. If you want to have a little fun and entertainment (with some substance, too), then I can't recommend this book enough.

This book is pretty neat, esp. if you are a fan of rockers like Ozzy Osbourne, Axl Rose, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, etc. It's really unusual to find these characters in fiction, so that's why I found this book unique. In fact, I've never read anything quite like it. Rock on, babes!

Selfish and vain, the narrator considers a life of wealth and privileges her due until a book on the Tarot transforms her life. Her clairvoyant aunt left the hand-written and richly illustrated tarot guide, but the narrator considers it useless in its musty, dustiness. After all, nothing that is not new, ultra modern, and expensive has value. Indeed, this superficial rich kid freaks when a nail breaks or her hair isn't perfectly coifed.

While waiting for her date to pick her up, the narrator dozes off under a tree with the book on tarot in her hands. Condescending and skeptical of the tarot, she doesn't know she's about to receive a first hand lesson. The narrator awakens to a stranger's nudge. Feeling a bit like Rip Van Winkle, she accepts the card the man offers: The Fool. When she looks around, the surreal landscape reveals no indication of civilization. Indeed, the land lacks telephone polls, McDonald's or cars. So begins an extraordinary odyssey of discovery where each stage of the journey is marked by a lesson from the tarot.

Fairytales, mythology, rock 'n roll, and the tarot blend in this fantastically eclectic montage shimmering with wisdom and humor. Rat-tail stew, underground monsters, and vicious Amazon women all come to play in a surreal and fantastic journey revealing an amazing imagination on the part of the author. A rock star represents each player in the major Arcana, and the dialogue includes lighthearted references to hundreds of lyrics. For those of us that are somewhat illiterate of rock 'n roll, however, the dialogue and characterizations are no less enchanting. Playful and dynamic, ROCK 'N ROLL FANTASY comes very highly recommended.

Steve Edwards' book was my first purchase as an avid rockclimber when I visited Santa Barbara in January 2002 to prepare for my transfer to the area. Even before using the guide to locate the local climbing I enjoyed it immensely for the history and personal flavor given by the author.

There is much more to this book than a climbing guide. It is also a personal pilgrimage. Steve experienced a golden era in Santa Barbara climbing that he describes so vividly yet knows has passed forever. His is the passion of a personal life transition that we all go through and there is both joy and sadness in the writing. His obsessive intensity and endurance for physical training is mirrored by an affection for caffeine, alcohol and nicotine that make him such an interesting character. Steve is also a movie connoisseur from his early days running a video shop in the student quarter (Isla Vista) next to UCSB and he blends this knowledge with climb descriptions for occasional flashes of brilliant humor. And I should refrain from commenting on the Reverend Speefknarkle! Steve's defining picture is buffed and honed on "Pieces of You" atop the fantastic Pine Mountain boulderfield.

The book fulfills its primary purpose as a tool for guiding the climber in locating and selecting appealing routes exceptionally well. My copy is already dogeared and marked up with yellow highlights after just one season and it has never led me astray. Only rarely have I disagreed with the grades Steve gives for difficulty and quality but this is to be expected for these subjective ratings.

In summary, this book is a must buy for any climber interested in the Santa Barbara - Ventura region yet it has deeper appeal as literature capturing one man's personal journey through the 90's. How we all wish to turn back the hands of time!

I visit the Santa Barbara area often. So I picked up this book and thumbed through and became intrigued enough to buy it. Not for the rock climbing information (although the personality and names given to each trail had me captivated); instead I became curious to know this philosophical guide writer, Steve Edwards. Formerly thinking all rock climbers were a bunch of daredevils, this guide opened my eyes to the depth of committment it takes to be a rock climber, much less, write a guide! And their love of the earth is more honest and real than most armchair environmentalists. Reading this book definitely helped me grow. I hope you will read it and then go hug a rock - and maybe even a rockclimber!

Whether served up with a tray of Bombay Sapphire martinis (shaken, two olives) or a six-pack of ice cold Oly, let this text be your companion to some of the best and most scenic climbing areas in America! Looking for steep, gargantuan sport routes that make your tendons twitch just looking at 'em? How about classic sandstone slabs with holds so fragile they may break if you merely pass gas? Or maybe you're into divine boulderfields so vast that first ascents are possible until Jesus comes back to spot you? This book has it covered. Steve Edwards has done a first class job of directing you in entertaining fashion to the climbing, history, and lifestyle that Santa Barbara climbing is all about. Read it over coffee and cigarettes not just as a guide, but as fine literature. It's better than 'Atlas Shrugged', and shorter too!

If you talk to anyone who grew up on a ranch, they always speak of the experience with awe. This fine book will help you understand why. Barbara Corn Patterson's vivid account of the joys and struggles of life on a southwest ranch will make you long to be a cowboy again, but for a different reason!

Looking for your next read? Well, here it is!
Ranch life in the good olds days was full of cattle
round-ups, hard labor, neighbors helping neighbors, ect.
There's all that and more at the Rock House!
Check it out!

The good old days with hard reality and simplicity at the same time! Fascinating memoir!

Great book to curl up on the couch with!

An absolutely indispensible reference for anyone trying to build a collection of oldies or just settle trivia questions. My only regret is that the book was published in 1989, so no information on later songs and artists is available. Maybe someone will update it. Meanwhile, this book is a great asset to our library.

The best reference book on the subject of Rock and Roll Music. The reader or researcher is informed about members of groups, time lines, and record labels without being served up up too much un-necessary knowledge.

This an outstanding reference if you are a fan of rock and roll music. I frequently use it to orient me to popular culture for the period of the sixties and seventies as I do research for a book. It addresses not only music but other areas, such as movies, as well. If you can find a used copy, it is well worth your trouble.

an excellent collection of rock photos from rolling stone
beautiful work

This is one of the best photographic books I have ever seen. The photographers who took these photos really captured the feeling and emotions of the artists at the time. All the classic and famous personalities of music are here, from Ike and Tina to Bob Dylan; from Elvis to Bowie to Nirvana; from The Beatles and Stones to Alice Cooper and all that lies between (too too many to list here). An excellent array of both black and white and colour shots. The close ups allow you to see into the sometimes troubled, sometimes happy, but ever changing eyes of these rock icons. The broader shots show some of these bands and performers in their most comfortable and bizarre surrounds. A worthwhile purchase, that allows you to ponder each and every photo for hours and hours. In the back is a complete copy (small version) of the photos together with a who is who. Buy the hardcover; not only is it worth the price, but it will last forever. This is easily the greatest and most comprehensive collection of rock and roll pictures in one publication!

the best part was courtney love on the cover, and nirvana on the last page.

I'm a huge PSB fan, but given their recent lack of success in America, I have seen little of them. Reading this book was an excellent way for me to learn a little bit about the boys. The book is terribly funny. The Boys act like spoiled rock stars at times and at other times seem like the most normal chaps you could hope to meet. This schism is appropriate for a group that writes and performs such complex music. The book covers their tour during the "Introspective" CD ("It's Alright" was released as a single in Britain during this time).

The PSB were in their self-proclaimed "imperial period" when everything they did went to #1 in the UK (and top 10 in the US). However, it was clear that things were changing, especially with the emergence of English boy bands that would proliferate during the 1990's. They riff on a number of British and American pop stars, and the fun is not diminished by the fact that many of these acts are fairly unknown in the US, such as Bros. If anything, the fading of these untalented bands and the continuing (European) success of PSB documents that substance can win over style.

We also learn a great deal about their creative process. For example, I had always assumed that Chris wrote the music and Neil wrote the lyrics, but that is not the case. They seem to have equal say in the formation of songs. The Boys also seem surprisingly principled and unwilling to bend their artistic choices for the sake of popularity and record company approval. I greatly enjoyed this book and think that other PSB fans will also.

After years of being a devoted fan, Chris Heath's book changed my opinion of our Boys from the UK. "Literally" revealed the true side of the Pet Shop Boys.

In public, Neil is the verbal communicator and frontman while Chris is the silent mind behind the synthesizers! But in reality it's almost the opposite: Neil is quiet and reserve and Chris so outspoken, that he borderlines on being obnoxious!

The book reveals the Boys points of view on everything from their opinion of fans to what they think of Bryan Ferry.

The book was not as interesting as I thought it would be. A better book is the follow up book "Pet Shop Boys VS America.

As an obsessive Pet Shop Boys fan I had to have this book and found it to be a great gossipy read. Even for non-fans it's quite the page-turner and gives great insight into what successful musicians have to go through whilst touring. It's amazing the PSBs let someone enter their midst and catch them in such unguarded moments without knowing whether the book would be complimentary or condeming. Heath side-steps such touchy issues as Chris and Neil's sexual orientation, their opinion of other pop stars and celebrities. Some of the stories had me screaming with laughter they were so funny. Yes, Neil does come off a being a bit bossy and a bit of a control queen and Chris does sound a bit demanding, but then again you have to be to be successful on your own terms. Chris Heath's writting is very witty, engaging and crisp, very British and a refreshing blast of fresh air when compared with other pop star bios.

I think that this book was very good. It took the reader in to the private lives of both John and Yoko. It gives us an inside look on what their own private lives were really like. That being when John was with The Beatles and his life afterwards and up to the end of his life. I recommend reading this book. It takes you into John's thoughts about life!!

I love John lennon so i started reading biographys on him and interviews, etc to learn more about him. When I read "The Playboy Interviews With John Lennon and Yoko Ono" I HONESTLY COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! I couldn't believe it; i started reading it in the afternoon and didn't put it down until late at night where i finished it! It is a wonderful, wonderful book with John's sense of humor and yoko's too and their insight into the world. It really is my favorite book because it is close to a John Lennon autobiography as the world will ever know. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

This is the definitive book regarding John Lennon. He reviews almost every song he wrote with or without Paul McCartney, which alone is worth the price of admission. In addition to that, he provides insights into his personal philosophies and world views. One could call it the perfect companion to the recent Beatles Anthology book. Crucial reading. How sad he had to die a little over 2 months after these interviews were conducted. Unfortunately out of print, do yourself a favor and try an out of print book search; you won't regret it.