Currently reading Alan Clayson´s Origin Of The Species. Very good all round. Bent Rej´s book also at the top. Bill´s Rolling With The Stones up there. Got many others. That´s my fav 3.

Currently reading Philip Norman's 'The Stones' from Waterstones bargain bin on Friday. It's out of date and with some odd errors but also very entertaining. Eg of Nellcote he writes 'its elegant salons were transformed, like all his previous habitations, into the environment Keith favoured - the semblance of a motel room recently ransacked by the police'.

Keith Richards before they make me run
by Kris Needs
A journey through America with The Rolling Stones
by Roberty Greenfield
I was Keith Richards drug dealer
Tony Sanchez
According to, Ronnie and Bills books
To name a few

Stanley Booth's are always dependable.

"I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon."

Stanley Booth's True Adventures is my favorite, but I also love Bockris' Keith bio, Spanish Tony's sci-fi novel, Greenfield's STP, Dalton's First Twenty Years, and Woody and Perks' books.

Stones books, a wealth to choose from, and I simply love reading them!

Currently re-reading an absolute favourite, the first stones book I ever bought - way back in Feb. 1994, when just discovering the band, I bought Bockris' "Keith Richards", and still, I'd have to say it's my favourite book on the band. A very thorough and entertaining book, Bockris obviously a Keith fan, and some sections may be sensationalist, but, it's such a well written and affectionate look at the man himself. Love that book!

'Nankering With the Stones' by James Phelge is another Must-Have. A hilarious & hugely engaging look at the infamous Edith Grove days, wonderful stuff

'Journey Through America' by Robert Greenfield & 'On the Road' by Chet Flippo are brilliant also, decadent & devilish, detailing the touring stones throughout the seventies. I'd say pretty much essential reading.

Bent Rej's "In the Beginning" from the coffee-table tomes is on the Favourites List also.

Too many to mention when it comes to stones books, but the above 5 would be some of my top stones treasures...

My ALL TIME fave is the Chet Flippo book. Excellent excellent excellent.

As far as the coffee table picuture interesting tidbits books go...I dunno about that yet. There's the one that came out after 1997, what is it called? On The Road? It's got the Bridges tongue on the cover...great pictures...

and then the big red book by the Stones themselves, what, I forget what it's called. In Their Own Words or something - fantastic interviews with all of them, well, all 4 of them. The cover is a Voodoo era picture, the couch.

Yeah, ha, I can't recall their names but I look at them quite a bit.

The 1975 Tour book with the pictures by Annie with the mid-70s tongue on the cover, that's a fantastic book...

Bill's book is outstanding with exception to his facts being a bit off here and there.

Stanley Booth's "True Adventures of the Rolling Stones" is my all time fave, I've given away loads of copies of this one to friends and family.

"Up and Down with the Rolling Stones" by Tony Sanchez, is excellent even if you have to take some of it with a pinch of salt.

"Rolling with the Stones" by Bill Wyman is just essential, the best all round reference book ever on the Stones.

Those would be my top three.

In terms of affordable coffee table books, I'd say the Bent Rej book is really great and a good evocation of the Brian Jones era band at it's height.

Less affordable but still wonderous to behold is the gigantic two volume "Out of their Heads" collection of Gered Mankowitz photos, mind you the more affordable, collection of his photos "The Rolling Stones 1965 - 67" is also a great addition to your shelves.

I'm not going to comment on any of the collectable lunatic priced books produced by Genesis and most recently Rhino, from what I've seen of them they are truly fabulous but the price makes them the preserve of dedicated and reasonably flush collectors and you need to wear librarian's gloves just to leaf through them. Not by definition a casual read, more an occassion but lovely books nonetheless.

Each of David Dalton's two books are enjoyable (and essential) reading.

Love STP as well!

True Adventures Of The Rolling Stones - Stanley Booth
(for the fly on the wall moments)

Rolling Stones - The First Twenty Years - David Dalton
(for the glorious pics & fax & features)

Up And Down With The Rolling Stones - Tony Sanchez
(for...hmm...er...)

STP, the 72 tour in all its glory and gore.. Love it, also "Up and Down" Tony Sanchez.

"No dope smoking no beer sold after 12 o'clock"

Up And Down With The Rolling Stones by Tony Sanchez - fact, fiction - who cares. It's a great, great read.

The True Adventures Of The Rolling Stones - Stanley Booth
On the Road With the Rolling Stones - Chet Flippo
Nankering With the Stones - James Phelge
The First Twenty Years - David Dalton
Rolling With the Stones - Bill Wyman

the Kris Needs Keith bio is full of plain embarrassing factual errors. which is really too bad,
because the guy loves Keith so and also has a pretty appealing writing style. i hope he revises it someday
with the assistance of a good researcher/proofreader. i can even volunteer :E



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-02-04 20:44 by with sssoul.

Please note that:
"I was Keith Richards drug dealer"
is the re issue of
"Up and down with thew Rolling Stones"

Rolling With The Stones - Bill Wyman

Satisfaction (Keith bio) by Christopher Sandford is a good read too.

Did the re-release of Bill's book change anything other than the cover? I mean, did he get his facts right this time around?

>> Did the re-release of Bill's book change anything other than the cover? <<

... i guess you mean Stone Alone? i've only read one edition - just finished it a few days ago in fact.

My three absolute favourites:

* Nankering with the Stones (definitive of the early days)
* The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones (definitive on 1969)
* A Journey Through America with the STP (definitive of the '72 tour)


Also good:

* Stone Alone (sometimes a bit tedious)
* Rolling with the Stones (sometimes a bit shallow)
* Old Gods Almost Dead (a few errors and questionable sources, but very comprehensive)
* Exile On Main St. (Greenfield's -- a bit shallow too, but partly excellent)

Interesting...
Hardly anyone mentioned "According To The Rolling Stones" or Ronnie's autobiography...if that count as a "Stones book".

Quote
Erik_Snow
Interesting...
Hardly anyone mentioned "According To The Rolling Stones" or Ronnie's autobiography...if that count as a "Stones book".

I did

Quote
stein
I did

Yep, that's why I wrote "hardly anyone"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-02-04 21:09 by Erik_Snow.

i like According to too.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-09-24 14:47 by parislocksmith.

Best reading:

True Adventures Of The Rolling Stones - Stanley Booth
Up And Down With The Rolling Stones - Tony Sanchez
A journey through America with The Rolling Stones - Robert Greenfield
On the Road With the Rolling Stones - Chet Flippo
Rolling Stones - The First Twenty Years - David Dalton

Coffee Table:

According To The Rolling Stones
Not Fade Away

One to avoid- Anthony Scaduto's Mick Jagger. Absolute rubbish. I suspect it's out of print now but best to be ignored even if discovered in bargain bin/jumble sale.
Scaduto also did a number on Dylan.

"I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon."

I would have listed "According to the Rolling Stones" as a desirable coffee table book, but what invalidates it for me is the wretched corporate mindset with which the book was produced, which as regards a lot of it, photographs in particular, sees a virtual Stalinist air brushing out of Bill Wyman.

Mind you where it really makes it's marks is the observations of the band members themselves, particularly in terms of their influences and the way the band works.

But for me it's still crippled by the diminution of Bill Wyman in the band's history and development.

Can't wait for mr. Richards' new biography. If it ever comes out...

[www.reverbnation.com]

... so is Stone Alone also "Stalinist" for focussing way more on Bill than on the others?
According to is the viewpoint of the four current Stones. it doesn't pretend to be a historical reference work.

Quote
parislocksmith
Barbara Charone's 'Keith Richards', anyone?

Hard to get hold of in the UK - I've been trying for ages but loathe to pay Amazon import prices.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-09-24 17:19 by parislocksmith.