In today's article I would like to show you my collection of musical books. While it is a collection, it might not be the most varied collection you have ever seen. Because all the books are about Guns N' Roses, but I will be going through them all with you. Take a look below to find out more about each book.
Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the making of Appetite For DestructionThis book is the latest addition to my small collection. To be honest, I haven't gotten to fully reading it yet. Even though I have owned it for several years by now. I've just been lazy and putting if off, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the book. It's a great collection of pictures and stories from the early era of Guns N' Roses. The book is created by Mark Canter, a friend of the GN'R members. He was with them from the moment the band started and documented everything over the years. This has resulted in a beautiful book with lots of pictures and information about the early years of Guns N' Roses. It gives you a firsthand view of what went on at the time, which is why it's so unique.
Reckless Road on Amazon
Guns N' Roses: The Photographic History
It's like the top 3 books sort of continue where another one left off. Reckless Road is especially focused on the early years, leading up Appetite For Destruction. This book with pictures by Robert John starts around 1985 and continues all the way up to 1992. The book has foreword by Axl Rose himself. It doesn't have any stories, it's just a photographic history, like the title says. It shows pictures of the band through the years. Showing the line-up changes and the growth from small venues to large sold out stadiums. I got this book secondhand and have always treasured it, it's a lovely collection of photo's. It's a bit more plain compared to Reckless Road perhaps, but it's a lovely book to just browse through.
Guns N' Roses: The Pictures
Now this book is my personal favorite out of all the ones I own. I first discovered it at our library many years ago. It quickly became one of my favorites books and in borrowed it many times. Then at some point the library decided to discontinue the book for some reason and it was gone. I was quite sad since I really loved the book. Since I loved it so much I tried to see if I could buy my own copy somewhere. Lucky me managed to find a secondhand copy online and bought it. The book was created by George Chin, who was one of the official photographers for Guns N' Roses for several years. Most of his photographs are from what I call the "Use Your Illusion era". Which is basically the 90's era of Guns N' Roses. There is some 80's footage in the book, but not as much as the previous two. What I like about these pictures is the style, it's hard to describe, but they feel very simple and honest. Pure almost. This book features some of my favorite photographs and it's a real gem to have in my collection. Especially since it can only be bought secondhand. New copies are nowhere to be found anymore. So it makes the book a rarity, I only have the Dutch version, but I think it should be available in English as well.
Now this book is my personal favorite out of all the ones I own. I first discovered it at our library many years ago. It quickly became one of my favorites books and in borrowed it many times. Then at some point the library decided to discontinue the book for some reason and it was gone. I was quite sad since I really loved the book. Since I loved it so much I tried to see if I could buy my own copy somewhere. Lucky me managed to find a secondhand copy online and bought it. The book was created by George Chin, who was one of the official photographers for Guns N' Roses for several years. Most of his photographs are from what I call the "Use Your Illusion era". Which is basically the 90's era of Guns N' Roses. There is some 80's footage in the book, but not as much as the previous two. What I like about these pictures is the style, it's hard to describe, but they feel very simple and honest. Pure almost. This book features some of my favorite photographs and it's a real gem to have in my collection. Especially since it can only be bought secondhand. New copies are nowhere to be found anymore. So it makes the book a rarity, I only have the Dutch version, but I think it should be available in English as well.
Slash
Moving on to the bottom row, this book is Slash's official autobiography written by Anthony Bozza. If you're a real Guns N' Roses fan and want to hear from the own mouths what they have to say then this is a must read. It's a great book to get Slash's perspective of things and to get to know him a little better. It was very interesting to read about where he came from and what he went through over time. The only shame might be that it wasn't written by himself. But then again, I'd rather have a good author write down his words then I have him write them down and the book is rubbish. The book moves into many phases of his life, from his early years as a child, to his teenage years and Guns N' Roses, to everything that happened after that up to then. I can very much recommend this book if you are in doubts, it well written and it seems quite honest. You won't regret it.
It's So Easy: and other lies
Duff McKagan has always been my favorite Guns N' Roses member. He seems like a genuine, sweet guy. Ann all around good person. His autobiography was written all by himself. Before writing the book he had an online column where he shared stories. They were so well received that he decided to write a book. Which became the one I'm talking about right now. For someone who's main profession isn't an author Duff wrote a fantastic book. He also touched on various parts of his life before, during and after Guns N' Roses. It truly shows that he is an intelligent guy, still willing to learn. His book is just as much a must read as the one by Slash. It might be my favoritism, but I think this one might be a little bit ahead of Slash even in my personal opinion. If you can, definitely give it a read.
This was my book collection for now. I still have a few books on my list that I might want to read someday. When a new book is added to the collection I will surely post it on here. This article contained mini reviews of the books in my collection. I might do more in dept reviews on some of them in the future. If you would like to hear more about a certain book, please leave a comment below.
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