Slash: The Autobiography: The story of a rock and roll star Paperback – Import, 5 May 2008

A fantastic book. Whenever a journalist is credited on a book, the suspicion is inevitably that of 'Ghost Writing' - in this case, those little doubts are soon dispelled: although Anthony Bozza may have plyed his skills in structuring the story, anyone who has heard Slash speak and is famailiar with his style will instantly recognise the words and humour as very much his own...and its far better for it.I cannot remember a rock autobiography being more amusing, engrossing, shocking, excessive, uplifting - this book has it all. Many rock autobiographies are bland, somewhat 'controlled' PR-minded affairs, massaged to not in any way detract from the subject. Others are standard-sized books, but open them up and they look like something out of the Large Print Series (remember those?) where the pages pass in a moment....neither could be said for this book - its quite a substantial tome and you get the impression that anything other than blunt reality is an affront to Slash's sense of cool. Slash doesn't promise objectivity, but spares himself nothing and delivers one of the most highly detailed and entertaining accounts of life as a leading rock musician and in the proces of doing so, he shows himself to be extremely articulate, incredibly thoughtful, disarmingly honest and with a great sense of humour. Contrary to what many have written, this is not a rant against Axl Rose and Slash is commendably even-handed about this (read it properly!), often stressing 'this is how I saw it, Axl will have his own, equally valid account' - in fact, he bad-mouths very few and seems to see good in most people. In all, its quite a journey, from his roots in the UK (yes, he carries a British passport!), a tough adolescence on the streets of LA, his BMX career, subsequent devotion to music, the highs & lows, the drug and alchohol dependency and his transformation into an atypical family man - all very illuminating. There are also many funny moments, especially when he describes experiencing rock music's equivalent of an audience with the Pope - meeting Keith Richards. This guy's sense of humour is very much alive and kicking.It certainly has the ability to shock, so the more prudish amongst us should be warned, especially when he describes how he and a band mate 'entertained' an evidently more-than-willing female acquaintance in their shared bedroom! I'll not spoil the surprise.....As a serious-minded guitar player myself, I have always admired Slash and quite liked Guns & Roses. Whatever you might think of G'N'R, there's certainly no denying Slash is very likeable guy and goes a long way to explain (as any explanation was needed) why he is so popular & reverred.Slash has gone to alot of effort with this and the result is an absorbing insight into one of the best guitar players out there. Whilst he seems to have beaten the drugs, the booze still lurks in the background a little, so his future is not entirely without its challenges and the fact that he did all this and is striving to maintain his sobriety because of his family, you have to wish him well.If you're reading these reviews, chances are this sort of personality interests you...if so, just buy it - you abolutely will not regret it!!!

I'm a guitar player. Not in the same league as Mr Hudson, but I know a little bit about the world in which he lives.This is not a book about that world.If you are looking for a tell-all expose that exposes the seedy underbelly of the music industry, and reveals the inner workings of Axl's mind, giving a blow-by-blow account of every addled moment of the Gn'R world, don't buy this book.I've always admired Slash as a guitar player. Since Snakepit, I've admired him as a musician. Since reading this book I admire him as an individual.This book covers some of Slash's early life, which doesn't seem to have been particularly awful, contrary to what you might expect. Slash seems to be a pretty intelligent and well adjusted bloke who is also not really very outgoing. The hat, shades and curls are a form of mask - without them he is hard to recognise. He even describes the specific moment when he adopted the 'look'.Slash is clearly not particularly proud of the side of his life that involved drugs, and ultimately the death of a friend. Nevertheless, they were a huge part of his life, so he describes them in detail. It happened, it's relevant and it shouldn't be glossed over.However, this book does not, at any point, glorify drug use. It pretty much starts with Slash describing what he thought was a near-death experience after his defibrillator was triggered in the middle of a concert. A defibrillator that had to be installed after an overdose.Interestingly, there are only maybe five or six lines about racial predjudice. He briefly mentions an incident where a member of another band suggested that, as a person of colour, he shouldn't be playing rock music, and that's it. He doesn't refer to himself as a Black musician, and the book is unexpectedly free from any reference to prejudice.Overall, the book is about the music. He talks about his guitar, his amplifiers, how the albums were cut, what he did while Axl spent FOREVER mixing Use Your Illusion (he went on a tour with his own band, which got cut short...)He also talks a lot about Axl. To my utter surprise, Slash will not have a bad word said about Axl Rose. He makes it quite clear that Axl's behaviour was unacceptable, and that he ultimately left the band as a result of that, but he doesn't 'blame' Axl, and is quick to defend him on some occasions.Maybe, just maybe, at the time the book was written, Axl still had all the unreleased footage from the UYI tours (he did, and Slash mentions it), so just maybe Slash had a good reason not to upset Axl. More likely, Slash knows Axl better than anyone, and quite rightly points out that he is the only person with any right to criticise him. Axl comes across as a very challenging individual, who needs to be treated with respect. The book doesn't specifically mention it, but the implication seems to be that Axl is autistic to some degree and doesn't really understand why other people find his behaviour unacceptable.A fascinating book and worth reading, even if you are not a fan. In fact, if you ARE a fan, you might find the book a bit boring!

Slash was the reason why I decided to pick up a guitar and learn to play, so I jumped at the chance to read about his life and how he got to where he is.I agree with one reviewer that a large slice of this book is about his addiction to drugs and booze. It was a little tedious at points to read about it, but underlying all of that I was absolutely amazed that given the amount he imbibed on a daily basis he was still able to get on stage and give those performances. For that alone he deserves respect. I can't even play "twinkle tiwnkle little start" after a couple of drinks.He appeared to be very honest throughout the book, and stated very clearly why he left GN'R. He gave three reasons, but after reading the events I couldn't help but feel that there was a little more to it than that, but all in all it was very frank account. It will be interesting to see if there is any backlash from Axl Rose. Slash was very clear in stating these were just his opinions, and freely admitted that Axl would have his own version of events, maybe even as a possible invitation to reply.Given that Axl has been working on his latest album for the past 100 years I'm not expecting to read anything soon.My only criticism of this book is that he should have mentioned his age a bit more often so the reader can get a sense of how fast things were moving for him in the early days. I sometimes felt that ten years had passed, when really it was only two.The biggest plus point from this book is that I have learnt how to make golf WAY more interesting...

AMAZING BOOK!!!