Best books on the band?

I have all, or nearly all, of the books and the band. I can tell you without reservation they all complete and utter shit.

There's one called 'None too Fragile' that's a total hack job. Steer well clear of this cut 'n' paste visual nightmare. Even the band members in the photo's are mis-captioned :roll:

There was a large format book released many years ago written by Allan Jones of Melody Maker Magazine (RIP-not Allan, Melody Maker!) It was a bit thin but an interesting read (at least he'd personally interviewed the band for his magazine a few times). I can't remember the name of it though. (Most of my stuff is in storage, as I live overseas). I remember Ed said that Paul Simon looked like a 'bald baby eagle' in it, which made me laugh.

Mick Wall's biography (forgot the title to that one, too), was good in the mid '90's when it first came out, but since the band has been more transparent and less mythological about their history since 2006, Mick's book is now inaccurate and very much cut 'n' paste.

I know there's more, but like I say, my shit's all in storage, so I can't remember what else I have. '5 Against 1' is the only decent read, but it tells you more about EV than you really need to know, and the only people Kim Neely could interview specifically for the book were people with a grudge of some kind against the band, so even that book should be approached with an open mind and a critical eye.

Hope that helps.

I'm currently 3/4ths of the way through 5 against 1, and I must say it is a very interesting read and from the looks of it, one of the better books on the band out there. I recommend it!

5 against 1 is good. As mentioned it does give the band some heat. If the critisism is deserved or not can be discussed, but as a book about the band and the life on the road it performes very well.

I bought an extra copy of PJ20 (used) and cut it up to read as a "paperback" on the beach.

All other books are shite

Don't waste your time on Five against One. It is good to write critical journalism and be skeptical, but that book seems like a PJ-tabloid magazine, where every little thing get blown up into big dramas. And every chapter ends in this weird way, as on the peak of the drama.
You can probably find a lot of interesting stuff in the book, but i got really annoyed by the tone it is written in.

If you haven't read PJ20 then you are missing out. IMO. The best parts are the introspective rehashes of the making of each record. One could make a short book of just that. So good.

I concur - got PJ20 the book at Christmas, and so far it is awesome!

I have five against one. It's a pretty good read.