Rating: 
Summary: Redundancy
Review: The "insider" aspect is covered far better and more thoughtfully in other books on Zeppelin. Throughout the book, you get the feeling that Richard Cole is trying to elevate his status as an "insider" by telling every disgusting tidbit he can remember. Yes, they were young men in their 20's whose hormones were flowing in overdrive. Yes, they had the means to do whatever they wanted to. Yes, like most of us, they did things in their 20's that were callous, reckless and unconscionable. Yet do we really want to hear about another orgy 2/3's of the way through the book? The book falls into a boring repititve cycle. As a music fan, there are less than three pages devoted to any of their albums. Isn't that the main part about Zeppelin? The touring is an integral part of the story, but the music was the main part and anyone expecting to learn about that aspect of the Zeppelin mystique will be short-thrifted here.
Rating: 
Summary: A Candid Portrayal of Led Zeppelin
Review: The novel Stairway To Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored is a truly adventurous novel that provides a candid portrayal of the colossal band, Led Zeppelin. Throughout the lengthy novel the reader discovers the most vivid description of each of the band members. After reading the book I feel as if I have drunken tea with Robert Plant or even jammed with Jimmy Page. The author and former road manager, Richard Cole, leads the reader on a wild escapade from the band's heroin addiction to their obsession to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. The book provides an ample background for each of the band members' pre-Zeppelin days and also follows up on the members' lives after the band's downfall. The vast range of the novel touches lightly on many events while only focusing much attention on certain events. While describing the band's many wild experiences, Cole eloquently adds extra meaning and depth to many of Led Zeppelin's songs, which turns a fan like myself into a raving zealot. After reading the biography I have found myself even more passionate about the band's music and it has fed my hunger to learn more about the seemingly mysterious band of generations past. The novel was very well written, providing both a pinch of drama to an abundance of comedy. The best feature of the novel was the author's input on many of the songs that the band produced. His input usually derived from what Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, the two main writers of most of their songs, had to say about the music they produced. The most interesting piece of information is that the song "Stairway to Heaven" was originally written with reggae-style music and accent but on the band's first cut they played it without their intended reggae influence and produced that copy. Cole also invites the reader into each of the band members' lives outside of the band, which is usually not done because rock stars treasure the little privacy they receive. The worst thing about the book is that some events of the band's long journey are not touched upon very strongly. Some events draw much interest but because there is so much to say, Cole neglects to elaborate on many interesting events that the band experienced. Also, the time period for much of the biography is not very clear, which isn't too bad, but it is good to know when all the events occurred. Cole toured with the band for many years and developed a much stronger relationship with Jimmy Page than with Robert Plant, which produces a biased opinion on some conflicts and also directs much of the book's focus on Jimmy Page while largely neglecting John Paul Jones. Jimmy and Robert are the most famous and many readers know plenty about them already, and a main reason for reading the book could have been to discover more about the less popular members.
Rating: 
Summary: An Embarrassment For Everyone Involved
Review: There is little reason for this book to exist except for Richard Cole to make money. Sure he was Led Zeppelin's trusty road manager for many years, but this is little justification for him to spend the next several decades rehashing the band's sordid past for his own gain. He did this previously by being the key contributor to Stephen Davis' inferior Zep biography "Hammer of the Gods." Cole should be grateful to Zep for employing him for so many years, and should value their friendship enough to let the past stay in the past. The surviving members of the band are now mature older men, and while they surely have fond memories of their glory days, they probably know it's time to lead respectable middle-aged lives. Why can't Cole do the same? The guy is pushing sixty. Should he still be going on and on about his wild days with his crazy pals three decades ago? Yes, Zep was the wildest party band ever. Yes they consumed gigantic amounts of illicit substances. Yes they trashed hotel rooms. Yes they degraded women. Yawn. This is all common knowledge. The amount of time Zep was on tour was probably less than 25% of their overall working time as a band. The time they spent writing and recording their incredible music was much greater, and that's what matters now. Their music is timeless and is their true legacy, while their touring exploits are vaguely funny stories at best. Granted, Cole shows some empathy in his treatment of John Bonham's exploits, gaining some insight into the inner weaknesses that drove the drummer to an early grave. On the other hand, his treatment of John Paul Jones is sheer vindictiveness, trying to cut Jones' image as the levelheaded member of the band down to size. Cole's coverage of Page and Plant is merely elaboration on what is already known, purely for profit. Do not buy this book. If you do, you're encouraging Cole to make more money by living in the distant past, using his fortunate connection with famous people for his own gain. In this book Cole has embarrassed himself by stabbing his old friends in the back for some easy money. He has embarrassed the reader by assuming that this sordid material is useful or funny to the faithful Zep fan. Worst of all, he has embarrassed Led Zeppelin. Fortunately, the music will remain long after this useless book is forgotten. P.S. The use of Led Zeppelin's most famous and brilliant song for the title of this atrocious book is a travesty.
Rating: 
Summary: You will not put this book down!
Review: This book is a classic Cole was there for most of Zeppelin's career, and tells many stories that won Zeppelin their title for "One of the most rambunctious bands of all time" A must read for all Zep fans.
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK KICKS ASS
Review: This book is awesome , 1. Their explaining led zeppelins life,fame,downfall,etc. 2. People may say its a lie that Cole is full of lies but the book just makes u addicted makes u want to read more and more
Rating:
Summary: Whole Lotta Love
Review: This book is basically an autobiography of Richard Cole's, the band's tour manager, experiences with Led Zeppelin. He does a great informal style of writing, which made the book very easy to read (I think I read it in a week)The details for how the songs were actually made was the most interesting part and the imagery of the concerts made me wish I was born a couple decades earlier. This book was one of the bests books I've read in a long long time. If you are a huge Zeppelin fan, you will love this book and probably won't be able to put it down. Jimmy Page is amazing to read about, he is truly a musical genius. There is a lot of graphic detail about how the women were treated, and it was hard to read, but lets face it, the boys weren't perfect angels.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much of a good thing
Review: This book is interesting for a while, but I started to tire of reading it 3/4 of the way through, just like the band got tired of playing.
Rating:
Summary: A Candid Portrayal of Led Zeppelin
Review: This book isn't as bad as one might believe it to be. Mainly it's been criticised by Robert Plant for Richard Cole selling out and manufacturing stories and attributing events to Zep. Still, it does give some insights into Cole's relationship with the band. Cole undeniably had a long history with Zeppelin. Like "Hammer of the Gods" - one has to take this one as an anecdotal account and with a pinch of salt... I found it to be readable.
Rating:
Summary: Often Maligned, but...
Review: This book isn't as bad as one might believe it to be. Mainly it's been criticised by Robert Plant for Richard Cole selling out and manufacturing stories and attributing events to Zep. Still, it does give some insights into Cole's relationship with the band. Cole undeniably had a long history with Zeppelin. Like "Hammer of the Gods" - one has to take this one as an anecdotal account and with a pinch of salt... I found it to be readable.
Rating:
Summary: the best book ever
Review: this book was the best i ever red!I did not think Richard Cole was a blabbermouth,he just told us what we all wanted to know:the truth about Led Zepplin.Yes he might have used words that some people did not understand...I have 3 words for those people...GET A DICTIONNARY! After reading this book,you will never feel the same way about rock music again.Richard Cole gave the best detailed and truthful stories ever herd about Led Zepplin and you won`t find any other author who could do the same.
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