Rating: 
Summary: BEST BOOK EVER
Review: After almost 30 years in the music industry and reading all the other accounts of "how it was", I can truthfully say someone got it right. While tending not to overly focus on any sub-genre of dance music, this book is an excellent read of the history of the DJ and where it all came from, traveling through the turbulent 60's right through to the creation of dance music in the 70's, it's subsequent death and rebirth in the 80's and its' continuing refinement today. The most important part, the authors have truly done their homework and gotten the right names and the right facts to give an honest and thoughtful overview of the nightclub disc jockey while making sure to pay their dues to those who got us where we are today. More than any other book, I recommend "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" to the new, up and coming DJ who wants to know about our history and the selfless people who created a movement.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive history of the DJ
Review: After almost 30 years in the music industry and reading all the other accounts of "how it was", I can truthfully say someone got it right. While tending not to overly focus on any sub-genre of dance music, this book is an excellent read of the history of the DJ and where it all came from, traveling through the turbulent 60's right through to the creation of dance music in the 70's, it's subsequent death and rebirth in the 80's and its' continuing refinement today. The most important part, the authors have truly done their homework and gotten the right names and the right facts to give an honest and thoughtful overview of the nightclub disc jockey while making sure to pay their dues to those who got us where we are today. More than any other book, I recommend "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" to the new, up and coming DJ who wants to know about our history and the selfless people who created a movement.
Rating:
Summary: A Dj's history book-house, hip hop, disco, northern soul
Review: Coming across this book has been one of the most enlightening finds of my music loving life. I picked it up and read it in it's entirety in 2 days. It is a thorough history of the DJ and the music forms that DJ's have spawned since the advent of vinyl as a medium of auditory stimulation and satisfaction. Just the discography alone, a listing of the top fifty or hundred songs and artist on the playlists of fundamental dance floors (like The Roxy, Paradise Garage, Warehouse, and The Loft to name a few) makes this book worth its weight in gold. The history that this book attempts to recount isn't end all to be all, but it covers enough ground to satisfy even the most discriminating old club lover like myself. And even the most well versed club historian and afficionado will find something entertianing and educational within this books covers. I've bought three copies of this book, just to put some of my friends forever in my debt.
Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: For anyone truly interested in the history as well as progression of the DJ, dance music and the followers who keep all the above alive, this book is a must have.I found most of it to be very enlightening especially the chapter on Northern Soul which I have read twice now. As the book draws to an end the pain sets in harder while today's realistic trends of the DJ and the music are called out loud and clear. I'm ordering my second copy and sending it as a gift.
Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK EVER
Review: For those interested in EVERY aspect of DJ culture and its rich history, this is the book for you. Every DJ should read this book to know where you've come from so that you know where you're going. VITAL.
Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive--not techno obsessed
Review: Frankly, I bought this book because I was interested in learning more about techno/trance DJs, and was initially disappointed by the relative dearth of discussion of current trends (a discussion of these comes only in the last quarter of this book). However, my disappointment turned into appreciation as I realized this book truly is a history of the DJ, from way back in the early 1900s to today. This history offers a vast amount of information about who the first DJ pioneers were, and it is divided up into sections on the first radio DJs, northern soul DJs, reggae, disco, rap, and--finally--techno. The authors point out that they're not doing any academic, high-fallutin' theoretical study of the DJ, but I think they took this anti-academicism too far. The DJ is a fascinating figure because s/he challenges so many of Western culture's ideas about what constitutes "music" and what constitutes "artistry." This book could have been much enriched by delving into the ways the DJ changes how we think about music. As it is, the history in this study is admirably exhaustive; but because it doesn't connect this history to a larger history of music and aesthetics, it sometimes becomes just exhausting.
Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: i am a professional disc jockey who has been spinning for 12 years, mostly hip hop. this book changed the way i look at music and the mixing of it, forever.
Rating: 
Summary: The History of the Homosexual Music Industry
Review: I bought this book expecting to read about the history of DJing. Instead, I was bombarded with page after page of the history of music and how homosexuals played such a big role in the disco era. The majority of the chapters relate only to certain genres of music and the few chapters that do focus on DJing (or at least one would think this from their titles) fail miserably. I will sum up my disappointment with one simple question - Did these authors even have DJs in mind when they wrote this book?
Rating:
Summary: The History of the Homosexual Music Industry
Review: I bought this book expecting to read about the history of DJing. Instead, I was bombarded with page after page of the history of music and how homosexuals played such a big role in the disco era. The majority of the chapters relate only to certain genres of music and the few chapters that do focus on DJing (or at least one would think this from their titles) fail miserably. I will sum up my disappointment with one simple question - Did these authors even have DJs in mind when they wrote this book?
Rating:
Summary: The comprehensive guide to the history of music and the DJ
Review: I bought this book specifically for the history of techno and electronica music and was extremely impressed by the depth of coverage this book has on the impact of the DJ on the music scene. The authors do an amazing job of documenting the transition from one genre of music into another and give us a detailed glimpses into the lives and personalities of the DJs that spawned these new genres. In order to understand techno and its origins, I ended up flipping all the way back to the origins of house music in the Chicago night clubs of the 70s. One of the things I really liked about this book is that the authors have the ability to take you to ground zero. Their descriptions of the clubs make you feel like you've been there and their insight into the DJs make you feel like you know them. This book is a great accomplishment for two obviously very talented writers.
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