Rating: 
Summary: About as close to the truth as you'll get
Review: Most books on subjects such as this (the history of the punk rock scene) are fluff, or some lame writer's opinion. Here we have the major players talking (Lou Reed, Nico, Wayne Kramer, Iggy Pop, David Johanssen, Johnny Thunders, Patti Smith, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Tom Verlaine, Stiv Bators, John Lydon, Debbie Harry, etc etc.) Plus all their hangers-on and groupies and girlfriends and record suits (i.e. Danny Fields.) So this is about as close to the truth as you'll get about how it all evolved, and moved from Detroit to New York City to London. Iggy has a major role in it all, and I found him to be his usual truthful self. Iggy speaks of listening to the first Velvet Underground album in 1967 and not liking it at first (very honest there.) He also speaks of seeing Jim Morrison perform with the Doors in 1967 at some college concert, and being fascinated by the Lizard King's crazy stage performance. He formed the Stooges less than 6 months later, and Iggy ends up influencing his Detroit peers the MC5, and later hanging with the NY Dolls and then the Ramones in New York. The Ramones and to a lesser extent, Johnny Thunders from the Dolls travel to England and end up influencing the growing scene there, including John Lydon (who turns into Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.) All in all, good behind the scene stories are included. I only wish the early heavy metal players could be as honest in a book like this, instead of protecting their own egos.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for punk rock enthusiasts
Review: I love how this book is written by 1st person point of view. Every passage is quoted from the actual person/persons that were there when an event happened. The beginning of the book really focuses on the Detroit sound of the MC5, Stooges..etc. It is a indepth look at the whole start of the punk rock genre of the late 60s early 70s and continues up through the late 80s and early 90s. Each decade is broken down into nice sections. This book is tops for books about the early punk scene. This book also includes various pictures which is nice and an index of all the characters in the the book and how they are associated with the punk scene.I have followed punk rock for over 15years and I have to say that this is the best money I have ever spent on a book.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive History of NY PUNK
Review: This book tells it all. How CBGB's became the home of the NY punk scene and it follows the rise of bands such as The NY Dolls, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Blondie, MC5, Iggy & The Stooges - you don't know punk until you finish this book.
Rating: 
Summary: what the....
Review: Hey listen books dont teach you anything about being punk.being punk doesnt mean oh i dont give a F*CK.or anarchy. it means entertainment and disgusting yourself making people laugh at you.its all fun and games.you dont gotta be sensitive like a blackie.NO IM NOT RACIST.see there ya go
Rating:
Summary: definatly tells it right
Review: if you are at all curious about the rise and fall of punk rock pick this up, although you may be suprised about what you learn...
Rating: 
Summary: Please Don't Tell Me
Review: I liked this book because it wasn't some "music historian" who read some books or saw some concerts, giving his bias opinion. It was the real artists telling it the way it was. But at the same time, it seemed like a lot of information. Almost too much. Instead of flattering the muscians and displaying their talents, this book showed them as sick junkies who beat their girlfriends and threw up on their crowd. But it is the truth, which I appreciated and was intrigued by. It sure took away the glamour and rock n roll sheen, though.
Rating:
Summary: Please Read Me
Review: As a former poseur punk, I thought the beginning of punk started with the anger in Britain, but as I read, I realized that Detroit started the Punk movement. I now understand what punk is all about, not just the anger in Britain, but the anger in America.
I highly recommend this to anyone who actually wants to know how punk really started. Since it is oral, it is a little tough to follow so read the names of the speaker, but soon you will start to feel for the people behind the scenes, and anyone associated with it.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining first person account of the new york punk scene
Review: You have to take the subtitle to "Please Kill Me" seriously. It's really an oral history in the sense that the book isn't so much written as assembled out of tape-recorded interviews. It isn't a Q/A format, it's a narrative stitched together from interviews with many of the principals of the New York Punk scene in the 70's. Despite this, it feels a lot like a coherent narrative. It almost feels like a television documentary, except they never had to resort to a narrator's voice-over to fill in the gaps. Having contributions from everyone from, uh, Lou Reed to Joey Ramone gives the book some immediacy (and legitimacy) that's probably essential to writing a decent history of punk.There are things you might argue are missing -- for example, the book seems to devote more time to sex and drugs than it does to, say, music. And it basically draws the line at covering anything beyond the New York scene, a reasonable decision that isn't immediately obvious from the cover. One could imagine very different but equally valid punk histories. But it's long enough and interesting enough, and the authors readily admit to having much more interesting material than they could reasonably include. Readers to whom all of this is old hat, or who get bored by tales of degenerate behavior, might find the book less engaging. But I found it engaging and readable, a fun way to learn more about punk's beginnings.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME, but......
Review: my biggest qualm with this book is the fact that it basically runs through andy warhol's factory, the velvet underground, mc5, patti smith, the ramones, the sex pistols, th dead boys, the stooges, the new york dolls and the heart breakers. sounds like a lot, but there's little to absolutely no mention of any other bands. i was like, where's the clash? where's ___ ? this is an essential book for a "punk" and an excellent read for other people as well. it reads like a novel even though it's told entirely in quotes and i found it hard to put down. when it was over, i was pretty bummed. read it if you haven't.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Explains It All
Review: Everything you ever wanted, needed to know. This book ties up all the lose ends and fills in all the blanks. Stooges, MC5, Television, Ramones, NEW YORK DOLLS, Blondie,.....the list goes on and on!!!!
After you read this, you'll have earned a degree in Punk.
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