To the Limit:The Untold Story of the Eagles

Rating:
Summary: Great Look at the Eagles & workings of the music Industry.
Review: It's rare and refreshing that a book about rock and roll does not dwell upon the sleeze factor, although this is still a fun and juicy read. I dislike "hackjobs" disguised as bios!! It's really about much more than the individual components of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. With all the pieces put together it is nothing less than a definitive social document about a time, an era and the band that best represented it. No dobut this book will be controversial. I consider it a must read. The resources and discography at the back of the book are excellent!

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Summary: I Can Tell You Why I didn't like this book
Review: This book is a major disappointment for several reasons. First of all, the author spends an inordinate amount of time discussing the Eagles' managers and record company executives. He spends more time with Irving Azoff and David Geffen than with Don Felder or Tim Schmidt! Secondly, nearly one-third of this book is given over to a too-extensive discography of the credits of every single recording every Eagle ever played on - maybe this deserves to be written up somewhere, but not here. Lastly, he fails to give the reader a sense of the Eagles' place in music history and of their contributions to the music scenes of the '70s and '80s. Why did the Eagles move away from country-rock? Why did Henley's solo career thrive while Frey's failed? Why do so many of today's young country artists cite the Eagles as a major influence? What exactly goes on in Joe Walsh's head? NONE of these issues are explored. "Take it easy" on your wallet and don't buy this!

Rating:
Summary: Cure for Insomnia
Review: This is quite possibly the most boring book on any topic that I've ever read and I have been an Eagles fan for almost 25 years! The only reason it didn't get 0 stars from me is because I wasn't given that option. When I first sat down to read it, it put me to sleep after one or two chapters. Mr. Eliot seemed to be fascinated with the band's bad behaviour in the 70's. This is old news. All bands were like that. It seems that David Geffen was given more coverage in this book than current and former band members Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Timothy Schmit and Bernie Leadon. This book is also full of inaccuracies, which include incorrect dates for solo releases, incorrect histories of various current & former band members and even the sexes of a couple of current band members' young children. And according to Mark Eliot, the Super Bowl is played in October. If you haven't purchased this book, don't waste your time or your money.

Rating:
Summary: Dull,Boring......Just like its subject.
Review: Unfortunately,most of the airwaves of the 70's were assaulted by the mellifluent,pedestrian,nondescript, and light rock sounds of the Eagles. This book is written in a smug tone.....Again,just like its subject matter. The Eagles were/are everything that is wrong with popular music. Think of it as watered down Bud Lite. Music for extremely white folks. Henley's exploits are enough to cause R.Kelley to blush. And I'm not talking about Henley's nondescript drumming abilities. WOW!! Whoda thunk it? Too bad so little attention was directed towards the other players. Most of whom,have accomplished music careers outside of the Eagles. Notice without the collective known as the Eagles,Henley and Frey can't write a decent tune.....And I use the term decent quite loosely.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: Well I was skeptical throughout reading this book after the reviews and after I heard that Don Henley didn't like it. I kept an open mind but overall thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I agree with some other people who have said that it is very much focused on Don Henley followed closely by Glenn Frey and Timothy & Joe dont get the constant mentions nor do we learn about their lives like we do Don & Glenn's but that didn't bother me because Don Henley was the one I was most interested in. Another critical comment was the constant name dropping had me confused at points. If you aren't up to date with whos who, at times it can get a bit hectic. One early chapter I had to completely miss because I just couldn't keep up with all the different names and not knowing who they were referring to.

On a positive note, I learnt a lot and this book would be great for people who have admired The Eagles and their music but dont know a great deal about them as people. I thought it was a great read and gave an excellent overview of the yeras and didn't just concentrate one on period or anything.

Rating:
Summary: The book lacks details and is rather smug through out.
Review: What a disappointment this book was! 'Hoping to learn the in-depth history of my all-time favorite band, this book left me with more questions than it did answers. Mr. Eliot could have done us all a favor and left out alot of the behind the scenes dealings of the music industry. While a fraction of the material was relevant to story of the Eagles, the majority of it was not. Few kind words were said about any of the band's members save for Don Henley - who was in fact, the chief reason for the break-up of the band in the first place. This fact seems to be lost amidst Mr. Eliot's ranting about the solo success Henley had after the Eagles, and going too far in-depth on Henley's personal life. True, there is some interesting information about the band's early years and their trials and tribulations during the time when Rock and Roll was taking on a new face. Also of some interest is the fact that Kenny Rodgers took an interest in the band very early only to see them go elsewhere and find incredible success without him. But overall, the book says little that is flattering about anyone other than Henley, and to a far lesser extent, Glenn Frey. Perhaps Mr. Eliot should have researched Randy Meisner's time with Poco a little more diligently; the members of that band had nothing but praise for him. Little praise is given to the talents and contributions of Don Felder, Bernie Leadon and Timothy Schmidt. The big question I have after reading the book is; " Did Mr. Eliot owe Don Henley a favor?" Do yourself a favor and wait for the paperback version or wiat until you see it on the bargain table.

Rating:
Summary: An Unfortunate Wasted Time
Review: While the Eagles are surely worth a comprehensive, accurate and historical review, To the Limit is not that book. Eliot's look at the LA music scene in the 70's and the music business are the book's only redeeming features. New fans to the band should be warned there are plenty of factual errors here -- the Superbowl has never been played in October, for instance -- and the text focuses heavily on Henley and Frey. Perhaps the publisher was so busy lawyering the book because of Henley's outcries, copy editing was ignored. In addition, while Eliot acknowledges assistance from Joe Walsh, who gets very little attention (as does Timothy B.), Walsh's management denies he ever spoke with Eliot or participated in the book in any way. Perhaps if fans really want to know the Eagles, they'd be better off listening to their music. Thankfully I borrowed my copy instead of paying for it. Hard to believe they killed trees for this.