Rating: 
Summary: Fannish & dated but still worthwhile
Review: Bessman wrote this book in collaboration with all of the Ramones while they were still alive. Because of the Ramones close involvement, it predictably skirts some sticky issues -- like Joey losing his girlfriend to Johnny and Dee Dee's teenage hustling -- but tackles others head-on, like Dee Dee's substance abuse. It does come off as fannish; there are a lot of sentences that end with exclamation marks!
While not as great as the other documents of the 70's New York punk scene -- Heylin's "From the Velvets to the Voidoids" or Kozak's "This ain't no disco" or especially McNeil's "Please kill me" -- this does have a lot of information about the Ramones that is missing from the aforementioned books. However, the better and more up-to-date book is Porter's "Ramones: the complete twisted history."
Rating:
Summary: the american band
Review: Book Title: Ramones an American Band
Author: Jim BessmanHave you ever heard the song Rock n' Roll Radio? Do you know who wrote it? The Ramones, the band that everyone thought was a joke has lasted almost twenty years. This book is about an American band that started a new era of music.
Jim Bessman wrote the book with the Ramones and describes how a couple of kids from New York began playing a kind of music no one had ever heard. The critics either loved or hated the Ramones, but they developed a strong fan following. There were bands that played similar music but not with the fast tempo or chainsaw guitar licks. The lyrics were rough and told about hard times and struggles in New York.
The band started in 1976 with four rough looking characters dressed in ripped jeans and leather jackets. The first concert was played at CBGB, short for Country, Bluegrass and Blues. Their style of music was far from what those fans were used to hearing. They're formin' a straight line.
They're goin' through a tight wind.
The kids are losing their minds.
The blitzkrieg bop. That was one of the songs that change punk rock forever. Some even think it was the best song the Ramones had ever written. It wasn't always easy for the band. Some critics hated them and album sales were low, but they never strayed far from their original style.
The book was very well written. I learned a lot about the history of the band and a lot of songs that I haven't heard. You never really know how a song is thought of until you read it on paper and hear the story behind it. That's exactly what this book achieved.
You don't have to be a Ramones fan to read this book, but you might be when you finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: not too bad, but there's better!
Review: cool look at a cool era, but even better is "High On Rebellion; Inside The Undeground At Max's Kansas City" by Yvonne Sewell Ruskin, loaded with NY Dolls/Johnny Thunders,Psychotic Frogs,Jayne County, Cherry Vanilla, etc THE REAL SCENE! YEAH!
Rating:
Summary: A story and writing with a lot of ups and downs...
Review: Hearing the story of the Ramones is something I've looked forward to. And this is a fair telling of it. The writing verges at points of irritatiing congratulating tripe. During the first chapter there are so many "To take from there famous song..." and "To quote from..." that I wanted to quit right there. I want the story not a lot of fan boy c**p. Once into it however the story smooths out. A lot of great info and pictures. Overall recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite book ever.
Review: I got this book as a gift because my favorite band is the Ramones. Well, let me tell you, I loved it! I learned so many new things about the Ramones that I never knew before. And, it has every concert date they ever played. It has every fact you could ever want to know, and then some!
Rating:
Summary: The Good, The Bad, and the Bessman Book...
Review: I have to say, Jim Bessman did a pretty good amount of research to get some of the information in this book. But the data does not compare to all the stuff featured in the book "Hey Ho, Let's Go: Story of The Ramones", but it doens't fall flat all together.
I originally got this is in mid 2003, but didn't take up reading it until late 2003. Anyways, it does have a fare amount of info- the only Ramones book to talk about the hidden demo "Succubus". And since it was the first Ramones book I read, I learned that the show Marky missed in 83' do to being drunk, was actually at my hometown- Virginia Beach, VA. Though other books said it, this was the first of my hearing of it.
Bessman goes over all the usual subjects- forming of the band, band members, and etc. He does include a nice array of hard to find, or only found in this book pictures. He includes lyrics from songs and such, but ironically, he lost most of the money he made from this book because he included the lyrics with getting permission! (Nice one Jim) And unlike a few other Ramones books, he goes over the short (2 show) lived band member-Elvis Ramone, AKA- Clem Burke from Blondie. Though, he doesn't cover to much of Richie, or the pre-Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy grouping- Richi. But if you read Dee Dee's autobiography, he explains some about Richi, and the "Hey Ho Let's Go" book mentions him to.
After reading all English written Ramones books, I've classified them all as "Band Related"- mainly diving into what went on between everyone as time's went by, "Media Related"- primarily focused on what happened around the band before it came about, while they were together, and what they influenced in this world; also tapping in on record sales, videos made, and such. And finally: "Mixed"- these are the best types of Ramones books, including the inside of the band and the outside.
I classify "Ramones: An American Band" as "Media Related", but close to "Mixed". It tells of the band's upbringings and such, but focuses more on the songs themselve than the creaters.
In relation to this book, I recommend "On the Road With The Ramone"- really great mixed book. Provides more inside info than I've seen any other book about The Ramones have. Plus, a vast collection of photos. Also, "Hey Ho, Let's Go: Story of The Ramones" was very well documented.
Though, to finish this up, I have to say that Bessman released this a bit early- making it seem as though The Ramones would have kept touring at least another 10 or so years. But, they broke up about 4 years after this books publishing.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day,
Mikey.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent historical record of a great rock n roll band
Review: Needless to say, this is a must for every Ramones fan. The Ramones were (and still are) my favorite band. I was very sorry that they decided to call it a career a few years ago. This book reminds us that the Ramones saved rock n roll from the abyss of staleness. They reminded us that not only could rock be used to comment on the world and society, but that is was also fun. Most of their songs didn't have deep meanings to them, but they sure did rock. I saw the Ramones in concert many times.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, loving look at the Ramones.
Review: Ramones fans will want to read this, it is relentlessly favorable to them (excuses for not-so-great albums, etc.) but we do love them and forgive them, don't we?
Rating:
Summary: I actually enjoyed reading this
Review: That's right, I couldn't put this book down. Well, I was writing a term paper on the influence and etiology of the Ramones, so I kind of had to read it. The book has its strong and weak points. First of all, it is great at giving accurate dates of many important events in the Ramones saga. It also gives a decent historical context for band, although Bessman could have dealt more with how and why the Ramones became popular. The idea of a three chord band emerging from the ashes of Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the late, experimental Beatles is a puzzling reality. The Ramones seem to have appealed to people who were fed up with disco and Led Zeppelin. It is unclear whether the Ramones emerged because they were something or because they weren't something else. Bessman doesn't exactly address this issue, but he gives the reader a great deal of information with which to form his or her own opinion. Lots of great pictures and actual quotes from the band and music reviews make the book vastly entertaining and informative. The hilarious anecdotes about the band are perhaps the most entertaining part of the book. Ramones: An American Band is especially useful for people of my generation, who grew up with 80's and 90's punk and wondered how it all started.
Rating:
Summary: I actually enjoyed reading this
Review: That's right, I couldn't put this book down. Well, I was writing a term paper on the influence and etiology of the Ramones, so I kind of had to read it. The book has its strong and weak points. First of all, it is great at giving accurate dates of many important events in the Ramones saga. It also gives a decent historical context for band, although Bessman could have dealt more with how and why the Ramones became popular. The idea of a three chord band emerging from the ashes of Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the late, experimental Beatles is a puzzling reality. The Ramones seem to have appealed to people who were fed up with disco and Led Zeppelin. It is unclear whether the Ramones emerged because they were something or because they weren't something else. Bessman doesn't exactly address this issue, but he gives the reader a great deal of information with which to form his or her own opinion. Lots of great pictures and actual quotes from the band and music reviews make the book vastly entertaining and informative. The hilarious anecdotes about the band are perhaps the most entertaining part of the book. Ramones: An American Band is especially useful for people of my generation, who grew up with 80's and 90's punk and wondered how it all started.
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