Five Against One: The Pearl Jam Story

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Summary: THE finite Pearl Jam biography
Review: This book deliver the most unbiased, complete history of the band possible. It takes you through the history of Seattle, their backgrounds, influences, everything! You learn the motivation behind countless songs. Kim Neely's words leave you with an intimate knowledge of the band. This book is a must for the true fan!

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Summary: This book will tell you anything you need to know about PJ
Review: This book gave me further knowledge about pearl jam. It answers any question you may have about the rumors and myths behind the band. I found this to be the best biography of the band ever.

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Summary: Great book!
Review: This book is fantastic. It kept my attention the whole way through it, and it was fun to read. It is a must read for any Pearl Jam fan.

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Summary: A great book for every Pearl Jam fan!
Review: This book offers heaps of information about what really goes on in the band and alot of history aswell A very interesting read!

Rating:
Summary: Eh
Review: This book was so-so. The biggest problem was that 90% of it was devoted to "Ten" and its tour. It's like "Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten. Oh yeah, they did a few more albums, too." Any real Pearl Jam fan, such as myself, should be upset that so little time was devoted to the 4 records since then.

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Summary: Very informative and interesting
Review: This book was very informative, and I learned lots of things I didn't know about the Seattle music scene of the late 80s and early 90s. And even though I already knew that Pearl Jam came from members of earlier Seattle bands, I learned more about those bands than I knew before. It was also interesting to read about Andy Wood and Temple of the Dog. Pearl Jam's battle with Ticketmaster was also explained. The book failed to answer the question of whether Eddie Vedder had an act of not having an act, or if he genuinely hated his fame. I suppose that no one can answer that, though.

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Summary: Couldn't put it down -- truly fascinating book!
Review: This is far and away the best, most interesting biography I have ever read on Pearl Jam. The author, a former Rolling Stone writer who apparently knows the band well, writes engagingly and shares information on Pearl Jam that has never before been revealed, much of which contradicts their myth. Though this is largely a sympathetic look at the band, Ms. Neely does not shy from tackling material that Pearl Jam's public relations team might have preferred she gloss over. The book contains many funny anecdotes, a beautiful collection of photos from private collectors that I'd never seen anywhere, and a massive, poignant section on Eddie Vedder's childhood that was truly engrossing. The only book I've ever read on Pearl Jam that made me feel as if I were actually getting the real inside view. Very credible and detailed, without the annoying factual errors that have ruined other biographies on the band for me. Die hard fans who live to believe in the Pearl Jam myth may be put off by some of the revelations in this book, those readers might be more comfortable with one of the "fan" biographies on the band. But serious readers who are interested in an accurate, unvarnished portrait of Pearl Jam will surely find this a great read. Highly recommend it.

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Summary: A JOB WELL DONE ABOUT A GREAT BAND
Review: This is the only book available to date that I reccommend any Pearl Jam fan to buy. From the newest fan to the die-hard fan, this book will tell you things you didn't ever think happened. A excellent view on the ever-lasting fued between Ed and Dave makes the book worthwhile. Also, it makes it even better since the writer actually spent time with the band and had a first had view of the situation.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome...highly recommend!
Review: This was a great read, although as evidenced by a few of the other reviews I see here, it's hard hitting enough that fans who only want the "varnished" truth may feel a little betrayed by it. Extremely well researched and full of behind the scenes info (some of it fairly shocking) I didn't know about the band. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about PJ than their PR people typically let out.

Rating:
Summary: hard to measure
Review: Though this book was very informative and captivating (my professors asked me many times to quit reading it during their lectures and when out, i found myself looking forward to getting home so i could read more) the book is undoubtedly very negative towards the band and paints Ed in an almost "excentric bratt" light. Not to sudgest that Ed is the most normal person in the world (or maybe he is the appitamy of normal) the book subtly interveiws only persons who have been offended by Ed such as Dave Abrussezzes, his step-father, Chris Carufto, and other such characters. It would have been nice to hear from his mother or brothers or wife or publicist or someone who liked him. Though the recounts are literarity factual, they are focused through a negative filter created by bitter aquaintances. The discography of the band starts well, but by the end of the book, it seems like the author has become somewhat bored of writing about the actual music, and would rather focus on raucus and provocation. Unfortunately, individual biographies are very limited to all but Ed and that's too bad, because we can find out about Eddie in the music, but no one seems to let us know much about Stone, Jeff, Mike, or Dave/Jack's up-bringings. Oh well. Some good information. Definitely a must read for ne true fan, but u'll still feel dissapointed by book's end.