A Grand Madness: Ten Years on the Road With U2

Rating:
Summary: A fans View
Review: I really liked this book. Its a rare treat for both U2 fans and fans in general. Along with great photos and moving personal impressions and memories, its well written and shows the band strictly from a fan's point of view, something which i have never before in any u2 book but one i could identify with. The authour shows a lot of knowledge and understanding of u2's music both recorded and live. She also covers with impressive detail her meetings ( times and places) were she has come acroos the band on tour and off. I like the layout and its a must for any U2 fan

Rating:
Summary: Vivid and Detailed
Review: I've enjoyed U2's music for many years though I've only been able to see them in concert a couple of times. This book captures all the excitement of a U2 show. The unique diary-style writing makes you feel like you're traveling with the author, sharing experiences and adventures. The descriptions of both the concerts and the places she visits are vivid and detailed. There are also some nice philosophical touches that show just how much this successful band has effected the writer's life and work. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in U2 or contemporary music and culture.

Rating:
Summary: No wonder it's shrinkwrapped!!!
Review: I've read some very eloquent and inteligent reviews on this book, especially from that Savala fellow. I don't have the same analytical skill, but what I do know is that this book made me embarrassed to be a "die-hard U2 fan" and it gives the rest of the world a silly view of how rediculous a U2 fan can be. Is this woman really a fan? Or does she simply have a school girl infatuation with Bono? There's no depth, no heart, not even a glimpse of how the greatest band on Earth relates to the world around her. It's all about her. Just her and her stalking sessions of U2 band members. Get a life, lady. It's cool that a fan can write a book about U2 and get it published, but at least write a good one for pete's sake. This book doesn't do U2 justice and it doesn't do the real fans any justice.

Rating:
Summary: The spirit isn't quite captured by this "fan"
Review: Let me start off by saying that I have nothing against Dianne beeaff. But I do find it difficult to enjoy a book about U2 fandom if it lacks the passion and calenture that embodies U2's music: evocotive, captivating, almost intangible gifts to the ears and hearts of those that it has touched. Mrs. Beeaff did an excellent job in record keeping, accounting for the precise moments of her encounters with other fans and even band members and chronicling the sights and sounds at the numerous concerts she's attended over a ten year period. But...what lacks I can't completely put into words. Carter Alan's accounts in U2: OUTSIDE IS AMERICA were extremely vivid, so clear that I could picture what was happening around him, I could fully imagine and experience the emotion the fans around him were experiencing as he chronicled each concert, each fan meeting. Alan's description of the music itself was ardent in depiction and faithful to U2's true sound...he could do so as a lover of music and as a FAN of U2...Beeaff could not. Primm Jal de la Parra did an outstanding job researching and collecting material for the U2LIVE: A CONCERT DOCUMENTARY book. De la Parra also offered authoritive, insightful discussion into U2's studio work, live performances and U2's history, something which was lacking in Beeaff's AGM. B.P. Fallon and Bill Flanigan's works were just as insightful and enjoyable to read. Eamon Dunphy's THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE was rich in history but lacked the connection between fan and performer. It was clear Beeaff didn't do her homework as was evidenced by her lack of background in U2's work. As U2 fans we admire and are enthusiastic about those we admire as Beeaff had stated. But we also dig into the backgrounds of the people, places and times surrounding U2 and their timeless music. We contemplate the lyrics, however simple of complex they may be. We wonder about their meaning and research the events that could have sparked those lyrics, be they personal to the composer, or economic, social or political commentaries of the world around them. We dig into their musical roots: The Ramones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Joy Division, Bob Marley, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Boomtown Rats, Thin Lizzy, Van Morrison, and even Abba for God's sake (just to name a few). We also peek into what was culturally going on at the time of these musical giants...connections and references to these artists were made by all authors except Beeaff which is an important aspect not to be left out, not by a true fan. This book lacks the comprehension needed to faithfully be a book from a fan's point of view FOR fans. At least this is one fan's opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Roll on the next tour!
Review: Now that U2 are releasing more material , all i can say is roll on the next tour. Having read 'A Grand Madness' just makes me want to get out there and share in some of the experiences that the author has! The wonderful highs by far outweigh the lows of the delayed travel, getting soaked, hanging around. The book lets you know what life is like on the road and lets you know as a fan its all worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Journey Through a Fan's eyes...
Review: This book ,which was reviewed by the Library Journal, a prestigious recommendation, is a well written journey through the experiences of a genuine U2 fan. Anyone who has followed the group and/or attended performances can understand exactly what Ms. Beeaff is writing about. Don't expect a 'goupies experience', but the experience of someone who obviously admires the group, and especially Bono's poetic writing. Much of what she writes about, and her criticism's of the direction U2 was going during that time, have actually turned to fruition and she was right! I only hope that U2 itself has read her book and taken much of what she writes about to heart? People who are not truly fans, or are looking for something more sensational, or biographic, will not enjoy the book. Otherwise, read it and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A Treat for any Fan
Review: This book is a treat for any fan. In the Afterword to her book, the author states that 'if music can heal, level barriers, and educate, then by its power, timelessness and inspiration, U2's music will continue to play a distinctive role in contemporary culture.' In these difficult and anxious times, that has been proven true again and again. As a personal record of and a witness to the musical might of this extraordinary Irish band, A Grand Madness is well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL, AWFUL. MADE ME EMBARRASSED TO BE A U2 FAN.
Review: This book is absolute trash! It will make you embarrassed to be a U2 fan. The author, apparently dealing with a midlife crisis by stalking the band, can't write. On most pages, her insights are obsessive and often insipid. She whines, she laments, she fawns over Bono, she invites us into her ho-hum life without a flame or even a spark of creativity. The pages, filled with diary entries dating bak to The Joshua Tree tour, are a drawn out stream of babble that had me skimming after the first chapter. How did this thing get published?

Rating:
Summary: skip this one
Review: This book is not very good. The only thing I really got out of it is that U2 should be afraid of some of their fans... She really does not paint a fair picture of many of the "die hard" fans out there...

Rating:
Summary: Huh?
Review: This book was awful. The author can write, I'll give her that, but where is the sense of humor? The emotion? All we get is: got on the plane, got the rental car, checked into the hotel, went to the venue, the band arrived, went inside, found our seats, here's the setlist. Sure, she does go into detail about the shows, but I never got the feeling that she was THERE. My opinion is that she doesn't want to appear to be a freaky fanatic so she stops short of getting really invested in the feeling. I was expecting something more personal. How about her family? What do they think? What about her non-U2 fan friends? She never once says she missed her family while on the road, nor does she bring any real emotion to her experiences. What about her fellow fans/travelers? Who are they (other than Sue, Sharon, etc.)? What's it like being around people you barely know for days on end, all because you share a common love of a band's music? I could have used less of a travel guide and more of a personal and emotional view of following a band you love.