Rating: 
Summary: Terrific reading as both information and entertainment.
Review: A frightening and enthralling look at the history of the modern music business. Dannen creates a mosaic of life in the industry by tracing the histories and careers of some of its most colorful characters. He looks at the rise and fall of Walter Yetnikoff, the education of Dick Asher, David Geffen's success with Asylum Records-- to name just a few of the people and issues _Hit Men_ tackles.This is really a warts and all treatment with wickedly funny asides and adult language quotations from the people involved. It made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and I still came away feeling as though I understood a whole lot more about how this industry really functions. High Recommend.
Rating:
Summary: HIT BY THE TRUTH
Review: As an experienced music industry professional with over 15 years of experience, I can tell you that this is the unofficial history book of the music industry that can be used to expose and introduce the truth about the origins and operations of the music business. It's insightful, relevant, and shocking. Buy it today.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Fantastic account of the not so legal practices of those employed in the music biz. It's all here: bribes, schemes, backstabbing execs and fast talkin' thugs all in hot pursuit of untold riches. Mr. Dannen is to be commended for this candid, behind the scenes examination of the power structure which drives pop music. The author wags an accusatory finger at some of the biggest names in the biz and backs it all up with a truckload of corraborating evidence. Well researched and highly informative, "Hit Men" should be pre-requisite for anyone seeking a career in music. Frighteningly entertaining and highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun Journalisitic Romp Through The Music Industry
Review: Frederic Dannen's book, Hit Men, will be fun for anyone interested in business or crime, or those who do not believe that much difference exists between the two at the best of times. The book concentrates on the seventies and eighties in the music industry, after a too-short introduction to place the events in an historical context. It focuses on certain individual and specific companies in its anecdotes as it traces their rise and fall. The author is not providing a history of the industry. Instead he is offering a freak show of its most colourful characters. The book pulls few punches as it explores this twisted business. Above all, it is a fun read for any reader, even those not interested in the music industry.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Journalisitic Romp Through The Music Industry
Review: Frederic Dannen's book, Hit Men, will be fun for anyone interested in business or crime, or those who do not believe that much difference exists between the two at the best of times. The book concentrates on the seventies and eighties in the music industry, after a too-short introduction to place the events in an historical context. It focuses on certain individual and specific companies in its anecdotes as it traces their rise and fall. The author is not providing a history of the industry. Instead he is offering a freak show of its most colourful characters. The book pulls few punches as it explores this twisted business. Above all, it is a fun read for any reader, even those not interested in the music industry.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down until it was finished
Review: If you can't stop reading it, it must be good non-fiction. Well done. If you like this one, I'd recommend "Mansion on the Hill" as a companion. Same good problem: To interesting to put down.
Rating:
Summary: You Will Want to Read the Sequel
Review: If you possess even a passing interest in the music industry or a general fondness for a good character story, you should run out and buy this book! Dannen tells a story that most of the public wouldn't even imagine is possible in the modern business world. The music business is clearly not for the faint of heart, and Dannen wants to make sure that we know it. This tale of rampant ambition, greed, back-stabbing, and arrogance is gripping from the opening chapter. The real miracle is how captivating the book remains while spending so little time discussing the people we normally associate with those charateristics... THE STARS! The American music buying public could be all wrong about where the entertainment lives... Everyone who reads the book will be blown away by the amount of research involved. You might find a few quotes or statements that you just won't believe, but you need only flip to the back and search for the page number to find a note regarding the real-life source. Dannen's research is meticulous, and we have to be grateful for all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into producing this work. I have only one recommendation on improving the book: Illustration! The complex web of companies that own or operate other companies... who works where and when... which lawyer worked at what firm... who waged war against who and their tactics... I wanted to take out sketch paper and start charting the history. A few illustrations for the reader to reference would have made Hit Men an even more incredible read.
Rating:
Summary: TOUR DE FORCE!!!!!!
Review: Powerful Book&even more on Point considering what Michael Jackson is going through with Sony&TOmmy Mottola.this Book takes on many things from the past,present&future.this Book details Label heads from Past Era's to Now.Very Detailed on the Ends&Outs of this trip out Business.PAYOLA which still Runs the Radio&Video Game.this Book Details the Monopoly The Business has on different things.Very Upfront&Honest.nothing though Surprised me however.alot of GLassy-Eyed Racals in that Business.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good, but can a little dull in spots
Review: This book offers an interesting look at the music industry from the mid-60s to the early 90's. Many of the characters are fairly unsavory. While fairly interesting for the most part some sections seemed to get a little bogged down in listing too many characters.
Rating:
Summary: Great insider's look at the dark underside of the music biz!
Review: This is a very eye-opening book, about how money and drugs changes hands to determine which new artists get played on the radio and who doesn't. There's really no other book out there that covers this topic. Written by an industry insider.
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