U2 Books
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
I remember one coming out around the ATYCLB era called "Into the Heart" or something similar which claimed to be the stories behind most of U2's songs, I remember skimming it at the book store, it was interesting but kind of superficial, I'm sure someone around here has read it though.
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
powerhour24 said:
I've read that, and it's kind of letdown from what I thought. I thought the book would go into detail on specifically what each song is about. Rather, it's more of a "here's how this song got started, where the idea came from, etc." book. It sounds like what you're looking for, though.
The only other U2 book I've read is One Step Closer: Why U2 matters to those seeking God. That wasn't too bad.
nathan1977
Rock n' Roll Doggie
You must absolutely run out and purchase Bill Flanagan's "U2 At the End of the World." It is the definitive document of U2's Zoo TV/Zooropa tours, gives fascinating insight into the band's creative process, and documents a unique moment in time just before the advent of the Internet and downloadable music.
Bono: In Conversation is also good.
Faraway So Close! by BP Fallon is another good document of the Zoo years, though nowhere near as good as Flanagan's. It is an interesting companion piece however, since Flanagan talks about Fallon's mischief, and it's interesting to see it from the other side.
Bono: In Conversation is also good.
Faraway So Close! by BP Fallon is another good document of the Zoo years, though nowhere near as good as Flanagan's. It is an interesting companion piece however, since Flanagan talks about Fallon's mischief, and it's interesting to see it from the other side.
An Cat Gav
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
U2 Live by the late great Pim de la jarr(apologies for misspelling his name) is the best source of info on U2 live, other than going round Axver's house!
Apart from that, U2 at the end of the world is by far the best book, followed by Faraway so close and into the heart. I would also chamion the much malligned Eamonn Dunphy book, The Unforgettable Fire, contains a lot of inaccuracies but well worth a read.
Apart from that, U2 at the end of the world is by far the best book, followed by Faraway so close and into the heart. I would also chamion the much malligned Eamonn Dunphy book, The Unforgettable Fire, contains a lot of inaccuracies but well worth a read.
An Cat Gav
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
U2 Live by the late great Pim de la jarr(apologies for misspelling his name) is the best source of info on U2 live, other than going round Axver's house!
Apart from that, U2 at the end of the world is by far the best book, followed by Faraway so close and into the heart. I would also chamion the much maligned Eamonn Dunphy book, The Unforgettable Fire, contains a lot of inaccuracies but well worth a read.
Apart from that, U2 at the end of the world is by far the best book, followed by Faraway so close and into the heart. I would also chamion the much maligned Eamonn Dunphy book, The Unforgettable Fire, contains a lot of inaccuracies but well worth a read.
mysterious_jen
Blue Crack Addict
nathan1977 said:
agree- these are realy great books, U2 by jackie shirley is ok as well, (i think , read it a LONG time ago )
kennerado
Refugee
The Jackie Shirley book sucks! Worst U2 book in history!
blm
New Yorker
nathan1977 said:
Bill Flanagans book is great, U2 live is also awesome.
U2 Live gives a peek into each of the concerts, and things that Bono says and does etc at each. It is one to reread, so much info you cannot go through it quickly.
Problem is, It makes me so mad to know how much I missed, and how incredible it would be to have many of these (especially the earlier stuff) available on video.
But thanks to this, you get to go on the journey with them a bit.
flowerchildH
The Fly
i just got U2 Show for christmas. it gives a preyty decent overview of the band's crew on tour, their jobs, and what those jobs entail. there are some pretty neat pictures too.
Walk On is another one that deals with the spiritual side of the music.
Bono: In Conversation is also a really neat look at Bono, who he is, and how he got that way. Even if you aren't a big Bono fan, it's still a pretty neat book, just to see him from another point of view.
Theres such a broad range of topic for the U2 books available on the web, from live shows, to a practical character analysis, to a dissection of the songs. You really just have to go search U2 on the books section of Amazon.Com and read the summaries to know which your interested in.
Personally, U2 by U2 is my favorite U2 book so far. It just gives such a detailed, open point of view from the beginning to present of the band. I can go into that book looking for one specific quote and not come out for another 3 hours!
wow, I don't think that I've written a reply this long. ever!
Walk On is another one that deals with the spiritual side of the music.
Bono: In Conversation is also a really neat look at Bono, who he is, and how he got that way. Even if you aren't a big Bono fan, it's still a pretty neat book, just to see him from another point of view.
Theres such a broad range of topic for the U2 books available on the web, from live shows, to a practical character analysis, to a dissection of the songs. You really just have to go search U2 on the books section of Amazon.Com and read the summaries to know which your interested in.
Personally, U2 by U2 is my favorite U2 book so far. It just gives such a detailed, open point of view from the beginning to present of the band. I can go into that book looking for one specific quote and not come out for another 3 hours!
wow, I don't think that I've written a reply this long. ever!
U2Fanatic4ever
Blue Crack Addict
I whole-heartedly agree, you must read U2, Until the end of the world first...I consider it the "bible" this is U2.
U2 by U2 is a good insight by the guys themselves and am pretty impressed by it.
Bono: In Conversation is a great one to get to know the man a bit.
Also, I love, love "Killing Bono" (In Europe the book is entittled: "Bono is my Doppleganger", don't quite get why they did this but oh well) by Neil McCormack (childhood friend of his and the rest of the lads). It was such a funny take on the early days. I love the way Neil writes, it is great. I actually found out some things about the early days that I didn't know of before.
U2 by U2 is a good insight by the guys themselves and am pretty impressed by it.
Bono: In Conversation is a great one to get to know the man a bit.
Also, I love, love "Killing Bono" (In Europe the book is entittled: "Bono is my Doppleganger", don't quite get why they did this but oh well) by Neil McCormack (childhood friend of his and the rest of the lads). It was such a funny take on the early days. I love the way Neil writes, it is great. I actually found out some things about the early days that I didn't know of before.
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nathan1977
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Actually, Race of Angels by John Waters is a really good book on U2 too. I picked it up in the UK when I was there a long time ago. It was written in 1994, and puts U2's work into an Irish context. It reads a little like a doctoral dissertation on U2, but it's really good stuff.
11o´clock
Refugee
About "U2 At the end of the world".....I´ve got it on internet...........and I´ve only read the first page 
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
the beginning is fantastic indeed... 
and there he walked with his nuts in his hand... U2 at the end of the world I consider the best book I've ever read... it's written really great and it's hillarious too!
Rosebud
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Oooh, I think I'll have to check that one out then.
I just finished U2 by U2 last night (stayed up to 2 in the morning to finish it), and absolutely loved it. It's so great to just have the band's perspective and not have to be suspicious of misinterpretations and inaccuracies. 'Feeling very empty now that I'm finished with it... 
I just finished U2 by U2 last night (stayed up to 2 in the morning to finish it), and absolutely loved it. It's so great to just have the band's perspective and not have to be suspicious of misinterpretations and inaccuracies. 'Feeling very empty now that I'm finished with it...
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
nathan1977 said:
You are right.
mysterious_jen
Blue Crack Addict
kennerado said:
i did say it was a long time ago, i have so many u2 boks they all run into one eventually...
just started Killing Bono, its pretty funny .
DevilsShoes
War Child
Yeah I think the reason Bono's Doppleganger works well is because its written from the point of view of a friend, Neil's always looked at Bono as an old mate who just became really famous, so you get a real insight into Bono the man rather than the superstar.
Its an interesting read and well worth getting your hands on a copy.
Its an interesting read and well worth getting your hands on a copy.
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gman
New Yorker
Does anyone know if the "Into The Heart" book (the stories behind the songs) is based on fact or speculation?
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Did anyone buy that recently published book on Achtung Baby from 33 1/3? It's a series about esteemed albums all written from different perspectives. This one really gets into the conceptual spirituality, but it's not necessarily a religious book. Very in-depth, well-written book. I think the author's name is Stephen Catanzarite.
They have them used on Amazon for like 6 bucks.
And if anyone's interested in the series as a whole:
http://www.33third.blogspot.com/
They have them used on Amazon for like 6 bucks.
And if anyone's interested in the series as a whole:
http://www.33third.blogspot.com/
nathan1977
Rock n' Roll Doggie
gman said:
It's based on interviews with the band -- mostly Bono and Edge, but I think Adam Clayton gets in a few comments as well. (As I remember, Larry Mullen didn't want to do the book, since he thought it ruined the mystery of the songs to explain them.)
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
nathan1977 said:
Or maybe he didn't understand most of them.
Mrs. Garrison
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
nathan1977 said:
@ the end of the world really takes you back to 1992-1994 and if you spend enough time with the book it makes you feel as if you were there.
The Sad Punk
Blue Crack Addict
How is In the Zoo With U2 from a less "son of a bitch Lola Cashman you stupid arse pansy" bias? I heard it was just kind of boring, whether what happened was true or not.
I finally got At the End of the World for Christmas (Two copies, actually - botched Amazon order
). I've been waiting a long time to have my own copy, I've read excerpts over the years and such - almost to the point that it's not quite as exciting a read as I had hoped. Still invaluable for a U2 fan, nonetheless. I think I'll pick up Beep Fallon's book next.
I finally got At the End of the World for Christmas (Two copies, actually - botched Amazon order
). I've been waiting a long time to have my own copy, I've read excerpts over the years and such - almost to the point that it's not quite as exciting a read as I had hoped. Still invaluable for a U2 fan, nonetheless. I think I'll pick up Beep Fallon's book next.
DevilsShoes
War Child
I didn't find Lola's book to be boring, some of the stories in there (if true) are quite funny, but I suppose from the point of view of a band member, some of the anecdotes she tells could be a little embarrassing.
The problem is I'm never quite sure what to believe, she focuses quite alot on some of the insecurities and hang-ups of each member (Bono mainly), but in the main they're all pretty trivial. She only travelled with the band during the JT tour so we're going back a long way. The guys were still young and were trying to adapt to the sudden and intense pressure of massive stardom as well as trying to figure out who they were as people, so its only natural that they'd be a little neurotic.
Overall the books interesting for revealing the kind of relationship the 4 of them had with each other during this era, some days they apparently hardly spoke at all before going on stage, but that you'd never realise it from the kind of performances they gave. Its also informative for how analytical they are about there own live shows, about why one gig was electric and another failed to catch fire, they go over the set-list, the audience, the acoustics of the stadium, not a stone was left unturned in order to try and recapture that magic every single night.
She does tell a lovely story about the band meeting a female fan one night after a show who told them that she was an accomplished piano player and that she often played U2 songs on it. Holding her to her word the band all went back to her house where she proceeded to play and sing a very moving version of WOWY. Apparently half way through Bono joined in with her which prompted everyone into a big singalong.
I take all these stories with a pinch of salt but I'd like to think this one actually happened.
The problem is I'm never quite sure what to believe, she focuses quite alot on some of the insecurities and hang-ups of each member (Bono mainly), but in the main they're all pretty trivial. She only travelled with the band during the JT tour so we're going back a long way. The guys were still young and were trying to adapt to the sudden and intense pressure of massive stardom as well as trying to figure out who they were as people, so its only natural that they'd be a little neurotic.
Overall the books interesting for revealing the kind of relationship the 4 of them had with each other during this era, some days they apparently hardly spoke at all before going on stage, but that you'd never realise it from the kind of performances they gave. Its also informative for how analytical they are about there own live shows, about why one gig was electric and another failed to catch fire, they go over the set-list, the audience, the acoustics of the stadium, not a stone was left unturned in order to try and recapture that magic every single night.
She does tell a lovely story about the band meeting a female fan one night after a show who told them that she was an accomplished piano player and that she often played U2 songs on it. Holding her to her word the band all went back to her house where she proceeded to play and sing a very moving version of WOWY. Apparently half way through Bono joined in with her which prompted everyone into a big singalong.
I take all these stories with a pinch of salt but I'd like to think this one actually happened.
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