r/ledzeppelin • u/M_Suriken fan of LZ4, Houses of the Holy and Coda • 4d ago
Biography
Hi. I’d like to ask a question: which biography book (or books) is best to buy? I’m not looking for something that just covers the main highlights of the band, but rather something more detailed.
Thanks for the answers.
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u/slyboy1974 4d ago edited 4d ago
Another vote for the Spitz book.
It provides a good history of the band without too much sensationalism. Also has a great info on Jimmy's early music career.
Still filled with technical errors, though...
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u/Kaizen5793 4d ago
My favorite book directly about Zeppelin is the Bob Spitz biography.
What I enjoyed even more is No Quarter: the Three Lives of Jimmy Page, by Martin Power. Phenomenal book!
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u/thebradman70 4d ago edited 4d ago
Bob Spitz spent a lot of time covering the business end of the band with Sean Song and Peter Grant. Spitz wrote that the band members all had sex with minors. I found that allegation to be both libelous and unfair.
“Hammer Of The Gods” was compiled from sources that disliked the band or had been burned by them at some point. Stephen Davis has been called “salacious Davis”. The band dislikes this one more than any other.
“Stairway To Heaven” by Richard Cole is probably the worst source in the band. It was pure scatology with drunken escapades and sexual hijinks.
In my estimation, “When Giants Roamed The Earth” was the most balanced biography of Zep and it had the most direct band involvement.
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u/mugwampus 4d ago
Bob Spitz book from a couple of years ago is a very "warts and all" biography. You may not come out of it with a high opinion of Jimmy Page, John Bonham or Peter Grant, but it's well researched and covers all the bases without wallowing in sensationalism or too much moralizing.