Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock Hardcover – October 22, 2009

When it arrived I was pretty shocked at how big and heavy but that's just more to enjoy!! Boo-koodles of good photos and touring schedules. Colorful concert tickets and passes. I have already done some reading. It seems to get pretty personal on all 4 members documenting the goings on behind the scenes and how some of the songs came to be written. Freddie was just so much fun and so were the remaining 3 kings of queen!! I can see lots of entertaining reading for some time to come. It is a very goQueen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rockod addition to your queen collection. very interesting and I highly recommend this book to all queen lovers since we never tire of seeing or hearing these gloriously talented and great to look at artists. I'm 66 yrs old and they are one of my favorite passtimes,so that should tell you something if you're just now getting into Queen. The book is a good price also. I want to thank Bryan May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon for the superb way they honored Freddie Mercury through his last years and after his sad passing by how they treated his mother and handled the press interviews and all the tributes including the concert. It really shows how classy you all are. Thank you for the music as well I love you all. RIP Freddie

Simply a MUST HAVE book for any Queen fan. Traces the roots of Queen from the garage bands of the individual members (Brian, Freddy, Roger & John) through the recent Queen + Paul Rodgers era.Tons of excellent photos which make this book well worth the price alone, but there are so many interesting stories, some Queen fans are familiar with, others not so much - but all are brought together in this collection.The book is nicely segmented: Pre-Queen; Queen (each album a separate chapter); Freddy's illness and passing; post Freddy. Even the most devoted Queen fan will discover something new with this book. Again, simply a MUST HAVE for any Queen fan!

I bought this book so I could learn about the Queen story - how the albums were made, how the band was formed etc. The book delivers on this front. There is plenty of information delivered in a lively, often humourous manner. The stories are frequently complemented by the views of band members, and others close to the band which is excellent and adds another layer to the narrative. Brian My is particularly insightful.My criticisms are more aimed at editorial issues. Sutcliffe's biography is not authorised and therefore he seems to have a slippery relationship with quotes. He cites his sources, but in quite a clunky way; as in May said, to blah of blah blah in blah blah, "...."; on other occasions, presumably when the band had spoken to him in the past, he omits the citation information. The latter examples flow better. I wonder whether he may have employed footnotes or endnotes just to clean up the former examples.Second, the text is frequently punctuated by quotes from other musicians - these add little. The musicians often say something entirely generic about how amazing/unique/extraordinary Queen are; these comments are about as perceptive as American Idol judges.Third, each chapter concludes with an extended review of the album from a range of writers. Great, because tracks are often considered in greater details; bad, because they also read like amateur fan mail. I think for about the first 6 or 7 albums, each writer thinks it is THE best in Queen's output. Also some of the information about tracks/album is repeated by Sutcliffe either pre- or post-album review.Rock music biographies are not renowned for objective, balanced criticism, but a little of the aforementioned qualities wouldn't go amiss. That said, the issues I have raised are minimal and don't detract overly from a highly readable and entertaining book. The photos are magnificent and there is an excellent discography at the end of the book. Well worth the money.

A great tribute to Queen! I have waited a long time for such a book to be published about my favourite band. Reading this book has me reliving my youth growing up in England and experiencing Queen when they first began.This book is rich with beautiful photos and loads of information about the band. A wonderful introduction to the world of Queen in all their glory! A must read for all devoted Queen fans and a terrific book for all "new" Queen fans. I especially like the chapters devoted to each band member about their lives before becoming Queen. At last a book about the brilliant Freddie Mercury that respects his very private personal life. Rest in peace Freddie you are loved and missed by many!

This is a lovely coffee table book exploring through Queen's career from preQueen college bands to after Freddie's death. The book is full of with magnificent pictures of not only the band but also tons of Queen related material from all over the world. The text has nothing new for me but if you want to get to know about this greatest rock band of all times, this is a pretty cool beginning. If you know everything about the group's history, you'll enjoy the pictures then. Highly recommended.