U2: At the END of the WORLD
by Bill Flanagan
List Price:
Our Price: $19.44
You Save: $3.51 (15%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.30 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Bill FlanaganEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-05-01
ISBN: 0593036263
Number of pages: 536
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Book Reviews of U2: At the END of the WORLD
Book Review: "Everybody having a good time..."
Summary: 4 Stars
As advertised, U2 AT THE END OF THE WORLD begins with the recording of U2's Achtung Baby album in 1991 and covers every major event up until the preliminary recording for what would become The Passengers project in late 1994 (it's never actually named in the text, but there are descriptions of U2 collaborating with Brian Eno to produce soundtracks to movies that don't exist). However, given the author's long association with the band, stories pop up randomly of events dating back to the band's first tour of America through to the then-present day and includes some thoughts of the future. All in all, it's a very engrossing read.
The story is told by Bill Flanagan, a music journalist who has been friends with the band since the early 1980s. U2 are famously protective of their image, and one gets the impression that the band was open to Flanagan's questions precisely because they hoped their friendship would put events in the best possible light. Indeed, Flanagan's relationship with the individual band members shines through. And while these gives the book a very intimate feeling, it doesn't prevent the journalist from looking askance as some of the more colorful activities of those years (Adam Clayton's brushes with the law and his problems with alcohol being the most obvious examples). The friendly feeling also allows the band to "answer the critics" in a way by addressing some of the more controversial/criticized of their activities (their support of Greenpeace and human rights groups, the overt Christianity present in the early albums, their position or lack thereof concerning the Northern Ireland situation, to name a few).
The book also gets us inside some of the most ambitions projects that U2 engaged in. Namely, the ACHTUNG BABY and ZOOROPA albums and the massive spectacle that was the Zoo TV world tour. Bono was quite glib in television interviews at the time ("I don't know what Zoo TV is about, so it must be art."), but to Flanagan the band members open up, explaining the influences and the philosophies behind the multimedia circus. Yes, some of it does indeed come off as pretentious, but I found it fascinating to see what was going on behind the scenes. The passages recounting the transmission of live images from war-torn Sarajevo to an audience expecting to see a rock'n'roll show are excellent at conveying what must have been a shocking and emotional event.
And in addition to all that, U2 AT THE END OF THE WORLD is an excellent tour diary, recounting random anecdotes about life on the road and the various band members, roadies, management types and other characters. Given the band's high profile, it's not surprising that there are a lot of celebrity cameos. Frank Sinatra shows up (he and Bono recorded a duet of "I've Got You Under My Skin" during this time), as do Naomi Campbell, Lou Reed, Bill Clinton (both as Arkansas Governor and then again after his successful Presidential campaign), and, of course, long time pal of the band (and former Virgin Prune) Gavin Friday. Some of the stories are really really funny.
This is a fun, yet insightful read. The fun anecdotes prevent the book from getting too heavy, and the deeper portions prevent the book from being too fluffy. It's a great combination of philosophical ruminations and pure entertainment (perhaps an inadvertent metaphor for the Zoo TV tour itself). It's written in an easy, conversational style which makes it easy to pick up and put down. In fact, I must have read a good quarter of the book just through random skimming before I settled in and started back at the beginning. Much recommended for the U2 fan, and I imagine even non-fans would get something out of it.
Summary of U2: At the END of the WORLD
The most intimate and appreciative biography of the mega rock band U2 to date--by the author to whom the band gave complete access.When U2 took the stage for their three-year Zoo TV world tour in 1991, Bill Flanagan was there--in the bus, on the plane, in the recording studio and well after hours with the biggest rock band in the world. A tour that began to support the hugely successful Achtung Baby record and ended with a second, even more successful record, Zooropa, took U2 to the far reaches of the world, playing to over a hundred sold-out arenas in over forty cities.
U2 At The End Of The World takes you on the world tour and drops you off at the cultural intersection where rock stars meet politicians; where writers, directors, and models all wind up backstage with U2. You're there when the band meets Bill Clinton in a Chicago hotel room; when Salman Rushdie comes out of hiding to join the band onstage at Wembley Arena in London; when Frank Sinatra and Bono record their famous duet, "I've Got You Under My Skin." And finally, when the band performs their last Zoo TV concert in Tokyo in 1993 and nearly collapses from physical and mental exhaustion, you are there with them waiting for the end of the world. Augmented with sleek photos by renowned photographer Anton Corbijn, U2 At The End Of The World is the most definitive book on the band to date.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Music Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Music Books
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brainby Oliver Sacks
Knopf Publishing Group; Published: 2008; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.13
Listenby Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2007-02-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.95
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Centuryby Alex Ross
Picador; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.23
Price in other shops:
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylanby Douglas R. Gilbert, Dave Marsh
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops:
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boysby Steven Gaines
Da Capo Press; Published: 1995-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.15
Price in other shops:
Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Editionby Glen Ballou
Focal Press; Published: 2002-01-21; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Jazz Anecdotesby Bill Crow
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1990-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.18
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williamsby Paul Hemphill
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops:
How to Train Singers/ Book and Tapeby Larra Browning Henderson
Parker; Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.95
Price in other shops:
I, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t)by Tina Turner, Kurt Loder
It Books; Published: 2010-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.05
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Guitar Aerobics: A 52-Week, One-lick-per-day Workout Program for Developing, Improving and Maintaining Guitar Techniqueby Troy Nelson
HAL LEONARD CORPORATION; Published: 2007-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops:
Anton Corbijn: U2&i: the Photographs 1982-2004by Anton Corbijn
Schirmer/Mosel; Published: 2008-03-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $43.54
Price in other shops:
![U2: From The Sky Down [Blu-ray] Image](/images/U2-From-The-Sky-Down-Blu-ray-B005SD2606-X.jpg)
U2: From The Sky Down [Blu-ray]Release date: 2012-01-24; Published: 2011-12-13; Blu-ray
Best price: $17.54
Price in other shops:
U2 - No Line On The HorizonISLAND; Release date: 2009-03-03; Music CD
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
U2 - Achtung Baby (Super Deluxe Edition)Release date: 2011-11-01; Music CD
Best price: $119.67
Price in other shops:
On the Moveby Bono
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2007-04-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
U2 by U2by U2, Neil McCormick
It Books; Published: 2006-09-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $87.79
U2: The Stories Behind Every U2 Song (Stories Behind the Songs)by Niall Stokes
Carlton Books; Published: 2009-10-06; Perfect Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops:
We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2 (Gospel According to...)by Greg Garrett
Westminster John Knox Press; Published: 2009-07-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
Walk on: The Spiritual Journey of U2by Steve Stockman
Relevant Books; Published: 2005-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: