Buy used
£9.40
FREE delivery 23 - 26 September. Details
Or fastest delivery Monday, 23 September. Order within 16 hrs 38 mins. Details
Used: Like New | Details
Sold by WeBuyBooks
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: Buy from the UK's book specialist. Enjoy same or next day dispatch. A top-rated and trusted seller on Amazon.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Mick Wall
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Last of the Giants: The True Story of Guns N' Roses Hardcover – 17 Nov. 2016

by Mick Wall (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 812 ratings
See all formats and editions

Many millions of words have already been written about Guns N' Roses, the old line-up, the new line-up. But none of them have ever really gotten to the truth. Which is this: Guns N' Roses has always been a band out of time, the Last of the Giants. They are what every rock band since the Rolling Stones has tried and nearly always failed to be: dangerous. At a time when smiling, MTV-friendly, safe-sex, just-say-no Bon Jovi was the biggest band in the world, here was a band that seemed to have leapt straight out of the coke-smothered pages of the original, golden-age, late-sixties rock scene.

'Live like a suicide', the band used to say when they all lived together in the Hell House, their notorious LA home. And this is where Mick Wall first met them, and became part of their inner circle, before famously being denounced by name by Axl Rose in the song 'Get in the Ring'.

But this book isn't about settling old scores. Written with the clear head that 25 years later brings you, this is a celebration of Guns N' Roses the band, and of Axl Rose the frontman who really is that thing we so desperately want him to be: the last of the truly extraordinary, all-time great, no apologies, no explanations, no giving-a-shit rock stars. The last of his kind.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    496 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Trapeze
  4. Publication date
    17 Nov. 2016
  5. Dimensions
    16.1 x 4.3 x 24.1 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1409167216
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1409167211
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details

Product description

Review

'Last Of the Giants is the mad, funny, dark and often painful story of a lost band from a now-distant time.' -- Classic Rock Magazine Published On: 2016-11-24

Any story about Guns is worth reading. But when the author is Mick Wall it's absolutely essential. ― Kerrang!

After years of writing from their inner circle - with some accounts more controversial than others - Mick Wall has penned the ultimate biography that sets out to tell the true story. ― Huffington Post

About the Author

Mick Wall is the UK's best-known rock writer, author and TV and radio programme maker, and is the author of numerous critically-acclaimed books, including definitive, bestselling titles on Led Zeppelin (When Giants Walked the Earth), Lou Reed (The Life), The Doors (Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre), and Jimi Hendrix (Two Riders Were Approaching). He lives in England.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Trapeze; Reprint edition (17 Nov. 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1409167216
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1409167211
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.1 x 4.3 x 24.1 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 812 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mick Wall

Mick Wall

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Mick Wall is the UK's best-known rock writer, author and TV and radio programme maker, and is the author of numerous critically-acclaimed books, including definitive, bestselling titles on Led Zeppelin (When Giants Walked the Earth), Metallica (Enter Night), AC/DC (Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be), Black Sabbath (Symptom of the Universe), Lou Reed, The Doors (Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre) and Foo Fighters. He lives in England.

http://www.mickwall.com/home.htm

http://www.mickwall.com/blog/blog.php

https://twitter.com/WallMick

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
812 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book awesome, informative, and enjoyable. They also say it provides fantastic insight into 30 years of rock and roll. Readers describe the style as warm, satisfying, and amazing. They mention the songs are timeless.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityInsightStyleMusic genreWriting quality
23 customers mention ‘Readability’23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book awesome, excellent, and informative. They say it's an absorbing read that pulls no punches.

"This is a fantastic book !..." Read more

"...Thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and highly recommended." Read more

"...a bad book at all, Mick Wall is a great music journalist and the book is exhaustive and well written...." Read more

"Great read but you can tell the writer doesn't like Axl... :-)..." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Insight’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fantastic, interesting, and full of details and information they'd never come across before. They say it gives good insight into the personalities and dynamics of the band. Readers also mention it's a brilliant reminder of what a rock band should be.

"...whether you loved, hated or were indifferent to them this is a fantastic insight into 30 years of rock n roll - hope you enjoy as much as I did" Read more

"...Good to read about the goings on." Read more

"Very good read for casual rock fan in particular. Gives good insight to the personalities and the dynamics of the band." Read more

"Excellent read! Really interesting to read some different perspectives on the Gn'R circus in the late 80s/early 90s, particularly former mangers..." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Style’5 positive0 negative

Customers find the style of the book warm, satisfying, and amazing. They also say it provides a great look into rock music.

"...including the Use Your Illusion albums and this book had a great over-arching look at this great band...." Read more

"...Mick has done a truly astonishing job writing this book the details are just amazing and covers everything you need to know following the bands..." Read more

"...one of the most influential and complex bands in history, the warmth, style and ultimately satisfying style that Wall writes in is genuinely..." Read more

"Love the cover design, and the read, but the glued spine of the book was weak, and the pages detached easily.Thank you." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Music genre’4 positive0 negative

Customers find the music genre great. They say the songs are timeless and get better the more they hear them.

"...As any fan knows GNR songs are timeless and just get better the more you hear them...." Read more

"...well - firstly, this is not a bad book at all, Mick Wall is a great music journalist and the book is exhaustive and well written...." Read more

"...me thinking that Guns N’ Roses are the last of the great, great rock n’ roll bands." Read more

"Great band, Great book..." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Writing quality’4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written, easy to read, and engrossing. They also appreciate the satisfying style that the author writes in.

"...the end, as i was not as interested in post Guns story but enjoyed the writing a lot." Read more

"...the warmth, style and ultimately satisfying style that Wall writes in is genuinely engrossing...." Read more

"...Wall is a great music journalist and the book is exhaustive and well written. Trouble is, it simply makes me lose respect for GNR in every way...." Read more

"This book was an informative easy read...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Andrew T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great buy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 July 2024
Verified Purchase
Top seller will use again.
Helpful
 Report
Lexicon
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Nostalgia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2023
Verified Purchase
I was only ever a fan up to and including the Use Your Illusion albums and this book had a great over-arching look at this great band. I skipped a lot towards the end, as i was not as interested in post Guns story but enjoyed the writing a lot.
Helpful
 Report
Gareth McCullough
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Mick Wall
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic book ! I have been a fan of GNR on and off through the Appetite era as a kid and the Use your illusions albums as a young teenager. I never made it to see them live but their music was always just there lingering in the background. As any fan knows GNR songs are timeless and just get better the more you hear them. Ive never been the biggest of readers until i got a kindle for fathers day and started to look for books that interested me, I found Bruce Dickinsons autobiography and then Black sabbath by Mick Wall and then i was hooked ! This GNR book was next on my list and i am so glad it was as Mick took me on a journey back to the 80s and i felt like i was right there on the Hollywood strip with the Guns as they become the biggest,unrivalled rock band the world has ever known! Mick has done a truly astonishing job writing this book the details are just amazing and covers everything you need to know following the bands career paths and what a life its been for all involved. I will spare you any details as i want you to find them all for yourself right here in this awesome book. I finished reading it a few weeks ago but like the Guns N Roses story it will be alive forever and it will never end. Im so grateful to Mick for writing this book it has rekindled my flame for the band and brought back so many memories listening to guns in my youth. Happy reading guys !
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mr. P. J. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars During the late 80s and early 90s there was an amazing rock club in Brighton - 'The Hungry Years' where ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2017
Verified Purchase
There are a number of biographies I have been waiting for of singers and bands I grew up with, such as Madonna - still waiting, Whitesnake - just published and got at Xmas and many more - but mostly GNR. During the late 80s and early 90s there was an amazing rock club in Brighton - 'The Hungry Years' where I went and certain tracks filled the dance floor such as 'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Paradise City' or my favorite song of all time 'Sweet Child of Mine' was played in the club with 300 people 'headbanging' and 'air guitaring' as one. Unfortunately those days have long gone, but Mick's outstanding book has taken me back to those days and reminded me why I loved the songs, why I bought the tapes and CDs, the emotions I felt each time a GNR song was played on the radio, in the club or in my car - but mostly the mystic of the band - in the days before the internet, the information came from 'Kerrang' and 'Headbangers Ball', or the newspaper - so you had to wait for the next excess of the band and search for it. 'Last of the Giants' covers all those stories and so many more in what I perceive as balanced and fair representation of the band, the good, the bad, the selfish, the very selfish, the (avoidable??) destruction, the hypercritical and the madness of GNR. I read the book in a few days and just sad it has ended, but it was a brilliant reminder of what a rock band should be. If you buy one biography this year, and particularly if you grew up in the hay day of GNR whether you loved, hated or were indifferent to them this is a fantastic insight into 30 years of rock n roll - hope you enjoy as much as I did
16 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dave Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Appetite for Distraction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2018
Verified Purchase
Such was the power and pull of Mick Wall's writing, I simply could not put this down. Whether you're a hardened G n' R nut or merely have a passing interest in learning more about one of the most influential and complex bands in history, the warmth, style and ultimately satisfying style that Wall writes in is genuinely engrossing. Thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
D. MACKENZIE
3.0 out of 5 stars Do you want the truth of not?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2017
Verified Purchase
3 out of 5 stars? why only 3?
well - firstly, this is not a bad book at all, Mick Wall is a great music journalist and the book is exhaustive and well written. Trouble is, it simply makes me lose respect for GNR in every way. When i was a kid, GNR were indeed 'Giants' - but if Wall is to believed, (and as others confirm) Axl, or 'the Ayatollah' as the rest of the band referred to him, was an A-class a-hole and broke up the band due to his demanding, dictatorial and flaky behaviour. the story of GNR is not s happy one - essentially it's a story of early brilliance - (majority of the songs for Appetite and Illusion were written before the band were signed by Geffen), and essentially the period until 95 was simply one 5 musicans, who basically tolerated each other, massive alcohol, drug use, becoming more isolated from each other, until they simply realised they were not together.
Of course, you can see my view here - GNR as a band essentially finished in 95 when the last founder member (of course, aside from Rose himself) quit because there was no heart of the band. If you are a huge GNR fan (like i... was as a kid) then it's a difficult book to take.
Wall does a great job, but....
Its sometimes difficult to separate your love of the music from your opinions of the musicians themselves. When i was a kid, they were my heroes. This book sort of takes that away.... :(
20 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ernest
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 September 2020
Verified Purchase
Great read but you can tell the writer doesn't like Axl... :-) Axl was a w#nker when it comes to his fans leaving them hanging for hours so it's understanable why the writter didn't have much patience with him.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
montserrat
5.0 out of 5 stars A great story well researched
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2023
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed it, it staters from the early early days, lived it
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Ed Juillard🌻👀☮️
5.0 out of 5 stars Mind BLOWINGLY Fun and Informative Book
Reviewed in the United States on 5 June 2023
Verified Purchase
I am not necessarily proud of it but I am addicted to books on Rock. I have read a number of books on GnR, Slash's,etc: this book is one of the very best of this genre! If you love Gunsroses as much as me , you will not be disappointed by this book!!
One person found this helpful
 Report
1BDGRK
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Must-have for all GNR fans.
Reviewed in Canada on 2 December 2019
Verified Purchase
Very will written and informative. Learned a lot of things I didn’t know, also some repetition form stories told in magazine interviews. Great book. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
One person found this helpful
 Report
giusy
5.0 out of 5 stars Bello
Reviewed in Italy on 10 October 2019
Verified Purchase
Bello
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Historia de un grupo mítico
Reviewed in Spain on 13 March 2019
Verified Purchase
Un libro interesante, para conocer las interioridades del grupo. No trata el tema creativo o musical, sino todo lo demás. Aún así, necesario para entender la historia de G’n’R
Report
Katzenbali
5.0 out of 5 stars well done
Reviewed in Germany on 1 October 2018
Verified Purchase
Thrilling book, especially the first two thirds. Very well written and researched. Only a minor negative: towards the end, everything seemed a bit "rushed" and fast forwarded, but due to the development of the band, still sort of authentic (if nothing happens, what can you write?). All the coincidences, childhoods and mishaps have been written in a nailbiting way. Fair price too! I will read this again and again and surely other books by Mick Wall also.
2 people found this helpful
 Report