Life Under the Top Hat

Former Rolling Stone writer, Anthony Bozza was the first national journalist to cover Eminem. In fact, the tapes of interviews he recorded with Em's circle were allegedly to be used as evidence when the rapper's mother filed an infamous lawsuit against her suddenly wealthy and notorious sone. Bozza wrote about his experiences with Eminem, and his thoughts on the cultural implications of the white rapper, in Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem

Bozza then followed the success of that book with 2004's Tommyland, a book he co-authored with Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. He developed such an intense relationship with the notorious drummer that Lee refers to Bozza as his "little brother."

In 2005, Bozza worked with Australian band INXS on Story to Story: The Official Autobiography. The last two years have been quiet for Bozza, with him publishing only a handfull of magazine articles. But it's clear with his newest book, that he wasn't wasting time.

Slash, co-authored with the Guns n' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist, is an extensive, breathtaking examination of the rise and fall of one of rock's most notoriously violatile bands. Clocking in at 458 pages, the book details Slash's early life in England, his move to Los Angeles, his days on the Sunset Strip, his battles with addiction, his admiration for the professionalism of Metallica, and the power struggles within GnR.

Although there has been much speculation about the dissolution of Guns n' Roses, Slash himself had been mostly quiet on the subject. He explains in the book that he didn't want to air the band's dirty laundry in the press, so this book is the first time he's spoken (written) extensively about his relationship with singer Axl Rose and the breakup of the original incarnation of the band.

Packed with cameos by people like Keith Richards, Joe Perry, David Bowie, Motley Crue, and many other rockers, Slash is an engrossing look into the stratospheric rise and tragic fall of a great rock band. It's plenty engaging enough to captivate a casual fan and it's full of revelations to surprise even the most obsessive GnR connoisseur.