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Moon

the Life and Death of a Rock Legend
Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Pima County Public Library.
Oct 10, 2017hadley rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A remarkable biography of the former Who drummer, who died in 1978 at the age of 32. Despite being 600 pages long, this is a stylish and highly readable book. Fletcher is an accomplished researcher with a historian's eye for detail. But he's also a perceptive critic, separating the top-shelf stuff (the Who's 60s singles, Who's Next, parts of Tommy and Quadrophenia) from the crud (Moon's solo album, everything after Quadrophenia). The bio achieves a remarkable balance: Moon was an innovative and ferocious drummer who defined The Who's sound, and a kind and absurdly generous man. He was also an alcoholic and pill addict. He broke his wife's nose more than once. And he destroyed more hotel rooms and cars than he had hot meals. Reading the last 100 pages is like watching the proverbial car crash in slow motion. You know how it's going to end, and keep thinking "Why didn't someone do something?" As Fletcher points out repeatedly, many people tried, but Moon just seemed like a person who was destined to burn bright and flame out.