Pearl Jam Twenty

Pearl Jam tells their story for the first time, with the help of music writers Jonathan Cohen and Mark Wilkerson. Interviews with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell and Nirvana's Dave Grohl provide a lens into the Seattle rock explosion from the early 1990s, when Pearl Jam hit mainstream popularity. The book begins with a minibiography of each band member and chronicles each year of their time together. All chapters contain significant dates, lyric sheets, scrapbook artifacts, photos, and detailed accounts of every album from to . Each band member weighs in on significant events, from the loss of Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament's former bandmate Andy Wood to the Roskilde Festival tragedy during their 2000 world tour. Pearl Jam's staying power over the past 20 years attests to their unwavering connection to their music and their ability to prevent fame from overshadowing art. Pearl Jam's autobiographical account is one of few that focus on music rather than substance abuse. Essential. [See Prepub Alert, 2/28/11.]—Karen McCoy, Northern Arizona Univ. Lib., Flagstaff