Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001) | 
 enlarge | Author: Don Felder
Creator: Wendy Holden
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.34
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Avg. Customer Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 1700
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0470289066
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.42166092
EAN: 9780470289068
ASIN: 0470289066
Publication Date: April 21, 2008
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Eagles are the bestselling, and arguably the tightest-lipped, American group ever. Now band member and guitarist Don Felder finally breaks the Eagles’ years of public silence to take fans behind the scenes. He shares every part of the band’s wild ride, from the pressure-packed recording studios and trashed hotel rooms to the tension-filled courtrooms, and from the joy of writing powerful new songs to the magic of performing in huge arenas packed with roaring fans.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 73 more reviews...
 Inside look at the Eagles and it ain't pretty... October 13, 2008
September 18, 2008, the Eagles, or I should say two Eagles out of the original band -- Don Henley and Glen Frey -- plus their two highly paid sidemen, Tim Schmit and Joe Walsh, roll into Nashville.
I pay an arm and a leg for the family to see them and we're treated to a concert that sounds a bit too perfect. No spontaneity, just a somewhat robotic performance. My 16-year old son is bored and I keep telling him -- hey, just wait ! These are the EAGLES -- they're just getting warmed up! However, after awhile, even I am wondering if these guys are even awake. We have a lot of really excellent musicians come and go through our area and the Eagles -- at least on this particular night -- just don't have it. Even Joe Walsh, one of my favorite guitarists of all time, is relegated to acting out the part of a rock and roller. (Man is he playing for the wrong band !)
The next day I'm curious as to what's the deal with the version of the Eagles I heard versus the band I enjoyed so much during the 1970s and 1980s, so I track down and read "Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001)" by Don Felder -- and, I find the answer.
This is a great book; well-written with a good narrative flow that makes it difficult to put it down. Being from Jacksonville, Florida, I especially enjoyed Felder's recounting of his younger years in Gainesville, Florida. What a small world it was -- playing frat parties at UF with Stephen Stills who was only 15 at the time; teaching guitar lessons for Mr. Lipham of Lipham Music in exchange for his first Fender Stratocaster and having as his star pupil 10-12 year old Tommy Petty -- you know, of Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers (now there's a great band!). Those were great years as northeast Florida had a lot of really great bands forming and learning the ropes on the frat party-prom circuit, including Duane and Greg Allman who had just moved with their mom from Nashville to Daytona Beach.
But, for Eagles fans -- it's all here, the life and death of the real Eagles, before it became the Henley-Frey glitzy nightmare, laid out like a dissected frog. The real story that includes Bernie Leadon, his old Gainesville, Florida buddy whose dad was a nuclear physicist at UF and Randy Meisner of Poco.
Making the book even more interesting is the tension Felder has with his father; trying to adjust to living in Boston, then LA; the musicians that influenced him, including Miles Davis, B.B. King, and the Allman brothers; going to Woodstock; his struggle to be a good father and husband; and, the step by step journey that led him to becoming one of the Eagles. Readers will enjoy reading of his friendships and playing with contemporaries such as Crosby & Nash and David Blue. And, touring with a veritable Who's Who of the 70s and 80's rock world.
For those readers only interested in the Eagles, start on page 109, the beginning of Chapter 9. From this point on the narrative speeds up from being that of a memoir of a musician, to the story of the Eagles written by an insider. While very appreciative of the opportunity for being part of the group, Felder holds no punches and describes the almost evil egos of Henley and Frey; the sex, drugs and stress of the over-the-top excesses of their lives; and the emotional toll of being "fired" by Heley and Frey from the Eagles.
All in all, it's a great read -- one of the best of the genre I've ever read.
R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University
A Magnificent Story of "Self-Reliance" October 10, 2008
WARNING!! If you pick this book up...you will not be able to put it down.."Self-Reliance"...an essay by Emerson, inspired Don Henley to greatness, and it is clearly the path Don Felder took. Hey Don...if you are reading this...your performance of Hotel California on the Howard Stern show was a beautiful rendition...imho you should have NO "confidence problem" with your singing...talk about soulful...WOW! Anyone interested in hearing that classic, just go to YouTube....Peace and Love...
Life In A Disfunctional Rock Family October 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The most interesting bit of information from this book is the financial and emotional treatment of everyone who is not Henley or Frey. WOW! Timothy Schmidt is my favorite Eagle and to learn of the arrangement he and Joe Walsh are under while the two "Gods" make a fortune is very telling about the management of the group and the greed of Henley and Frey.
A great read in which Don Felder takes an honest look at the personalities of all the members, including himself. He was screwed and yet in some way wants to excuse Henley and Frey by taking the high ground, not being vicious or brutal. Obviously he is a gentleman who took a moral stand against Henley and Frey, who are less than ethical. Yet again a story of rock egos run amuck with everyone else paying the price.
Awesome book! October 8, 2008
Well written, really captivating book. Fast read. Always have been an Eagles fan but now I'm a Don Felder fan.
 "I can't complain, but sometimes I still do." October 7, 2008
Yeah, I know it's a Joe Walsh line, but it fits this book perfectly.
After joining the Eagles, it doesn't take long for Felder to start realizing (real or imagined) that he's getting the shaft from Messrs. Frey and Henley. Apparently the royalties from "Hotel California" and other tunes are enough to pacify him for a while, however.
Finally, when he stands up to them, they do the expected and fire him. It's interesting how the other two "sidemen" (Walsh and Schmidt) don't back him up at all (lest they put their own positions in peril) and implore him to just enjoy the ride, but it's too late by then.
Along the way there are some interesting stories but not really enough to keep this book afloat. If you're not a hardcore Eagles fan, I'd skip it.
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