NEIL YOUNG 101

Jimmy McDonough's Shakey, the at-first-authorized, and-then-not-authorized book on Neil Young is kind of the definitive Neil book, as much as there can be one.

But this new book, Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, co-authored by a former colleague of mine, Gary Graff, is also sort of a must-have.  The way it's laid out, it's almost like a history textbook, it just so happens that the subject is Neil.  

The book tells Neil's entire story (often citing from Shakey), from his earliest days playing music through his latest, Fork In The Road. But there are lots of fun sidebars, like "Cowgirls In The Sand" (about Neil's female collaborators), "Mirror Ball" (Neil Young and Pearl Jam) and "Train Of Love" (about Neil's involvement in the Lionel toy train company). It also has a discography, filmography, and features on all of Neil's sidemen.  Great read for the Neil fan young and old.